Alexandra Lockhart started Cumulus as a solo project while still an undergrad at Western Washington University. In 2010, she moved to Seattle and the band really started to take off, with a rotating cast of backing musicians.
The band’s sound mixes gorgeous but melancholy melodies with thoughtful lyrics. The instrumentation is rooted in classic Pacific Northwest indie rock but also stretches to include loud guitars or electronic beats from time to time.
In 2018, after the release of the second full Cumulus LP, “Comfort World,” the band toured the country and performed at festivals such as South by Southwest and Treefort. The trappings of success were starting to accumulate, but Lockhart was chafing under the combination of creative burnout and unstable employment. In 2019 she moved back to Bellingham, and we all know what happened to the live music scene after that.
Fast forward a few years, and Cumulus is about to release a third LP, “Something Brighter,” on a Seattle-based nonprofit label called Share It Music. Lockhart is newly married, has a career she actually enjoys and is appreciating the relative calm of being out of Seattle. The album reflects these changes with themes of gratitude and reflection.
Musically the biggest difference is that where previous Cumulus songs were written on guitar, these were created primarily with loops and keyboards at first, with Lockhart trading demo recordings with bandmate William Cremin throughout the pandemic until they had the songs ready for recording.
One extra-cool thing about the album is that a portion of the proceeds goes to an organization called the Campaign for Southern Equality, which works toward LGBTQ equality in the Southern United States. “Something Brighter” will come out on vinyl on Oct. 21 and have national distribution through Sub Pop. You can check out the first single, “Sunbeam” now on all the streaming services.
In addition to the Cumulus album, there are some other recently announced local releases to keep an eye out for. Aaron Guest (formerly of Polecat, now with Petty or Not) has a collaborative album coming out with his mentor Michael Iris and a crew of some of the best musicians in town. The project is called Gueris and they’ll be celebrating it with a show at the Bellingham Circus Guild on Saturday, Oct. 8.
Electronic/pop duo Lonely Together have a new EP, “Coping Mechanisms,” on the way. They’ve got a few singles from it out already and will celebrate the release on Friday, Sept. 9 at the Blue Room.
Finally, blues/jazz/soul keyboardist and singer Cheryl Hodge just put out her 13th(!) album, “Love Is,” featuring an all-star cast of local musicians in those styles.
Live music calendar
Wednesday, Aug. 24
Bar Cicotti: 6 p.m., Matt Eakle & Tim Volpicella (jazz)
Big Stick BBQ: 5 p.m., Michael Dayvid (acoustic covers)
Blue Room: 9 p.m., Salo Panto, Peyote Ugly, Goodwill Gold (rock)
Boundary: 6 p.m., Aaron Guest on piano
Honey Moon: 8 p.m., Open Mic
Juxt: 8:30 p.m., Invitational Open Mic
Rockfish: 6 p.m., Janette West (jazz)
Shakedown: 8:30 p.m., Dance With The Dead, Gallowmaker (rock)
Thursday, Aug. 25
Barkley Market: noon, The Moving Hats (Irish/folk)
Bellewood: 6 p.m., Handsome and Gretyl
Blue Room: 6 p.m., The Jins, Terminally Dumb, Thoughts for the Builders (rock)
Boundary: 5 p.m., Steve Webb and the Great Mad Swirl (Americana); 8 p.m., Sons of Rainier, Jason Dae West (country)
Elizabeth Park: 6 p.m., BandZandt (classic rock)
Farmstrong: 6:30 p.m., Conrad Gruener
Honey Moon: 8 p.m., Bluegrass Jam
Hotel Bellwether: 6 p.m., Chris Eger Band (blues/rock)
Kulshan Trackside: 7 p.m., Felix the Hammer, Dead Lee
Mount Vernon Riverwalk: 6 p.m., The Atlantics (classic rock)
Shakedown: 9 p.m., No-Fi Soul Rebellion, Cat Positive, The Hobby (rock)
Thirsty Badger: 7 p.m., Open Mic
Twin Sisters: 6 p.m., Dain Norman & The Chrysalis Effect
That’s What I Like: 6 p.m., J.P. Falcon and Friends (folk/rock)
Wild Buffalo: 9 p.m., Foxy Apollo, Instant Crush, CHVRNS
Friday, Aug. 26
Aslan: 8 p.m., Christian Casolary Quartet
Beach at Birch Bay: 6 p.m., Wicked Timing (acoustic covers)
Birdsview: 6 p.m., Chill DeVille (classic rock)
Blue Room: 9 p.m., Haley Graves, Likethabirds, Westcoast Dee, Empress LOF
Boundary: 6 p.m., CraigO’s Planet Groove (psychedelic rock)
Fireside: 7 p.m., Naughty Blokes Trio
Greene’s Corner: Deep River Blues
Gruff: 7:30 p.m., True Stars, The Smashing Times, Stray Rails (rock)
Guemes Island General Store: 5:30 p.m., Hookmeyer (jazz/blues)
Honey Moon: 8 p.m., Dream Goats (folk)
Lake Padden Golf Course: 5:30 p.m., J.P. Falcon Grady
Lighthouse: 7:30 p.m., TBA (jazz/lounge)
Seafarers’ Memorial Park (Anacortes): 6 p.m., No Rules (pop/rock covers)
Semiahmoo: 6 p.m., Raveis Kole (folk)
Shakedown: 9 p.m., Death Valley Girls, The Black Tones, Madam Monarch (rock)
Skylark’s: 5 p.m., Mike Faast (jazz)
That’s What I Like: 7 p.m., Paige Woods (folk/rock)
Thirsty Badger: 8 p.m., Kevin Burt & Ken Valdez (blues)
Vault: 7 p.m., The Unknowns (jazz/pop/blues)
Saturday, Aug. 27
Beach at Birch Bay: 4 p.m., Blind Fate (classic rock)
Birdsview: 6 p.m., Pretty Much Nothing
Blue Room: 9 p.m., Wilting, Winterstate, Drayton (rock)
Boundary: 1 p.m., The Devillies (Irish folk), 7 p.m., Spaceband (R&B/pop)
Brown Lantern: 9 p.m., Ebb, Slack & Flood (reggae/rock)
Conway Muse: 8 p.m., Cabin Fever NW (bluegrass)
FireHouse: 6:30 p.m., Steve Webb and the Great Mad Swirl (Americana)
Fireside: 3:30 p.m., Singers’ Saturday
Greene’s Corner: 6:30 p.m., Simon Evans (folk)
Heart of Anacortes: 6 p.m., The Enthusiasts (rock and roll)
Honey Moon: 8 p.m., Phillip Hofmann’s Song Swap (singer-songwriters)
Kulshan Trackside: 4 p.m., The Acid Ball Psych Rock Festival ft. Spaceface, The Black Tones, Supermissive, La Fonda, The Whags
Lighthouse: 7:30 p.m., TBA (jazz/lounge)
Main Street: 8:30 p.m., J.P. Falcon Band
Rockfish: 7:30 p.m., Michele D’Amour and the Love Dealers (blues/R&B)
Samson Estates: 12–7 p.m., Bellhaven Jazz Festival ft. Jennifer Scott Quartet, Brian Cunningham Trio, Jerry Steinhilber Trio, Danned If We Do
Semiahmoo: 6 p.m., Paige Woods (folk/rock)
Skylark’s: 5 p.m., CraigO’s Planet Groove
Station 49: 5 p.m., Lost at Last (classic rock)
Thirsty Badger: 8 p.m., Kevin Burt & Ken Valdez, Leo Bootes (blues)
Sunday, Aug. 28
Beach at Birch Bay: 1 p.m., The Replayzmentz (classic rock)
Culture Cafe: 7 p.m., Open Mic
Gilkey Square (La Conner): 1 p.m., Chill DeVille (classic rock)
Kulshan Trackside: 3 p.m., Jack Dwyer & Bobby Winstead (country/folk)
Old Edison: 5:30 p.m., The Walrus (classic rock)
Semiahmoo: 4 p.m., Jimmy Wright Band
Shakedown: 8 p.m., Temple of Mercy (Sisters of Mercy tribute)
Station 49: 2 p.m., Michael Dayvid
Wild Buffalo: 9 p.m., Hotel Garuda, Manatee Commune (DJ set), R-Squared, Shadow Variable (electronic)
Monday, Aug. 29
Boundary: 6 p.m., Zoo Patrol (funk/jazz)
Kulshan Sunnyland: 6 p.m., Carly Ann Calbero (singer-songwriter)
Tuesday, Aug. 30
Beach at Birch Bay: 6:30 p.m., Open Mic
Boundary: 6 p.m., Paul Klein on piano
Before heading out to listen to live music, check with individual venues to make sure the event is still taking place as scheduled.
Jesse Stanton’s music column, The Beat Goes On, runs Wednesdays. Email: jsbhammusic@gmail.com or Twitter: @JSBhamMusic.
