One of the most exciting Bellingham music trends is that we have some big-time music festivals happening here. Foremost among them is Bellingham Exit, which launched last year with one of the strongest lineups we’ve seen, and an emphasis on transforming familiar venues with creative visuals.
Bellingham Exit is back this year with a music-centric festival that also incorporates visual art, comedy, drag and more, happening all over town Oct. 10–13.
There are a few ways to approach the festival. If you want to go big, a festival pass gets you into everything all weekend. If there are one or two headliners you know you want to see at Mount Baker Theatre, it will be easy to get your money’s worth by getting the pass, seeing those top picks and then just exploring the rest.
Besides MBT, the other core venues are the Wild Buffalo, The Shakedown and The Blue Room. All three of which will be transformed with visual installations to make them feel fresh and new. Individual tickets are also available for all the shows. (As usual, MBT and the Blue Room are open to all ages, but The Shakedown and Wild Buffalo are 21-plus.)
A new addition this year is the option to buy a pass solely for late-night EDM shows. If that’s what you’re interested in, and you just want to go out dancing three nights in a row, that’s a pretty great deal.
Let’s talk a bit about those headliners at MBT: Horror/drag fusion of the Boulet Brothers were scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 10, though organizers informed me this show has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. Friday, Oct. 11 highlights the beautiful harmonies of the sister trio Joseph, who recently announced one of their members is leaving the band after this tour. Saturday, Oct. 12, there’s an early show with comedian Laura Ramoso, then a late show with my personal favorite of the bunch, singer/looper/beatboxer/comedian Reggie Watts.
If you don’t want to spend anything at all, there’s even a batch of free shows. They’re not doing quite the variety of locations they did last year, with the free shows happening just at Ritual Records, Ramble Tamble, Bantam and Mallard Ice Cream, but it’s still a great chance to dip your toes into the festival scene and check out some great locals.
A couple of my picks from among the non-headliners: Blu & Exile are a hip-hop duo from L.A. with jazzy beats and positive vibes. They’re at The Shakedown on Thursday. Get Saturday started right with a free triple bill of punk and post-punk at Ritual Records, featuring Beautiful Freaks, Cat Valley and Biff Got Killed. Then wrap up Saturday at the Shakedown with Balkan Bump’s fusion of Balkan folk melodies with electronic beats. (Locals Willdabeast are also on that bill; an excellent pairing.) On Sunday, the whole thing wraps up with the indie-folk gone traditional supergroup Bonnie Light Horseman at the Wild Buffalo (featuring Anais Mitchell of Hadestown fame).
I don’t like to look a gift horse in the mouth — and I don’t pretend to understand all the ins and outs of organizing a festival like this — but I will share my one complaint of sorts. I would really like to see some music happening Saturday afternoon. Since the earliest shows don’t start until 6 p.m., everything ends up packed into the same couple time slots. Surely I can’t be the only one who would start my festival day earlier if it were an option.
That said, we’re very lucky to have this festival, and you can pack an awful lot in if you set your mind to it and plan carefully. Check out all the offerings and prepare yourself for an exit from the ordinary.
Jesse Stanton's music column, The Beat Goes On, appears weekly. Reach him at jsbhammusic@gmail.com; @JSBhamMusic. Check with individual venues to make sure events are still taking place as scheduled. Live music events in Whatcom County: http://www.cascadiadaily.com/category/living/arts-and-entertainment/music/music-calendar
