ARLINGTON — It’s FREE.
Have we mentioned that the Stillaguamish Festival of the River &Pow Wow on Aug. 8 and 9 at River Meadows County Park off Jordan Road between Arlington and Granite Falls is free? And that Los Lobos is playing on Saturday and Thompson Square on Sunday?
OK, you do have to pay $10 to park, but you’ll also have the chance to see the New Old Time Chautauqua circus troupe, a great Pow Wow with drumming and dancing by tribes from around the region, entertainment and activities for children, more live music, a logging show and environmental exhibits.
American Indian flutist Peter Ali and the outstanding Yellow Bird Indian Dancers from Arizona will perform several times during the weekend.
Craft and food vendors will be on hand and you’ll have the chance to buy a scrumptious, traditional alder-smoked salmon dinner.
Gates open at 10 a.m. both days.
Other music on Saturday afternoon includes the fabulous Dusty 45s from Seattle, the Chris Eger Band from Mount Vernon and the Seattle-based 10-piece ensemble DoctorfunK takes the stage at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
On Sunday, the music focuses on country and includes sets by Ben Rue from Silverton, Oregon, the popular Jesse Taylor from Arlington and Seattle singer/songwriter Shelby Earl, who has been compared to Patsy Cline, Brandi Carlile and Neko Case.
The Grammy award-nominated Thompson Square is set to play at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Husband/wife duo Keifer and Shawna Thompson are earning critical acclaim for their new single “Trans Am” — the first single from their upcoming third album.
“‘Trans Am’ is a fun summer song about the car and a girl,” said Keifer Thompson by phone a week ago. “We do a lot of serious songs, so this is a little different. But we love it and our fans are digging it.
“(In Arlington) fans can expect a fun show with a good mix of everything we do.”
Thompson hopes people who haven’t seen the group in person will come out for the free show.
“Absolutely. We’re always excited to introduce our music to people,” he said. “As usual, we’re touring a lot this summer. This is our busy season, all the way to November when we take a little break.”
The fast-paced video for “Trans Am,” directed by Wes Edwards, was shot during a 15-hour day inside Nashville’s Soundcheck sound stage. It’s the duo’s first live-performance video and the first time Thompson Square’s band mates have appeared. See the video at vevo.ly/hKabBU.
Los Lobos will finish off its current tour of the West with its Stillaguamish performance Saturday evening.
The Grammy award-winning band’s website says that, “More than three decades have passed since Los Lobos released their debut album, ‘Just Another Band from East L.A.’ Since then they’ve repeatedly disproven that title. Los Lobos isn’t ‘just another’ anything, but rather a band that has consistently evolved artistically while never losing sight of their humble roots.”
The band is Louie Perez, Steve Berlin, Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano and lead singer David Hidalgo, who have been together since 1973, as well as the younger Enrique Gonzalez. They are perhaps best known for their hit cover of the Richie Valens tune “La Bamba.”
Over the years, Los Lobos has partnered with many well-known musicians and other bands, recorded a dozen albums and music for movies and toured the country. The band’s new album “Gates of Gold” is due out Sept. 25. Hear the title track at soundcloud.com/loslobos/gates-of-gold.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @galefiege.
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