By Gale Fiege Herald Writer
DARRINGTON — We weren’t the only group of three-generation fans.
The first full day of the Summer Meltdown music festival Friday at the amphitheater near Darrington included a visit to the river, play time in the children’s activity area and a lot of good music.
Favorites from this camp — including my son and my granddaughter — were the bluegrass band Brothers Comatose from
San Francisco and Michigan’s Greensky Bluegrass, which is a bluegrass band that bends the limits of that definition all the way into rock. (We missed Portland’s Americana band Fruition, which played on Thursday night.)
Because the amphitheater was built by and belongs to the Darrington bluegrass music association and is used for the group’s annual bluegrass festival, well, bluegrass just really fits there.
With a view of Whitehorse Mountain from the stage, the music park is a great one and that fact was mentioned by all the musicians on stage.
It could be that some members of the bluegrass association might not appreciate the sort of music played on Friday, but someday perhaps the members will consider including groups such as Fruition, Comatose and Greensky.
Bluegrass and Americana music have great fans in the younger generations, including children, who love to dance to those classic sounds.
Folks from the Darrington area were among the crowd, including Marla Skaglund, Julie Newberry and her husband Greg and Gary Paull and his family, all fans of bluegrass music and more.
“The Meltdown is a great party,” Paull said.
It sure is.
This year, the decorations are great, the light shows are great and the people are great.
After each set, fans had the opportunity to meet the performers at a meet-and-great tent in between the stages.
Yes, the festival attracts a lot of young people from throughout the region. Many come in costume and it’s all about the party.
However, most everyone is very friendly and even the Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputies had a little time to listen to the music.
Saturday’s lineup include Tycho and STS9, a modern jazz electric fusion band. Sunday, the headliners are Iration and Galactic, a funk band.
Learn more at summermeltdownfest.com/
