Everett music scene to throw itself a seventh birthday party

The Everett Music Initiative, best known for its flagship Fisherman’s Village Music Festival, is turning 7 years old.

To celebrate, EMI is throwing itself a birthday bash and solstice party Friday at Scuttlebutt Taproom & Brewery in Everett.

That the nonprofit still is going strong after seven years proves that Everett has embraced local music, EMI leader Ryan Crowther said.

“We have a scene in Everett that’s hungry for music, hungry for culture, hungry for nightlife, and will support what we bring to town,” said Crowther, who co-founded EMI in 2012 with Steven Graham, who is now a DJ at KNDD-FM in Seattle.

Deep Sea Diver, an alternative-indie band from Seattle, is headlining the event. Everett’s Narrow Tarot, playing rock ’n’ roll, Spokane’s Super Sparkle, a retro-pop band, and DJ Sharlese of KEXP-FM also will perform.

Crowther, 35, of Everett, organizes EMI events with the help of Michael Hannon, drummer for the band NewForms, and Nate Feaster, general manager of Scuttlebutt Brewing in Everett. Crowther’s day job is principal of Puget PR, a marketing and public relations firm that works mostly in Snohomish County.

The three of them put on the Fisherman’s Village Music Festival, the city’s biggest music festival, held in May, which this year featured more than 50 acts and drew about 5,000 attendees. EMI also hosts the Wild Coyote Country and Americana Music Festival in October, now in its second year.

Crowther says EMI doesn’t deserve all the credit for Everett’s growing music scene, noting that Tony V’s Garage, Black Lab Gallery and the city of Everett do just as much to prop it up. (They’ll often partner with EMI on music events.)

“I think we’ve all found a niche,” Crowther said. “Because people enjoy music in such different ways, we can support each other’s causes by continuing to offer what we do and what we do best.”

Crowther said EMI’s focus has long been pairing national and regional talent with local acts. He considers Deep Sea Diver to be a standout in Seattle and one of the few bands “putting out exceptional records that are still better live.” Deep Sea Diver frontwoman Jessica Dobson previously toured with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Shins and Beck.

Narrow Tarot, formed in 2018, is made up of Tessa Tasakos (keyboard, vocals), Trevor Fett (guitar, vocals), Jo Krassin (drums, vocals) and Marcus Chavez (bass). All of them live in Everett.

“They’ve been on my radar for about a year now,” Crowther said. “We’re really excited for them to be part of our seventh birthday.”

Narrow Tarot (pronounced TEH-row) recorded its debut album, “The Doctrine,” in a cabin in Grant County near the Gorge Amphitheatre last summer. Fett, 25, described their work as “beachy surf-rock” with an “energetic, mysterious and playful” style.

“Some of the songs are very poignant and forceful,” Fett said. “We navigate our way through a lot of styles, and it definitely plays through when we’re live.”

Like EMI, the band is very much invested in the local music scene. In May, they kicked off the second year of a monthly music show, The Garden Series, which hosts local acts in a Riverside neighborhood backyard.

Narrow Tarot has performed at Fisherman’s Village Music Festival two years in a row.

“It’s cool that they put it on for the Everett folk, all the while showcasing talent from out of town,” Fett said.

Evan Thompson: 425-339-3427, ethompson@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @ByEvanThompson.

If you go

The EMI 7th Birthday and Solstice Party, featuring performances by Deep Sea Diver, Narrow Tarot, Super Sparkle and DJ Sharlese of KEXP, is 8 p.m. June 21 at Scuttlebutt Taproom & Brewery, 3314 Cedar St., Everett.

Tickets are $15. More at www.facebook.com/EverettMusicInitiative.