Fisherman’s Village festival returns as streaming video series

After a long wait made to feel longer by the pandemic, Fisherman’s Village Music Festival in Everett is back.

The Everett Music Initiative’s seventh annual festival will be broadcast this week to your TV or laptop. Each Fisherman’s Village Broadcast episode — there are four from Oct. 28-31 — airs at 7 p.m. The headliners are Lady A, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio and The Black Tones.

“For many of the artists, this was the first time they were able to perform as a band since COVID,” said Ryan Crowther, EMI’s founder. “The opportunity to provide that for artists was so fun — just to see them light up because they get to do what they love so much together, safely.”

After seven years, most of us thought we knew what to expect. The Fisherman’s Village Music Festival will be held in May. It will feature around 60 national, regional and local acts. It will draw up to 5,000 fans to a number of stages in downtown Everett.

But when COVID-19 hit, the Fisherman’s Village fest as we know it was canceled.

Postponed since May, the Fisherman’s Village Music Festival has been adapted to the pandemic. This year, the festival is presented in four episodes you can watch in the comfort of your own home. It features a mix of 12 bands from the Everett area. All of the performances were pre-recorded on just one stage.

Crowther said the Fisherman’s Village Broadcast improves upon the Everett Music Initiative’s HOMEBODIES streaming series. Launched in March, fans watched 40 video recordings of musicians performing on EMI’s Facebook page.

“We knew we wanted to do something for Fisherman’s virtually,” Crowther said. “But we didn’t want it to add to the saturation of solo acoustic performances recorded on an iPhone. What we wanted was to create a full-band production that would then be aired.”

The EMI team engineered the audio and edited the film to create four episodes that will air at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each will feature three local acts.

In addition to the headliners, also performing are Alex Cade, Claudine Magbag, Fretland, The Grizzled Mighty, LAKE, The Moondoggies, Kassi Valazza, Naked Giants and Stephanie Anne Johnson & the Hidogs.

Since it will be broadcast, this Fisherman’s Village Music Festival has a host: Eva Walker. She’s the host of “Audioasis,” KEXP-FM’s Northwest music show, and co-hosts Seattle Channel 21’s “Video Bebop,” a Northwest version of VH1 or MTV, with her twin brother.

In each episode, Walker will introduce the acts before they perform a show on the Historic Everett Theatre stage, then she’ll follow up with a band interview at the Schack Art Center in Everett. Each act will play six of their songs.

Walker’s interviews last about 15 minutes each, so you’ll get a 5-7 minute teaser when their episodes air Oct. 28-Oct. 31. Crowther said the band interviews will be available to stream in full later this weekend.

“I host a really in-depth interview,” she said. “I researched each artist, listened to their music and make a web of information on a white board so I had points to get to. Each of the interviews are unique to each artist.”

Crowther filled in to interview The Black Tones because Walker is in that band.

Twins Eva and Cedric Walker make up The Black Tones. Brother and sister have shared the stage with Death Cab for Cutie, Mavis Staples and Weezer. Mike McCready from Pearl Jam and Sir Mix-a-Lot have reached out to say they’re fans.

“Without ever having to win a Grammy or sell a platinum record, we feel successful where we’re at right now,” Walker said. “Just because of all the love and support.”

Brother and sister have been performing as a band for eight years. Cedric is on drums; Eva is on lead guitar and vocals. The Black Tones play rock ‘n’ roll with punk and blues mixed in. Walker said their sound is influenced by the fact that they were raised Southern but grew up in the Northwest.

Brandon Bermudez plays bass for The Black Tones in the Fisherman’s Village show, but Eva’s husband, Jake Uitti, has been known to play keyboard or bass for the band. The Walker twins’ mom, Gaynell Walker, and sister, Gigi Walker, also have sang backup vocals.

“Ryan wants this to go on for all the right reasons,” Walker said of the Fisherman’s Village Music Festival. “He took a really great music festival and made it work as a broadcast. I’m really looking forward to seeing it, because I haven’t even watched it yet.”

The Everett Music Initiative set up a GoFundMe campaign — its only community ask in eight years — with a goal of raising $15,000. So far, EMI has raised more than $11,000 to pay for the Fisherman’s fest.

There are no festival wristbands to purchase this year. Help pay for this year’s Fisherman’s Village Music Festival at www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-everett-music-initiative. You can also donate to the featured bands via their PayPal tip jars.

“The cost to create something like this is much higher because we don’t sell tickets, we don’t have a beer garden and it’s much more expensive to have the kind of audio and video teams that we got for this kind of thing,” Crowther said.

The Everett Music Initiative is asking fans to host a Fisherman’s Village watch party. Here’s how to do it…

1. Pick a night that you want to host

2. Invite friends and family from your COVID-19 pod

3. Get your snacks in order

4. Stock up on your favorite drinks

5. Open a browser on your TV and go to www.thefishermansvillage.com or search for the Everett Music Initiative on YouTube

6. Take photos of your watch party and tag @thefishermansvillage and @everettmusicinitiative

“We’re all starving for more social opportunities,” Crowther said. “Hosting a small watch party with your pod is likely the safest and most enjoyable way to view these episodes. Order in some takeout, cook your favorite meal, do a dessert or special drinks and make a night out of it.”

If you miss a band performance or three, don’t fret. All Fisherman’s Village Broadcast episodes — and their accompanying band interviews — will be available by Sunday to stream at www.thefishermansvillage.com. Or search for the Everett Music Initiative on YouTube and watch the festival from there.

“We’re going to have these episodes up on our website and our YouTube forever,” Crowther said.

Sara Bruestle: 425-339-3046; sbruestle@heraldnet.com; @sarabruestle.

If you stream

This year’s Fisherman’s Village Music Festival will be broadcast 7 to 10:30 p.m. Oct. 28-31 at www.thefishermansvillage.com. Watch 12 local acts perform a show at the Historic Everett Theatre, followed by interviews with the bands at the Schack Art Center in Everett. Help pay for this year’s festival at www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-everett-music-initiative. Or donate to the bands via their PayPal tip jars.

Fisherman’s Village Music Festival

Here is the 2020 Fisherman’s Village Music Festival schedule. Each Fisherman’s Village Broadcast episode — there are four from Oct. 28-31 — airs from 7 to 10:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY

Lady A

Fretland

The Moondoggies

THURSDAY

Kassi Valazza

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio

Stephanie Anne Johnson & the Hidogs

FRIDAY

LAKE

Naked Giants

Alex Cade

SATURDAY

The Grizzled Mighty

The Black Tones

Claudine Magbag