It may be the music festival with the most unusual combination of musicians in the Northwest: the seventh annual Flowmotion Summer Meltdown in Darrington.
In one place this weekend, you can find old-timer Baby Gramps’ original music concoction that might touch on Popeye, Mississippi John Hurt and the Tuvan Throat Singers. Or hang out with Symphony De-La Steel, a Caribbean steel drum band. Katie Gray might deliver folky chord progressions or an East Indian chant.
Das Vibenbass has performed jazz and its experimental counterpart from Seattle’s Triple Door to Hamburg’s Birdland. Roots rocker Clinton Fearon will bring a positive take on his roots reggae; his Gladiators were at the front of the Jamaican music invasion 30-odd years ago.
And nothing comes near to matching the Yard Dogs Road Show, an entanglement of rock, cabaret and vaudeville. Think sword swallowers and hobo poetry and sonic voodoo. If anything comes close, it’s the return of the March Fourth Marching Band, which redefines eclectic with a 12-piece horn section and 10-piece drum-percussion unit (but no guitars or keyboards), not to mention the stilt walkers, fire eaters and burlesque dancers.
An Independent Music Awards winner, Garaj Mahal, creates devoted fans after every performance of progressive funky jazz with world music lurking underneath. GM’s album “Blueberry Cafe” won the Album-Jam category and was picked by judges including Peter Gabriel, Ozzy Osbourne, Suzanne Vega and Bill Frisell.
One of the musicians, Fareed Haque, is a world-class guitar and sitar player as well as associate professor at Northern Illinois University’s jazz and classical guitar studies.
Other bands that make this an interesting mix:
Sky Cries Mary: This band united the energy of underground music with the mystique of avant garde theater to create a rock-psychedelic sound for the Seattle band. SCM has been on the Conan O’Brien and John Stewart shows.
Vicci Martinez: If you like your guitar-playing incendiary, check out this acoustic-based singer-songwriter who’s building a reputation in the Northwest that can’t help but go national.
Danny Godinez: The masterful guitarist will be all over his guitar, literally, with speedy picking, harmonics and slapping to create his music then layering it with vocals.
Albino: Winner of the 2005 San Francisco Music Award for Best World Music, the 12-member band’s Afrobeat is all groove matched only by the band’s energy level.
Arisawkadoria: If you want a taste of Seattle’s underground scene, this electric groove trio will catch your attention with tru-jazz, jungle beats, rock and dub.
Also on the bill are That 1 Guy, Dream Science Circus, Themasses, McTuff, KJ Sawka, Mike Dillon’s Go Go Jungle, The Panda Conspiracy, Intervision, Diem, Acorn Project, Spanish for 100, Taphabit, Spoonshine, Jam on White Bread, Spare Rib &Bluegrass Sauce, High Ceiling, Megatron and Yogoman Burning Band.
And, of course, the rocking-improv party band Flowmotion. Summer Meltdown started as a Flowmotion party for its fans.
Summer Meltdown tickets are $100 at the gate for the weekend, $60 for Saturday and Sunday, $30 for Sunday only. Children age 8 and younger are free, but all children 17 and under must be accompanied by an adult.
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