EVERETT — An indie rock music festival formerly based in Seattle will take place entirely in Everett starting Friday, its organizer said.
The Seagaze Music Festival, which focuses on shoegaze, post-punk and dream pop genres, is set for Friday and Saturday in downtown Everett. It has previously welcomed crowds in Seattle, though in the last couple of years, some performances were held in Everett. This year, its organizer, Jeff McCollough, said he wanted to bring the entire festival to his hometown.
“Being someone who lives in Everett, I really like a lot of the bands I see up here to begin with, and I have a lot of pride in Everett,” McCollough said in an interview Thursday.
Shoegaze is a form of rock music characterized by heavily distorted guitar playing underneath soft, low-key vocals. The genre, which emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s, got its name from the musicians that stare at guitar effects pedals while performing, The New York Times reported in 2017. Long seen as a form of underground music, it has seen a resurgence in recent years as Gen Z listeners have gravitated toward shoegaze and similar genres.
McCollough had a passion for the genre, which he said was underrepresented in local music festivals before he started Seagaze in 2016. The genre’s definition has broadened over time to include other types of music, said Michael Glenn.
Glenn is a member of an Everett rock band, Ponyboy, that’s set to perform at the festival. Their music takes inspiration from grunge and shoegaze genres, he said.
“I think Everett, for a long time, has been slept on as a scene that has a ton of local organic excitement happening in our music, and also has incredible resources and an audience for touring bands that might not otherwise think to stop here,” Glenn said. “It’s really exciting for us to be a part of watching that recognition begin to come around that Everett is a city and a scene worthy of hosting an event like this.”
Nineteen bands are set to perform over the two nights at venues on Hewitt Avenue: The Lucky Dime and The Horseshoe Cabaret. Three of the groups are based in Everett.
McCollough hopes the event can be a benefit for the downtown businesses located in the city’s core.
“One of the things that makes downtown Everett unforgettable is you’ve got all these little businesses that have their own little quirks,” he said. “Those quirks make them special, and they really help us have community up here.”
Two-day passes for adults over 21 are $90.13. A one-day pass is $55.62. For youth under 21, two-day passes are $49 and one-day passes are $30. Tickets: seagazefestival.com.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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