Wild Coyote Country and Americana Festival new to Everett

It’s never been a question of if Everett Music Initiative could host another festival, but when.

The Wild Coyote Country and Americana Music Festival kicks off tonight at Narrative Coffee on Wetmore Avenue, then moves to Wetmore Theater Plaza on Friday and Saturday.

The three-day festival features 14 local, regional and national acts, including Anacortes’ Karl Blau, Snohomish’s Fretland, Everett’s Tellers, Seattle’s The Dusty 45s and Bellingham’s Whiskey Fever. Visiting from Nashville are Ross Cooper and Molly Parden.

“We felt like we were in a position to start something new and felt good about doing that this year,” said Ryan Crowther, founder of EMI.

This will be Everett Music Initiative’s first country and Americana festival. Americana is mesh of “root music,” including folk, country, blues, rock, gospel.

“This idea has been underway for several years,” Crowther said. “We’ve done a few similar, smaller shows in this vein, but this is certainly our first time going for something larger in this musical world.”

Crowther said Wild Coyote will celebrate Everett’s downtown scene and the Americana culture and lifestyle.

Don’t be surprised if you see goats mingling in the beer garden or play a game bingo involving chickens, chicken feed and their poop. The goats are from New Moon Farm Goat Rescue and Sanctuary in Arlington.

“It’s an opportunity to mingle with a downhome feel,” Crowther said.

Crowther said he hopes Wild Coyote Country and Americana Festival will be an annual companion to the Fisherman’s Village Music Festival, a multigenre festival held in the spring.

“Fisherman’s takes everything out of us, so we want to keep that as our big event of the year,” Crowther said. “We know there’s room to have another festival like it.

“(But) we’re excited and surprised about the excitement for this (festival). I’m just not sure we’ll know (if it will be annual) until we see the response.”

Hillary Grace Fretland, frontwoman and namesake for the band Fretland, said a festival with Americana and country in Snohomish County has been a long time coming. Though Everett is mostly urban, the nearby cities of Monroe and Snohomish are more rural. There still are long stretches of farmland.

“I’m excited about the music culture in Everett,” said Fretland, from Monroe. “I think it’s great they’re opening their window and seeing what other people have to offer.”

The band Fretland, formed two years ago, won the Own The Night Productions’ Battle of the Bands competition in August. They’ll play their country, blues and rock-infused originals at 6 p.m. Friday at Wetmore Theater Plaza.

Karl Blau, a Fisherman’s Village Music Festival favorite, will play some of country legend Waylon Jennings’ biggest hits at 9 p.m. Saturday at Wetmore Theater Plaza.

Out-of-town acts include Nashville’s Ross Cooper and Molly Parden.

Cooper, a former professional bareback rider, made Rolling Stones’ monthly top 10 country artists list in February for his story-driven alt-country and skills on the pedal steel guitar.

Parden is an acoustic pop-folk artist who originally found a niche as a harmony singer in Music City’s Americana scene, but later paved her own way with melancholic melodies.

“These artists represent the same level of creative force that other indie artists represent, but they do it in a way that’s more accessible to people who aren’t as adventurous in their musical taste,” Crowther said.

Evan Thompson: 360-544-2999, ethompson@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @evanthompson_1.

If you go

What: Wild Coyote Americana and Country Music Festival

Where: Wetmore Avenue, Everett

When: Oct. 4-6

Passes: Weekend is $45, Thursday is $10, Friday is $20, Saturday is $30.

More: www.thewildcoyote.com

Wild Coyote Americana and Country Music Festival

Here is the festival schedule for Thursday, Friday and Saturday:

Thursday

Narrative Coffee, 2927 Wetmore Ave.

8 p.m.: Brad Heyne (of Tellers)