AS-IT-HAPPENED COVERAGE: West Seattle Summer Fest day 1, report 2

(QUICK LINKS: Music here, food here, vendors here, kids zone here, bus reroutes here)

5:54 PM: As previewed a bit earlier, that’s Caitlin Sherman on the West Seattle Summer Fest stage, introduced by Troy Nelson. The first day/night of festival music is now at full speed – the main stage is on California north of Oregon, near the Post Office. Here’s the rest of tonight’s lineup:

6 pm – Smoker Dad
7 pm – Acapulco Lips
8 pm – Spirit Award
9 pm – Naked Giants

Also, 7 pm outside Elliott Bay Brewery, Urban Achievers

Doing some main-stage emceeing is a local musician who played Summer Fest himself a few years back – Brent Amaker:

One more reminder – no music Sunday, just today and Saturday; on Sunday, the space north of Oregon will be occupied by the Farmers’ Market (10 am-2 pm). More festival coverage to come!

6:10 PM: Here at the Info Booth, we’ve had a lot of questions today about the food providers. The visiting vendors are all on SW Alaska between California and 42nd – including classic fair/festival food:

There’s also Kenyan, Filipino, Mexican, Thai, and Nepalese food – and several options for ice cream. Show some love to the year-round food/drink providers too – for example, A La Mode Pies is on the same block as the food vendors, with amazing sweet treats; if you’re looking for a full meal, as noted earlier, many Junction establishments have added sidewalk cafés for the weekend – lots of people-watching going on. It’s clouded over in the past hour but still pleasant. The festival’s on until 8 tonight (music till 10) – more coverage ahead!

6:58 PM: As has been the case every year, the festival gets ever-busier on Friday evenings – that’s a big reason why the vendor hours changed to 1-8 pm. We’ve had fun talking to myriad people all day – among them, West Seattle Grand Parade co-coordinator Michelle Edwards – just one week until Junction (and beyond) streets will close again, for the parade’s return! It starts at 11 am Saturday, July 23rd, heading south on California SW from The Admiral District to The Junction. Meantime, it’s time for a special musical event – the Elliott Bay Brewery stage, with 7 pm bands both nights – tonight, Urban Achievers. (Video added:)

10:20 PM: We left a bit earlier because of breaking news. Summer Fest resumes at 10 am Saturday (music at noon).

Erithan July 15, 2022 (9:56 pm)

Question, is there anywhere we can provide feedback about the event? The music levels seem excessively loud this year, my apartment has been literally shaking for hours, and I can hear everything still with earplugs in and my windows closed. I wish they’d had it so the music stopped earlier like in previous years at least.And for anyone who’s going to be like “it’s only two days”, I’d like to see you be comfortable in an apartment nearby when it’s shaking so much you can see your water MOVING. It’s very stressful being unable to escape. There’s really no reason for the bands to have the amps cranked up so high it causes these issues, it can be heard nice and loud without being extreme like it is this year.

WSB July 15, 2022 (10:19 pm)

This isn’t later than in years past; the nightly schedule actually ends earlier – for example, in 2019, they had 10 pm bands; this year 9 pm is the last band of the night. That said, for feedback, contact the West Seattle Junction Association, which presents the festival. Contact info is on their website at https://wsjunction.org

Keenan July 16, 2022 (9:33 am)

@Erithan you are exaggerating. I live in a townhouse very close to the main music stage, across an empty from California. I might be one of the closest dwellings to the stage in fact and I’ve lived here for several years. The music last night was no louder than any other year. Yes I could hear it with my windows closed but at the same time they were playing I was on my couch watching a movie on my laptop which I could hear perfectly clear with just the laptop speakers.I have to say it’s pretty entitled and off-putting for you to complain about like this. The Summer Festival is a great event for West Seattle that will only inconvenience your ears for three nights a year. After two years of Covid it’s wonderful to be hearing live music in our neighborhood again, and you should consider yourself lucky to live so close to the lively beating heart of your community.

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