West Seattle’s biggest party of the year – Summer Fest – starts Friday, after a pre-funk in the closed Junction streets on Thursday night. Since our first preview of Summer Fest Eve, we’ve heard of two more reasons to be there:

‘BEYOND THE LENS: On Thursday night, legendary Seattle music photographer Lance Mercer will be at Easy Street Records, where a mini-doc about him will premiere, ESR’s Matt Vaughan tells us:

Ryan Cory is the director of the film, “Beyond The Lens.” Ryan is one of Seattle’s great videographers, editors, and storytellers. He’s directed pieces for Brandi Carlile, The Head and The Heart, Orville Peck, Pearl Jam, and of course Easy Street, Thunder Road Guitars, and the West Seattle Junction. When Ryan asked me what should he be his next film, his next project, muse, etc… without hesitation, I said, ”It’s time for Lance Mercer to shine, to be recognized for all he’s done for this city and the bands he helped elevate and the scene he helped create…and still creates …. and he lives in West Seattle. He’s elusive, let me get him for you, the story must be told.”

The premiere screening is expected to start around 7:30 pm. Matt adds, “This will be the debut of the Easy Street projector/screen.” And if you visit Easy Street, you’ll see more classic music photography – Charles Peterson‘s exhibit continues. Plus: “DJ Marc Muller from Emerald City Social Club will be the DJ thru the night.”

And right across Alaska from Easy Street:

AURORA AVE.: Along with previously announced music – West Seattle band Aurora Avenue will be playing on California Avenue during Summer Fest Eve. From band member Henry Parker:

We will be playing off and on from 5:30-6:50 and 7:20-7:45 and (Art Walk) is 5-8. We have a large set list of our own originals and crowd-pleaser covers. We’ll also be selling our own merchandise at the event. We’ll be playing directly across the street from Easy Street Records outside Key Bank, and the Junction main drag on California Ave. will be shut down to traffic to provide lots of dancing and watching space :)

California north of Oregon will close sometime Thursday morning, and then the rest of the festival zone – California between Oregon and Edmunds, and Alaska between 42nd and 44th – closes around 4 pm Thursday afternoon; the closure continues until Summer Fest breakdown and cleanup ends late Sunday/early Monday.