3:02 PM: This is it – last call to get down to West Seattle Summer Fest, which wraps up at 5 pm. Music ends around 4 – last scheduled act is Massy Ferguson, on the West Side Stage at 3 pm. And Better As Brass (above), founded by West Seattle resident Kevin Freitas, is busking at California/Alaska right now. Kevin says this is their second year at Summer Fest, and that he started it because “I just wanted a brass band in West Seattle!” …Also an unofficial part of the festival, the canvassers – WSB’s Hayden Yu Andersen talked to Erin Phillips, volunteering for Washington Bus – an organization that encourages young people to get politically active- drumming up support for Seattle’s Democracy Voucher program.

She’s from Northeast Seattle but told Hayden she’s having a great time learning about West Seattle during her first Summer Fest. (Speaking of politics, mayoral candidate Joe Mallahan remains the only candidate we’ve seen here, but incumbent mayor Bruce Harrell is due at the West Seattle Indivisible meeting in the Center for Active Living at 3:30 pm – we’re planning to be there.)

Meantime, we found a booth with multiple artists exhibiting, from Rain City Clay in Arbor Heights:

That’s one of the artists, Jody Wally.

4:23 PM: A sign that the festival is wrapping… deflation has begun:

The Summer Fest crew’s goal is for breakdown to be done by 9 pm; streets are expected to remain closed until 10.

6:26 PM: The mayor’s appearance lasted more than twice as long as planned; story to come. Your editor got back to the festival in its waning moments. Huge thanks to everyone who hung out with us, contributed content, and/or stopped by to say hi over the three days, and therefore made it possible to get through the first Summer Fest without WSB co-founder Patrick Sand (who usually spent many days ahead of time preparing, from collecting and collating festival info to amassing and packing tabling supplies like tape and tacks – we managed to find all that and brought it along).

9:20 PM: One loose end from this afternoon – we did get some video of Massy Ferguson, last scheduled stage band of the festival, but technical trouble prevented us from a timely upload:

(Photo by Dave Gershgorn for WSB)

10:27 AM: The West Side IS the best side, as artist Cody Huff‘s painting declares, and West Seattle Summer Fest is a reminder! The third and final day has begun, and we’re again on site to cover it. Here in the Info Booth, the biggest question so far this morning is “where’s the Farmers’ Market?” – answer: North of Oregon, right now, until 2 pm. We’re heading that way right now!

11:12 AM: Just back from the market. What you won’t find this week is many of the fresh-cooked food providers – but produce abounds, berries and greens and more. Among the produce sellers, the Alvarez farm, with both purple and white spring onion bunchesam!

The market’s on until 2; meantime, here in the festival zone, music just started, West Side Stage only today, with this lineup:

11:00 Matt Benham & David Weidig
12:00 WSMA + Sweetiest Sweeties
1:00 Sonny Parker
2:00 Baby Crow Flight School
3:00 Massy Ferguson

And the nonprofits with us in the Info Booth right now are the Seattle Emergency Hubs (learn what to do and where to go in case of catastrophe) and,making an encore, RainWise. Even if you’ve been here once, Sunday is a stellar day to wander one more time.

12:28 PM: The day is flying by. Remember that there’s lots of room to sit in the shade – like by the only music stage operating today, the West Side Stage:

That’s the crowd cheering for West Side Music Academy students on the stage (which is sponsored by the WSMA) this hour. We recorded one of them – great job on piano!

Headed to Summer Fest are the 16 riders who joined in the “Little STP” bike ride in West Seattle this morning – Al sent the photo from the Portland end of the ride (44th SW/SW Portland in Gatewood):

If you have trouble finding bike parking, there’s a corral toward the northwest end side.

12:56 PM: Speaking of transportation, Sound Transit is here, on the south half (south of Alaska) of the booth zone, if you have questions about light rail. And here in the info booth, the 1 pm changeover has brought in the Puget Sound Regional Council – ready to chat about big-picture issues – and SPD civilian staff, with crime prevention the focus (ask about the safety class that’s coming up this week)…. The Trombone King, featured here last night, has started playing again. WSB’s Hayden Yu Andersen talked to him briefly:

Hayden reports, “Roy Lancaster, aka Trombone King 504, is a performer from New Orleans. He wished everyone a happy Summer Fest, and said ‘please deposit any complaints on the back of a 100 dollar bill’.”

1:45 PM: Last few hours mean one more chance to connect with vendors. Hayden talked to the local handmade-earring creators at Kellan and Kiera:

Last call for the Farmers’ Market, too, bursting with berries and cherries today as well as our personal favorite, salad greenery – the market closes at 2 as usual; the rest of Summer Fest is carrying on until 5.

(Photos by Dave Gershgorn for WSB)

6:32 PM: The biggest night of West Seattle Summer Fest is happening now. It’s dinner time from the food court (alongside and behind KeyBank, with reusable serviceware) to the year-round restaurants (many of which have special-for-the-festival sidewalk cafés). If you’re wandering the booth rows on California, we have another nonprofit on the east side of the Info Booth until 8 pm, RainWise. And speaking of water, bring your own container (or buy the Summer Fest edition) to use the free filtered water available this year:

West Side Stage music is wrapping up this hour, but the Main Stage (California between Oregon and Genesee) continues with this lineup for the rest of the night:

7:00 The Alain Johannes Band
8:00 New Constellations
9:00 Monsterwatch
10:00 Reignwolf

7:42 PM: We’re back from checking out Alain Johannes and band, introduced by Matt Vaughan of Easy Street Records:

Johannes started off playing music mostly from his time with the band Eleven:

Though the Main Stage is the only stage that’s active right now, there’s more music – the Trombone King is playing near Walk-All-Ways.

Meantime, AnUngulate was on the Main Stage before Alain Johannes:

More photos to add in a bit – first we’re going to take another spin around the festival grounds – looks like many booths are still open though it’s post-8 pm – somebody asked about this earlier – and that includes food, like the $14 elephant ear:

ADDED: And as we always note, many year-round businesses offer festival-food options too. Every year, Husky Deli proprietor Jack Miller is grilling outside:

And whether or not the music brings you to Summer Fest, the music shopping might:

Not only the longtime Junction businesses, but also the newer ones like Rush Hour jump into the Summer Fest spirit too:

One more day to get in on the deals.

10:50 AM: The Junction is jumping! The second, and biggest, day of West Seattle Summer Fest is in its first hour and we’re back with more as-it-happens coverage. First thing we noticed: The ticket booth for the giant inflatables drew a crowd as the day began, with the line at one point stretching across the street:

There’s free fun in the Kids Zone too, but the inflatables are irresistible:

(Friday WSB photo by Dave Gershgorn)

Music starts at 11 am on both stages today – the Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor) showcase on the main stage, and Country Dave Harmonson on the West Side Stage (by the Wells Fargo drive-thru off the west side of SW Alaska). We’re off to catch at least one if not both!

11:45 AM: The Mode show was quite an extravaganza.

Mode’s founder/leader Erin Rubin took the mic to talk a bit about her business, which has a booth here this weekend, and then introduced 9-year-old keyboardist/singer Ashton, whose set included a Kooks cover.

Erin also explained that two members of THEM – the West Seattle-rooted band that performed last night -had been coaching the summer rock-band camp that would also perform.

Hudson and Thompson talked about what fun they’d been having at camp, forming a band they said they called McSalmon, “an acronym of all their names.”

And it’s almost noon, so the Comerford School of Irish Dance is performing in the intersection south of us – c’mon over if you’re in The Junction!

12:20 PM: Here’s a bit of the dancers:

We’re heading out again shortly to see what else is up. Stop by the Info Booth if you’re at the festival – nonprofits tabling on the east side of the booth today include Ridge 2 River until early afternoon, and then Seal Sitters and The Whale Trail will be here. … And where the dancers have just wrapped up, The Bubbleman will be doing his bubbly thing (last seen at the Morgan Junction Community Festival last month) starting around 1 pm!

12:50 PM: But first… you have until 2 pm to detour into ArtsWest (west side of California just south of California) and visit the “instrument petting zoo” presented by the West Seattle Community Orchestras:

Musicians are performing just outside the ArtsWest doors, too.

1 PM: Seal Sitters and The Whale Trail have arrived so you can come chat with them until 4-ish. We also have some help on the north end of the Info Booth -two volunteers, Mike and Scott from the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle, which has lent a hand in the booth for many years, and WSB’s ad coordinator Annette.

Up on the main stage, Princess Pulpit is playing now, with afternoon highlights including the Dusty 45s at 4 pm. And the Bubbleman is starting to get bubbly in Walk-All-Ways.

1:58 PM: Busy and breezy day! Lots of innovative sun protection too – we’ve seen several parasols, including an elegant black lace one. … Meantime, shoutout to some of the WSB sponsors who are here:

Canna (right on the south side of California/Alaska)
STS Construction Services (on the west side of the block between Oregon and Alaska)
Fitness Together (on the east side of the same block, short ways up from the Info Booth)
Rotary Club of West Seattle (featured yesterday – further up the east side of this block)
Mode Music Studios (as mentioned previously and as showcased on the main stage earlier)
CAPERS (year-round Junction shop, west side of block between Oregon and Alaska)

Since we’re on the subject … remember that the main stage wlll be broken down after tonight’s last show and the Farmers’ Market will be on that block, Oregon to Genesee, on Sunday, same hours as usual, 10 am-2 pm (while the festival continues 10 am-5 pm tomorrow, south of Oregon, and the West Side Stage will have a Sunday music slate).

2:33 PM: Here’s a full song from Princess Pulpit‘s main-stage set last hour:

3:29 PM: The Everlovers are on the West Side Stage right now, and people are dancing:

(added) Here’s our video of the band:

Steps away, Shug’s Mini is visiting from South Admiral with an ice-cream cart:

(Photo by Dixon Hamby)

And The Missing Piece has a beverage popup in front of their future new location (former Pharmaca, next to the back of KeyBank) –

Proprietor Eric tells us they’re hoping to be open by September 1st, and they will be open even later than their current 35th/Roxbury location – until 11 pm. Meantime, the festival popup is selling lemonade with lavender and “campfire” cold brew – which he tells us has a toasted marshmallow!

4:41 PM: We’re back from the main-stage zone, where the Dusty 45s – led by West Seattle’s own Billy Joe Huels – are rocking a nice-sized crowd:

Evening is arriving and we’re going to start a separate story after at least one non-festival items. Thanks again to everyone who’s stopped by to say hi!

We wrapped up our first day/night at West Seattle Summer Fest with the second-to-last concert of the night, THEM, who reminded the crowd that they’re “West Seattle born and raised.” We elbowed our way to within a couple rows of the foot of the stage, where devoted fans sang along even when the band members themselves weren’t singing.

The band’s moving to L.A. soon, according to an interview with WSB, so this was a so-long-for-now show too.

THEM’s previous Summer Fest gig was three years ago, in the middle of the afternoon.

Saturday’s main-stage music starts at 11 am with a showcase of talent from the place where THEM got their start, West Seattle’s own Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor).

(Photos by Dave Gershgorn for WSB)

You can shop, nosh, sip – and play, at West Seattle Summer Fest. We’re going into the first night of the festival and mainstage music is ramping up too, with Madman Across the Water onstage right now, and these three acts up next:

8:00 – Couch Riffs presents Funkadelic Tribute
9:00 – THEM
10:00 – Jenn Champion

(added) Here’s some of the Madman set (Elton John music):

The West Side Stage has shut down for the night; it’s by the Wells Fargo drive-thru off the west end of SW Alaska. Vendor booths are open until about 8, on California north and south of SW Alaska:

One of the booths features authors – stop by the Author Event Network booth to learn about writers and their work:

No matter what your age or size, you’re likely to find something of interest:

And year-round businesses have sales and deals too, so stroll the sidewalk while you’re here! Updates to come…

(FESTIVAL QUICK LINKS: MUSIC LINEUPS … VENDOR LIST … FOOD/DRINK LIST … BUS REROUTES)

1:35 PM: At the top of the hour, that dynamic duo officially opened West Seattle Summer Fest 2025. They’re Stacie Woods, events director, and Chris Mackay, executive director, both with the West Seattle Junction Association, the nonprofit merchants alliance that presents the festival.

We’re in the Info Booth again this year, and if you’ve been in years past, note that like some other things, it’s in a different location – further north this year, parallel with Easy Street Records‘ big sale tent. Also different this year: The food’s on the west side of Alaska, including seating in the lot behind KeyBank, and the Kids Zone is on the east side of Alaska. The main music stage is in the same place as every year, on California north of Oregon, next to the beverage garden, and music starts at 3 pm, both there and on the smaller West Side Stage. Meantime, we’re on the north side of the Info Booth, with community organizations (SPD Crime Prevention and the Duwamish Solidarity Group) on the east side, and Junction Association volunteers selling festival merch on the south side. The festival’s on until 8 tonight, with music running until about 11 pm!

2:50 PM: Above, that’s a mobile romance bookstore, one of the unique vendors here – they’re close to the north end of the booth zone. Not far beyond, we bumped into our first political-candidate sighting of the festival:

That’s Joe Mallahan, who’s running for mayor – again. (Mike McGinn beat him in 2009.) You’ll find him and seven other candidates on the August 5th primary ballot. (We have a policy of photographing local candidates seen at Summer Fest, so if you’re running for something, stop by the Info Booth.) …

Really important note about the food zone – if you just walk into the section of Alaska west of California, it might look kind of sparse. Don’t stop there! In the parking lot behind KeyBank, LOTS of food tents, and places to sit and eat and drink, first year ever.

Lots of seating by the West Side Stage, which is next to the Wells Fargo drive-thru.

Music has just begun on both stages – so we’re off for some video.

3:42 PM: And there it is, a bit of Mason Lowe, first band on the main stage. Coming up at 4 pm – Mr. Dinkles.

South of Oregon, on the east side of the booth row, you’ll find a couple local nonprofits – the West Seattle Food Bank is still selling its Summer Raffle tickets, and the Rotary Club of West Seattle, which would be happy to talk with you about their community work (upcoming: tree gleaning!):

More coverage to come!

4:48 PM: Rootbeer played this hour on the West Side Stage:

As is typical for Day 1, the crowd continues to grow, but it’s still not mega-crowded.

6:09 PM: Weep Wave took the main stage last hour:

Vendor booths are open until 8 pm but we’re getting to the time when dinner and music take centerstage, literally and figuratively! We’re going to wrap up this report and launch a new one with more scenes from Summer Fest Day 1. Coming up tonight, THEM is onstage at 9 pm, Jenn Champion at 10 pm.

By Hayden Yu Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

From the basement of Mode Music Studios to the top of the Space Needle, West Seattle-rooted band THEM has quickly marked itself as a standout in Seattle’s music scene. The more the band’s popularity grows, though, the more its core members reaffirm that no matter what, they’ll always be a group of friends first and foremost.

At 9 pm tonight, THEM will be performing on the West Seattle Summer Fest main stage. This will be their third performance at Summer Fest, and for the group, a hometown show. All four members of THEM met at West Seattle High School in 2017, “so getting to play five minutes from our stomping grounds is very very special,” said THEM member Hudson.

“It was a bit of a surprise to my family when I asked for a guitar for Christmas,” Hudson told us. “Since then, I’ve tried to learn everything I can get my hands on.” Sticking with the band’s theme of never losing touch with their roots, band members Thompson, Hudson, Ellie, and Lydia are all still working with Mode in some capacity, whether hosting a summer program or working at the front desk.

Since the band’s founding eight years ago, they’ve gone from, as Ellie put it, “Hundreds of shows where maybe our parents were there,” to the top of the Space Needle – broadcast on TV – during the 2024 New Year’s celebration, and the blinding lights of the Paramount Theater, where they all at one point worked as ushers. But according to Ellie, their enthusiasm was always the same, whether the crowd was one or one thousand people.

The spotlight has gotten less scary as time goes on, according to Thompson. “Before every show, we’re backstage talking through our set, and then we have a little chant and do some breathing exercises,” She said, “I think because we’ve played together so long, that stage fright isn’t present. It also helps so much that we’re all together and we’re all friends.”

They’ll be taking the energy back home tonight, in a show that’s more than just a return tour. Soon, the band will be moving to LA, which makes this a bittersweet sendoff. “Of every performance we’ve done,” Lydia said, “I think this is the one I’m the most excited for.” “It’s like a sendoff to our home,” said Thompson, “To get to play at Summer Fest again.

Tonight’s sendoff is just the beginning for a new chapter in THEM’s history. Outside of performing, Lydia enjoys photography and videography, and she’s been working with the rest of the band to produce more music videos, which you can find on their YouTube channel.

“We’ve all spent so much time here, so looking out and seeing all of our favorite people and places is going to be so special,” said Hudson, “The people of West Seattle are the reason we get to go everywhere else and play.” See them at 9 pm tonight on the Summer Fest main stage (California SW north of SW Oregon) – and for more news about where THEM is performing next, check out their Instagram page.