What are you doing at the end of July?
The weekend of July 27?
I am hosting Dylanfest, a weekend-long music party and campout, at one of the world’s most beautiful places: Orcas Island, in Washington.
Not to blare my own horn, but the line up is fucking insane. So. Hoooonnnnk.
Mount Eerie, Orcas local, is playing. Do I really need to introduce Phil Everlum? Godfather.
Merce Lemon is coming from Pittsburgh to do a set, and her new stuff has blown me away. Listen to this. When I first heard this song I was like, oh…I’ve been waiting for this song to exist.
Bloomsday’s new album is so lovely, and I have this hunch it is meant to be heard in this particular setting. Like, we’ll all be under the trees breathing in the sea mist and hear Iris’s songs, and it will feel like it was supposed to be this way all along. Fresh air meets fresh air.
Dougie Poole is playing solo–I love his solo sets. He’s the best at country voice, and the best at urban malaise.
Nicole Lawrence is playing—she’s Los Angeles’s most sought after guitar and pedal steel player, and she just wrapped her debut solo album and it will blow you away. It’s not out yet, so I can’t link, but she is in Jenny Lewis’s band and loves Eric Clapton more than any other female person I have ever met.
And, of course, my hometown homies Dude York, Seattle’s most delightful rock band, will be doing their annual gig, just for me, because they love me so much!
Can you even believe it?
The show will happen all day Saturday, July 27, going into the evening at the stunning backyard at Houlme, a restaurant on Orcas Island. It’ll be gorgeous because it’s July and about as far north as you can get in America; sunset is at 9pm!
There is camping available at Alder Vulture, and that will be so fun.
But that’s not all!
Come up on Friday – we’re planning some kind of welcome party or kick off hang. I’m pretty sure it will be karaoke but I’m not making any promises yet.
On Saturday morning, this incredible bakery pops up at Houlme called Seabird; so you could stop in for a morning pastry, then walk to the beach, take a dip in the Sound, futz around town, and come back for Dylanfest.
The show on Saturday—the weekend’s only ticketed event!—is happening at the Backyard at Houlme, where chef Jay Blackington will be running a special fest-friendly menu and pouring very good natural wine and stuff. An after party is in the works and will be absolutely fucking stupid.
Sunday, I’m going to go swimming at Cascade Lake if anyone wants to join. We might BBQ at Alder Vulture or something. Just come hang out. That’s the plan!
I’m stoked. This feels like something that’s been brewing in my brain since I was a teenager, but I just finally found all the right people to do it with. These are all my ultimate passions swirled into one weekend–incredible food and drink made by people who give a shit, genius songwriters, the great outdoors, the Pacific Northwest in the summer, boarding a novelty boat, and sleeping on the ground next to my friends.
Tickets are sliding scale, $30-$60, and camping is even less than that.
You’ll need to make a ferry reservation, but don’t sweat it. There’s info posted here about how to navigate that. In case you’ve never been, you take a ferry (only cars require reservations—if you want to walk or bike on, you don’t need one!) from Anacortes, about 90 mins north of Seattle.
I hope you can come! And if you can’t, I hope you have FOMO but it’s not terminal and that you get well soon.
FOLLOW @DYLANFEST for updates and info.
it’s all happening,
