Review: Fisherman’s Village Music Festival Lineup Announcement Show with Sisters, Tango Alpha Tango and Tellers

Fisherman's Village Music Festival 1
Photo by Christine Mitchell

This year will mark the 4th annual Fisherman’s Village Music Festival (FVMF) in downtown Everett. Being presented by the Everett Music Initiative (EMI), the festival will run from Friday, March 31st to Sunday, April 2nd. This will be largest festival to date, hosting over 50 bands across 4 stages with more artists and venues expected to be added in the coming weeks. The purpose of tonight’s show was not only to start building momentum towards the event but also to formally announce the starting lineup. With an estimated 300 attendees, the recently expanded Scuttlebutt Brewery was almost at capacity. Not bad for a modernly-hip venue’s inaugural show, all but guaranteeing future events for a community proudly developing its own music identity.

Tellers performed first, crowding the small stage with its 5-member band led by singer/songwriter Sarah Feinberg and backlined by Brad Heyne on vocals and keyboard, Isaac Melum on bass, Tyler Chism on lead guitar and Ryan McQuen on drums. They got the crowd moving with a series of powerful songs delivered with plenty of emotion and a great beat. Balanced harmonies were mixed with thoughtful keyboard melodies. While dark and brooding at times, their music would be right at home in a modern film soundtrack with deep plot-lines. Their unique vocal mix and honest lyrics made new fans and brought back old ones.

Tellers - Photo by Christine Mitchell
Tellers – Photo by Christine Mitchell

From Portland, Oregon, Tango Alpha Tango (TAT) is 3-piece that easily produced the heaviest sound of the night. Leveraging a bluesy, slide-driven guitar with more than ample energy onstage, TAT immediately pulled the audience toward the stage. Singer/guitarist Nathan Trueb was consistently animated throughout the set, spending a fair amount of time on the ground manipulating pedals or playing his instrument at unusual angles. Mirabai Carter-Trueb delivered subtle yet impressive bass lines while nodding her head and slowly dancing in place. Joey Harmon provided a steady backbeat containing both function and creativity. Although not in this year’s FVMF lineup, Seattle rock fans should make a point of catching them in person during their next pass through. TAT is one of those bands who is hard to describe in a review but, as one fan in the crowd tonight put it, are “simply baddass”. You really have to see them in person to get it.

Tango Alpha Tango - Photo by Christine Mitchell
Tango Alpha Tango – Photo by Christine Mitchell

Last up was Sisters, a favorite of many past FVMFs. Andrew Vait (vocals/keyboard/sax/guitar/younameit) confided before tonight’s show that their performance two years ago at FVMF was only the Sisters’ second show EVER. Time flies, right? Although not in this year’s lineup, headlining tonight essentially keeps that string alive. Emily Westman (drums/vocals/drumpad/comedian) completes the “soul sibling” duo of Sisters and their performance was memorable. Performing roughly 45 minutes of their signature fun, poppy noise kept people smiling and dancing. Through a creative use of pedals, drum machine and looping, these two have found a way to generate as big and full a sound as anyone. Not that they needed any help, but midway through their set they invited local sonic phenom, Tilson XOXO to the stage for an enigmatic, crowd-bending (what felt like) freestyle, getting the audience into an even better groove for the rest of Sister’s set. (You can catch Tilson XOXO at this year’s FVMF as well btw.) This turned out to be a great pairing as both artists are highly versatile and truly genre-agnostic. Visit their websites to learn more, but refresh Tilson XOXO’s for unique visual and auditory experiences.

Sisters - Photo by Christine Mitchell
Sisters – Photo by Christine Mitchell

Before TAT took the stage, EMI founder Ryan Crowther announced the following 2017 lineup to many rounds of cheering and applause. For just $35, Pacific Northwest music fans will be able to see all of these bands and more across 4+ venues, including the Everett Performing Arts Center, The Anchor Pub, Tony V’s Garage and Black Lab Gallery. Follow EMI and FVMF for additional venue and artist announcements in the coming weeks. Tickets are available now online at http://bit.ly/2iKO2Lf.

Check out the full lineup HERE.

Check out more great photos by Christine Mitchell on Instagram HERE.

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