SOUTH SOUND PERFORMERS HEAD NORTH >>>

In the Spring of last year, a group of Bellingham youth hatched a plan to convert their homes into concert spaces for a gutsy, weekend-long endeavor: the area's first-ever youth-led underground music festival, catering to the community's bevy of hip Western Washington University undergrads and any out-of-towners willing to drive up to Whatcom County to scope it out. This reporter was among the willing, and I was inspired to go not only for the novelty factor (to say nothing of the natural beauty of northern Washington), but for the breadth of great Cascadian performers the first-time fest-throwers had corralled together-bands like Total Bros, Orca Team, Magic Johnson, Meth Teeth, and White Fang from Portland, LAKE, the Hive Dwellers, RVIVR, and Black Mold from Olympia, and loads of others from Vancouver, Issaquah, Seattle, and, of course, Bellingham.  The complete roster for the "Yellingham" music festival 2010 totaled thirty-three bands. A couple of complementary pancake breakfasts sealed the deal.

This year, the fest has apparently booked forty bands, a modest but not insignificant increase.

To read Jason Baxter's full article on the Yellingham music festival click here.