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You'd be hard pressed to find a more wide-ranging roster of artists at any other Northwest music-related event than the one lined up for the 17th Annual Olympia Experimental Music Festival. This year, the fest welcomes over 20 artists, including the likes of Eurostache, Squim, Pavonine and Megabats, along with a handful of returning favorites (what OEMF booker Nathan Markiewicz calls "the festival's extended family"). Additionally, Eric Ostrowski (Noggin, WaMü) will be hosting a night of noise musicians accompanied by live projections, with user-submitted YouTube videos to be shown between acts (categories include "Most Weirdest," "Most Loudest" and "Most Tasteless").

This is Markiewicz's second year curating the Olympia Experimental Music Festival. L.A. Lungs, his band with wife Lori Peterson, first played the festival years ago and has since become a dependable participant. As a fan of intimate performance environs and outrageous musical diversity, Markiewicz is ideally suited to usher the festival into the new decade. It helps that he's experiencing a renewed appreciation for the region's sundry sounds.

"Between what goes on in Seattle and what goes on pretty much between Vancouver and Portland ... the Northwest is great for the arts in general," Markiewicz  muses.

To read the full column by Jason Baxter click here.

[Northern, 17th Annual Olympia Experimental Music Festival, with Megabats, L.A. Lungs, Dead Air Fresheners, Squim and more, 7 p.m. June 10 - 12, All Ages, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, northernolympia.org]