This year’s Strawberry Festival weekend boasts music galore, with chances to dance the days and nights away as local favorites and acts from the mainland storm stages all over Vashon.
The Festival’s Main Stage and Beverage Garden, presented by the Vashon Island Chamber of Commerce, returns to Ober Park this year, with plenty of room to spread out and dance on the lawn.
Continuing a long tradition, Portage Fill — a big band formed 50 years ago on Vashon — will play a street dance in front of Sporty’s, in the center of town, from 6-8 p.m. Saturday, July 20.
A youth stage, dubbed TeamJam, will boast musical acts in Vashon Theatre’s Backlot from 5-8 on Saturday.
Independent music stages will also pop up all over town — at Snapdragon Bakery & & Cafe, Sugar Shack, Vashon Farmers Market in the Village Green, Mind + Set Apothecary, Dig Deep Gardens, and the Eagles Club.
Here’s your guide to all of the sounds of Strawberry Festival.
Dig Deep Gardens
Want to start the party earlier?
Don’t miss what’s being billed as a “Festival Prefunk” at Dig Deep Gardens on Thursday, July 18. Croaker, a local acoustic band that plays music “with a new-grass attitude on old-time instruments,” will play from 6-8 p.m., followed by the legendary local band Subconscious Population at 8 p.m.
Led by island icon Ron Hook, Subconscious Population plays its very own brand of psychedelic groove, funk, and reggae music that has rocked local music fans for decades.
Main Stage and Street Dance
Vashon Island Chamber of Commerce’s roster of performances in Ober Park has something for everyone throughout Strawberry Festival.
Friday, July 19
Loose Change — the longtime local opener for Strawberry Festival — will play rhythm and blues, swing and jukebox favorites, from 3-4:30 p.m.
The Pazific, an eight-piece Seattle-based band that plays “tropical movement music with a Latin psychedelic twist” will perform from 5-6:30 p.m.
Wild Rumours, a Fleetwood Mac cover band from Seattle that has drawn dancing crowds at recent Strawberry Festivals, will channel the sexy 1970s from 7-8:30 p.m.
Jon Langford, a Chicago-based alternative country punk legend who won legions of fans with his previous bands including The Mekons, will bring his latest enterprise, The Bright Shiners, to the Strawberry Festival stage from 9-11 p.m.
Saturday, July 20
Grammy-winning duo, 123 Andrés, will play a show designed to get families and kids up and dancing, and singing along in Spanish and English from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
After opening ceremonies at 12:45 p.m. with Mukai Farm & Gardens, Taiko drummers will command the stage from 1-2 p.m., followed by a presentation by Tacoma’s Kabuki Academy from 2:10-2:35 p.m.
Sinner and the Saints, a high-octane local band filled with legendary members of Vashon’s music community, will play rock and rhythm and blues favorites from 2:45 to 4:30 p.m.
Stevie and the Blue Flames, a Seattle blues band with a driving rhythm section, will perform from 5-6:30 p.m.
The Portage Fill — the beloved big band formed more than 50 years ago on Vashon — will play a street dance in front of Sporty’s, in the center of town, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Expect big band, swing, pop, and jazz standards played with precision and sung to perfection by the band’s crooners, Lou Mangione and Maggie Laird.
The Djeliyah Band, an acclaimed Seattle act led by Djely Aboubacar “Boka” Kouyaté, from Guinea, will play a fusion of highly danceable traditional Griot music and modern music from 7-8:30 p.m.
Bowie/Rex & His Boogie Army, a supergroup of legendary players from the Pacific Northwest fronted by local music producer Martin Feveyear, will channel the sounds and spirits of David Bowie, Marc Bolan & T-Rex, Roxy Music, The Cars, The Kinks, Talking Heads, and Joy Division from 9-11 p.m.
Sunday, July 21
Reptile Man, who presents a hands-on show featuring live reptiles, will take the stage from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Glitterfox, a rising indie rock band from Portland, Oregon that is fronted by married couple Solange Igoa and Andrea Walker, will perform irresistible queer rock anthems, Americana, grunge, and dance music from 12:30-2 p.m.
One More Mile, a hard-driving blues band fronted by local guitar legend Jason Lollar and “Lonesome” Mike Nichols, will close down the festival’s main stage from 2:30-4:30 p.m.
Farmers Market Stage
On Saturday, July 19, stop by Vashon Farmers Market at the Village Green, to hear John Quinn play a set at 12 p.m, followed by a performance by At Least a Dollar Coin at 2:30 p.m.
On Sunday, July 20, Stephen Bean will play at 10 a.m., followed by John Schuh, at 12:30 p.m.
Sugar Shack
Kinski and two other bands, Patrons of Husbandry and Tramp Harbor, will take the stage at 7 p.m. Friday, July 19, on Sugar Shack’s backyard stage.
Kinski is a four-piece rock band from Seattle with a sound that explores visceral guitar rock to sonic and heady avant-psych rock. Patrons of Husbandry are a new island band whose members include Jeff Roeser, Ethan Cudaback, Scott Boggan, and Rusty Willoughby. Tramp Harbor is an island band with Gaven Dehnert, Joziah Rosenbaum and Jake Bowden.
Vashon Eagles
The fabled island band, The Pharmacy, formed in 2002 by Vashon High School students Scott Yoder and Brendham Bowers, will reunite for an epic show at 7 p.m. Friday, July 19, at the Vashon Eagles. Also taking the stage will be three other Vashon-bred bands: Gloomgazer, fish narc, and Skyer Ford & The Legions of Peace. Tickets are $20; buy them at rxfish.bpt.me. The show is all ages until 9 p.m.
TeenJam
A festival first will be aimed at island middle school and high schoolers — TeenJam, an event sponsored by Vashon Chamber of Commerce, Vashon Youth & Family Services; Orbit Youth Space; King County Library Program; Vashon Food Bank; UMO School; VARSA and Vashon Events; with financial support from Vashon Island Sotheby’s International Realty.
TeenJam will take place from 5-9 p.m. Saturday, July 20, in Vashon Theatre’s Backlot, with games, snacks, music, and more. Musical offerings include teen bands, aerial performances by UMO students, and a rising Seattle band, Pilot Seat, to close out the night.
Pilot Seat is a group of three friends who started playing together in 2021 with a shared passion for fusing indie/alt-pop and psychedelic rock. They have performed at venues such as MoPOP, Sound Off, and Sharing the Stage, a performance mentorship project, where kids are the opening act for a professional headlining band.
TeenJam is a sober, substance-free event.
Snapdragon Bakery & Café
As always, Snapdragon will present a slate of performances throughout the festival — and is calling this year’s lineup “The Strawberry Ball.”
The weekend-long party will start at 8 p.m. Friday, July 19, with GGNZLA Karaoke.
On Saturday, BoneDeepBellydance + Friends will perform from 7-8:30 p.m., followed by a dance party led by DJ and producer Brit Hansen, of KEXP-FM, that lasts until midnight.
At 1 p.m. on Sunday, Michelle Lasaleine will perform “The Ghost of Buena Vista Past,” a story told in nine songs.
Mind+Set Apothecary
This new Vashon business, located in the annex building of 17917 Vashon Highway SW, will have a music lineup throughout the festival in its shady back courtyard. On Friday, July 19, Walter & Donny will play at 5 p.m. and The Duration will take the stage at 8 p.m.
On Saturday, July 20, Croaker will play at 1 p.m., followed by the Collette Jones Band at 3 p.m. EOS will play at 5 p.m. and the Pat Reardon Jam Band will play at 7 p.m. The venue offers cold drinks for purchase. The venue is family-friendly and wheelchair and scooter-accessible.
Jon Langford, a Chicago-based alternative country punk legend, will bring his latest enterprise, The Bright Shiners, to the Strawberry Festival Main Stage at 9 p.m. Friday. (Courtesy photo.)
Glitterfox, a rising band from Portland, Oregon, will bring queer rock anthems, Americana, grunge and dance music to the Festival’s Main Stage at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. (Courtesy photo.)
Glitterfox, a rising band from Portland, Oregon, will bring queer rock anthems, Americana, grunge and dance music to the Festival’s Main Stage at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. (Courtesy photo.)
Wild Rumours, a Fleetwood Mac tribute band, will play the Festival Main Stage at 7 p.m. on Friday. (Pete Welch photo.)
Grammy-winning duo, 123 Andrés, will play a family-friendly show at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, on the Festival Main Stage. (Courtesy photo.)
Grammy-winning duo, 123 Andrés, will play a family-friendly show at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, on the Festival Main Stage. (Courtesy photo.)
Grammy-winning duo, 123 Andrés, will play a family-friendly show at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday, on the Festival Main Stage. (Courtesy photo.)
Subconscious Population, an iconic local band, will get listeners in the mood for Strawberry Festival at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 18, at Dig Deep Gardens. (Pete Welch photo.)
Vashon’s own Portage Fill will play a street dance in front of Sporty’s, in the center of town, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Saturday — a beloved Strawberry Festival tradition. (Tom Hughes photo.)
