Something new will hit the music stages this year at Vashon’s Strawberry Festival. It will play a crucial role but remain behind the scenes, invisible to the audience.

Thanks to the vision and grit of Vashon Event co-owners Pete Welch and Allison Shirk and Vashon Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jim Marsh, festival musicians will be paid for the first time since the recession hit in 2008, when sponsorship of musicians dried up.

Shirk, Welch and Marsh worked together to find a way to honor — with a small stipend — the mostly local but sometimes off-island musicians, who are one of the main features of the festival.

“We didn’t know what it would involve at first, how many musicians we’d have to pay, and we couldn’t promise anything in advance,” Welch said, “but we were set on paying the musicians.”

While the stipends will be small, Shirk, a musician and grant writer, said giving them feels great. She cited a movement around the world and on Vashon where musicians are standing up for their art and not playing for free. Earlier this year, Welch and Shirk made a vow to pay the musicians they hire through Vashon Events.

“We as musicians have to ask are the caterers at events being paid?” Shirk said. “We need to value ourselves and our music as being just as important as catering.”

Marsh agreed, saying payment is important because entertainment is not just a hobby but a livelihood for musicians.

“The chamber looks at how people make a living on the island,” Marsh said. “We’ve done fairs and paid musicians. They are part of the draw and help build our events. We hope others will follow suit and start paying musicians.”

While Welch and Shirk curate the bands that play at the festival, Marsh sought out the sponsors to provide the funds to pay the performers. With over 200 musicians and with each band scheduled for different amounts of stage time, sorting out the accounting behind the scenes will be no small task. Marsh said there will be a lot of checks to cut, but that is part of his job, and he hopes it will appear seamless.

Another festival first will be a one-stop booth run by volunteers selling CDs by the bands. All music sales will go back to the musicians.

Shirk added that she also sees payment as an investment in island youth.

“We will have a youth stage, and this is valuable for them,” she said. “If we can help our youth find music to help them through what’s going on in their lives, we’ve done our job.”

In Marsh’s view, there’s a connection between commerce and the arts. He cites several island businesses that help support the musicians by sponsoring stages. And he understands there are many working islanders who are also musicians.

“As the chamber, we look at how many musicians are business people like Bill Brown, Barry Cooper at Ace and Allison, who is a grant writer. Our population is full of musicians and artists.”

While Marsh sees the festival as a great showcase for island musicians, he also sees room to invite off-island acts to play, hoping to put Vashon on the musical map. For Welch, it is all about supporting the local musicians, many of whom are his friends.

“I want to take care of them,” he said. “We look at locals first, anyone who applies gets a spot, then we reach out to bands from the city.”

Shirk, Welch and Marsh all expressed pride and satisfaction with helping to financially support the music community.

“It takes courage to get up on stage,” Shirk said. “We’ve always wanted to pay musicians year after year, and now we can.”