One weekend every summer, under the peaks of the cascades, the quiet town of Darrington, Washington comes alive with music. Summer Meltdown provides a comfy, cozy, family friendly pleasing venue for music lovers of all ages. If you're the type of fest for that likes to push their way to the front of the stage or mosh to some mind-rattling dubstep, this probably isn't your type of festival. With that being said however the headliner was Bassnectar.
It takes about an hour and a half to drove from Seattle to Darrington. I of course, came from Portland which was close to a 5 hour drive. There are many places to camp, some quieter than others and some farther of a walk than others. If you want to put up your hammock in the shade or want a short walk to the river or the main stage I would suggest getting there early!
Summer Meltdown organized a lineup that was fun, funky, local and bass heavy. My experience included Petty or Not, Josh Clauson, Baby Cakes, Trevor Hall, Chanti Darling, Bassnectar, Chong the Nomad, Psymbionic and Manatee Commune.
Here are my experiences with some of these amazing artists:
Baby Cakes, a local band from Bellingham, Washington, was a very fun and funky performance. It was the first show that had a crowd of people dancing and they came on around 7 and music started at 1:45. Trevor Hall was very chill and vibe heavy music, Summer Meltdown is marketed as an edm festival at times but this was a very alternative chill performance that fit perfectly in this atmosphere of trees and mountains. Bassnectar was the last main headliner and he definitely brought the bass, I nearly disintegrated when I was in the photo pit. The crowd was dancing and head banging their hearts out, and the production was out of this world.
After the main "show" there was some final edm acts at the late night tent and that's when it became almost like an underground rave. Those who could continue deep into the AM came here to rave away. The final set Manatee Commune ended after 3am which is much later than some much bigger festivals that take place in Washington. It was definitely a festival to remember and I can't wait for next year!
Find out more about Summer Meltdown by following their socials here - Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. You can also visit their website here.
Words and photos by Tariq Abdellatif.