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Photo Story: Look Up Fest – Mars

September 7th, 2019: Substation

Dan Ray September 23, 2019
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Photo Story: Look Up Fest – Mars September 23, 2019

Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).

Darksoft performs on the Phobos stage at Look Up Fest: Mars. // Photo by Will Abzu

September 7th, all the Martians on Earth came together at Substation for a plunge into the Martian music scene. Organized by Look Up Records, the twice-yearly Look Up Fest dove headfirst into its Mars theme. With a plethora of shoegaze, indie-pop bands playing over two stages, the aura of the festival was deeply otherworldly, as music-loving Martians travelled back and forth between the stages through barrels of light and alien-sound installations.

Upon entering Mars, festival-goers had the choice of whether to dip right into the Deimos stage; head to the merch room to learn about paranormal activity and play the Tog Tog, a new Martian instrument played by holding a metal rod with one hand and touching buttons with the other; take a polaroid and have a sit in the terraformed Mars hut; or keep it moving to the Phobos stage, where Earth lights were dim but alien light was bright. Wherever us Martians went, though, there was always something new to discover (like raffle tickets hidden in moon rocks). Take a look through our photo story for the best moments.

Look Up Fest: Mars is the latest installment in Look Up Records's twice-yearly fests. // Photos by Will Abzu
Baja Boy performs on the Deimos stage.
Baja Boy frontman Christian Taylor.
The musicians of Baja Boy all carry an air of playful freedom in their playing.
Croix Stone, with his signature sunglasses, melts along with the beat.
Bassist Brook Austin Jones.
Evocatively blissful, Baja Boy had the crowd moving even with an early set.
Aidan Spiro on the drums.
The real stars of the evening were the puppy and kitten on Taylor's Humane Society shirt.
At the end of the set, the rest of the Baja boys gather while Taylor performs a solo acoustic track.
Sealife performs on the Phobos stage.
Sealife is the project of Brennan Moring. Moring is also part of Peyote Ugly, a psych-rock group that performed earlier at the festival.
Mars-themed activities — such as Tog Tog, a new Martian instrument played by holding a metal rod with one hand and tapping buttons with the other, and the Martian hut pictured here, where you could listen to a Mars soundscape — were sprinkled throughout the venue.
Sea Salt performs on the Deimos stage.
Frontman Kurt Roy nails the theme, sporting NASA gear from head to toe.
Sea Salt kept the vibe fun and light throughout their set. At one point between songs, Roy hit the audience with some Mars-themed trivia.
James Goss on the bass.
Guitarist Daniel Greenblatt.
Created by Ryan Brum, this UFO was a centerpiece of the festival.
Bill Darksoft, the mind behind Look Up Records and the festival, introduces a sneak peak at his project Darksoft's new video, "Wannacry," set to release the following day at noon.
Graduation performs on the Phobos stage.
The project of Adam Piddington, Graduation creates dream-pop landscapes inspired by artists from Tame Impala to The Beach Boys.
Piddington flails on his guitar.
Alex Coleman on the drums.
In the light of the stage, Graduation's set felt otherworldly.
Bird & Shooter performs on the Deimos stage.
Next to the Mars hut, festival-goers took polaroids with alien props and tagged them with their Instagram handles. Then, Look Up Records posted the photos on social for the earthlings to see.
Darksoft performs on the Phobos stage.
The project of Bill Darksoft, Darksoft makes shoegazey alt-rock.
With a laid-back vibe, Darksoft draws the audience in.
Bassist Jesse Cohen.
Always on theme, Darksoft morphs into the alien landscape, complete with matrix-style glasses.
Darksoft sings to the Martians. // Photos by Will Abzu

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Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).