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Tim’s Tavern taking submissions for live-stream music festival

On October 17, the venue will host a live-streamed music festival fundraiser

Dan Ray September 22, 20201 Comment
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Tim’s Tavern taking submissions for live-stream music festival September 22, 20201 Comment

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).

During the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Andrew Miller (@mantisart77) painted a mural on Tim’s Tavern’s boarded up windows. // Photo by Matthew O’Toole

Amid the shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, music venues have been forced to come up with creative ways of bringing in revenue in the hopes of reopening come Phase 4. Some venues have turned to avenues like food and drink service, while others have stuck to more traditionally musical endeavors, like live-streams. Now, Greenwood’s Tim’s Tavern is gearing up to throw its own live-streamed music festival.

On October 17, the 50-person venue will host an all-day online event in which they’ll stream sets from local and national bands. The music performances will be pre-recorded for safety reasons, but the show will have live components from host and Tim’s Tavern Co-Owner Mason Reed. During the show, there will be a link for donations, as well as the option to buy Tim’s merchandise, including a special edition t-shirt for the event.

“This event’s going to be about saving Tim’s, but, at the same time, it’s much more than that,” said Reed. “It’s about every small town dive bar that has bands play but can’t do that right now.”

Reed and his business partner Matthew O’Toole are currently taking submissions for the festival through the contact form on their website. They’re hoping for 30-40 performances from both musicians and anyone who has a story to share about their time at Tim’s.

“Everybody’s got a story about Tim’s. People have met their partners there. People have played their first show there or got over their stage fright at our open mic. So we’re asking anybody who has something to share to send in a submission,” said Reed. “There’s going to be stories and music and fun and laughter, and hopefully we can raise some money and weather this storm.”

Both Reed and O’Toole said they’re remaining positive but that another three or four months of closure could spell trouble. With the money from an SBA loan and a grant from the city gone to the recurring costs of rent and insurance, the venue is aiming for a nationwide audience for the festival in hopes of bringing in enough donations to avoid bankruptcy.

“If your brother is friends with Duff McKagan or someone like that, reach out to me,” said O’Toole. “Even if it’s just a 10-second sound bite from Kim Thayil from Soundgarden saying, ‘Hey, I support local live music. I support Tim’s. We’re in this together.’ A little sound bite from bigger names goes a long way.”

The festival will stream live on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch. 

Follow Tim’s Tavern on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to see their updates. 

To submit a performance for the festival, send an inquiry to Matthew O’Toole on the Tim’s Tavern contact page.

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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).

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