Seattle is home to a variety of annual music and art festivals, some of which were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but many of which continued virtually. This year, Freakout Festival — a grassroots, DIY experience put on by local record label Freakout Records — returned to Ballard for an in-person festival in 2021. This marks the ninth year of the fest, its eighth year in person, and the seventh year across venues in Ballard (the first year took place in Capitol Hill).
Since its inception in 2013, Freakout Festival has developed a focus on bringing together “hyperlocal artists, local businesses, and international acts,” said Freakout Digital Content Coordinator Serafima Healy.
A big part of the festival is bringing in bands from Latin America. This year’s lineup included bands like Carrion Kids, Petite Amie, Par Asito, and Myuné that Freakout organizers found through KEXP’s coverage of Mexico City’s Festival NRMAL. These connections led to new friendships and new bands: Mala Suerte is a supergroup made of members from Carrion Kids and Seattle’s The Grizzled Mighty and Acid Tongue. (Acid Tongue band leader and Freakout Records Co-Founder Guy Keltner also has Mexican roots: His mother is Mexican-American.)
As opposed to booking mainstream acts, Freakout Festival focuses on showcasing newer bands that have the potential to grow. Many of the groups at this year’s fest either released their first albums within the last year and a half or are preparing to put out their debut albums. But, according to Healy, that’s only a boon for the festival.
“Freakout is not the kind of festival you go to because you know every single one of the bands playing,” she said. “It’s the kind you go to discover new artists.”
In the spirit of the festival, we’re highlighting a few of our favorite local acts from the four-day event that you might not know yet. Read on for our recs:
Post-punk band Wild Powwers (who also made an appearance at The Crocodile’s soft opening on Nov. 30) played several songs off their latest album, What You Wanted. In April, Syd Gladu reviewed the album’s lead single, “Decades,” and said the track debuted a softer side for the typically harder band. But their live set, filled with skull-crushing riffs and rumbling drums, reminded fans they’re still heavy.
With their soft instrumentation, angst-driven lyrics, and a dreamy onstage presence, the up-and-coming indie pop-rock group THEM has continued to prove itself as a force to be reckoned with. The first single off their forthcoming debut album, “Bad 4 U,” is a romantic pop song with a message to young women that they are empowered to make their own decisions no matter how “good” or “bad” those decisions may be. See them (ha ha, get it?) playing the Nirvana – Live at the Paramount 30th Anniversary Screening alongside The Black Tones on Dec. 12.
Acid Tongue, led by Freakout Records Co-Founder Guy Keltner, played an electrifying set. Their style is a cross between the stage antics of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust era and neo-psychedelia. They released their sophomore album, Bullies, in March of 2020 to favorable reviews, and they just dropped a new album, Arboretum, on Dec. 3. Catch them playing it in New York and Los Angeles starting in 2022. And if you don’t have New Year’s Eve plans yet, consider seeing them at The Crocodile on Dec. 31.
Jango, a hip-hop artist out of Spokane, put on what was potentially our favorite act of the entire fest. He brought a hype-man DJ, strobe lights, and costume changes to the tiny stage at Conor Byrne Pub. Initially walking on stage in a ski mask, crown, and denim jacket, Jango stripped down to just his pants, and with each item he took off, both the amount of sweat and the energy on stage went up. As he flailed across the stage, people moshed. (Performing a few days after the Astroworld tragedy, he asked everyone in the audience to turn to their right and their left and tell their neighbors “I’m not going to hurt you.”)
Local festival darlings Smokey Brights (they’ve played seven out of eight in-person Freakouts), an indie-rock quartet fronted by Kim West and Ryan Devlin, put on two exhilarating sets filled with sweat, hip shaking, and hair flips: one on opening day (Thursday) at Hotel Albatross and one on closing day (Sunday) at the Tractor Tavern. Both rooms were filled with people bopping along to tracks from the 2020 album I Love You But Damn and new, unreleased tracks. If you like dancing, 70s-inspired fashion, and a little bit of an Americana twinge in your pop/rock, you’ll love Smokey Brights. (The Smokeys also made an appearance a few days later at the seventh annual The Last Waltz tribute show.) See them play The Showbox on NYE with Thunderpussy and Actionesse.
At Caffe Umbria, TeZATalks threw down an emotional electro-punk-rock set. Picture a Cancer with a Leo rising letting out all the pent-up aggression from the past year in a corner of a packed coffee shop.
And a few special shout outs:
Hotel Albatross for having what we thought to be the best sound of the entire festival — well-balanced, loud but not too loud, and consistent.
The bands that made the most of small spaces with large crowds — Spoon Benders falling backward onto the floor, The Black Tones’ frontwoman Eva Walker crowd surfing, and Tres Leches jumping on bar countertops and platforms. These artists got up close and personal with their audiences. Viva la live music.
Want even more from Freakout Festival? Check out our photo story below to find your next favorite act.
Dan Ray contributed to this story.
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