Music I LIke On The 2019 Doe Bay Lineup

Last weekend I was at TimberFest, but I’m writing about that experience elsewhere. In the meantime, let me talk about Doe Bay Fest, which is coming up in a couple weeks. Doe Bay Fest is a very special music festival. Just like Eistnaflug, it feels like a family reunion. I try to go as often as I can. Last year I missed it for Pickathon, and while I don’t regret that experience one bit, I also missed the Doe Bay experience. This year I got Doe Bay tickets for Christmas, and the 21-band lineup includes a lot of music I like.

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Annie Ford

Doe Bay always involves a lot of music discovery, and the first time I heard of Annie Ford was when I read this year’s lineup announcement. I notice the Bandcamp page is listed as Annie Ford Band, while Doe Bay says Annie Ford – that might mean a solo set. But I hope not because I really love the swinging full band sound on At Night.

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Beverly Crusher

Okay, their last two releases, including Scared, were only singles and they haven’t released a full album since 2016. But they’re totally new to me, and even if it’s a set of mostly older music, this riffy rock’n’roll is perfect for a summer afternoon on Orcas Island.

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The Burned

I never heard of the Kurt Baumann solo project The Burned before they released the Doe Bay lineup. But they’ve been on near-constant rotation. He’s got a voice that could give early The National a run for their money; tells stories like Nick Cave; plays guitar like nobody’s business. Even my country-averse husband can’t get enough of The Burned. This is our top musical prospect for Doe Bay this year.

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Treepeople

When I was younger, I side-eyed all the middle aged baby boomers forking out big bucks to see the reunion tours of the bands that were cool in their youth. But now that I’m in my forties, I’m looking forward to seeing Treepeople at Doe Bay. This Built to Spill precursor wasn’t much on my radar back in the day, but it turns out the nineties still sound good.

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Versing

I always have a hard time describing bands like Versing. It’s like the scene in Spinal Tap where the band try to describe themselves and basically come up with “generic rock band.” But even if I can’t find interesting words about good old rock and roll, listening to it is never boring. And just like human voices, no two rock bands are every actually the same. I look forward to hearing this one live.