Lots of musicians to play at Valley festivals this summer

Music & event promoter Morgan Henley discusses what musicians to check out

By Conor Wilson • June 6, 2023 4:00 pm
Heels to the Hardwood on the Hippie Stage at last year’s BrodieNation Music Festival. Courtesy of Last Lite Photography.
Heels to the Hardwood on the Hippie Stage at last year’s BrodieNation Music Festival. Courtesy of Last Lite Photography.

For Morgan Henley, there’s no greater way to unite a community than getting them dancing to live music. And this summer, he said, you’ll have a hard time sitting still.

Henley, a Carnation-based music promoter, is responsible for procuring music for just about every summer festival happening in the Snoqualmie Valley this year.

From county and bluegrass to rock and funk, he’s booked over 50 bands and musicians to perform at the six community festivals being held up and down the Valley over the next three months.

Henley hopes the music not only helps residents have a good time, but brings them together to celebrate the history of the Valley.

Growing up around art, music and hippies on the banks of the Tolt River, Henley said he remembers a time when the upper and lower Valley felt more united as one community. It was a time when Mount Si and Cedarcrest High Schools still played in the same football conference, he said.

“Because of this upbringing, I learned the importance of gathering as a community. The importance of bringing together all walks of life that call our PNW hamlet home,” he said.

Many of the Valley’s summer festivals have been held for decades, Henley pointed out, and as the Valley has grow — with many thousands of new residents over the last decade — it’s important to preserve those traditions and welcoming their new neighbors, he said.

“From North Bend to Duvall, we have one river that flows through us all and one mountain that looks over us all,” he said. “Through my formative years in the Valley and my involvement in the PNW music scene, I’ve discovered that coming together for live music can be the key catalyst to unifying a community and creating a positive space.”

Henley recently sat down with the Valley Record to preview some of the musicians coming to play this summer and talk about who to look out for. Full lineups for all festivals can also be found below:

Bands to look out for:

  • Down North: A funky, soul rock band, the Seattle-based rockers have had music on MTV’s Real World and previously played at Bumbershoot and SXSW. They’re a tight four-piece, Henley said, and lead singer Anthony Briscoe sounds like if “Michael Jackson and James Brown made a human being.”
  • Jr Cadillac: One of the most iconic Pacific Northwest bands, Jr. Cadillac is celebrating their 53rd year ‘rockin’ the Northwest.” The band’s first LP “Jr. Cadillac Is Back” was recorded in Pioneer Square in 1971. They’re playing The Festival @ Mount Si.
  • Austin Jenckes: A Cedarcrest High School-alum and former North Bend resident, Jenckes will bring his blues-country sound to the second day of the Festival @ Mount Si. Jenckes just released his new single, “River Jordan.”
  • Marshall Law Band: a Snohomish County, funk-hop six-piece, Marshall Law Band gained prominence during the Black Lives Matter movement, while playing at the Capitol Hill Organized Protest in Seattle. The band’s latest album, “12th & Pine,” about the Seattle protests, was under consideration for a Pulitzer Prize.
  • The Amber Lanterns: “An iconic Valley, Bluegrass band” Henley says. The Amberlaunters are doing double-duty this summer, playing in both Carnation and North Bend. They will also perform a superset alongside the Latona Family Band at the Festival @ Mount Si.
  • Stephanie Ann Johnson: A Tacoma-native who plays Americana Soul, Gospel and County, Henley says Johnson “has a voice like no other,” and is “a name we’ll all know someday.”
  • Eden: A four-piece rock, blues and pop band from the Northwest. Frontwoman Savannah Woods was a top-20 finisher on NBC’s “The Voice.”
  • Nick Mardon: Born and raised in the upper Valley, Mardon is a blues, jazz and rock guitarist.

The full line-ups and schedules (all times are PM)

Fall City Day (June 10)

  • Latona Family Band, 4-5
  • Joel Astley Band, 5:30-6:30
  • Marmalade, 7-8

Carnation Block Party (June 17)

  • Elizabeth Hill & The Valley Folk, 12-12:45
  • Danile Ennciso, 12:50-1:10
  • Mariachi Mi Tierra, 1:15 – 2
  • Red Eagle, 2:10 – 2:50
  • The Amber Lanterns 3:10 – 4:10
  • Ignite, 4:15 – 4:30
  • Long & Strange, 4:40 – 5:40
  • Denny, 5:50 – 6:05
  • Torin Frost & the Patterns of Saturn, 6:10 – 7:10
  • The Fabulous Orchids, 7:45 – 9

Carnation Fourth of July

July 3

  • Massy Fergeuson (At Miller’s)

July 4

  • Andonimus, 12:30 – 1:45 (At Carnation Cafe)
  • Great American Trainwreck, 2 – 4 (At Pete’s Club)
  • Country Dave & his Pickin’ Crew ft. Davin Stedman, 4:30 – 5:30
  • The Fabulous Orchids, 6 – 7
  • Eric Blu & the Soul Revue, 7:30 – 8:30
  • Down North, 9 – 10:10

North Bend Block Party (July 15)

  • Stephanie Ann Johnson, 12:30 – 1:15
  • Nathaniel Talbut, 1:30 – 2:15
  • Eden, 2:35 – 3:20
  • Leviticus, 3:45 – 4:30
  • The Together Collective, 4:55 – 5:40
  • Stacy Jones Band, 6:05 – 6:50
  • Hill Stomp, 7:15 – 8:15
  • Nick Mardon, 8:45 – 10

Festival at Mount Si

Aug. 12

  • Doria, Farko, Shook, 12 -1
  • The Amber Lanterns/Latona Family Band, 1:30 – 3
  • Snoqualmie Strings Youth Orchestra, 3:30 – 4
  • Jeff Crosby Band with Darci Carlson, 4:30 – 5:30
  • Heels to the Hardwood, 6 – 7:15
  • Jr. Cadillac, 7:45 – 9:15

Aug. 13

  • Aaron Crawford, 12:30 – 2
  • Austin Jenckes, 2:30 – 4

Railroad Days

Aug. 18, Historic Snoqualmie Music Crawl

  • Black Dog Art Cafe, 6 -7, Artist TBA
  • Snoqualmie Brewery, 7:10 – 8:10, Artist TBA
  • The Bindlestick, 8:20 – 9:20, Artist TBA
  • Smokey Joes, 9:30 – 10:30, The Amber Lanterns

Aug. 19

  • Highlander BagPipes, 12:15 – 1
  • The Latona Family Band, 1 – 1:45
  • Justin Howl, 2:10 – 2:55
  • Everson Pines, 3:15 – 4
  • Big Smooth, 4:20 – 5:20
  • Small Paul, 5:40 – 6:40
  • Great American Trainwreck, 7 – 8
  • The Marshall Law Band, 8:30 – 10

BrodieNation Music Festival (July 20 -23)

Held at Club Tolt, a property along the Tolt River, BrodieNation is a four-day, two-stage music festival held by Henley in honor of his father, known to the Valley as Hippie Henley Henn Haus.

The event will feature headliners: Smokey Brights, Acid Tongue, Marmalade, King Youngblood, Heels to the Hardwood, Staxx Brothers, & Kate Dinsmore and 40 other bands