Volume is, of course, a celebration of the local music scene. While a lot of the lineup pulls from the area, we also invited acts from around the country to experience the weekend. Seattle bands like Down North and Kithkin played the festival last year, as did Portland's Puff Puff Beer and Boy Meets Drum Machine (who has since relocated to Santa Cruz, California), but we also wanted to introduce the regional/national acts who haven't graced a Volume stage yet. Don't be afraid to make them feel welcome.
PORTLAND
The Rose City makes more of a showing at the festival than last year, providing acts that all fall under some sort of rock label — none of which play Friday.
SATURDAY: There is No Mountain is the epitome of "experimental," using various instruments (including a foot tambourine) to sound acoustic one second and synthed-out a moment later. Hear the duo at the Irv's Outdoor Stage at 6:35 pm. Genders is two guys and two gals making their casual rock sound; you can hear at nYne at 8:45 pm. Nasalrod is heavy, no question about that, but that weight is offered up with a pound of fun. Their music runs from almost operatic to growling; you can listen to them at the Pinnacle Northwest at 9:20 pm. With the Shivas, you get a cool, buzzy vibe steeped in earthy rock. Around for nearly a decade, they're another one of those bands affiliated with K Records, and are at the Big Dipper at 9:45 pm. Sons of Huns play that kind of stoner punk rock that makes you want to get into the mosh pit. Catch their set at Red Room Lounge at 11 pm.
SEATTLE
A new batch of Seattle bands wheel over the Cascades to share their music with you.
FRIDAY: With some bands, like the Dip, more is just better. Watch them on stage at nYne at 9:45 pm, as they seemingly cram as many musicians onstage as possible to create their signature funky, soulful sound. Shaprece wants you to dance slowly and sensually to her R&B-tinged songs. This cool cat comes to us straight after playing Sasquatch! and we're happy to have her at Red Room Lounge at 11:15 pm.
SATURDAY: Three-piece Chung Antique plays interwoven math rock that takes a bit to build in texture and layers, but once their songs reach their peak, you'll be glad you stuck with it. See them at the Big Dipper at 7:05 pm. VATS recently released tapes of their wild live shows on — get this — VHS, proving that the electronic rock three-piece goes against the grain in almost every detail. The punk band plays Mootsy's at 8 pm. The Kings are a real-live ska band (with horns and everything) that busts out some of the genre's classics while mixing in plenty of their own upbeat material. Check out their set at nYne at 9:45 pm. Fox and the Law makes honest-to-goodness, balls-out rock 'n' roll that you won't be able to get enough of. Hear this four-piece play Red Room Lounge, also at 9:45 pm. Dude York's rock sounds happy, like you need to get outside in the sunshine immediately. The band (who played Sasquatch! last year) brings their summer-drenched tunes to Mootsy's at 11 pm.
THE OUTLIERS
Folks from other, smaller Northwest cities.
FRIDAY: Holiday Friends sound like you're on holiday with a chorus of male crooners. Out of Astoria, Oregon, these dudes make dreamy pop that makes you want to find a beach immediately. They play nYne at 7:45 pm. On the other hand, sometimes it just feels so good to get assaulted by music. From Lewiston, Idaho, Diazepam plays the sort of sludgy metal that rolls over you like a boulder. You'll want them to do it over and over at their 10 pm show at Mootsy's.
SATURDAY: Vancouver, B.C.-based fuzz-rockers Weed sound a whole lot like a band that calls themselves Weed. Catch their hazy stoner rock set at the Pinnacle Northwest at 10:40 pm. With Everett, Washington's Fauna Shade, you'll get your head rocked in, but their sound is more colorfully upbeat in all the right ways. They play the Red Room Lounge at 6:35 pm.
FAR AWAY
This year, we have acts coming from Brooklyn, San Francisco, Denver and Maine.
FRIDAY: Out of that magical music land called Brooklyn comes Howardian, the side project from Japanther's Ian Vanek. Here he creates garage rock that's lo-fi and high in energy at the same time; you can hear it at the Big Dipper at 8:30 pm. Also out of Brooklyn is Degreaser, a psychopathic rock 'n' roll act that fans of hometown act Blackwater Prophet will certainly enjoy. They're at the Big Dipper at 8:15 pm. San Francisco's Future Twin describes their music as punkadelic, moongaze and old-time soul, but that doesn't fully describe their beautiful rock-filled melodies. Catch them at the Big Dipper at 9:30 pm.
SATURDAY: Coming the farthest away is Kristen Marlo, a siren-voiced indie-pop singer-songwriter from Kittery, Maine. She plays nYne at 6:45 pm. San Francisco's Couches have been slackin' since the '80s; that's what they admit in the title of their 2014 EP, anyway. The indie rock trio hits the Pinnacle Northwest at 8 pm. Out of Denver comes Rubedo (Latin for "redness"), a group that claims their band is the alchemy of rock 'n' roll. Their anthemic pop-rock tunes can be heard at the Bartlett at 9:15 pm. ♦
