The festival was open to all ages and promoted DIY music, which has the bands doing everything themselves or working with an independent collaborator.
Tyson Ballew, executive director at Make.Shift, said he wanted to support DVSAS at this year’s Tummy Fest because thinks what they do is important to the community.
This was the fourth Tummy Fest event that Tummy Rock Records has held, with past festivals being held in 2006, 2012 and 2013.
“I do it when I have the chance to do it,” Ballew said. “If there is enough interest then I’ll do it again, but at this point we are just trying to be flexible.”
Tummy Rock Records is a DIY record label that Ballew started near the end of his time in high school and beginning of college. The label was relaunched in 2005 with a compilation album Ballew made, which featured a lot of local music from Missoula, Montana, he said.
Make.Shift is a substance-free venue that connects with the community through art and music. It is perfect for Tummy Fest, which has, and always will be, open to all ages, Ballew said.
Ballew met every Tummy Fest performer through hearing their shows. He has been putting on concerts since 2002, he said.
“I wanted to bring music that was different, that I really enjoyed, that was made by people I really cared about,” Ballew said.
The first night’s lineup was really pop-punk heavy, and the second night’s lineup was more focused on pop and indie rock, Ballew said.
Bands that played the first night included: Dead Bars, The Exquisites, Bobby’s Oar, Dumb Luck, Dogbreth, Maneken Hand, SCUMEATING, No Guts, Porch Cat and Thee Unsound.
The second night included the bands: Cumulus, Whitney Ballen, Antonioni, Virgo Virgo, ratbath, Cairns, Mossmouth, Girl Teeth, Cat Positive and Oh, Rose.
Seattle band Antonioni, made up of Kyle Todaro, Sarah Pasillas, Sam Parkin and Austin Dean, played on the second night of the festival. The group has been together for a little over a year, Pasillas said.
Todaro said they really liked Make.Shift because it works to make art and music more community-based.
“It’s nice to see a venue like this,” Pasillas said. “We love DIY and supporting local artists here and in Seattle.”
Virgo Virgo is a Bellingham band that also played the second night. They have been together for about eight months and are made up of Western junior Julian Stefanzick, senior Owen Burr, junior Sean Dodd and senior Julian Tennyson.
“It was like a water park with the amount of perspiration,” Stefanzick said.
The rest of the band agreed.
“I think next time we’re going to put a layer of plastic down onstage and at the end of the set we can slip and slide around,” Burr said.
Since Tummy Fest is scheduled sporadically, you’ll just have to keep your ear to the ground for when Ballew will have a chance to put the festival on again.
