Music reporters Emma Weaver and Haley Parsons are covering the second annual Upstream Music Festival this weekend. Check out their suggestions for artists to see on Saturday!
Tacocat (5:00 PM) @ The Sound Lot: Amazon Music Main Stage & Zola Jesus (6:00 PM) @ the KEXP Stage
EMMA: I am so incredibly psyched to see Zola Jesus at 6:00 PM. She will be performing at the KEXP stage and instantly put us in a hypnotic and eerie, yet beautiful trance. Zola Jesus is so deep and personal, and her voice will literally send shivers down your body. And right before, at 5:00 PM, Tacocat will perform on the Amazon Music Main Stage. Tacocat is a Seattle-based band, that makes cute, glittery, casual rock. I saw Tacocat perform earlier in the year, and the entire crowd is bobbing up and down, while singing along to their incredibly relatable and clever songs.
Strawberry Mountain @ AXIS 2 Stage – 7:00 PM
HALEY: KXSU’s homebooys! Man, don’t sleep on Strawberry Mountain, they’re really making a name for themselves around Seattle. I feel like they play shows every weekend, so if you haven’t caught them yet, now is your chance! Come enjoy their groovy synth-pop driven tunes so you can say you saw them before they were big!
Maiah Wynn & Her Sleepless Knights @ AXIS 2 Stage – 8:00 PM
HALEY: Sweet, sweet Maiah Wynne and her backing band are different from many of the other garage rock bands on this list, but still just as good. I promise that Maiah, her beautiful voice, and butterfly wings will be the sweetest thing you’ll experience all weekend.
Great Grandpa @ AXIS 1 Stage – 8:15 PM
EMMA: Seattle Stage at Axis 1 will bring out Great Grandpa at 8:15 pm! Great Grandpa is a Seattle-based rock/pop band. They perform everything- from dream pop to heavy rock to atmospheric ambience. They take the sought after Seattle grunge and add their own flair, consisting of soft vocals, distorted guitar, and explosive background melodies. Their album, Plastic Cough, was recently released, in 2017 and features great songs such as “NO” or “Faithful”. My personal favorite off their album is “Fade”! It’s upbeat and fast, but the way Great Grandpa uses their vocals gives a deep, dark sound as well.
Special Explosions @ AXIS 2 Stage – 10:00 PM
HALEY: Special Explosion’s music is nearly perfect. Their sound reflects every good characteristic of the Seattle music scene, they have the best riffs and slightly sad lyrics full of longing, all tied together by a hint of punk.
EMMA: Special Explosion is a lot like Great Grandpa, in that they uses their gentle voice to resonant deeply throughout each song, contributing to their soft bedroom pop/garage rock music. I recommend listening to songs “Cats”, “Your Bed”, or “Fire”, all of their 2017 album “To Infinity”.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but rather a few friendly suggestions on how you should spend your time at Upstream this weekend! Tickets to the festival are still available here.
EMMA WEAVER | KXSU Music Reporter
HALEY PARSONS | Another weekend, another festival | KXSU Music Reporter