The past holiday weekend was loaded with events in the Wenatchee Valley. In addition to the traditional fireworks party held at Walla Walla Park near the rivers' confluence, there was live music out at Lincoln Rock State Park, but the weekend went a level up with a full-on live concert at Icicle Creek Center for the Arts (ICCA) in Leavenworth on Friday night.
The show featured a perennial ICCA favorite, The Paperboys, along with The Chumlilies as the concert opener in the outdoor space aptly dubbed "The Meadow." It's one of three performance venues at ICCA. The setting of The Meadow is not only acoustically well-outfitted, but the backdrop is one of the most soothing spots I've ever been in for a sunset/under-the-stars show. The show began at 7:00 as the sun began its slow goodnight kiss of Sleeping Lady Mountain in the background. Icicle Creek bubbled behind us and a pure Cascades breeze let scents of pine and freshly mowed grass lift through the air.
Local band The Chumlilies opened the show with an hour's worth of original music pulled from their two albums, Runaway Wild and Roots in Real Thick Mud, as well as debuting a few fresh tunes. The four-piece (guitar, banjo, bass, and fiddle), all-female string band known for their Americana, Country Roll, and Folkgrass, traded off vocals for the entire performance. The ladies turned out a tight and well-rehearsed set that prompted hoots, howls, and a standing ovation as they waved goodbye.
The Paperboys, hailing from Vancouver, Canada, were next and wound the crowd back up with their catchy blend of Celtic stomp, traditional Mexican folk, New Orleans brass, and bluegrass. The globe-trotting sextet, featuring founder Tom Landa, has performed a July 4th (or thereabouts) weekend show for ten years in a row in the grassy and comfortable Meadow. They opened with fan-favorite "Rain On Me" off their 2009 album Callithump, and the lawn chairs we brought with us immediately became unneeded. They belted out a nearly two-hour, non-stop set that had the majority of concertgoers right in front of the stage dancing. The energy of the crowd sent wave after wave of good vibes from edge to edge of the velvety lawn, not to mention a beach ball or two. After their last announced song, the crowd was unwilling to let them go, caring little for the Leavenworth sound ordinance deadline that was quickly approaching. Powering out two more short songs, the Canuck group ended the show with a cover of Paul Simon's "I Know What I Know" off the legendary Graceland album. The Paperboys said goodnight, took a few bows, and the crowd themselves decided they would break the sound ordinance.
Both bands moved to their respective merch tables after their sets and nearly sold out. I queued up The Chumlilies off their Bandcamp site on the way home, reflecting on how live music in an outdoor, grassy meadow was clearly better than—and, more than likely, cheaper than—therapy.
The Meadow is the largest concert and performance space at ICCA and can accommodate as many as 700 people. It's nestled in a green space that is known throughout the Evergreen State as a lush haven for naturalists, locals, and art-lovers. The Snowy Owl Theatre, a traditional indoor stage and seating venue, holds around 240, and The Canyon Wren, a dedicated small performance and event building, can hold around 100.
The next show in The Meadow at Icicle Creek Center for the Arts is another highly anticipated return. Last year, I was taken by surprise at the size of the crowd for the first-ever US performance of Argentine-born Facundo Salgado, who goes by the moniker "Rumbo Tumba." A one-man master of South American indigenous instruments, he manipulates both stringed and percussive vessels in a magic-like fashion using a digital looping box to create a sonic tapestry that transports you down the Amazon and through the mountains of his home country.
Opening the show is Martin Selasco's psychedelic cumbia band, "Terror/Cactus." Martin was born in South America but migrated with his father to the States. He now splits his time between Seattle, producing projects for other artists, and his home in Cashmere. Terror/Cactus just released a new album titled Calapso, and I've been playing "Transmission Clandestina" on the regular during The Morning Run show on KOHO 101.1. They performed with Rumbo Tumba last year in the Snowy Owl, and I'm beyond excited to see both play their sets under the stars.
They both appeared on my show last year for an exclusive performance and interview, which you can listen to below.
