NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, August 21.
PORT TOWNSEND — Fans of outdoor rock music performances can choose this weekend between two events that offer sounds, camping and socializing in a natural setting.
Port Townsend’s seventh annual Boomfest will begin at 4 p.m. today and at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Dragon’s Nest, 1620 Discovery Road.
The sixth annual Moonfest will begin at 6 tonight and at noon Saturday, carrying on into Sunday morning with tai chi at 10 a.m.
It will be at 324 Munn Road, which is at the end of Snow Creek Road off U.S. Highway 101 about 5 miles north of Quilcene.
This is the first year tickets will be sold to Boomfest.
Boomfest “has grown up some since last year. We are more organized and are looking to break even” on the show that costs about $8,000 to $10,000 to present, said organizer Jeff Pang.
If he can sell 500 tickets, he will meet that goal, which is not impossible because previous event attendance has ranged from 300 to more than 1,000.
In past years, concerts were free, but the sponsors charged for parking, Pang said.
Moonfest provides a more isolated and less excitable experience that is actually toned down from past years, according to promoter Jim Munn.
Both outdoor festivals offer two full days of music, camping and other activities for a flat fee: $20 for Boomfest and $25 for Moonfest.
Neither Munn nor Pang are worried about competition between the events, saying they appeal to different audiences.
Besides, the first priority is to have a good time under the stars.
“Bands love playing in the open air. It’s so much more gratifying than in a small club,” Moonfest’s Munn said.
“They feel they are on the top of the world.”
Boomfest’s Pang said: “We are carrying on a tradition that began in the 1960s but has been refined, combining music with the state of the world.
“There are more hippies today than ever before, with the idea that we use community and music to cooperate with each other.”
Port Townsend, Pang said, provides the perfect environment for this “because a lot of people here have their own unique way of living.”
The two organizers point out differences and similarities between the two festivals.
Boomfest has a wider variety of music — including bluegrass, reggae and electronica along with rock ‘n’ roll — and bands from different areas than Moonfest, while the Quilcene event is more strictly oriented to rock ‘n’ roll and features several local bands.
Both festivals are offered in natural settings, Boomfest on a 10-acre plot just south of Port Townsend and Moonfest on 24 acres adjacent to Lake Leland.
Both properties are privately owned — Moonfest by Munn and Boomfest by Damon Barlow and Kath Sieffert in a place that Pang calls “a commune setting.”
Moonfest has at various times been a benefit concert, raising $2,500 for the American Cancer Society in its first year while losing money in subsequent years.
This year is not a benefit but is meant to call attention to the Hendrix Music Academy of Renton, a program that offers music instruction to at-risk youths.
Relatives of the late rock great Jimi Hendrix will have a presence at Moonfest.
His niece, Tina Hendrix, will appear on behalf of the academy, and his brother, Leon Hendrix, also is expected.
The past two years, Heart guitarist Roger Fisher was an integral part of Moonfest, but he is taking the year off to promote a solo record, Munn said.
Fisher will return in 2016.
In the meantime, this year’s festival has a lower profile and a lower price. Previous tickets ranged from a $35 daily pass to $170 for VIP seats.
Boomfest’s lineup today includes Seattle bands Goldbar and Blackberry Bushes Stringband and High Ceiling from Shelton.
Saturday will feature the Dirty Beat Duo of Port Townsend, High Council of Seattle, Snug Harbor of Bellingham, Mystic Arrows of Seattle and the Renegade String Band of Portland, Ore.
Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets, http://tinyurl.com/PDN-boomfest.
For more information and schedules, go to http://tinyurl.com/PDN-boomfest2.
Featured Moonfest artists featured today will include Tina Hendrix, the Randy Linder Band and the Herbivores.
Saturday’s lineup includes Live It Out Loud, Billy Stoops, Billy Carter, Ian Moore and Geoffrey Castle.
Tie-dye and kayak rentals also will be available.
For more information, ticket purchase and a full schedule, go to www.moonfest.us.
________
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
