Flannel Fest brings back the sounds of the ’90s this weekend

MOSES LAKE — The organizers of Flannel Fest are turning up the heat this year. Literally.

“One of the things we noticed last year was that after about six o’clock it got pretty chilly,” said Grant County Fairgrounds Director Jim McKiernan. “So we invested in some big propane heaters. We’ll have heaters in the bar building and for the pit in front of the stage.”

Flannel Fest starts Friday at the Grant County Fairgrounds, featuring tribute bands that reproduce the grunge and alt-rock sounds that defined the 1990s. 

This is the fifth year that the fairgrounds and Portland-based music promoter J-Fell Presents have partnered for Flannel Fest. The event starts Friday evening and runs to Saturday night. Besides the music, there is food and a bar building where folks can hang out between sets. There’s a 21-and-up age limit for the entire festival. 

“We put up tents and picnic tables, and we have two full bars and games in the bar building,” McKiernan said. “(There are) TVs so any sporting events that are happening on Saturday, usually college games, are up on the televisions.”

The musical lineup consists of 10 tribute bands, many of them based in the Northwest, which produced some of the most iconic music of the era.

“It’s our most stout lineup to date,” said J-Fell owner Jason Fellman. “It’s all big guns. We’ve got the Red NOT Chili Peppers and Grand Royale (Beastie Boys tribute) closing Friday and Saturday respectively. Both are really well-regarded tributes.”

In addition to the old standbys, there are a few hidden gems, Fellman said, like TRIBU2, which recently played a festival in Salem, Oregon.

“We got a lot of people coming up and saying, ‘I don’t even like U2, and these guys are amazing,’” Fellman said. The Limp Bizkit tribute may also win over folks who weren’t fans of the band’s studio albums, he said.

Friday’s lineup begins with the Alanis Morissette tribute Head Over Feet, from the Seattle area. 

“They’re just spot-on authentic,” Fellman said. “You don’t realize how many hits Alanis Morissette had until they’re coming at you one after another. I think that’s true of tribute bands in general; people are always surprised at how many of the songs they know.”

The kids and young adults of the 1990s are in their 40s and 50s now, which drives part of the appeal of tribute shows like Flannel Fest, McKiernan said.

“That generation is getting old enough that they’ve got more free time on their hands, maybe more disposable income,” he said. “This gives them a chance to reminisce back to the days when they didn’t have any money and didn’t have any free time and listen to the music that defined their generation.”

“A lot of times, people never got to see the band live the first time around, and in many cases the band doesn’t exist anymore,” Fellman said. “Sometimes (seeing) what it was like live is a revelation for the people who didn’t get to go the first time … This is the closest they’re ever going to get.”

For more information or to purchase tickets visit 90sflannelfest.com.

Flannel Fest schedule

Friday, Oct. 2

6 p.m. gates open

7 p.m. Head Over Feet (Alanis Morissette)

8:15 p.m. Nevermind (Nirvana)

9:30 p.m. Red NOT Chili Peppers (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Saturday, Oct. 3

12 p.m. gates open

12:30 p.m. Nookie (Limp Bizkit)

1:50 p.m. Corduroy (Pearl Jam)

3:10 p.m. TRIBU2     (U2)

4:30 p.m. Outshined (Soundgarden)

5:50 p.m. Fighting Foos (Foo Fighters)

7:10 p.m. Jar of Flies (Alice in Chains)

8:30 p.m. Grand Royale (Beastie Boys)

    The Red NOT Chili Peppers, one of the premier tribute bands in the country, will be among 10 bands performing at Flannel Fest this weekend.
  

    1990s garb isn’t required, but many fans like to live the part at Flannel Fest, happening this weekend at the Grant County Fairgrounds.