Tinnabulation: Music festival dream set to take over Riverfront Park

Matt Meyer had the idea for a downtown Spokane music festival for years. But ideas are nothing until the money comes together.

When serious talk began on what would eventually become the Tinnabulation Music Festival, Meyer thought he and a buddy could fund it themselves with the assistance of a bank loan.

“I knew all the costs, including the staging and everything down to the cost of tables and chairs,” Meyer said. “We got shut down pretty quickly. Everybody thought it was a great idea, but from a banker’s perspective it was very risky.”

Meyer pressed his idea forward, even without any guarantee of funding. Growing up in the area and watching downtown transform gave him the confidence that Spokane could welcome such a project.

“I grew up thinking downtown was a place I didn’t want to be, then I saw myself coming down here more and more,” Meyer said. “The music scene, in my opinion, was getting better, and downtown was feeling more vibrant and younger.”

Almost four years after he began to actively pursue the idea, Tinnabulation is set to take over Riverfront Park starting Friday, with four stages of acts and more than 50 bands playing over three days. American Authors, OK Go and the John Butler Trio headline the festival along with a mix of local, regional and national acts.

Ultimately, an anonymous donor came forward to help jumpstart Tinnabulation, but the money came well after Meyer went through a rigorous planning and research phase. He went to Los Angeles to meet agents and learn more about the booking process, and he culled ideas from other events and professionals on maximizing public space for unique events.

“We had been pushing forward even though the funding wasn’t there – I just felt like we were that close. I was convinced we were going to get there,” Meyer said.

Meyer, who is also the event manager at the Spokane Convention Center, quietly went about the work of funding, sponsorship and booking acts with a few key partners.

“There were three years leading up to when we actually announced anything,” he said. “We told ourselves we weren’t going to let this be known until we were sure.”

Tinnabulation needed to clear another major hurdle. It needed national acts that could anchor an entire weekend of music.

“It’s a trickle-down effect, and the hardest part is booking the headliners,” Meyer said. “Being a brand-new festival, nobody knows what to expect.”

Meyer crafted what he hoped would be enticing, comprehensive offers, but he said the process can be complicated and time consuming.

They made an offer to the alt-pop rock band American Authors, known for their hits “Best Day of My Life” and “Believer.” Within four days the band accepted.

Meyer said OK Go booked in a similarly efficient fashion. The popular alt-rock band is best known for their viral music videos featuring treadmills (“Here It Goes Again”) and elaborate Rube Goldberg machines (“This Too Shall Pass”).

With the addition of alt-rock-folk band John Butler Trio, Tinnabulation expanded into booking an eclectic lineup of supporting artists. By last November, the festival began to take shape publicly – branding, promotion and sponsorship were solidified and local and regional acts were announced.

What began as an idea among friends and a few key partners ultimately required many more expert hands, though Meyer said he was fortunate to bring the right people aboard through a mutual commitment to starting something that could redefine Spokane.

“This has the potential to have a massive impact on Spokane, not just the economic aspect but in the arts and culture in Spokane, and the (people involved) are getting that,” Meyer said. “All of us know our major, essential goals … it’s a collective effort.”

The scope of Tinnabulation expands well beyond music. LauraLee White, curator for the Spokane-based art collective, La Resistance, came aboard to create a lineup of traditional and performance artists to enhance the experience. Like many involved, her introduction to Tinnabulation was modest – her tattoo artist recommended her to a friend involved with the festival.

“It’s something that we all believe in … it’s just a labor of love, and it’s work I do already, just not on this scale,” White said.

White worked with the festival to curate the artists’ exhibit and to find ways to incorporate art throughout the park.

“There will be some surprises popping up, it’s kind of like our own little Bumbershoot,” White said. “I want to get a reaction. Shake them up a little bit. I want them to walk by and say, ‘What is that?’ ”

In addition to a gallery section inside the park, there will be sculptures, performance artists, comedians and huge chalk murals along the side of the convention center.

“We had this vision that it’s not just a music festival,” Meyer said. “There’s going to be multiple events inside this massive event, where you’re always going to have at least two different acts performing at once or there will be different kinds of things to do and experience.”

The lineup will be a mix of regional talent, including some from White’s La Resistance group, itself a collection of people of different ages, backgrounds and styles. It was her goal to bring that same sense of variety to Tinnabulation.

“I think the music is more of a draw than the artists, but music decorates time and art decorates space, and it needs to happen together,” White said. “Booking bands of this caliber – there’s something for everybody. It will bring the people and it will expose them to the art.”

With a huge lineup of music, art installations and performers, as well as food and vendor booths and a craft beer garden, Tinnabulation is a real test of the potential Spokane that Meyer dreamed about when the festival was just the seed of an idea.

“I feel there is a population that is untapped,” Meyer said. “It’s an event that will keep some of that younger demographic around. And potentially, hopefully, it will create more jobs one way or another through the arts.”