Folk musicians to take to the lakeside in two-day Zephyr Folk Festival in Liberty Lake
The first Zephyr Folk Festival looks to give Spokane a diverse lineup of music while bringing the community together.
The event has simultaneously been long in the making while running on a very tight deadline.
Cam Joslyn’s work as talent buyer for local venue the Chameleon, manager of Spokane folk-rock band the Bed Heads and his heavy involvement with the city’s music scene did not go unnoticed by those at the Zephyr Lodge in Liberty Lake.
In November, Zephyr Lodge reached out to Joslyn about hosting a music-based event during an open weekend in June. The lakeside location usually acts as a wedding venue, but with the goal of getting more involved in the local music scene, Joslyn easily stood out as the organizer for the job.
“I think it really all boils down to relationships and involvement in the community,” Joslyn said.
Much of Joslyn’s career has revolved around folk music. He manages groups like the Bed Heads, and the genre is one of the reasons why he wanted to make music his career to begin with. Because of this, Joslyn accepted the role and set folk as the waypoint to follow.
Making a two-day festival happen in just about half a year is much easier said than done, so Joslyn immediately got to work booking the most cohesive lineup he could.
Some artists out of the 15 on the lineup don’t exactly fit the folk mold to a T. Artists like North Idaho’s Sydney Dale have aspects of contemporary pop, meanwhile the sound of others like local guitar virtuoso Tristan Heart Pierce are more R&B based, and Chicago’s Pictoria Vark has roots of indie-rock.
Although not every artist is purely folk in the traditional sense of the term, Joslyn focused on keeping a consistently similar sense of energy throughout both days, alongside quality musicianship and provoking lyricism.
“I have more just tried to embody good music that fits a specific demographic and that fits well together on a bill,” Joslyn said.
The lineup features a mix of local and national artists, but one of Joslyn’s primary goals is to create an event that will help bolster the Spokane scene and bring the community together.
Spokane doesn’t have a very large music festival history, but in recent years, more and more organizers have been leaning into this event format. Joslyn believes Lilac City locals are finally starting to see the sheer amount of talent hidden behind the veil of the city.
“Spokane has an incredible network of very talented musicians that deserve opportunities, and I’m one of the people crazy enough to provide them,” Joslyn said. “I think that this community is just now starting to move past some of the jaded perspectives that we’ve held through COVID and through some of the turbulence the music community has experienced here in Spokane.”
Between the local musicians, venue, food vendor in the form of the nonprofit Feast World Kitchen, and the relationships that have made the event possible, Joslyn compares Zephyr Folk Festival to the famed quote, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
Joslyn hopes supporters of the community and those who find the beauty in quality music – even when stripped down to just a vocalist and acoustic guitar – turn out for the Friday and Saturday event.
“It is phenomenal music, on the lake, at one of the most beautiful venues in the area,” Joslyn said. “It is grass roots, planned by a very small team of individuals who want to see this community and this scene succeed.”