With deep country roots, Chinook Fest going 13 years strong

Since its debut in 2012, Chinook Fest has actively focused on creating a tight-knit community environment and a place for live country music in the Inland Northwest.

The beginnings of the music festival go back to a Pacific Northwest roots-rock band, Cody Beebe and the Crooks.

Although the group played around the country and into Europe, every time the band returned to central Washington, it would end up playing parties within Chinook Pass just outside the Yakima Valley.

Eventually, Beebe and the band asked themselves, “What if we just put on the party?” So, they invited various bands they had played with up to their neck of the woods to join them in sharing music with friends, family and fans for a single-day event in the mountains.

“We didn’t lose all the money we put into it, so we were like, ‘Well, I guess let’s try for year two,” Beebee said. “Then we just started building upon that year over year.”

Now, the festival has become a unique multi-day event consisting of outdoor recreation and an array of country music.

This year’s headliner, Idaho-born Americana-rock band Reckless Kelly, will be heading to Chinook Fest as part of its final tour after decades of life on the road. Beebe and the band met the members of Reckless Kelly years ago and have played their own annual festival, Braun Brothers Reunion in Challis, Idaho, as well.

Other standouts on the lineup include Uncle Lucius, known for songs like the hit “Keep the Wolves Away”; “America’s Got Talent” and “American Idol” standout Drake Milligan; and Southern rock group Robert Jon and the Wreck, which played the first Chinook Fest 13 years ago.

Rising contemporary Western singer-songwriter Kade Hoffman is also on the bill. Hoffman and his acoustic guitar have been touring with one of the biggest names in western-folk, Colter Wall, including a stop in Spokane back in January. Wall was on the lineup in 2017, but had to cancel at the last minute.

“Kade Hoffman is kind of like our second take at getting Colter Wall, in a way,” Beebe said.

Although the artists on the lineup aren’t exactly the kind you can expect to hear on modern country radio every day, the musician’s authenticism keeps a more low-key party vibe, and Beebe prefers it this way.

He’s also quick to point out that just because you don’t know their names now, that doesn’t mean you won’t in the future. The Grammy Award-winning and critically acclaimed Sturgill Simpson, who was a part of the 2014 Chinook Fest, serves as a key example of this.

“We’ve had artists along the way that, when we booked them, were kind of unknown,” Beebe said. “And not that we’ve had anything to do with their trajectory, but my point is that we are really trying to find these artists that we think are going to be the next big thing.”

One of those future stars, perhaps the next Simpson, Tyler Childers or Chris Stapleton, could be from right here in the Pacific Northwest. As Beebe and his band know all too well, there are many talented country-based musicians in this part of the country, and Chinook Fest helps give those Northwest musicians a platform.

“It’s a tough market, it really is,” Beebe said. “All of the Northwest artists that are on there, we really try to vet them as people before artists even, and then give them an opportunity to connect with our audience.”

As time goes on and the Chinook Fest team makes its annual improvements, the roots of the event remain the same, but perhaps the most noticeable difference is the focus on outdoor recreation. From the many kinds of camping opportunities (featuring a themed campsite competition) to outdoor yoga and the new team-based Chinook Fest Games, the festival is far from focusing purely on music.

“What most people actually come for is just the experience,” Beebe said. “It’s an opportunity for people to unplug, disconnect from the daily grind and reconnect to what really matters, and that’s people, music, nature, things like that, things that when you’re in the daily hustle and bustle you don’t get the chance to slow down a little bit and enjoy.”