Northern Sky Festival 2026 To Feature Alan Sparkhawk, Mount Eerie, & LOIS

I moved away from Olympia, WA over 20 years ago, but I still have love for it. There is plenty about that place and my life there to miss. I’ve never been to Northern Sky Festival, but it seems like just about the most Olympia thing possible from the natural environment to its DIY ethos. Northern Sky is a music festival on a farm where attendees are encouraged to bring their own setups to sit on blankets and have a picnic in the grass. As they eat and relax, live music will be performed on a pair of modest stages positioned in front of a serene backdrop. Large letters on the front page of the festival’s official website plainly and clearly read, “Bring a blanket and a picnic. Watch the sky.” Local food will be available to purchase for those who choose that route, but remember to take a blank shirt to silkscreen your own festival tee.

Northern Sky has pared things down to a single day, switching from the two-day length it had maintained in past years. Most importantly, the festival remains focused on art, music, and community. In their own words, “It’s a get together. It’s a picnic. It’s an outdoor art gallery.” “Music will be played on two stages – a pasture stage with a backdrop of sky and sea and a small, woodland stage in a fir grove. Art installations will dot the forest trail and hands-on art-making will take place.“

On this year’s bill are such names as LOIS, Good Flying Birds, Alan Sparhawk, Winston Hightower, and Mount Eerie. I expect this to be a rejuvenating and life-affirming event delivered in a way that only Oly is capable of. This is a family-positive festival in which kids under 15 are free. You should probably go. It’s probably going to be beautiful and almost guaranteed to be the most enjoyable time you can have while listening to two men sing soul-crushing tributes to the loves of their lives, who were taken from them by disease. It’s some heavy shit, but the world is heavy, and when you view it clearly, even the somberest tunes are about resilience.

Humanity. Joy. Picnics. Community. Most of us could probably use this right now.

Tickets and info at NorthernSkyFestival.org