Last October, it took a passionate group of Ballard-area promoters, venue owners, and personalities to sweep the Macefield Music Festival together from the scattered ashes of Seattle Weekly‘s sixth-annual Reverb Music Festival after the publication officially canceled it just over a month before it was scheduled to take place. The result was a rebranded and rebooked all-day musical celebration that was exciting, and well-attended enough, to bring it back for a second year. This time, the festival grounds will include eight stages (over last year’s three), which will play host to nearly 80 bands—a massive undertaking that resembles the ambitious bookings of Reverbs past.
The similarity is no mistake—festival booker Kwab Copeland is a carryover from the fest’s previous incarnation and a firm believer in maintaining the musical tradition of the neighborhood. “Over the last 20 years, Ballard has maintained a vibrant music scene, mainly through the efforts of folks at the Tractor, the Sunset, Conor Byrne, etc.” Copeland explains via e-mail. “But then you go back to the years of the Backstage, and then back even further to Ballard as a rough fishing village…