After a successful 2019 edition and a two year-hiatus thanks to coronavirus, THING Festival will be back at Fort Worden in Port Townsend from August 26-28, 2022.
If you’ll remember, the festival’s name comes from the medieval term “Ting,” which was “an assembly of free people to reduce feuds and avoid social disorder.” This feels eerily resonant given the times we find ourselves in! But it also speaks to the wide range of activities provided: music, comedy, food, post-apocalyptic game shows, visual art, live podcasts, etc.
THING comes to us from the brains of the nonprofit Seattle Theatre Group (STG) and producer Adam Zacks, who also happens to be the founder of Sasquatch! (R.I.P.) as well as chief programming officer at STG. And the lineup is pretty sick. The headliners include angsty Sub Pop crooner Father John Misty, the Issaquah-formed Modest Mouse, and UK band Jungle. The bench is also stacked with Atlanta sensation Faye Webster, modern rock star Yves Tumor, London post punks Dry Cleaning, KEXP-fave L’Rain, Tuareg guitars Mdou Moctar, as well as local acts like Enumclaw, Shaina Shepherd, Jarv Dee, and Terror/Cactus. Oh yeah and how could I forget Triumph the Insult Comic Dog or The Future Is 0 (a game show I WON!)!!
โIt continues to be an honor to present a slate of extraordinary talent, rich with new discoveries, in the magnificent setting of Fort Worden,โ Zacks said in the press release. โWe aspire to offer something fresh to the festival landscape and create an environment where all are welcomed and represented.โ
There will be two outdoor mainstages this year, Littlefield Green and the Parade Grounds. McCurdy Pavilion, a decommissioned balloon hangar with a 1,200 capacity, and the art deco Wheeler Theatre will serve as the two indoor performance spaces in addition to other secondary sites used for workshops and visual art installations.
The event is all-ages (parents, kids 12 and under are free)โso, under 21s, this is a great time to see acts that hardly play all-ages spaces!!! But for the over 21s, don’t worry, there will be beer gardens. THING will also offer ASL interpretation services, special viewing areas, modified interactive sections, and sensory break areas led by Sensory Access to make the event more accessible to all. And like the 2019 edition, there will also be camping, parking, and housing accommodation offers available for purchase in addition to single-day passes.
Tickets will go on sale on Friday, February 25 at 10 am PST on THING’s website, STG Presents, and Ticketmaster. More acts and events will definitely be added in the lead-up. In the meantime, here’s the full lineup:
JUNGLE โข MODEST MOUSE โข FATHER JOHN MISTY โข GOOSE โข SPARKS โข FREDDIE GIBBS โข JOSEฬ GONZAฬLEZ โข TRIUMPH THE INSULT COMIC DOG โข DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS โข ADRIAN YOUNGE AND ALI SHAHEED MUHAMMAD PRESENT JAZZ IS DEAD FEATURING BRIAN JACKSON, DOUG CARN AND HENRY FRANKLIN WITH KATALYST โข CURTIS HARDING โข FAYE WEBSTER โข PLEASE DONโT DESTROY โข WET LEG โข HIATUS KAIYOTE โข ARCHITECTS OF AIRโS LUMINARIUM โข YVES TUMOR โข HELADO NEGRO โข DRY CLEANING โข LIDO PIMIENTA โข MDOU MOCTAR โข NATION OF LANGUAGE โข DELVON LAMARR ORGAN TRIO โข THE FUTURE IS 0 โข SPELLLING โข AROOJ AFTAB โข LโRAIN โข JARV DEE โข TERROR/CACTUS โข ENUMCLAW โข SHAINA SHEPHERD โข JON BRYANT โข HAILEY BLAIS โข TEON GIBBS โข MORE MUSIC @ THE MOORE โข DANCE THIS โข RE:DEFINITION โข ELEVATE โข DANCE WITH LIFE โข THE PEOPLEโS THEATRE TALK โข PNW FUTURE OF HIP HOP SPOTLIGHT โข STGโS TEACHING ARTISTS + WORKSHOPS โข & MORE!
