Seattle collective TUF, a group female-identified, trans, and non-binary musicians, artists and designers, took to Judkins Park on Saturday for the second annual TUF FEST, an almost 24-hour stint full of music, art and panels.
Featuring West Coast artists Russell E.L. Butler, Taylar Elizza Beth, x/o and more during the day time, and K-Hand, Eris Drew and Reverend Dollars during the night time, TUF FEST curated one of the most intricate festival lineups of the summer, and delivered a message along with it.
Tiffany Wan, one of the festival’s co-organizers, said TUF FEST shifts to center underrepresented artists.
“We try to keep in mind that we want a focus on femme identifying, nonbinary, trans and queer artists,” said Wan. “Those are the people that we’re trying to make space for the most, so we looked at people who are doing cool things in the scene already, or people who we feel like should get more of a spotlight.”
Before the music began, TUF organized a series of workshops and panels discussing inclusivity, success and of course, music, in the early afternoon, then letting the musicians take the stage all the way into the early hours of Sunday morning.
Looking Into K-Hand’s Bangers Folder
Starting off the day with a couple of workshops, I headed to the Northwest African American Museum to attend Foundations: Creating Music led by Chloe Harris, Rachel Glasgow and Qoqo Roboqs. The three female-identifying DJs and producers discussed the pros and cons of using modular gear and digital audio workstations to create music, and showed us how to easy it can be make music using each type. As someone who was initially intimidated by the gear, I felt ready to download a pirated version of Ableton by the end of the hour.
Next up was Foundations of DJing, led by TUF FEST ‘til Dawn headliner, K-Hand. Hand told us the story of how she got started in her bedroom buying DJ equipment from a pawn shop, and her secrets to playing long sets full of bangers.
Spoiler: she organizes her music into so many folders on her USB when she’s DJing with CDJs. This is so she can find the exact song she’s looking for as soon as she figures out she needs to play it. She related that she has a “House Vocals” folder, and that she even has a “Bangers” folder, and from her nighttime set, it is truly filled to the brim with bangers.
Ambient Tunes in the Park
Moving into Judkins Park for the daytime music section, Youryoungbody filled everyone’s desires for synth pop on a hot summer afternoon. Duh Cripe’s distorted vocals and Killian Brom’s dark electronic sounds washed over Judkins Park and brought us into another world. Consisting of old songs and new, their set ranged from soft, ethereal tracks like “Andariel,” in which folks frolicked through the grass to the jingling keys and wispy vocals. The duo also played some new, unnamed bangers, presumably off of their upcoming record Devotion, which shook the ground as it pulsed through the park.
Nordra took the stage next, crafting one of my favorite sets of the festival. Her self-titled EP dropped the day before the performance, and I couldn’t wait to hear some of the tracks live. Nordra’s experimental set added layers of guitar, synthesizers and vocals to create an industrial sound that cycled through militant-inspired noise and softer, ambient tones. She also has an entirely metallic silver guitar, which held my attention even further.
Furnishing the stage with flowers, Vancouver’s x/o played the sunset spot, filling the park with ambient noise. x/o takes samples from nature and mixes them with vocal samples to create soft experimental tunes that glide through the air. x/o’s sounds, along with the sun setting made this one of the calmest moments of the night, with many choosing to lean back and look at the sky, as x/o’s vocals softened the summer heat.
TUF FEST ‘til Dawn
As day turned to night, TUF FEST moved locations to start their TUF FEST ‘til Dawn party. Buried inside a multi-layer industrial venue, TUF’s Reverend Dollars, Detroit’s K-Hand and Chicago’s Eris Drew threw down the tunes to dance the night away. Featuring visuals from Anissa Amalia, different rooms had different moods, with the main dance floor being covered in flowers and balloons. The DJs played mixes of techno, house, and disco for hours until the morning light. Somewhere around 4 a.m. someone exclaimed, “This is the most joyous night of the year!” and to that, I definitely agree.
Wan later said that creating a welcoming space in order for everyone to fully enjoy the festival is one of TUF FEST’s best qualities.
“My favorite thing about the festival is seeing people feel really comfortable being here, being themselves and enjoying themselves,” said Wan during TUF FEST. “Sometimes that’s really difficult in a lot of spaces, but I feel like we provide a space for people to feel that way.”
Going into the festival, I was excited to enter a space that was specifically curated to support underrepresented communities from all sides. At most electronic gigs, the male gaze is overwhelming from both those performing and audience members. TUF FEST, on the other hand, is dedicated to making a welcome environment for everyone, and their effort delivers. TUF’s commitment to creating a space for everyone to fully enjoy electronic music—and the high quality of the music itself, of course—makes TUF FEST one of the top festivals of the summer.