Three years ago, Nathan Donnell attended the first official meeting
of Seattle DIY, a local collective dedicated to community
building and the do-it-yourself ethos. “I went expecting to be quiet
among a ton of people, but there was almost no one there,” said
Donnell. “I proposed the idea of a DIY festival, and we all knew that
it had to happen.”
The freshly minted collective got to work on what would become the
first Carousel Festival, a weekend of house shows and workshops
with all of the proceeds going to local nonprofits. The first two years
of the festival, Donnell found the responsibilities of planning a
multivenue weekend of music—on top of a full-time job and the
responsibilities of booking weekly house shows—overwhelming. But
with two years of experience booking the festival and a team of
volunteers helping out, things have gotten easier. “The first year was
sort of a test run,” he says. “Every year has gotten better and
better.”
Each year the bands have been more amazing than the last, the size
of the festival has grown, and Seattle DIY has raised money for local
nonprofits such as Country Doctor, Home Alive, and
CARA—groups the collective believes are making the city a
better place.
This year’s Carousel Festival takes place August 22 to 24 at six
venues across the city, with most of the weekend’s all-ages shows
happening at various houses. Its third year is going to be better than
ever, with a bigger and more diverse lineup of bands that easily blows
away last year’s.
Forty bands from around the Pacific Northwest will be playing,
including Karl Blau, Starfucker,
BlöödHag, TacocaT, Seahouse,
Futurephones, the Helm, Cutloose, the
Pharmacy, Wah Wah Exit Wound, to name a few. Alaskas,
the solo project of charming, emotional guitar guru Dylan James, plays
the festivities on Friday; Seattle party band Champagne
Champagne will destroy a sweaty basement Saturday night; and local
folk hero and recent megastar Kimya Dawson performs Sunday’s
festival show at the Fusion Cafe, a gig for which she turned down an
opportunity to play at Bumbershoot.
It’s been an exciting summer of festivals and shows, but, with its
DIY approach and community spirit, none are more inspiring than this
weekend’s Carousel Festival. 
Carousel Festival runs Fri–Sun Aug 22–24, various
venues, $5 DOS/$7 day pass/$17 three-day pass. For more info go to