Welcome to Doe Bay is a lot better than it could have been. It could have been really terrible, and considering that I consider a good half-to-two-thirds of those interviewed for the movie friends, it was a growing concern when watching the film. Fortunately, the film is quite enjoyable and one I can recommend highly.
Doe Bay Fest is a music festival that takes place in August on Orcas Island, a few hour drive (and ferry ride) away from Seattle. The festival mostly (but not exclusively!) features artists from the folk/rock/Americana scenes in the Northwest. It has grown in popularity over the past five years. It’s been a sort of polarizing example in the realm of Seattle music largely from its success and the jealousy that has spawned, which I think is unfounded. I’m sure it’s a remarkable experience, though I haven’t gone myself. What I do think is a fair criticism is that with the festival selling out so quickly (less than two minutes in 2011, according to the film, and likely even faster in 2012), it becomes more exclusive than the organizers want. That’s understandable but countless people who want to (hopefully) experience what makes Doe Bay Fest so special are shut out for no fault of their own and due to an online ticketing crapshoot. That’s not anyone’s fault, but I do think that some attendees were more than a little boastful on social media of being fortunate enough to attend when hundreds more were froze out. Discretion, people, discretion.
Much to the film’s credit, the filmmakers, CB Shamah, Sarah Crowe and Dan Thronton, (mostly) interviewed the right people. Kevin Sur, who programs the festival and is the first person I contact when wanting to put on a show, is as easy to like on-screen as he is in person. He talks about the things he’s done to make sure the festival stays small and provides a unique experience for artists and attendees. He also, importantly, talks about what he’s done to try to keep the festival from selling out too quickly (like putting tickets on sale before the lineup was announced and officially going on sale on a Sunday morning, when most people were hung over). Abbey Simmons, founder of the blog Sound on the Sound and Doe Bay Fest’s most passionate supporter (and also a friend) provides a lot of background on the bands playing, and, when talking about the festival or the bands she loves, she has a smile that lights up the dark screening room.
A lot of emphasis is placed in the film on how the festival cannot afford to pay as much money for artists to attend as some others do, but still provides an unforgettable experience. I’m glad that is the case, but it felt distracting and out of place when another blogger brought up the “art vs. commerce” discussion. It didn’t add anything to the film and felt out of place.
It’s the music, though, that carries the film and most of it is very good. Performances from artists like Damien Jurado, Kelli Schaefer, Champagne Champagne, The Head and the Heart, Pickwick, The Maldives, Fly Moon Royalty and Lemolo are all memorable for different reasons. They showcase the diversity in booking the festival, and the extent Sur and his partner Chad Clibborn had gone to not just be a folk festival on a campground. Acoustic guitars lend themselves to campfire settings, of course, but the inclusion of Fly Moon Royalty, Don’t Talk to the Cops! and Champagne Champagne shows that there’s a lot more to the lineup than just getting the top acts in the folk scene together for a weekend.
The festival presented in Welcome to Doe Bay rebuts any backlash by letting the festival’s best ambassadors talk about it and by presenting some wonderful music performances. It comes off largely as a seventy-five minute advertisement for Doe Bay Fest, and that’s perfectly fine. The movie makes you want to be a part of Doe Bay. Tickets for Doe Bay Fest this year are long gone, and it’s still three weeks before the lineup will be revealed. Good luck in 2013.
{Welcome to Doe Bay plays at SIFF on Thursday, June 3 at the Egyptian at 9:15pm and on Saturday, June 5 at 9:30pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown. Tickets available here.}
Chris Burlingame is the editor of Another Rainy Saturday.
I’m really looking forward to this movie (and to finally experiencing the festival for myself this year). Looking at how tickets have been sold, though, I get the sense that the festival primarily came into existence as a way for the resort to thank the guests that keep them afloat over the long off-season when there aren’t a lot of tourists on Orcas Island. I have no problem with this at all, but that thread rarely emerges from their online presence.
The fact that it “got discovered” and has become such a hot commodity seems to have taken them by surprise and it’s not clear that they’ve figured out what (if anything) to do about it. Straddling the line between local treasure and regional attraction has to be a very difficult line to straddle. Does much/any of this makes it into the movie? I suppose that it would be a distraction from the music angle, but I’d be interested to hear about how they’re conceptualizing the event based on its new status.