Two homegrown music festivals headline a packed stretch of live music in Whatcom County the week of July 17 through 26, with shows ranging from folk and bluegrass to hip-hop and Zimbabwean marimba. Here is what is happening and where to find it.
Two Festivals Not to Miss
The biggest draws of the week are a pair of locally organized music festivals happening simultaneously on Saturday, July 25.
Whatcom Wav runs Friday, July 24, and Saturday, July 25, at Barkley Village Green, 2215 Rimland Drive in Bellingham. The festival is in its second year, having launched last summer at the Fairhaven Village Green, and has moved to the larger Barkley Village space for 2026. Friday night headliners are Meldrop, a jazzy indie rock act from Tacoma. Saturday night brings Seattle pop-rockers THEM to close out the weekend. Unlike last year's free event, Whatcom Wav has a cover charge in 2026, so tickets should be purchased in advance at the door or online.
The move from Fairhaven Village Green to Barkley Village Green reflects the festival's growth after a successful inaugural run. Barkley Village is a mixed-use commercial and residential development in northeast Bellingham that has become one of the city's more active gathering spots, with restaurants, shops, and an outdoor green space suited to larger events. The shift in venue gives Whatcom Wav room to expand its lineup and its audience without being constrained by the smaller footprint of the Fairhaven site. That expansion comes with the shift to a paid admission model, which is a natural evolution for a festival looking to invest in production quality and bring in stronger headlining acts.
Also on Saturday, July 25, the Hemlock Haven Folk Fest makes its debut at the Blue Room, 202 E. Holly St., units 301 and 401, in downtown Bellingham. The all-day event runs from noon to midnight and features 13 acts across two stages, one indoor and one outdoor. The lineup spans folk, country, bluegrass, and Native American flute from performer Peter Ali. Headliners include Zaia Grace, Forest Stoke, and Flycatchers. There will also be a line dancing lesson at 2 p.m. and craft and art vendors throughout the day.
The Hemlock Haven Folk Fest takes the same spirit that has driven other locally organized Bellingham festival weekends -- gather your favorite musicians, build a lineup, and throw open the doors -- and applies it to a genre of music that does not always get dedicated festival real estate in western Washington. Folk, country, and bluegrass have deep roots in the Pacific Northwest, carried here by generations of transplants from Appalachia, the South, and the upper Midwest who came to work in the timber, fishing, and agricultural industries. A 13-act bill across two stages, running a full 12 hours, is a serious programming commitment for a debut event.
More Shows Around Bellingham
On Saturday night, July 25, Seattle-based rapper Grieves takes the stage at Wild Buffalo, 208 W. Holly St., at 9 p.m. Grieves has been performing for nearly two decades, has toured internationally, and has six studio albums. He is known for a relaxed, conversational flow and inventive wordplay that draws comparisons to underground hip-hop acts from the early 2000s era. His longevity in an industry that cycles through trends quickly speaks to the loyalty of his fanbase and the durability of his approach to songwriting. Wild Buffalo has been one of the most consistent rooms in Bellingham for booking artists at this level, and a Saturday night show with Grieves is the kind of thing that sells out quickly for anyone who has followed his career.
On Sunday, July 26, New Prospect Theatre at 207 Prospect St., Suite 100, hosts Ukama and Friends starting at 7:30 p.m. Ukama is a local Bellingham marimba ensemble that plays in the Zimbabwean tradition, and this showcase brings in a crew of Zimbabwean guest artists for the evening. The lineup includes vocalist Ratie D and drummer collaborators. It is a rare opportunity to hear live Zimbabwean music in an intimate Bellingham venue. The Zimbabwean marimba tradition is a rich one, rooted in communal music-making practices that predate colonialism, and ensembles like Ukama have played an important role in keeping that tradition alive and accessible to audiences outside of southern Africa. Hearing that music alongside the guest artists Ukama has assembled makes the Sunday show one of the more culturally distinctive events on the calendar this month.
Planning Your Week
The concentration of events on July 24 and 25 gives Bellingham music fans a genuine festival weekend to look forward to. Both Whatcom Wav and Hemlock Haven are happening within a mile of each other in central Bellingham, making it feasible to catch sets at both on Saturday if schedules allow.
For those who want to extend the experience into Sunday, the Ukama showcase at New Prospect Theatre offers a thoughtful way to close out the weekend with music that is genuinely different from what you will hear anywhere else in the county. Tickets and event details for most of these shows can be found through venue websites and local event listings. For context on the broader summer arts calendar in Whatcom County, the Bellingham Scoop newsletter covers local events weekly. Additional event listings are available through the City of Bellingham. For related local arts coverage, earlier coverage of Bellingham music events this summer has more picks from the season.
