Day In Day Out Festival
at Fisher Green Pavilion in Seattle, WA
words and photos by Alfredo Luna

Beneath the shadow of the Space Needle, Day In Day Out took on its second annual iteration bringing a stacked lineup to Seattle. The 3-Day festival, created by Capitol Hill Block Party masterminds Daydream State, had a carefully curated lineup that brought headliners such as Mitski, Mac DeMarco and The National as well as acts like Japanese Breakfast, Turnstile and MUNA that made this worth the trek up north.

Day In Day Out came to fruition last year with Daydream’s pushing forward with a return to live music post-pandemic after being forced to cancel their two previous iterations of Capitol Hill Block Party. This year's iteration took place two weeks after their return with CHBP and took place in Fisher Green Pavilion with one main stage and a DJ side stage to entertain the crowd. Separated into three sections, VIP, GA and 21+ the festival provided a great spot to take in the sights and sounds regardless of where you were at. Taking your first step into the festival grounds felt awe-inspiring, whether you were looking down at the stage from the VIP area with the backdrop of the nearby Queen Anne neighborhood in the distance or looking up at the Space Needle from the ground below, everything felt extremely picturesque.

Day 1 was a perfect blend of acts to get the fest started with, showcasing local acts The Kerrys, who filled in for Soccer Mommy, and Hollis as well as Zambian star Sampa the Great. But the talk of the night had to be between both MUNA and Mitski who closed out the night with two polarizing sets between each other. MUNA brought out a charismatic set that saw the crowd go crazy for them. WIth their energetic antics on stage it was easy to see why so many in the crowd came out just for them. As they powered through their set, they ended had invited the crowd to a sing along of their ‘Mr. Brightside’ cover along with ending their night with their summer anthem, ‘Silk Chiffon’ that set the crowd ablaze.

Mitski then took center stage and produced a show that felt like an interpretive visual performance. Starting the set with ‘Love Me More’ that captivated the audience with her movements skipping from jumping from one end of the stage to the other as the set went on. Playing more favorites such as ‘Me and My Husband’, ‘First Love/Late Spring’ and ‘Nobody’ which brought the crowd to dance and sing along. This was definitely more of an emotional performance to close out the night, leaving many going home in tears and fighting the urge to text back that one person in their lives.

On a much different note Day 2 brought out the raw energy and aggression for a big part of the day, with sets from Cherry Glazerr, JPEGMAFIA and Turnstile that pushed the energy to new levels for the festival. This combo felt perfect to be enjoyed with a Rainier in one hand and watching LA Based indie-garage rock veterans Cherry Glazerr shred through their set. This set the stage for JPEGMAFIA which brought out a younger crowd that was exemplified by many in the crowd wearing his merch saying “The Teens Want Peggy Not Jesus”. Bringing out many in the audience to chant “Peggy” throughout the set and just go off the rails during his set felt like such a raw experience.

With an already energetic performance, the tension in the air was high as you could see that many in the audience were decked out in hardcore attire, from Destroy Boys to IDLES, all waiting for an appearance of one of the hottest bands out there right now, Turnstile. Fresh off of a Seattle appearance in the area in April, Turnstile were ready to set the crowd ablaze once more. Their appearance was indicative of the meteoric rise they have been through, where they sold out a ~1k venue in April, they were now packing in a crowd of about 5k just a mere months later. That coupled with hearing the crowd explode when the intro to ‘MYSTERY’ began and seeing a massive pit devour the crowd inside for the duration of the set. The crowd and the band was ready for the action with limbs flying everywhere and crowd surfers enjoying the perfect tide for a ride. There was talk if the departure news of guitarist Brady, which was hot off the press at this point, would affect the performance but that didn’t seem to slow them down in the slightest. Hands down, Turnstile was worth every punch that landed on me, every crowd surfers leg that happened to crash on my head, every single bruise on my body and worth the soreness awaiting the next day.

Feeling much like a recovery day, Day 3 did bring out a lot of acts that felt like it was low-key the most sneakily stacked day.

Starting off the day on the right foot with the PNW’s own psych-surf inspired band La Luz. This has been a band that has always eluded me but finally seeing them was well worth the wait, feeling like the perfect way to dance in the sun. Following up on the bill we also had New Orlean’s own Hurray for the Riff Raff and Jamila Woods to soak the sun under, each providing a perfect soundtrack for a sunny day in the park.

Animal Collective also provided a memorable set that consisted of classics like ‘Wide Eyed’ and ‘In the Flowers’ as well as working off of their latest release Time Skiffs. Geologist of Animal Collective was also earning his stripes with the crowd by working with This Must Be the Place by distributing Narcan, a lifesaving medicine that reverses an overdose, and educating many in the crowd on what to do in these situations. The personal touch here showed the care of the band within the community and really was a heartfelt gesture that they have continued throughout their tour.

Ending the night was a perfect one-two punch with Japanese Breakfast being the first to close out the festival.

Coming out straight with ‘Paprika’ to capture the hearts of all the fans in the crowd. Playing a magical set that saw fans bring fruit up to singer Michelle as well as a bouquet of flowers made you see and feel how appreciated the band has become in the last year or so since the release of 2021’s Jubilee. Popular songs such as ‘Be Sweet’ and ‘Everybody Wants to Love You’ were also played much to the enjoyment of those in the crowd that belted out every lyric from the top of their lungs. They were definitely one of the most fun bands on the bill and has a dedicated fanbase to make the experience even better. As they continue to blend their more commercial sound with a bit of a psych feel in their live performances, Japanese Breakfast will continue to be another can’t miss band on any lineup.

The biggest surprise however was the band that closed out the festival in The National. Now as someone who completely fell in love with Trouble Will Find Me and Boxer I was extremely excited to check them. However, all around me were people almost in a state of euphoria knowing that they would be coming on. This was extremely interesting to me as I thought they’d be a good band to catch live but didn’t think much of it until I actually saw them come on. As they ripped into ‘Don’t Swallow the Cap’ and ‘Mistaken For Friends’ I could see what the buzz was about, with frontman Matt Berninger getting up close and personal with the fans. At times between the set he had some cheeky banter with the crowd and shouting out his parents who were standing in the photographers pit. But what was truly awe inspiring was seeing him come into the crowd and sing literally face to face with those in the front row or even go out in the middle of the crowd and perform from there. This amount of energy from him showed me why they were so beloved with the crowd and made me a huge fan of their live work. They are definitely a band you should be ready to see and be prepared to have them absolutely blow you away with their live performances.

Overall, the festival felt like a breath of fresh air and felt like it is building to be something more in the future. Without having to deal with any scheduling conflicts, having DJ sets that were consistently great while bands set up and feeling like each day was carefully curated to meet the audience’s needs. With the absence of Bumbershoot, Day In Day Out can use this to further leverage itself as a mainstay and attract more artists of this caliber and become one of the premier middle of the summer festivals in the region. The biggest takeaway was that this had the ease and accessibility of a small local festival but the draw and entertainment of a bigger one. I really look forward to seeing how far this festival is able to grow within the coming years.

DAY IN DAY OUT FESTIVAL 2022