Rumor Has It

Bands at Barkley

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Perhaps it is because I lack imagination, but when I think about places to see live music in Bellingham, Barkley Village is not the first—or even the third or fourth—place to come to mind.

Evidently, the folks at Barkley Village and its anchor store, Haggen Food and Pharmacy, have all of the imagination I’m missing because a year ago, they cooked up an idea for a fundraiser they dubbed Concert On the Green, featuring bands, food vendors and a beer garden—all the standard components of a successful summer event around these parts.

It was an idea so nice they’ve decided to do it twice.

This year’s Concert On the Green takes place Sat., Aug. 17 at, as its name suggests, the Barkley Village Green. Gates open at 4pm and it’s just a short half hour until the many members of Baby Cakes assemble to get the crowd up and dancing with their locally loved funk and R&B. They’ll then cede the stage to Petty or Not, a group that achieved instant popularity with what I’m pretty sure was intended to be a one-off performance and has been playing ever since. If some of the members of Petty or Not look identical to some of the members of Baby Cakes, it’s not due to overlap between the bands—it’s because the bands feature sets of identical twins.

No, that’s not true. Not even a little bit. I don’t even know why I said it. No one in any of those bands has an identical twin. They’re all only children.

Yeah, that’s another lie. Just call me Pinocchio.

Back to our regularly scheduled slate of mostly factual information, the Concert on the Green is a benefit for Lydia Place, a nonprofit that does vital work to help break the cycle of homelessness in Whatcom County. Considering we’re smack-dab in the middle of a homeless crisis, support for organizations that provide services to our unhoused is more critical than ever. Tickets for the concert are $20—and they’re in limited supply, so hie thyself to Eventbrite and score yours now.

Because people do not live on bands alone, Concert On the Green will also feature such food vendors as Jalapeno’s, Chow Gourmet Hot Dogs, Sage Against the Machine, Vitality Bowls, and the Sugar Shack Ice Cream Truck. Slake your thirst with beer, wine or cider from the Twin Sisters beer garden—that pair of drink tickets you got with your entry aren’t going to redeem themselves.

If you’d like to catch a preview of what’s in store for you at Concert On the Green, I’d like to encourage you to seek out the promo video that features footage of last year’s event. Highlights include: 1. Top-quality concert vid of Polecat. 2. A whole bunch of people you probably know dancing. 3. Some pretty sweet drone shots. I watched it once (five times) and I’m sold.