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Long-form interviews and conversations from Mason County, Washington. Host Jeff Slakey sits down with local leaders, legislators, small business owners, and community voices for unhurried conversations about what's shaping the Hood Canal region â government, education, healthcare, the outdoors, and the people making a difference.
New episodes drop throughout the week. For daily local headlines, subscribe to KMAS Morning News with Jeff Slakey.
Well, folks, once again, coming up in Union, Washington, the weekend of July 17th through the 19th of this year, it's the Peace, Love and Union Saltwater Songwriters Festival. I have a festival organizer, Rob Hill, on the phone. How you doing? I'm doing great.
This is a fun event, and it really showcases not only the beauty of Union, but it really also shows off the history of the music in our area. Where did you get the idea for this thing? Oh, well, it kind of came about accidentally. I became acquainted with Christian Bush of the country duo Sugarland.
Yeah. And really wanted to get him to come out and play in Union and persuaded him to do that. And in the course of that, I said, as long as I'm doing that, I might as well have a few other shows.
And then so first year we did it as a series, a Saltwater Songwriters series. And then in order to make it more accessible to people coming from out of town, we decided to squeeze it all into a week. And that way.
So now we've got people coming from all over the country to see the to see the music this year and to meet Union. And it is a massive lineup. A lot of the festivals that happen, people will kind of gather local folks and they will be able to perform their own things here and there.
But you have got artists, like you said, Christian Bush, who I had the chance to talk to about this last year, as well as I mean, he is a two time Grammy winner. You've got John McLaughlin coming, Beth Nielsen, Chapman. These are huge names in the singer songwriters world.
This is really cool. All descending on Union. What was the response from the artists last year? Because a lot of these are returners.
Some of them are there's not Christian basically has a has a pass to come any time he wants to. He wants to eat. They told me that this is an answer to your question.
The artists love it, which is really satisfying and exciting for me, because I've got, you know, these Grammy winners coming to me and saying, I know it makes sense for you to mix it up and not have us come back every year. But we just want to tell you we would like to come back every year if we could. And so and so what's cool this year is that I don't know.
I guess we've already gotten a reputation because the artists that are coming a lot of times artists will, you know, they have to maximize the efficiency of a tour and they have to well, we'll play it. We'll play on Thursday. We'll be out on Friday.
We'll be in Portland on Saturday. We'll be in Eugene on Sunday and try to, you know, pack in the shows for efficiency's sake, which I which makes sense. Sure.
But these artists are most of them are saying, well, we'll come all week and we'll just we'll make a a vacation or a retreat out of it. And so that gives room for all kinds of really interesting collaborations where songwriters who've never met before are writing together, performing together or hanging out together. The community gets to know the artists and vice versa.
People just the artists just fall in love with the town of Union without fail. And they're they're just like in awe of what. Of what we live in.
And and they spend they spend a lot of time. I think I think we do a couple of shows up at the point at the Aldebert Golf Club and have a stage backing up against the amazing view of the Olympics and the and the fjord. And so and we've had artists that just they spend half their time on stage turned around taking pictures.
Yeah. To post on their social media. Wow.
I get to play here. So, yeah, we've got in addition to Christian, we have and John McLaughlin, who's an amazing if you if people who haven't heard him are going to be blown away by him. I think he's one of the most talented performers of our time.
And I was just I was just shocked that they accepted our offer, but he's excited to come and I'm excited to have him. Yeah. And then we.
Sorry, I was just going to say he has worked with Sara Bareilles, Demi Lovato. He has the hit single Beautiful Disaster that came out back in 07 with another one there. He also is Oscar nominated on the on the movie Enchanted.
And that's one of the performers. Beth Nielsen Chapman, of course, has got a long list of wins behind her name there. And let's see, seven number one hits compositions that have been recorded, too, by Elton John.
I'm kind of looking at the website, Peace, Love and Union dot net. So you can go to that, too, and see all these folks that are going to be here. This kiss.
Everybody knows that song and some of the main writers and voices behind some of these things. Where so where's where are folks able to stay? Because, you know, there's a couple of places in Union. You got the Robin Hood there on site.
Is there spaces around that folks are finding locations to hang out and stay for a couple of days? Last I checked, there are still rooms available at our a couple of rooms available at each of our two other satellite partners, which are the waterfront at Potlatch and also the newly branded the Glen Resort. Generally, Glenn Glenn aired just north of Hoodsport or maybe it's in Hoodsport, which is north of the town. So those are both awesome places to stay.
And a short drive to Robin Hood, Robin Hood's been sold out for. Oh, I can imagine. Eight months.
So, yeah. And so, yeah, so those are the places to stay. And we're encouraging carpooling.
We may have some shuttling going on between the other resorts. There is some VIP festival passes available that you get not only some great preferred seating and swag, but a breakfast cruise on the Lady Alderbrook, which in itself is beautiful. Are there other opportunities to hear? You mentioned the point.
But are there other opportunities to hear at places in Union? Yeah, so we're going to we have a we're kicking it off with a with a pub crawl that's going to be pretty epic. We'll have great music at three different locations at the Union Square Deli. This is on the 15th, Tuesday, the 15th, starting at starting at five at the Union Square Deli and then going to Canali and then to Dos Margaritas.
Two margaritas, as the English speakers say. And there'll be great music at all three of those locations. And that's free.
Everybody can go to that. And then on Wednesday night, we have a an event called Heart Like a Wheel, which is a tribute or retrospective of the music of Linda Ronstadt that's happening up at the point featuring Brittany Kingrey, who's who did a Linda Ronstadt tribute show in mostly in Mexico, a few different cities in Mexico for a few years. And so she's up she's reviving that show with a local band called the Blue by Union Band.
And and so we'll have some great guest performers there. And that's going to that one is free to if you got a festival pass, you get in free and includes the admission members of the Aldeburgh Golf and Yacht Club get in free. And the general public is $20.
And those tickets are available on Eventbrite, as is the case with our Sunday event, which is going to be awesome squared where we have five of our participating festival songwriters, including Grammy winners and nominees paired with local veterans. And those songwriting pairs are going to create an original song based on the veterans experiences and will debut those songs on that at that Sunday morning concert. We did it last year and it was powerful, moving and a testament to the healing power and unit unifying power of music.
That's awesome. And Salmon for Soldiers is one of the groups that does receive a portion of the benefits from the weekend performances and this whole event. Peace, love and union.net again is the website.
I'll put the links in the show notes here. Additionally, Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, Harmony Hill there and the Parrot Heads of Puget Sound, a couple other nonprofits that will be benefiting from this a huge opportunity to see folks right in our backyard who have won handfuls of Grammys and other amazing awards when it comes to writing, songwriting, performing. Tia Sillars, Christian Bush, as you mentioned, Jesse Rice, Will Kimbrough, who was a 2025 Grammy nominee for Best American Roots.
So this is all this is all kind of I mean, is it all a kind of acoustical music that people are playing? Acoustic versions of their main hits? Or is there full bands or how is that working? Well, great question is it's meant to be simple. We're this is this is for people who appreciate the art of the song. But a lot of the we do have sort of a house band of sorts where we have we've brought it.
There'll be a percussionist and a pedal steel player backing up anybody that wants to be backed up. And some of the artists are bringing a company to companies themselves. But it's all basically acoustic, at least the Robin Hood.
The main event at Robin Hood is meant to be able to sit, listen quietly, hear the lyrics. And it's it's that's the environment that we've created. And it and it really I think that's one reason why we're able to get such quality songwriters is because they know that we are delivering a great audience to them and that there's nothing that a musician or particularly a songwriter likes better than than an audience that is going to sit and listen to what they have to say and sing.
And and and I and I hear more and more from people who appreciate the the quiet atmosphere because, you know, people who really love music would want to listen to it in a listening atmosphere. So that's what we provide for the for the main events is is an opportunity for people to who are real music lovers to to hear the songs as they were written before, you know, all the multitracking and the right and the effects and all that stuff. You hear the song as it was written.
It is going to be an amazing weekend for those who love great, pure music. And it is all. Let's see, weekend again, peace, love and union dot net is the website July 17th through the 19th, who mentioned a couple other great opportunities for folks to hear and starting off with that bar opening pub crawl heart like a wheel.
And I do appreciate that blue bayou pun on the name there. I did catch that when you were talking about it with Brittany Kingery there at the point, which is an amazing vista right there at the Alderbrook Golf Course. You can see that this is just going to be an epic weekend once again for folks to really re-experience the musical history of union.
You'll be able to feel it all through the trees and along the water there, because as you and I know, union is steeped in musical history. And this just adds one one additional chapter to that. So people, if you're looking for places to stay from out of town, again, yeah, the Glen is not far away.
The Waterfront at Potlatch, not far away from these opportunities. And so pretty darn cool, Rob. It's always good to talk with you and see around peace, love and union dot net one more time.
The website there, I'll put the links in the show notes. But definitely think about this as an opportunity to get away in our little neck of the woods for some amazing songwriters all coming in for this thing. So, yeah, have a great weekend with this one.
And I know people are going to continue to enjoy it. And thanks for some time. Thank you, Jeff.
We'll see you there.