Haystack Grew Up: Two Cities, One Big Year for This Little Festival

Mark your calendars: North Bend Haystack is July 10, Edmonds Haystack is October 10

Last summer, I wrote about a brand new festival my friend Danny Kolke was launching in North Bend. One day, one town, 17 venues, 21 bands, and a whole lot of hope that people would show up.

They showed up.

So this year, Haystack is doing what good things do when a community gets behind them. It's growing. In 2026, there are two Haystack Music Festivals, in two cities, a few months apart. I’m proud to help Danny and Jazz Clubs NW bring more live music to the PNW!

Here's the lineup of dates:

North Bend is up first, on Friday, July 10. Music runs from 6 PM to midnight across the downtown core, the same walkable, venue-hopping format that made last year so much fun. You buy one ticket, and you wander from room to room catching Americana, bluegrass, folk, and roots music in coffee shops, galleries, bars, and lodges.

Edmonds follows on Saturday, October 10, from 5 to 10 PM. Same spirit, new town, right on the water. If you've ever done one of Danny's Edmonds Jazz Walks or Blues Walks, you know the drill, and you know how good it feels to spend an evening following the music from one cozy room to the next.

Why this matters to me

I'll be honest about my bias here. I love this festival, and not just because my band, Greenwood Music Collective, gets to play.

Danny and I go way back. We met at Edmonds Community College, played in the big band together, and I've spent decades watching him build community through music. He has a gift for it. He fills streets with families and music lovers and the joyful noise of live performance, and he does it the hard way, one venue and one handshake at a time.

Behind the scenes, I've been pitching in where I can again this year. Booking artists, writing copy, helping with the schedule, the unglamorous stuff that makes a grassroots festival actually happen. I'm just one of many volunteers, and the sponsors are what really make it possible. It's a labor of love for all of us involved, and the payoff is watching a whole town turn into a music venue for a night.

There's also a bigger point. Both festivals raise money for local music education through JazzClubsNW, a nonprofit. So when you buy a ticket, you're not just getting a great night out. You're helping the next generation of kids find their way to an instrument. That's the kind of thing I can get fully behind.

Come hang out

If you've been meaning to come to one of these and haven't yet, this is your year. Two shots at it, summer and fall, both within easy reach of Seattle.

Greenwood Music Collective @ Haystack 2025

GMC will see you in North Bend in July and Edmonds in October. Come say hi. Tell me your favorite act of the night. And if you're a musician yourself, come see what a community can build when somebody decides to just start. Live music is a special thing!

Hope to see you there, friends.

North Bend Haystack | Friday, July 10, 2026 | 6 PM to midnight 

Edmonds Haystack | Saturday, October 10, 2026 | 5 to 10 PM

Tickets and full lineups at https://haystackmusicfest.com/

To learn more about the non-profit we are supporting, visit jazzclubsnw.org