VanFest is an annual music festival which took place in

Maple Valley, Washington Maple Valley is a city in King County, Washington United States. The population was 28,013 at the 2020 census. The city functions as a commuter town for residents, though there is an increasing amount of commercial activity in the area. His ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was founded in 2011 as a grassroots project by namesake Van Wolfe, who was a student at

Tahoma Senior High School Tahoma High School (THS), formerly Tahoma Senior High School (TSHS), is a public high school serving grades nine through twelve and is the only high school in the Tahoma School District. The school provides for citizens in southeast King Count ...

at the time and described in '' The Stranger'' as a "superhuman". The event series, featuring largely

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

local bands, benefitted the Maple Valley

food bank A food bank or food pantry is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distrib ...

. VanFest Five, held in 2015, boasted four stages and 36 bands performing. VanFest 2016 featured three stages along with a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

tent. VanFest Eight was cancelled in 2018.

Notable performers

* Willis Earl Beal (2014) *

Jason Webley Jason Webley is an American musician known for his fusion of folk, experimental, and alternative music. Webley plays the guitar and accordion, sometimes providing percussion by stomping or shaking a plastic vodka bottle filled with coins. Webley b ...

(2014) *

Car Seat Headrest Car Seat Headrest is an American indie rock band formed in Leesburg, Virginia, and currently located in Seattle, Seattle, Washington. The band consists of Will Toledo (vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizers), Ethan Ives (guitar, bass, backing voca ...

(2015) *

MC Lars Andrew Robert Nielsen (born October 6, 1982), known professionally as MC Lars, is an American rapper, producer, educator, and founder of Horris Records. A graduate of Stanford University and the University of Oxford, he is credited as a pioneer ...

(2016) * Kitty (2015)

References

External links

* Music festivals established in 2011 Hip-hop music festivals in the United States Indie rock festivals Music festivals in Washington (state) Music festivals disestablished in 2018 2011 establishments in Washington (state) 2018 disestablishments in Washington (state) {{music-festival-stub