Inaugural full-scale Tri-Cities music festival Uptown Get Down draws hundreds to shows

Following a successful inaugural year of the Uptown Get Down, the first full-scale music festival to come to Tri-Cities, preparation and planning for next year’s festival is already underway. Organizer Caleb Brown confirmed the event will grow quite a bit next year.

The festival took place at the Uptown Shopping Center in Richland. Over 40 artists performed across four stages on June 3, all in the shopping center. Attendees chose the lineup they wanted to see, and walked from venue to venue between sets.

Around 700 people attended headliner Afroman’s set at the festival on Saturday, completely packing the Uptown Theatre. An estimated 125 people met with the rapper before the show, taking pictures, getting signatures and chatting. Multiple people brought gifts.

Afroman has been on tour since January with rapper Kid Lennon as his opener. While on stage, Kid Lennon said the turnout was one of the biggest crowds of the tour.

Tri-Cities music festival a success

As for the other artists, attendance varied throughout the day. Earlier on Saturday saw a few dozen people at each venue, with the number growing as it got closer to the evening. But all day, audiences smiled and cheered on performers, whether they came for a specific artist or just to bounce around and have fun.

Attendees spent the day walking between the different stages. Mushroom Fest took place in the parking lot outside Adventures Underground, with the Mushroom Stage on one end. Mushroom Fest and Uptown Get Down collaborated to provide one stage that was free to attend all day.

Mushroom Fest has been at the Uptown Shopping Center for several years, with vendors lined up in the parking lot and mushroom-based cuisine at Adventures Underground. It’s also free to attend and includes games, music, food and fun.

Artists at the Mushroom Stage ranged from steel drum bands to indie rock to reggae. Around the corner was the Unplugged Stage at The Space, which had more singer-songwriters and acoustic bands.

Down the strip was the Emerald Stage at The Emerald of Siam, which had various rock bands. This was also where the after-party was held. Finally, the Main Stage was at the end of the strip in the Uptown Theatre, with hip hop and EDM.

One of the rappers who performed on the Main Stage was Yasuke the Jashin from Nashville. Brown heard his song “BANDIT!” and brought him out to perform, saying he knew immediately he wanted Yasuke at the festival.

Kid Lennon saw Yasuke’s set and was similarly impressed. So much so that he offered Yasuke the chance to perform a song during his set, which was right before Afroman. The crowd had already formed into what Yasuke called “by far the biggest crowd” he’s ever performed for. He took the opportunity to crowd surf.

While some of the involved venues sold food and drink during the festival, there were many options in the shopping center for patrons.

Food trucks were at Mushroom Fest and along the Uptown Get Down festival route, plus the many existing businesses in the Uptown Shopping Center. Some Bagels had a noticeably good morning the day of the festival, with more business than usual for a Saturday morning.

Don’t miss more regional shows

If you missed the festival, worry not. Many of the regional artists have upcoming shows in the area, so you can still see a lot of them. Or check out this list of live music, much of it free, around Tri-Cities for the month of June.

• Sean Da Don hosts Boozy Brunch every Sunday at Flight Tap and Table from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Hillstomp will be at Chinook Fest 2023 June 8-11
  
  

• The Badger Mountain Dry Band will be at the Red Mountain Trails Winery from 5 to 8 p.m. on June 9

• Rejae will be at the Walla Walla Juneteenth Jubilee on June 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Mike Edmondson will perform at The Emerald of Siam from 5 to 8 p.m. on June 17

• Huckleberry Pulpo will be at Yakima Valley Vintners from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. June 23

• Both Rice and easyday will be at The Emerald of Siam from 9 p.m. to midnight June 23

• Kaylie Dawes will perform at The Emerald of Siam from 6 to 8 p.m. June 24

• Coaster will be at Downtown Summer Nights in Yakima June 29

• Shawn Byrd is one of the performers scheduled at The Emerald of Siam June 30 from 9 p.m. to midnight
  
  

• Bourbon and Bellows will be at Art in the Park at 11:30 a.m. July 28-29

• Lauren Wanamaker will be at Avennia Estate for the summer concert series on September 1
  
  

• The Van Dels and Depth Charger will be at The Tin Hat November 18, along with Hibernator and Anaconda Vise.