First weekend of Apple Blossom packed with music for all tastes, and it starts on Thursday

WENATCHEE — Face it: You’ve been looking forward to the food fair in Memorial Park all year. Funnel cakes and foot-long corn dogs and paper plates full of enough spiral-cut deep-fried potatoes to last until next year. The tradition is so strong that even some of the folks who have run the food trucks and traveled with the vendors have opened restaurants in the Wenatchee area.

But nothing goes as well with a giant mound of teriyaki and an IPA in the beer garden than some live music, and this year’s festival is about to deliver in a big way. We’ve got acts that you’ve never seen on the Apple Blossom stage, a reunion of a star-studded band from back in the day, and even one legendary local act that is playing their final show before becoming a bigger and more spectacular band.

It all starts on Thursday. After you’ve seen the Apple Blossom royalty welcome ceremony at noon and watched all the “Little Chiefs” get sworn in by the law enforcement agencies that nominated them, and after you’ve heard the St. Joseph’s Honor Choir and the St. Paul’s Choir and Band, you might as well make a day of it, because the Blossom & Brews beer garden opens and the first act hits the stage: Bandits of the Animal Kingdom.

A “dual coast” band, the members come from both here and across the country, but can be seen most of the time in Leavenworth. It’s a lively mix of pop songs, complete with guitar, bass, ukulele and an impressive selection of brass and wind. Last Halloween, BOTAK played at Stein in Leavenworth dressed as a hot dog and all of the condiments you might apply to it, and if you’ve never seen a giant hot dog play a ukulele, rest assured — it’s impressive.

Smokey Brights is up next on Thursday. They’re a Seattle band you’ll be surprised isn’t tucked into one of the weekend slots. But Thursday is a work night, so after their set, it’s time to go home and rest up for the weekend, because there’s so much more to see.

Friday, the music starts even earlier, with retired Eastmont school psychologist Mike Bills, a one-man band who happens to be the only guy in the valley to convincingly cover Dire Straits AND Steely Dan taking the stage at noon. He does plenty of his own songs as well, and his style ranges from even a little on the twangy side to straight-up yacht rock, and his plaintive, earnest voice is so endearing you’ll feel like you made a new friend before he’s done.

Rylei Franks has been performing in Wenatchee for years as a singer-songwriter, and he’ll be up at 1 p.m. before there’s a little lull in the afternoon so people can meander through the food fair or even head over to the carnival if the kids are getting antsy.

Then at 4:30, it’s 3 Track Mind reuniting after almost 30 years, whose members you’ll recognize from other acts and as solo performers. Kevin Jones is one face you’ll know, and if you’ve never seen him break out his slide guitar at McGlinn’s with mandolinist Doyle Wood or perform with the whole Kevin Jones Band at Radiance Winery or even on the Lincoln Park stage, you’ve been missing out. 3 Track Mind is a favorite on the other side of the mountains, headlining the Mount Baker Theater for a sellout crowd and opening for Joan Baez, Rosanne Cash and even John Hiatt.

Let’s phrase that differently: These guys have been so good for so long that they played Mare Winningham’s touring band in the Hollywood movie “Georgia” 30 years ago.

At 6:30, classic rock cover band Loose Change delivers high-voltage hits from their six-piece act, including a few guys who show up regularly at the Monday night Blues Jam at Riverside Pub. Then at 8:30, something for a younger crowd, or maybe a louder crowd, with a 2-hour set from Warp Detour, whose name is a clever play on the Warped Tour — that’s where you would have seen the 90’s pop-punk bands they cover like NOFX, Blink-182, Descendents, Pennywise, The Offspring and more.

Save your energy, though, because Saturday is just as jam-packed. After the Youth Parade, it kicks off at 12:30 with Nate Weakley, who’s been playing his blend of country, rock, and folk alongside some of the valley’s biggest names for as long as you can remember. He’ll be followed at 2:30 with some swing and jazz music from Wenatchee Big Band, who you should only hope has Alesha Perrin in tow, so you can hear her sing with the full band.

In the afternoon at 4:30, you can catch The Bada Bings, who are exactly as fun as their name implies. Like most of these acts, the members all play with other bands around town and aren’t shy about it — you will have already seen one of the hardest-working musicians in the Valley on Friday afternoon. Mike Bills is coming back to the stage to play guitar with the Bada Bings, so you already have a friend in the band!

The evening set starts at 6:30 with Full Vinyl Jacket, a 5-piece 70’s classic rock band guaranteed to make you Dream On as you remember What I Like About You, because The Boys (and girl) Are Back In Town. Then, at 8:30, the big show starts: JunkBelly.

JunkBelly has been rocking Wenatchee’s Apple Blossom Entertainment Stage for the last 14 years, and this is their 15th and final show as the blues rock band you’ve known and loved since way back then. Wayne Evans, Jeff Frantz, Mike Gamble and Tom Flores have been JunkBelly all these years, and now at least three of those guys are off to start a new project, so they decided to embrace the Memorial Park tradition one last time.

These guys have opened for B.B. King at the Town Toyota Center, as well as Vicci Martinez, Average White Band, Curtis Salgado and more. On top of all that, JunkBelly has a special guest, local musical journeyman Seth Garrido, whose smiling face and crazy hair are on a sticker somewhere near you right now.

California has Coachella, England’s got Glastonbury, and little old Wenatchee has the Apple Blossom Entertainment Stage. The difference is that you don’t have to mortgage your house to see this fantastic lineup — you can just sit on the grass or in the Blossom & Brews beer garden and enjoy the music. This year’s show promises to live up to the 2025 Apple Blossom theme of “The Best Time Ever.”

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media