KEY PENINSULA — The stage is set for Madrona Fest 2025. Yonlander, in partnership with Rural Progress, has announced the complete lineup for the annual music festival, which will take place Oct. 18. Tickets are still available here.
Organizers say the event is more than a one-day music festival — it is a celebration of rural life on the Key Peninsula, community spirit, and “the good life in the great outdoors.” This year’s program brings together nationally acclaimed performers and regional favorites.
The festival will feature Nathan Evans Fox, known for his roots-inspired storytelling, as well as Greenlandic-Danish Simon Lynge and his band. Buffalo Kin, a rising folk-rock group, and Flaming Fingers String Band, a local mainstay of bluegrass and old-time traditions, will also perform.
The headliner is Black Belt Eagle Scout, the project of Swinomish artist Katherine Paul, whose music has gained national recognition for its blend of indie-rock power and deeply personal storytelling.
🎥 Watch Black Belt Eagle Scout’s full KEXP performance
Paul’s latest record, The Land, The Water, The Sky, was born out of her 2020 return to her ancestral homelands in Skagit Valley. After years in Portland, she returned to the Swinomish Reservation during the pandemic — a move she had long intended.
“It’s something I always wanted to do,” Paul said in a 2023 interview with music journalist Rob Hakimian. “There’s a lot more space, I’m connected to my community and to my culture, and to my family here.”
Her album reflects that connection. “These riffs, these lyrics, these moments of documentation — they could come together as a story,” Paul said. “That through line was reconnecting to my homelands, and with that intention of trying to be grounded.”
The rest of the lineup adds its own texture to the day. Flaming Fingers String Band brings rollicking bluegrass energy to the contra dance. Buffalo Kin offers folk-rock harmonies. Nathan Evans Fox blends traditional roots with modern narratives that resonate across generations. And Simon Lynge, performing with his band, brings an international dimension with his Greenlandic-Danish folk.
🎵 Listen to the Madrona Fest 2025 Playlist
The Key Peninsula Civic Center, a community hub for more than 65 years, will again open its doors and grounds to the festival. Attendees can enjoy food from local farms, browse the arts and makers market, and dance into the fall evening.
Festival Schedule Highlights
- 12:00 PM – Music Workshops (Old Time/Basic Bluegrass Guitar, Fiddle, and Banjo)
- 1:00 PM – Old Time Jam
- 2:15 PM – Contra Dance Set Up Begins
- 3:30 PM – Local Photography Contest
- 4:00 PM – Evening Concert
As the evening begins, the festival culminates in a showcase of the full lineup. And while the weather may be unpredictable in October on the Key Peninsula, all performances are scheduled indoors.
