Bloglander

Spokane has hosted all sorts of music, arts and food festivals, certainly, and even a World's Fair, but we haven't had anything quite on the level of Tinnabulation Music Festival. Next September, the new festival's organizers plan to bring in a handful of national touring acts to Riverfront Park and the Spokane Convention Center, along with regional and local talent to fill out a 50-plus band lineup. The music and arts festival will run Friday through Sunday, the weekend following Pig Out in the Park.

Tinnabulation — taken from the term tintinnabulation, which means the sound of a bell ringing (the Clocktower was the major inspiration here) — is Matt Meyer's brainchild. Currently the event manager at the Spokane Convention Center, Meyer says he's been working to bring the large-scale festival to fruition for the last couple years, but that's meant convincing park planners, financial backers and more to get his vision off the ground. That the park is under construction has also made things tricky.

"My goal with this event is to help the park and Spokane in general," he says. "We want to have one more event, one last bash before summer ends."

At $150 for a three-day pass, the price tag may be a large pill for some Spokanites to swallow, but Meyers is optimistic that this will work. "It’s 50 bucks a day, and you’ll be able to see national touring bands throughout the days," he says.

Looking at other major festivals' ticket prices, this cost is quite comparable. Seattle's Bumbershoot was $225 for a three-day weekend ticket last year and Portland's MusicfestNW Project Pabst was $90 for a two-day pass.

At this point, the lineup won't be announced until May 1, with tickets going on sale May 19. And Meyer says he plans to stick to alternative, hip-hop and rock genres. He declined to comment on bands he may already have booked.

The Inlander is a sponsor for the event and our own Volume music festival will still hit earlier in the summer, this time June 2-3.