Concerts Back in Everett

Nate Feastereytchiso, Staff Writer|October 5, 2021

Henry Yarsinske Jr, playing bass along side band mate Mary Adams during their set at Lucky Dime for Fisherman’s Village Music Festival 2021.

Just a year ago around this time, the streets and businesses of Everett, and many other cities across the world seemed like ghost towns in the evening. The recent loosening of COVID-19 restrictions have brought life back to the streets.

A walk downtown in North Everett on a Friday night nowadays will show you that the music scene is alive and well. Venues just blocks away from each other have masked crowds inside, bands playing and people laughing and chatting just outside their doors.

Concert attendees and artists are slowly getting back to the normalcy of what it is like to be a part of these music events. Everett Community College Alumni, Henry Yarsinske Jr., hadn’t played a show since February 12, 2020, pre-pandemic. The Everett band he is a member of, Oliver Elf Army, is self described as Sinister Pop. They were able to do a last minute fill-in at a show at Tony V’s Garage on Hewitt, playing with Big Business, a heavy metal band based out of Los Angeles and Bad Optics, another band from Everett.

Over the last year and a half, Yarsinske said he “took the pandemic very seriously,” spending most of his time away from crowds and staying safe. In September, he broke the seal and played at Fisherman’s Village Music Festival. There he stated that he was still nervous to play shows again but felt comfortable after the fact because people were following the indoor mask mandate.

Andrew Santos and his boyfriend Ryan C. attending Fisherman’s Village 2019 (Provided by Andrew Santos)

An avid attendee of local music and venues and EVCC faculty member, Andrew Santos was excited to start going back out to shows again. He said it was “nice to see people that I haven’t seen, you know, since the beginning of COVID. So it was really cool to have that kind of sense of community back.” Santos is well versed in the local scene, many of his friends are part of local bands so it makes these outings even more special. “Honestly for me it’s not only about socializing and having a good time, it’s helping friends live”, he stated. By attending these events, the money from cover charges and merchandise sales go to these bands that are playing.

The return of concerts also brings a new venue to North Everett. Both Santos and Yarsinske praised the new venue Lucky Dime which has been flourishing since it first opened in September. The venue is open five days a week, Tuesdays through Saturday. They are bringing in bands, karaoke and a place to hang for the people that are ready to come out. Lucky Dime also allows all ages to join in on the festivities.

As the music scene continues to move forward in what seemed like a never ending hiatus due to the pandemic, it’s even more important to support your friends and your community by going out to these shows. Santos states that by going to shows in town, “it is helping the arts and music survive here in Everett.”