The inaugural THING festival is taking place in Port Townsend, Washington, during the last weekend in August, and today we got a look at what this THING might actually entail. It's the brainchild of Adam Zacks, former booker of the Gorge's annual Sasquatch! Festival, which 'quatched its last 'quatch in May 2018. THING appears to pick up where Sasquatch! left off, and rather than a Pacific Northwest version of Coachella (a trend Sasquatch! was bending toward out of necessity), appears to be targeting a smaller, more mature audience of 30- to 50-somethings and their families. (The biggest tell is that kids 13 and under get in for free.)

But the coolest "thing" about THING looks to be its deemphasis of your standard music festival experience (see 10,000 bands; get daydrunk and sunburned) in favor of showcasing multiple artistic disciplines. Alongside the musical performers—which include Jeff Tweedy, De La Soul, Japanese Breakfast, Mexico's Café Tacvba, and Portland's own Black Belt Eagle Scout—are actors, comedians, podcasters, and more, doing presumably non-musical things. (Or, in the case of John C. Reilly, an actor playing music.) That means we get Macaulay Culkin and Stephen Tobolowsky doing live podcast tapings; stand-up comedians like Todd Barry; terrific writers/performers in the form of Lindy West and Natasha Lyonne; and curios like Napoleon Dynamite Live! and a scripted reading of the movie An Officer and a Gentleman. I have no idea what some of these performances will look like! And that's THING's ultimate strength. Well, that and a total dodge of the EDM/dance/whoompwoomp acts that typically attract younger crowds to the bigger music festivals.

Sasquatch!'s actual replacement was a Bassnectar-headlined electro thing at the Gorge, but that fizzled before it could get off the ground. THING looks to be built on a slightly stronger, less fickle foundation. There's no question that this is geared toward an older, more rock-oriented crowd; after all, THING's Violent Femmes and Iron & Wine/Calexico aren't exactly attracting the same demographic as Coachella performers like Billie Eilish or DJ Snake. But more than any single performer, THING's appeal is the overall experience, where you can watch some comedy, go on a "guided hike," check out mentalist Scott Silven, and absorb whatever the Architects of Air's Luminarium is, before jamming out to Parquet Courts. Sounds like it could be fun.

Port Townsend is at the northeastern tip of the Olympic Peninsula and is about a three-and-a-half-hours' drive due north of Portland. THING happens on August 24 and 25 at the town's Fort Worden State Park, which overlooks Puget Sound and I'm sure is lovely. Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 26, and start at $189.50 for a two-day pass but will increase in price starting May 3. The full lineup of THING so far is as follows:

Violent Femmes, De La Soul, Café Tacvba, Calexico and Iron & Wine, Jeff Tweedy, Khruangbin, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Mentalist Scott Silven, Tank and the Bangas, Parquet Courts, Phosphorescent, Japanese Breakfast, Napoleon Dynamite Live!, Snail Mail, John Reilly & Friends, Natasha Lyonne, Architects of Air's Luminarium, Bunny Ears podcast with Macaulay Culkin, Fontaines D.C., Júníus Meyvant, Lindy West, Makaya McCraven, Todd Barry, Ryley Walker, Bedouine, An Officer and a Gentleman Live Read, The Tobolowsky Files podcast with Stephen Tobolowsky, Caspar Babypants, Too Beautiful To Live with Luke Burbank & Andrew Walsh, Black Belt Eagle Scout, The Black Tones, Orville Peck, Claire Dederer, Dance Church with Kate Wallich & Amateur Hour, Night Market, Yoga, Guided Hikes and other THINGS!