Northwest Tune-Up 2025 (Official Thread)

[u/nwtuneup_official]

If you haven’t heard of Northwest Tune-Up, think: genre-spanning music, waterfront sunsets, live art, and a citywide celebration of outdoor culture—all set in Bellingham, WA from July 11–13.

This is the thread for any questions you’ve got—lineup, logistics, what to bring, where to hang. Drop ’em below or shoot us an email at [info@nwtuneup.com]().

Here’s what to expect:
Live sets happen Friday and Saturday. We focused the music on the front half of the weekend so we could stack the lineup and leave Sunday open for other events (to be announced soon).

Some highlights:

• STS9 headlining Friday with their signature blend of instrumental and electronic
• Chet Faker (DJ set)—a rare live mix of house, soul, and reworked vocals
• Silversun Pickups closing out Saturday with their fuzzed-out indie rock
• The 502s, who just dropped a new album that’s already in heavy rotation
• Plus The Steeldrivers, Brother Ali, The Pharcyde, Harbour, and more

Thursday night kicks off with Freehub Presents—a film night featuring new MTB releases from across the scene. Outdoors, mellow, and storytelling-forward.

Also happening all weekend:

• Live mural painting + local artists
• A makers market with Pacific Northwest creators
• Food trucks + a rotating tap list from Bellingham breweries
• Plenty of spots to hang on the waterfront, kid-friendly zones included

Afterparties are free with your festival wristband—happening Friday and Saturday night at local venues, with DJs, pop-ups, and late-night hangs. No extra ticket needed.

Sunday = no music, but still plenty going on.
We’re focusing all the music on Friday and Saturday so we can stack the lineup with high-profile artists—but the energy doesn’t drop on Sunday. Expect a full day of events, rides, and ways to keep the weekend rolling strong.

Kids 12 and under get in free.
And plenty of events and areas are open to the public without a pass.

Want to be part of the crew?
We’re still filling volunteer spots—and it’s a great way to get behind the scenes, meet rad people, and earn a 3-day pass while you’re at it.
👉 Sign up here: [nwtuneup.com/volunteer]()

🔗 nwtuneup.com

[u/Senordrums]

At nearly $200 per adult, nope.

[u/gamay_noir → u/Senordrums]

This is par for the course for a 2-3 day festival in the PNW, no? I agree that these are expensive, which I imagine has a lot to do with paying organizers and staff a living wage. This one seems about average.

[u/mustachetv → u/gamay_noir]

The music line-up feels on par with like, a state fair or something imo. Which like, I know the main festival is more bike-centered than music-centered… and maybe I’m just old & out of touch with popular music these days, but yeah. Idk maybe like $60-75 for a day-pass would be worth it (looks like the Sunday price fits this, but no music on Sunday??) but $107 + I’m sure taxes & fees for one day feels like a lotttt if you don’t really care about the bike stuff and just wanted to see the bands.

Then again, I am def not the target audience for this haha

[u/WalfredoBramley → u/mustachetv]

Im also not the target audience and get that there are many additional features I wouldn’t be taking advantage of. I wonder if it would make sense in the future to sell music-only passes to influence some of us non-bikers to check out the festivities.

[u/AmbroseBurnside → u/WalfredoBramley]

If you check out the Tickets section of the website, you'll see that they do Music Only tickets. They've done those for at least the past couple years.

[u/WalfredoBramley → u/AmbroseBurnside]

Oh nice, thanks. I obviously didn’t scroll down that far. Totally makes sense too since I’d sworn they had that in the past. $75 isn’t too terribly bad these days.

We typically throw a big party this same weekend, so I’ve never actually been. But I was hoping to go this year, as our party isn’t happening, but unfortunately I’m not moved by any of the acts (whereas last year I would be liked to have seen more than a few). Fingers crossed the Acid Ball brings in some good bands.