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Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Blaring guitars reverberated from the inside of the Croation Club of Anacortes on the eve of July 19th, 2002, during the debut of what became the legendary music festival, What-the-Heck Fest. According to one of the founders Dave Matthies, What-the-Heck was initially created, "...as an excuse to gather far-flung friends together for a two-day summertime party." The event coincided with the Shipwreck Day festival, a pairing that suited its DIY vibe. Acts such as Mt. Eerie, The Pounding Serfs, The Lonely Forest and Krist Novoselic would all participate in the festival during its run. The festival concluded in 2011, but was revived for a show in 2019 with founder Phil Elverum playing songs from his band The Microphones for the first time since 2003.