Five acts competed for a Northwest Tune-up opening slot. Here’s how it went down
Last week one of Bellingham’s premier music venues, Wild Buffalo House of Music, hosted the first annual Doc Swinson’s Opening Act Contest to determine an opener for this year’s Northwest Tune-up Bike and Music Festival, set for July 10-12 at The Portal container village at 1100 Granary Ave.
The finalists — all regional acts — were selected from more than 200 submissions. Northwest Tune-up Music Director Hunter Motto listened to all the submissions and hand-picked the finalists.
“It’s these kinds of opportunities that create great joy and inspiration for musicians to farm new projects, and bands and to start recording music.” Motto said. “It really helps add to the ecosystem and culture in the music community, and that’s half the reason we do this.”
Wasabi Samba
The night’s first act, Wasabi Samba, took the stage around 7:30 p.m.
The group is a “Seattle-based, high-energy five-piece band specializing in a powerful fusion of Latin Rock Soul,” according to its Gig Salad page.
The band finished its set with dancing and grooving on stage before taking a final bow and stepping aside for the next act.
Henry Mansfield
Prior to performing, Henry Mansfield when through the crowd personally to hand out glow stick necklaces to those standing near the front of the stage. Once he did take the stage, he encouraged the crowd to step closer to the stage so he could, “see your beautiful faces.”
Halfway through his set, the Seattle native handed someone in the front a $20 bill and asked them to pass the money down to the bar in exchange for a shot of Doc Swinson’s whiskey. The Ferndale distillery served as event sponsor.
“Doc Swinson’s shares that same spirit of curiosity on our quest for new blends and new flavors,” the company’s website states. “Together, we’ve created The Opening Act Contest to elevate emerging Washington musicians, create real performance opportunities, and connect community through live music.”
Mansfield finished his set by going off-stage to dance with the audience.
Waves Crashing
The Olympia-based band, which specializes in retro-style music. A highlight of their performance was their rendition of “Creep” by Radiohead, which energized the crowd.
Veronica North
Veronica North is a “Bellingham-based singer-songwriter whose heartfelt lyrics and storytelling blend honesty, reflection, and emotion into unforgettable songs,” according to her website.
North hobbled onto stage on crutches around 9:30 p.m. and took a seat on a chair in the middle of the stage. After injuring her leg while skiing the previous weekend, North required surgery on her leg the day of the contest. She asked the audience to dance around for her, since she couldn’t — and they did.
At 10:30 p.m. it was time for the final act.
Loveli
Loveli, the night’s other Bellingham-based performance, “lives to keep things silly yet steezy, creating containers of joy to promote union,” according to the band’s website.
They brought a unique DJ set, accompanied by violin, drums and guitar. People in the audience called the music a “vibe.”
And the winner is ...
It was 11 p.m. when all the acts had finished, and the judges had a difficult decision to make. All acts were called onto the stage and were presented with custom bottles of Doc Swinson’s whiskey, complete with their names and the competition logo.
At 11:05 p.m., a decision was made and an envelope with the name of the winner made its way to the stage.
After carefully tearing away the paper it was revealed — Henry Mansfield of Seattle will be the opening act at the 2026 Northwest Tune-up Bike and Music Festival.
This story was originally published March 9, 2026 at 12:30 PM.