“Just don’t do anything stupid and we’ll all have a great time.”
That’s what the event website advised for attendees of the MIG Fest, a punk and ska music festival event that was held on Saturday, July 22, in Salem.
That seemed like sound advice for this event which has been held since 2021 at Minto Island Growers, a certified organic farm right outside Salem on South River Road. About 150 people took advantage of the beautiful setting to hear live music from five bands with MONKEY being the headliner from northern California.
Sarah Evans, the festival organizer, has been putting music festivals together since before COVID when she was doing YouTube concerts featuring bands from underrepresented groups. Sarah likes putting on shows at the farm to showcase the beautiful location and the delicious organic food offerings.
The crowd at seemed to agree as people happily consumed fresh wood fired pizza, generous fresh salads, ice cold beer and kombucha, and enjoyed the beautiful atmosphere listening and dancing to live music.
The show was all ages and was welcoming to families. Biking was encouraged and the co-sponsor of the show, The Bike Peddler, held a group ride from their shop in downtown Salem to the farm and also had a “bike corral” where bikes could be left safely in a secure location while riders enjoyed the show.
The lineup this year was: MONKEY (northern California), The Bandulus (Portland), Cut-Rate Druggist (Oakland, California), Los Mal Hablados (Portland) and 1876 (Portland).
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Laura Tesler has lived in Salem, Oregon for 20 years and is originally from Flint, MI. Laura has been an underwater photographer for 15 years, and is an avid scuba diver. Topside, she has been taking photographs since age 12, and currently works on assignment for the Salem Reporter, and full time purchasing land for fish and wildlife habitat in the Willamette Valley. Laura attended Oregon State University, and has traveled extensively all over the world and the United States.
