DreamGaze PDX meets Tremolo SEA Festival

If you’re looking at the graphic above and scratching your head, don’t be concerned. There are few effective ways to promote what an unusual but crucial pairing this is, bringing some of the best in shoegaze and dream pop to the great Pacific Northwest.

Two Festivals, One Dreamy Weekend

This year marks a strong showing for dreamy, shoegaze-, and dreampop-oriented festivals on the West Coast. DreamGaze PDX in Portland, Oregon, and Tremolo Festival in Seattle are happening September 25-27, 2025 — overlapping weekends, overlapping aesthetics, and some overlapping acts. For fans of reverb, atmospheric guitars, lush vocals, and hazy synth soundscapes, it’s a feast for the ears.

DreamGaze PDX: Lineup & Vibe

DreamGaze PDX is held at Swan Dive in Portland. As always, DKFM is proud to be presenting sponsor for this exquisitely curated roster, including:

• Cool Heat

• The Upsidedown

• Topographies

• The Asteroid No. 4

• Darksoft

• mumrunner

• Mo Dotti

• Brief Candles

• Lazy Legs

• Black Nite Crash

• Pink Breath of Heaven

• Helens

• Ten Million Lights

• Kallai

• House of Warmth

• Present (US)

The vibe is ethereal yet gritty — shoegaze, dream pop, psych, some post-punk edges. The festival is 21+ and doors open in the evening (around 7 pm).

Tremolo Festival: Partnership & Seattle Nights

Tremolo is put on by a Seattle events collective backed by Neon Sigh, and this year it’s partnering with DreamGaze PDX — meaning there are coordinated shows in both Seattle and Portland, with a pre-party in Olympia on Wed, September 24.

In Seattle, Tremolo shows are at The Central Saloon, across three nights:

• Night 1 (Sept 25): Brief Candles, Black Nite Crash, Darksoft, Bonney Rubble

• Night 2 (Sept 26): Topographies, Cool Heat, Mo Dotti, Present, Guest Directors, New Age Healers

• Night 3 (Sept 27): The Asteroid #4, Pink Breath of Heaven, mumrunner, Kallai, bloococoon, Male//Gaze

The pre-party is separate and not included in the 3-day pass.

Tickets & Logistics

• Tremolo: There are 3-day passes available, which cover all three nights in Seattle. (Tremolo Sea) Individual night tickets are also expected/available. Prices for some nights are ~$30 advance / ~$35 door for special shows — e.g. Night 2. Central Saloon

• DreamGaze PDX: The pricing for the 3-day pass is $75. Day-of-show (DoS) ticket prices are ~$30. Doors open around 7 pm. Dreamgaze PDX

• For both festivals: note age restrictions (21+). Also, if you want to attend both in Portland and Seattle, logistics may involve travel; be aware of times and venues.

What Sets Each Apart

• DreamGaze PDX leans into the community, intimacy, and exploration. It draws both local acts and international artists, giving a chance to see under-the-radar shows in a smaller venue (Swan Dive in Portland). If you’re into discovering newer or niche artists, this is a strong and deep bench.

• Tremolo offers more scale across nights, and its pairing with DreamGaze gives quality options: both a base in Seattle and connections to Portland. Some acts overlap, which is nice if you can catch them in either city. The diversity of the lineups across the three nights gives variety: dream pop, synth, shoegaze, psych influences all mixed.

  🎫 Ticket Links

  Festival	Ticket / Pass Link	Notes & Pricing
  Tremolo Festival (Seattle)	Buy the 3-Day Tremolo 2025 Pass: via Tremolo’s site.	The 3-Day Pass covers all three nights (Sept 25-27) at Central Saloon. Individual night tickets available soon.
  Tremolo Night 2	Central Saloon: Tremolo Fest 2025 Night 2 tickets page.	Night 2 includes standouts Mo Dotti. $30 advance, $35 door.
  DreamGaze PDX	Dreamgaze PDX’s own site “Tickets” page.	3-day pass is $75; Day-of-show (DoS) price is ~$30. 21+ show. Doors at ~7pm.

  🌟 Artists You Shouldn’t Miss

  There’s really no reason to miss anyone on these rosters, but we’ll highlight just a few that demand your attention.

  	Mo Dotti: Based in Los Angeles, Mo Dotti’s sound is dreamy, noisy, hazy — they draw from Isn’t Anything-era My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and British shoegaze/shimmer-laden vocals. Perfect if you like reverb, fuzzy guitars, ethereal vocals. Recently did big dates on Nothing’s Slide Away Fest to adoring audiences.
  	Mumrunner: One of the acts bridging local and international shoegaze/dreampop circuits; atmospheric, with some experimental/ambient edges, without sacrificing sonic power surges. A well-loved and oft-spun band on these airwaves, with many of their crucial cuts in permanent rotation.
  	Topographies: If you like a mix of coldwave + shoegaze + dream pop textures, Topographies strongly represent —icy drums + hazy guitars, and an emotional depth in every facet presented.
  	Cool Heat: Dream pop with strong synth/texture work, solid hooks, and compelling live presentation. Nice for easing into the haze.
  	The Asteroid No. 4: Respected SF stalwarts bring a heavier shoegaze/psych touch, good for louder peaks in the evening.

  And if you haven’t seen Brief Candles bring it live? You just don’t know what you’re missing. Milwaukee’s best shoegaze/post-punk export bring hooks and energy aplenty, and you’ll understand in no time why they’re often on the Kalamashoegazer bill. Not often they get to the west coast, but when they do, best to grab the opportunity to see them weave their magic.

  DKFM will be represented by DJ Heretic at DreamGaze PDX on nights two and three, opening for XRAY FM’s DJ Wednesday, who has her own exceptional presentation on offer. We’d say more about what she’s prepared, but we don’t want to spoil the surprise. Suffice to say, we’ll be watching her do her thing with glee and gusto.

  That’s too damn many words, yet there’s so much to highlight that we can’t properly fit in this blurb. So be it. Don’t just read about it, support them. A great deal of thought and coordination went into making these concurrent events dazzle, and we hope you’ll be blown away.