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Capitol Hill Block Party readies for 18th annual neighborhood invasion — UPDATE: 2014 lineup announced

The explosion of fun that was CHBP 2013 (Image: CHS)

The explosion of fun that was CHBP 2013 (Images: CHS)

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The hopefully sun-drenched days of the Capitol Hill Block Party are just three short months away and the festival’s producers have been busily making new plans for the three-day Capitol Hill celebration of Pike/Pine’s nightlife culture.

The 18th annual installment of the festival will once again fall on the last full weekend of July, this year the 25th, 26th, 27th. Block Party producer Jason Lajeunesse told CHS that permits have been issued and most of the bands are booked. The main stage acts and ticket prices are expected to be announced Tuesday morning. The festival annually draws more than 30,000 attendees.

UPDATE: Spoon, The War on Drugs, and Sunday closer A$AP Rocky will be among the Capitol Hill Block Party 2014 headliners, organizers revealed Tuesday during their ritual announcement on KEXP. Three-day passes also went on sale for a limited time discount of $99.

Here’s the list of headliners being announced Tuesday morning:

A$AP Rocky, Spoon, Chromeo, Matt and Kim, The War on Drugs, Odesza, Sol,  A$AP Ferg, Beat Connection, Star Slinger, Budos Band, Tanlines, XXYYXX, Angel Olsen, Poolside, Cymbals, Shy Girls 

The full lineup and schedule is typically released by early June.

Tickets can be purchased here.

“The Block Party is a boisterous and spirited event that takes place right in the heart of Seattle’s artistic community,” Lajeunesse said in a statement released along with the 2014 lineup tease. “This year’s headliners like Chromeo and Matt and Kim will transform the intersection of Pike and Broadway into a giant dance floor. I can’t wait.”

In December Lajeunesse went before the city’s Special Events Committee to assure the city’s party police that there would be no major logistical changes from last year’s festivities. Over recent years, Block Party planners have attempted to do more with less, packing more music and art into the same confines and doing more to mitigate the festival’s impact on the neighborhood by keeping a lid on attendance and last call. Ticket prices have also climbed with single-day access reaching $40 last year. 2014 three-day passes will start at $99 for a limited time, organizers say.

One smaller change planned for 2014 will be upgrades to the Vera Stage on 11th Ave. The smaller, more intimate stage features the most eclectic and local mix of the very Seattle festival and will receive some to-be-revealed enhancements. Last year, producers increased investments in video screens to make it easier for crowds to catch the action on the main stage

The sound mitigation strategies we told you about last year will be employed again. Jeff Stalter of the city’s noise enforcement program told Lajeunesse the city was happy with the results from last year.

“It was impressive,” Stalter said at CHBP’s December meeting. “The changes you made were effective, we didn’t get many complaints.”

(Jim Bennett/photobakery for CHBP with permission to CHS)

(Jim Bennett/photobakery for CHBP with permission to CHS)

(Jim Bennett/photobakery for CHBP with permission to CHS)

(Jim Bennett/photobakery for CHBP with permission to CHS)

(Jim Bennett/photobakery for CHBP with permission to CHS)

(Jim Bennett/photobakery for CHBP with permission to CHS)

(Image: CHS)

(Image: CHS)

Getting to and from the festival could be improved this year with some added transportation options. For the first time, the First Hill Streetcar could be in the mix. Lajeunesse said CHBP would also attempt to deploy valet bike parking this year. He also said the festival would be using the same security and production company as last year.

For the second year in a row CHBP will face some talent and audience competition from the woodsier Timber! Outdoor Music Festival, which falls on the same weekend. The Carnation, WA festival has already announced a handful of bands. Lajeunesse said he didn’t see any reason to be concerned as both festivals fell on the same weekend last year and neither decided to move.

Lajeunesse enters his third year at the helm of the CHBP as partners Marcus Charles and David Meinert stepped aside in 2011 after 11 years of running the festival. Business partners Meinert and Lajeunesse recently teamed up to re-launch the Comet Tavern. The Comet, Lost Lake and Meinert’s Big Mario’s Pizza are CHS advertisers.

In other summer festival news, Sasquatch decided to cancel its 2nd weekend and Bumbershoot will move it’s main stage back to Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center.

In March, the CHBP Twitter account came back to life, asking the twitterverse for input on performers. The CHBP website is also up. Meanwhile, if you and your ukelele Winger cover band want to play the festival, producers are looking to fill two slots again this year via the Sonicbids site.

Here’s a look back at last year’s Capitol Hill Block Party as reported by CHS:
Day One | Day Two | Day Three

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(Image: CHS)

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5 Comments
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Adrian
Adrian
9 years ago

Are they not selling day passes? Just the three day passes?

Formica Dinette
Formica Dinette
9 years ago

You’ll be able to buy single-day tickets once the detailed lineup is announced.

Adrian
Adrian
9 years ago

Awesome – thank you! :)

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[…] of good times at Capitol Hill music festivals, a free celebration of music makers, poets, filmmakers and artists is being planned for a comeback […]

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[…] For instance, this year’s festivities include more food offerings from participating food trucks, an expanded 11th Ave stage, and better lighting. […]