Tag Archives: CHBP

A Capitol Hill Block Party 2024 hangover: Pike/Pine festival bends but doesn’t break despite massive Chappell Roan crowd

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Outside the gates, thousands also enjoyed the CHBP 2024 show

With reporting by Nova Berger/CHS Reporting Intern

The Capitol Hill Block Party awakens this Monday in a familiar place: facing questions of whether the music festival has grown too much for its neighborhood streets in a hangover of the sunny fun and legendarily good times experienced during its annual three days of music and partying.

“We were thrilled to see the incredible interest and excitement surrounding this year’s festival, especially with the rising popularity of our performing artists,” a Capitol Hill Block Party spokesperson said in a statement to CHS. “This enthusiasm reflects the vibrant and dynamic music scene that our festival celebrates.”

“We are committed to creating a safe, enjoyable, and memorable festival experience for everyone, and will continue to examine our security measures closely and adjust certain aspects for each iteration of the festival,” the spokesperson said.

The $100-plus ticketed event’s producers say they capped sales to 10,000 for Friday’s first day despite the massive surge in interest around the night’s headliner, Chappell Roan. Producers say city officials would allow up to 14,000 people to fill E Pike and the surrounding streets — “the maximum capacity for our footprint determined by the Seattle Fire Department.”

Even with the 10,000 daily limit, festival goers reported near-crush conditions as thousands packed onto E Pike just east of Broadway on the warm Seattle night to witness Roan’s set with reports of people passing out and suffering minor injuries.

The Block Party’s production company includes ownership from Pike/Pine institutions including the Neumos and Barboza family, Lost Lake Cafe, the Comet, and Big Mario’s.

Over the years, the festival’s growing popularity has faced calls for more to be done to address the event’s impact on the surrounding neighborhood including public safety issues, traffic, mobility issues around the festival fencing and production equipment, and noise. Continue reading →

Producers sued over deadly shooting during Broadway/Pike street racing outside Capitol Hill Block Party’s fences

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The street racing was caught on the SDOT traffic camera at the intersection

The family of Essence Greene, the 20-year-old shot and killed last July as late night crowds formed around street racers outside the fences of the Capitol Hill Block Party at Broadway and Pike, is suing the music festival’s producers.

KOMO is reporting on the lawsuit it says blames organizers “for failing to disperse the crowd so people could safely leave the event.”

KOMO reports the lawsuit, which does not appear yet in King County Superior Court filings, blames producers Independent Event Solutions for failing “disperse the crowd from the event or move barriers so the crowd could disperse more easily.”

The annual Capitol HIll Block Party is a three-day festival that is unique as one of the few music events of its scale in the country to be operated as a ticketed event on city streets.

Greene was one of four people shot when gunfire rang out as large nightlife crowds were dissipating after the street racing takeover of the intersection after the 2023 Capitol Hill Block Party’s second day had ended for the night. Continue reading →

More of the same good times at Capitol Hill Block Party 2024: Three days, eight stages, and a mix of music on the streets of Pike/Pine

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The Capitol Hill Block Party is becoming downright dependable as its 2024 edition shapes up with a familiar plan — three days in July, eight stages along E Pike, a mix of free events and activities in Cal Anderson and outside the gates, and a mix of bands including national acts on the rise and local favorites familiar to the neighborhood’s stages at venues like Chop Suey and Neumos. The only thing uncertain is the weather.

Producer Daydream State, the production company from Pike/Pine nightlife entrepreneur Jason Lajeunesse that puts on the annual three-day ticketed music festival on the neighborhood’s streets, has dropped the 2024 CHBP lineup that includes headliners “Grammy-winning producer Kaytranada, electropop superstar Kim Petras, and indie rock group Still Woozy.” Passes are now on sale.

The annual announcement of Block Party acts has become a rite of Capitol Hill spring, pairing with the Queer/Pride music festival’s lineup drop for a one-two punch of summer enthusiasm for the neighborhood. Continue reading →

A CHS visit with the crowd at the 25th Capitol Hill Block Party

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By Kali Herbst Minino

Anyone who tried to drive anywhere last weekend knows it was a busy, hot weekend for Seattle. Capitol Hill Block Party and celebrated its 25th edition, attracting groups of people from other states and various parts of Washington.

Taking place in a historically LGBTQ+ neighborhood, Block Party organizers have said they hope to continue balancing the impact of a three-day, ticketed music festival with community involvement. CHS reported here on their efforts in 2023.

Capitol Hill’s cultural value shined through for some. Brittany Sides traveled from Tacoma, and thinks Capitol Hill is one of the most fulfilling and creative neighborhoods in Seattle.

“I had a professor who lived here back in the 90s and she remembers when these bars were lesbian bars, she doesn’t really love Capitol Hill now, it was just a little bit grimier,” Sides said. “It’s definitely more gentrified now than it historically was, but, the heart is still there.”

Delaney Trujillo, who was working at a booth during Block Party, grew up on Capitol Hill and says that while they see gentrification happening, they feel that the spread of the LGBTQ+ community reaches further than it did five to seven years ago.

“I’ve seen real good queer shit on the pier, you wouldn’t see that 10 years ago,” Trujillo said.

Trujillo felt that the festival leaned on the club-side, and would have liked to see more representation. Continue reading →

There is still a local push in Capitol Hill Block Party’s 25th year

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By Kali Herbst Minino

“I know music festivals can’t be free anymore, but I’m hoping to see an even bigger local push from Block Party for local artists and local businesses,” Avery Cochrane, a performer at this year’s Capitol Hill Block Party tells CHS.

The 25th year of the music festival takes place this weekend in the heart of Pike/Pine starting Friday and running through Sunday. Three days of sun, warm evenings, and lots of music are predicted.

The price of a one-day ticket to this year’s Block Party is sitting at $95, far above its origins as a free neighborhood event. The now three-day music festival that takes over the blocks around E Pike and Broadway has had split reviews from community members over its 25-year lifetime. Some business owners enjoy increased revenue while others struggle outside the fences put in place for the event. Tensions peaked in 2019 when the city asked for community feedback, but that seems to have faded during the recovery from the pandemic.

As the event has grown and ticket prices risen, so have efforts from CHBP organizers to engage with and support local artists and businesses.

Cochrane wasn’t expecting to receive an email from organizers about playing this year’s block party. She attended the event in 2018 and never necessarily had the ultimate goal of playing at it.

“It’s still weird seeing my name on there, and the font size for my name isn’t even that small, so I’m kind of mind-blown,” Cochrane said. Continue reading →

CHS Pics | All the sides of Capitol Hill Block Party 2022

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Guess which side has beer

In June, Pride returned to its rightful space on Capitol Hill. It felt good to be there and have dozens of great pictures to share of the triumphant return after two summers of cancellations and postponements.

In July, another neighborhood tradition returned. Below, we’ve shared the scenes of Capitol Hill Block Party 2022 from inside and outside the fences — and from above.

We reported here on the return of the three-day music festival and its ongoing mixed relationship with Pike/Pine’s culture, neighbors, and small business community. Some of the images below are illustrative of the dynamic. There are glorious scenes of a summer party. And there are scenes of fenced-off neighborhood streets. The good news is we found a party on both sides.

 

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After COVID’s lost summers, Capitol Hill Block Party returns to a changed Pike/Pine

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Some of the best fun can be found outside the fences

The math will never work out right for Capitol Hill Block Party. There are the two years of pandemic cancellations. And the debate on its origin. Are you a summer of 1997 truther or do you go back further still to the days when the events were more street fair than a massive, three-day festival on the streets of Pike/Pine?

Friday, after COVID’s lost summers, the 24th year of the Block Party as we pretty much know it will arrive.

The main stage crowd in 2019 (Image: Capitol Hill Block Party)

Like this year’s Pride revelers who celebrated in Pike/Pine’s beer gardens in June for the first time in three years, the 30,000 or so attendees who will visit Pike/Pine across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be experiencing the return of a summer Capitol Hill tradition.

Producer Daydream State, formed by ownership from Pike/Pine institutions including the Neumos and Barboza family, Lost Lake Cafe, the Comet, and Big Mario’s, and the festival’s relationship to the neighborhood appears to have greatly shifted during the lost time.

Some of the fences have shifted, also.

Continue reading →

CHS Pics | A movie in Cal Anderson Park means summer is here — the returns of Capitol Hill Block Party, and, yes, Capitol Hill Garage Sale Day are next

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Cal Anderson got back to its pre-pandemic, pre-2020 protests ways Friday night with a movie in the park. CHS stopped by for scenes from within — and above — the crowd gathered for the Seattle Parks screening of To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.

Despite Monday’s turn of chilly July-uary weather, the summer will return to Capitol Hill this week with the return of the Capitol Hill Block Party.

And, later this summer, another legendary community event will also return to the neighborhood. Yes, Capitol Hill Garage Sale Day is coming back. Continue reading →

Picking up where it left off three summers ago, Capitol Hill Block Party announces lineup, plans for 2022 return

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CAPITOL HILL BLOCK PARTY 2022 FULL LINEUP
DIPLO • CHARLI XCX • JAI WOLF • TORO Y MOI • 100 GECS • REMI WOLF • DANNY BROWN • FLO MILLI • TOKIMONSTA • BEACH BUNNY • DUCKWRTH • THE BETHS • EVAN GIIA • CHET PORTER • CANNONS • SUDAN ARCHIVES • MANILA KILLA • IDK • TKAY MAIDZA • MAGDALENA BAY • KENNY MASON • ELA MINUS • CHLOE MORIONDO • LIZZY MCALPINE • ENUMCLAW • MICHELLE • IAN SWEET • BOYISH • DEMPSEY HOPE • THE BLACK TONES • ARCHIE • BREAKS & SWELLS • THE MOSS • THE GRIZZLED MIGHTY • TEZATALKS • BRENT AMAKER AND THE RODEO • LIVT • ALL STAR OPERA • RUDY • LA FONDA • LINDA FROM WORK • JANG • CLAUDINE MAGBAG • BIBLIOTEKA • ARIANA DEBOO • AMONG AUTHORS • TINSLEY • ERIK WALTERS • JULIETTE • LOVELY COLOURS • JUSMONI • TODD ZACK JR. • KING YOUNGBLOOD • SMALL PAUL • LAURELI • JOZA • JANE DON’T & FRIENDS • SEA LEMON • MOTUS • DAVE SHANAE • RELL BE FREE • HHERB (LIVE SET) • CHINESE AMERICAN BEAR • HALLEY GREG • PINK BOA • ALLA • SEIICHI • GOOD JOB • OH MY EYES

By the time July 2022 rolls around, there is hope that a lot of things will have changed in Seattle since the recent omicron spike. So much has changed since last summer when the Capitol Hill Block Party was canceled due to pandemic challenges. And even more has changed since 2019, the last time the three-day music festival in the streets of Pike/Pine was held.

Tuesday, producers for the event announced the lineup for the 2022 Capitol Hill Block Party with the festival’s recipe seemingly not missing a beat with a mix of national headliners and Pacific Northwest artists and bands slated to take the main stage at Broadway and Pike starting July 22nd.

“If there’s ever been a time to have a community block party to celebrate Seattle’s rich tradition of music and the arts, it’s summer 2022,” Evan Johnson, Capitol Hill Block Party’s talent buyer said in the announcement. “Local businesses — restaurants and bars in particular — have been hit especially hard by the pandemic. We’re excited to help revitalize the neighborhood and bring attention back to the many independent businesses operating in the Pike/Pine Corridor.”

The announcement comes early in the year and follows last May’s decision to pull the plug on the 2021 festival due to concerns over COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns with uncertainty about what would come next for the virus. The 2021 Capitol Hill Block Party cancellation marked the second year that the COVID-19 crisis kept the one of a kind music festival off the streets of Pike/Pine. CHS reported here on the decision to shut the event down in 2020.

Its hopes for helping the revitalization of Pike/Pine in 2022 are also part of a new message following what had been increasing criticism of the ticketed, three-day music festival by some local businesses and neighborhood residents tired of the mess, the crowds, and the disruption of the neighborhood the event represents for some. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill Block Party producers announce new music festival set for Labor Day weekend — at Seattle Center, not E Pike and 10th

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Aminé at Capitol Hill Block Party on July 21, 2019 (Image: CHBP/Joshua Lewis)

Capitol Hill’s live music scene is primed to take over the city but the Pike/Pine producers behind it say a new Labor Day weekend music festival at Seattle Center won’t replace the city’s Bumbershoot festival and does not mark the end of Capitol Hill Block Party.

The new Day In Day Out festival is planned for Saturday and Sunday, September 4th and 5th, at the Fisher Green Pavilion and will bring together a CHBP-worthy mix of high buzz acts and local up and comers including Chvrches, Kaytranada, Aminé, Big Wild, STFKR, Parisalexa, and Chong the Nomad in a ticketed event featuring “an all-age viewing lawn, a 21+ VIP lounge deck, a spacious indoor-outdoor beer garden, some of the city’s most hype-worthy food trucks and more.”

Producers say Day In Day Out will be “the first Seattle music festival of its kind in the last two years.”

The major new music event is produced by Daydream State, the company formed by Jason Lajeunesse behind Pike/Pine institutions including the Neumos and Barboza family, Lost Lake Cafe, the Comet, and Big Mario’s.

“After an incredibly difficult year for artists, fans and our local creative community, we’re excited to celebrate the return of live music by providing a new platform to revive the festival scene in Seattle,” Lajeunesse says in Wednesday morning’s announcement of the festival.

The neighborhood’s live music scene roared back to life last week but the annual three-day Capitol Hill Block Party music festival usually held at the end of July won’t be part of the 2021 opening. Continue reading →