Chris Jones and Joe Nix combine ambassadorial knowledge and evangelistic zeal for the Belltown neighborhood that houses their bars, Screwdriver and Jupiter, respectively. That civic fervor has manifested Belltown Blast, a daylong, eclectic celebration of a vital cultural hub, with crucial support from Belltown Art Walk organizer/Slip Gallery owner Amy Tipton, Timothy Firth from Common Area Maintenance, and Keith Kentop of Belltown Collective, for which the event is a fundraiser.
Now in its second year, Belltown Blast is a music festival, sure, but the Second Avenue block party also includes skateboarding, live mural painting by 16 artists, a dog show (the hit of last year’s fest), BMX stunts, drag performances, tattooing, a makers market, and a beer garden. Afterparties at Belltown Yacht Club and Screwdriver Bar will run till 2 a.m. The Seattle-centric musical lineup of nearly 20 acts includes heavy, filthy rock by las mujeres fuertes Muñeca, scathing post-punks Black Ends, decadent, diverse EDM from ex-Mad Rad/Iska Dhaaf member Nathan Nothing, brazen glam-rockers Biblioteka. doleful darkwave magus Mutual Shock, and DJ Mike Nipper, who’ll be spinning punk, hardcore, and garage-rock records.
Of course, every summer, nearly every ‘hood holds block parties and festivals, but Belltown Blast is different; it arose from a feeling that a wrong needed to be righted. During the 2020 pandemic, many key businesses and buildings on Second Avenue (Mama’s Mexican Kitchen, Neon Boots, Wayne Apartments, Shorty’s, et al.) were uprooted and/or demolished. Jones notes that this tragedy “ripped the heart out of Belltown.”
“It was the best block in Seattle,” says Jones. “It was the melting pot. A lot of Belltown’s problems are directly related to that block being leveled. It’s devastating, and we feel this responsibility to shine a light on Second Avenue, because that was taken away. It’s still such a raw nerve.”
“When we brought the party back last year, you could tell everyone was so excited to see it happen,” Nix says. “I spent my 20s and 30s in those establishments. And there was a plan and a promise to build this new thing with ground-level retail.” Six years later, that scheme still hasn’t materialized.
“It’s gotten so bad that I wish it were something like a parking lot,” says Jones. “Nobody cared what was happening to that block. A by-product of that is the Mama’s building got taken over by squatters, and they had to demolish a historical building. That was a direct result of nothing being on that block.”
Nix adds, “This was after we won historical landmark status for the Wayne, and they knocked it down anyway. They let it sit vacant and the owner found a loophole called economic exemption and was able to let it go to squatters.” The Wayne building later was damaged in a fire.
Nix points to the resiliency that merchants need to survive and thrive under challenging circumstances—breaking and entering incidents, unhoused folks, drug dealing, addicts. “We have a hard time with barely any police presence normally. A lot of things happen here that we constantly have to battle. We have to police our own neighborhood. By that, I mean we’re sweeping the sidewalk, dealing with people with mental illness every day. It’s a lot. When the party happened, it was like saying, ‘We’re still here. We’re not going anywhere.’ Even if for just one day, we have this amazing party where everyone gets to have a release and enjoy the neighborhood.
“I became an artist in this neighborhood not knowing that I was going to do this for a living,” Nix contines. “I found community and my career here. I wouldn’t have thrived so much without this place, so it’s important for me to give back to the neighborhood. When I was 23 and arrived here, I had nothing. I want this neighborhood to be available for other young people to come and find their community.”
Something that makes Belltown Blast stand out is how much of the curation is femme-centric. Maya Marie of the Maya Experience helped Nix book Jupiter’s Xorbos Lounge, and Jones gave Belltown Yacht Club co-bookers and managers Raven Losky and Tylo Gardner free rein to select artists for BYC’s stage.
Nix points out another distinctive feature: Belltown Blast eschews food trucks and pop-up vendors so that attendees will sample the neighborhood’s restaurants. “Each place on Second Avenue—and a couple on First—are going to have specials if you buy a certain bracelet,” he says. “There’ll be a map of participating restaurants—places like Bangrak Market and Hatch Cantina, which is going to have a huge beer garden. If you don’t visit often, it’s the perfect way to discover Belltown. And not just food, but places like Singles Going Steady, an awesome record shop that’s been going forever. That’s also what the party’s about.”
“It feels like we’re opening the gates to show everybody it’s really cool and unique here,” Jones says. “It’s a fun, weird, DIY thing. Last year there were crackheads dancing in the street, everybody was intermingling, and nothing bad happened. It all got cleaned up, despite there being almost zero police presence. I was excited to show the city that we did this thing and you didn’t help—and it went great. A lot of people told me, ‘I forgot how great Belltown is.’ It’s tough to do, but we run our businesses the same way. It’s rewarding because it brings everybody together.”
Belltown Blast happens Aug 15, noon–10 pm, on Second Avenue between Lenora and Battery.
