Upstream Music Fest and Summit, the latest cultural offering from Seattle’s favorite billionaire Paul Allen, has announced its inaugural lineup—and it’s looking like the vast majority of bands are, as promised, Seattle-and-NW-centric.
The festival debuts May 11-13, inundating Seattle with three-days of performances, workshops, and exhibitions to swim through at various venues in and around Pioneer Square.
Upstream is Allen’s attempt to mold a PNW-focused South by Southwest type large-scale festival, with the goal of booking 75 percent Pacific Northwest bands. Curated by longtime hiphop booker and former talent-buyer at the Crocodile Meli Darby, the lineup includes many, many familiar faces among a dizzying array of over 100 artists. And they’re not done yet – this list is just the first round.
Headliners include Shabazz Palaces, electro-jammers Beat Connection, Iska Dhaaf, glam-rockers Thunderpussy and R&B trio The Flavr Blue. Also on the roster is genre-bending hiphop wunderkind DoNormaal, Grammy-winning jazz-fusion ensemble Snarky Puppy, the sublime soundscapes of Bardo:Basho, Freeway Park, SassyBlack, folk wailer Shelby Earl, Raica, pop-duo SISTERS, So Pitted, The Spider Ferns, Youryoungbody, punk-rock dreamboats Boyfriends… the list goes on!
Notably absent: Death Cab for Cutie, Blue Scholars, Crater, Industrial Revelation, The Cave Singers, Tacocat, Gazebos, Chastity Belt, and so many more.
Maybe for Round 2? For now, here’s the full lineup:
Flying Lotus // AlunaGeorge // Shabazz Palaces // Snarky Puppy // Beat Connection // Iska Dhaaf // Mike McCready & Friends // Thunderpussy // Rabbit Wilde // Xavier Omär // Dave B // The Flavr Blue // Polyrhythmics // Hibou // The Maldives // Grace Love // Motopony // Ayron Jones & The Way // The Grizzled Mighty // Brent Amaker and The Rodeo // Brothers From Another // Budo & Kris Orlowski // Chris Staples // Laura Gibson // MASZER // Acapulco Gold // Acid Tongue // Adam Nystrom // :30 // Aos // Astro King Phoenix // Ayo Dot & The Uppercuts // Bad Luck // Bardo:Basho // Biome // Birch Pereira & the Gin Joints // Boots to the Moon // Boyfriends // Brite Lines // Ca$h Bandicoot // Chimurenga Renaissance // Constant Lovers // COSMOS // CUFF LYNX // DEEP CREEP // DoNormaal // Dream Journal // Dust Moth // Eldridge Gravy & The Court Supreme // En Canto // FKL // Freeway Park // Gail Pettis // Gibraltar // Gifted Gab // Grynch // Guayaba // Gypsy Temple // James Apollo // Key Nyata // Kirt Debique // Lonely Mountain Lovers // Mackned // Maiah Manser // Memwav // Nacho Picasso // Naomi Moon Siegel // Natasha Kmeto // NAVVI // Neu Yeuth // Nyles Davis // OK SWEETHEART // Ole Tinder // Parisalexa // Pink Parts // R-Pal // Raica // Ramzi // Reverend Dollars // Romaro Franceswa // Ruler // Saint Claire // Sashay // SassyBlack // SaxG // Shaprece // Shawn Parker // Shelby Earl // SISTERS // Smokey Brights // So Pitted // Star Anna // Steal Shit Do Drugs // Tangerine // Tay Sean // Taylar Elizza Beth // Tea Cozies // Tezeta Band // The Cold 102’s // The Hasslers // The Hollers // The Last Artful, Dodgr // The Spider Ferns // The Warren G. Hardings // Tiffany Wilson // Travis Thompson // Versing // Warm Gun // Wayne Horvitz’ Electric Circus // WILD POWWERS // Year of Death // Youryoungbody // Yu Su // ZELLi // Will Jordan
There will also be a summit that includes sessions with industry experts, discussions, and break-out groups, featuring keynote speakers Quincy Jones, Macklemore, and Portia Sabin, president of label Kill Rock Stars. Tickets here.