Charles Koh
Inaugural Upstream Music Fest + Summit brings music of all genres to Pioneer Square. The three-day celebration closes with 390+ Live Shows and draws over 30,000 attendees.
Attendees had a glimpse of sunshine during the final day of Paul Allen’s Upstream Music Fest + Summit as thousands strolled through the streets of Pioneer Square gravitating to their favorite music genre.
The inaugural Fest and Summit featured keynotes like Macklemore, Quincy Jones, Dr. Portia Sabin, and Ron Jones. The first-year Fest + Summit saw strong attendance with more than 30,000 attendees throughout the weekend. An estimated 5,000 more people attended the free shows programmed by KEXP in Occidental Park, engaged with the seven art installations throughout the festival footprint, and savored the tastes of the Pacific Northwest in the food and beer garden.
“It has always been our mission to create a festival that would shine a light on the amazing sound of the Pacific Northwest. We couldn’t be happier that the first year of Upstream brought together so many members of the music community and music lovers from around the region,” said Jeff Vetting, executive director, Upstream Music Fest + Summit.”
Mainstage shows at CenturyLink featured Deep Sea Diver, Beat Connection, AlunaGeorge, Flying Lotus, Snarky Puppy, Jay Park, Dinosaur Jr. and Shabazz Palaces. Even with suboptimal weather, the festival had impressive crowds scattered throughout Pioneer Square with some venues lines out the door.
Seattle’s own, Solomon Samuel “Raz” Simone hit the stage at STAGE on the final day with a packed house and huge lines out the door. Raz Simone owned a club by the age of 19, and founded a music company called Black Umbrella. His lyrics are deep, genuine, and unfiltered. Raz has collaborated recently with Korean Hip-hop musician Jay Park with producer Cha Cha Malone in their global label will be called H1GHR MUSIC RECORDS.
Crowd favorites also included local Korean star Jay Park, a hip-hop artist from Edmonds, Washington Star Anna, Thunderpussy and The Thermals who performed to full houses at the Mike McCready and Hockeytalkter Stage at Comedy Underground.
The festival closed out with a performance by Seattle hip-hop favorite Shabazz Palaces at the main stage next to CenturyLink Field.
All-in-all, great start for Upstream Music Fest + Summit even with the unwelcoming weather the attendees had to endure throughout the festival. Paul Allen’s vision to be the SXSW of the West is still year’s away, but we’re not going to count Seattle out quite yet. To compare SXSW only saw 700 registrants in 1987 to now over 51,000 registrants to Austin every year.
Fans in the stand / EatSeattle
Jay Park / EatSeattle
Jay Park fans / EatSeattle
Jay Park / EatSeattle
Jay Park / EatSeattle
Main Stage / EatSeattle
Upstream Pyramid Art / EatSeattle
METZ / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Black Stax / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Naomi Wachira / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Astro King Phoenix / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
NAVVI / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Dinosaur Jr / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Dinosaur Jr / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Dinosaur Jr / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Aaron Jones and the Way / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Aaron Jones and the Way / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Wimps / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Raz Simone / EatSeattle
Raz Simone / EatSeattle
Warm Gun / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Tellers JM / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Kuinka / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Shabazz / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
INGS / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Thunderpussy / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Thunderpussy / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
Thunderpussy / Courtesy of Upstream Fest + Summit
About Upstream Music Fest + Summit:
Upstream Music Fest + Summit is a three-day festival and industry summit celebrating the emerging sound and culture of the Northwest. Founded by philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, the music festival includes intimate performances and unique collaborations across 25 venues around Pioneer Square and at the Main Stage in CenturyLink Field’s North Plaza. The two-day industry summit gathers artists, influencers and industry experts at WaMu Theater for keynotes and breakout sessions exploring the new music economy. Upstream offers a unique experience that fosters and supports artists at every level of their career, while offering music lovers a weekend of showcases from the Northwest and beyond.
