Hello, Seattle! We’re going to mix things up a bit today and go over some of the essential artists and bands that have come out of Seattle. We know you already know about the all-stars like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. So we’re going to focus on some of the contemporary bands that you might not know hail from Seattle.
Here are 10 essential bands that have come out of Seattle.
Band of Horses
You’ll notice a trend with a lot of Seattle bands, they were popular from the 2000s-2010s. And Band of Horses is a prime example of that. You’re probably familiar with their Indie rock banger “The Funeral”. But we haven’t heard much from these guys recently, we hope they’re doing well.
Chastity Belt
Here’s a band that’s still flying a little under the radar. Chastity Belt was formed by 4 friends while attending Whitman College in Walla Walla. We wonder if Walla Walla influenced their sound… Anyway, they probably best categorized under Indie rock and Indie pop. We see them going places and recommend you give them a listen.
Damien Jurado
This is truly easy listening music and is technically categorized under lo-fi folk. Did you even know that was a genre? We bet not. But anyway, Damien Jurado has an interesting sound that often makes use of found sound and field recording. Since we know you’re going to be cooped up inside for a bit, you should give him a listen.
Fleet Foxes
Ah yes, probably one of the bigger bands to come out of Seattle in the last 20 years. We probably don’t need to explain their sound to you but they are categorized under Indie folk. And we sure remember spending a lot of the early to mid-2000s jamming out to “Fleet Foxes” and “Helplessness Blues”.
Green River
So you know about all the big punk and grunge guys but do you know about Green River? You might. But if not, Green River was the OG grunge band. Their style and members went on to form bands like Pearl Jam and Mudhoney. And while they never had much commercial success we’re thankful for their influence on the world of music today.
Heart
Yes, the Wilson sisters are some of the most divine people to grace this earth. Heart is a band that turned out banger after banger like “Barracuda”, “Crazy on You” and “Magic Man”. The list of bangers doesn’t end there because truly, all their music is good. So if you aren’t already turning on their music, do it now.
Modest Mouse
We’re pretty much all living to the tune of “Float On” these days. And while Modest Mouse has created a lot of amazing music, that song is still probably our favorite. Plus we love to see an alternative rock OG that’s still at it. So if you need something slightly uplifting to jam out to at home these days, give them a listen.
Mount Eerie
You may be familiar with The Microphones and well that’s what Mount Eerie is today. The music is a little genre-defying and sometimes leans more towards experimental. But we feel comfortable calling it Indie folk. If you hadn’t noticed, the PNW is the king of creating Indie bands. So if you need something new to your ears, listen to Mount Eerie and see what you think.
Odesza
Odesza is like the black sheep of the family when it comes to Seattle/Washington bands. Who thought Washington would have created one of the worlds, all-time favorite chillwave groups? Well maybe you saw that coming and maybe that’s the influence of spending a lot of time in Bellingham. If you need some pick-me-up music, listen to “In Return”. You’ll feel like its summer in your mind.
Shabazz Palaces
We feel like Shabazz Palaces is a bit of a music lover secret. They’ve worked with WOKE (Thundercat and Flying Lotus) and created numerous albums of their own. Yet we don’t see them getting nearly enough love. This experimental hip hop group is definitely one of the best groups to come out of Seattle, period.
And we’re going to cap it there Seattle. We hope you enjoyed our list of essential bands that have come out of Seattle. And we know there’s a lot more out there but we also know Seattlites are pretty up on their music knowledge. So we hope you learned about a new band or will be sitting down to listen to some of your favorite Seattle based bangers.
Have a great week!
