During our recent shows with Visit Seattle, we caught up with six of our favorite artists with close links to the Pacific Northwest music mecca to hear why the city is such a special place.
Julie Phan
“There’s so much diversity in Seattle. I really love Seattle’s International District, it’s where I always take people. The Wing Luke Museum, in particular, stands out as my favorite destination to introduce others to. As an Asian American history and community museum, it played an important role in shaping my early identity.”
TezaTalks
“There’s this phrase in Seattle called the ‘Seattle Freeze.’ Some people can perceive it as a negative thing, but I’d like to think of it as a positive thing because you have to be patient; you have to allow people to unthaw in the best way. And that also plays into the art of the city–you have to take your time and walk through and explore the streets, and see the intentionality as to why the building still remains the same, or how technology has progressively integrated into the city, or why the music hasn’t been forgotten about, because of how potent it was.”
Margaux
“I find that whenever I go back home, I get the most songwriting done because I just feel really centered. There are so many different kinds of music happening in Seattle, and I can really speak to it from the perspective of when I was growing up there. I found that it was extremely supportive and encouraging of young artists. I’m sure a lot of cities have their pockets like that, but with Seattle in particular, I felt there was just a lot of energy surrounding music and public events like Folklife and Bumbershoot.”
Parisalexa
“I think when people think about Seattle music, there’s not necessarily one thing that comes to mind. Some people might say Pearl Jam, some people might say Jimi Hendrix, some people might say Macklemore. That’s kind of the beauty of it: there’s no one person, no staple sound or staple artist, and that kind of just allows this open playing field of just good music.”
Jonas, Flowmingos
“Originally from Finland, I spent a lot of my life in the Northwest and Seattle area, so I’ve always drawn a lot of inspiration from Seattle. I’ve always been inspired by nature and that vast nature in Seattle. You have mountains and you’re close to British Columbia, and just have this really epic grandiose nature. I’m really drawn to that slower cinematic type of energy, like for example, the song that we’re playing, Shelter. I wrote that song looking at the mountains and it started out as a peaceful solo piano thing, but then bringing it into New York City and adding some horns and playing it on the street really connects to people, because they see each of us individually coming together.”
Broke Royals
“A lot of the musical inspiration from the band has really come from our time in Seattle, kind of combining those softer elements with some of the more unexpected tones. Seattle is surrounded by so much beauty, and there’s a real lively art scene to the city. There is the element of surprise. For somebody who has yet to visit Seattle, I’d like them to let the city wash over them, get inspired by their surroundings and environment, and dig deeper. Go explore those places that are off the beaten track. Go see a house show, go to a local gallery, and just let yourself kind of wander and find your inspiration.”
For more Seattle-based music content, as well as a host of original series covering things like Seattle food, events, art, and industry, check out VisitSeattle.TV.
