Downtown Summer Sounds Wraps a Memorable 47th Season

Downtown Summer Sounds wrapped its 47th season in late August, closing out a summer that stretched from Westlake Park to Pioneer Square to the waterfront — eight main-stage concerts, nine pop-up shows and, for the first time, a bonus western hoedown serving as an exclamation point.

The series kicked off July 9 at Westlake Park with soulful soft-rock family quartet Infinity Song. From there, the lineup ranged from Ocie Elliott’s folk melodies to John Craigie and Folk B*tch Trio, before shifting to the Occidental Square main stage for the back half of summer.

Along the way, downtown’s lunchtime and evening plazas turned into pop-up stages of their own. Byland drew a mesmerizing lunch crowd at 1200 Fifth Ave, with music carrying all the way down Fifth Avenue. Chasing Abbey brought Irish energy to Occidental Square, where fans jigged and stepped through the entire set. Moontricks closed out a three-show week at Bell Street Park with a psychedelic folk-meets-EDM set from just two band members, filling the block from Third to Second avenues. And when the series hit its halfway point in early August, La Fonda’s five-piece sound and a free Hawaiian BBQ buffet from 999 3rd Avenue drew office workers out for lunch, while Saba packed Occidental Square for DSA’s first main-stage show in Pioneer Square, aligning with First Thursday Art Walk.

The final stretch brought Tophouse’s upbeat folk to a packed Harbor Steps, La Luz’s psychedelic surf rock under new lighting at Occidental Square and a closing run of three shows: THEM at Rainier Square, Vienna Vienna at Occidental Square (with HOMETEAM serving its band-inspired food and cocktail menu, as always) and The Grizzled Mighty delivering the loudest, most energized set of the summer at Pier 66.

By the final note, this year’s series had drawn more than 11,000 concertgoers and 60 completed stamp cards (with hundreds of giveaways handed out) for the drawing of a free one-night stay at The State Hotel.

Thank you to MID ratepayers for funding this year’s Downtown Summer Sounds series, with additional support from Amazon, Seattle Parks & Recreation and The State Hotel. See you next year!

“DSS brings people together in the heart of the city, and this year was no exception,” DSA Director of Public Realm Operations Owen Harrang said. “Seeing Westlake Park, Occidental Square and all of our pop-up venues filled with music and neighbors is exactly what activating our public spaces is all about. We’re grateful to our MID ratepayers and partners who make it possible, and we can’t wait to see what next summer brings.”

Hoedown in Occidental Square

This year’s series also introduced something brand new: Pioneer Square Dance, DSA’s first-ever western-themed block party, held Sept. 10 at Occidental Square. Free and open to everyone, the afternoon brought a mechanical bull, live fiddle players, square dancing lessons and seasoned boot-scooters alike, a best dressed western-wear contest and giveaways — all set against hay bales, farm friends and vintage-inspired decor that turned the square into a slice of the frontier for an afternoon.