CHBP 2017 Recap
Another Capitol Hill Block Party was upon our city and once again it did not disappoint. The 21st occurrence of the festival brought hundreds of people to the Hill and enchanted them with dozens of musical acts from all over. One of our favorite neighborhoods transforms into an artistic heaven, where we can’t wait to find new acts and share great moments with our friends. We witnessed many great moments and below are our top acts of this year’s event. While the bill had names including, Run The Jewels, Diplo, Lord Huron, Jai Wolf, Whitney, Noname, and one of our favorites, Manatee Commune, we wanted to focus on acts that you might not know well and should check out in the future.
10. dreamcatchr
Seattle’s own 5-piece rock band killed it at Barboza. Guitar licks from Raven McDaniels and powerful lead vocals from Shannon Clark made this one of the most memorable performances from CHBP.
The energy from Seattle hip hop duo KFG was off the charts. Whether they were up on stage or hopping up and down in the crowd, their performance pumped everyone up. One of the most fun acts from one of Seattle‘s best hip hop groups out there.
8. Naked Giants
More Seattle locals! The gritty punk garage rock band just got back from tour and brought the noise party to the Vera stage. There was head banging, mosh pits and swooning a plenty.
7. Angel Olsen
One of the more exciting moments of the festival was Angel Olsen’s performance of “Shut Up Kiss Me”, what has become a music festival anthem of sorts. Her performance of that song, as well as the entire set, was incredible.
The L.A. rock trio put on a really fun show from start to finish. Lead singer Clementine Creevy entered frantically crawled while entering the stage. And that was just the beginning of what shaped into one of the funnest and silliest performances from the weekend.
5. Danny Brown
This Detroit rapper is one of the most unique figures in all of hip hop. So it should come as no surprise that he entered the stage donning sunglasses and a colorful casino-themed suit (covered head to toe in poker chips and playing cards). Besides the wardrobe, Danny performed all of his classic jams to perfection and was noticeably having fun while sticking his tongue out at fans.
Fresh off of performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Stephen Colbert, Perfume Genius absolutely destroyed the Vera stage in his return home to Seattle. With his angelic vocals and dance moves/body contortions, the crowd was entranced.
3. Magic Giant
Indie folk band from L.A. had the most energetic show at CHBP. The band consists of 3 members that play a variety of different instruments: cello, banjo, fiddle, mandolin and harmonica to name a few. From the instant the entered the stage, they were all over the place, jumping onto speakers, playing instruments on their backs, diving into the crowd. This rowdy band was my biggest surprise from CHBP.
If there was any band from CHBP to exemplify the classic 90s Seattle grunge style, it was this 3-piece band from Oklahoma City. Kelli Mayo, lead singer and guitarist, is only 17 years old, yet she delivers some loud and punchy vocals. This was one of the most talked about performances all weekend.
1. Mykki Blanco
Known as the one of the pioneers of LGBT rap, Mykki started her set by forming a circle in the crowd below the stage and performing the entirety of her set there. Wearing lingerie and black fairy wings, Mykki definitely knows how to put on a fun show. And above all of this, she is a supremely talented rapper.
Review and photos by the incredible Eric Luck
