Seattle’s Free Downtown. Summer Concert Series is Back

July 9 at Westlake Park was the kickoff of Downtown Summer Sounds. The free summer concert series, that takes place in various venues in downtown Seattle.  

According to seattletimes.com,
‘the free, long-running concert series, organized by the Downtown Seattle Association, will continue through Aug. 28 at venues throughout downtown Seattle in an effort to revitalize the city’s urban core while creating a community gathering space for residents and visitors to enjoy.’ 

Originally, the concert series was. Known as “Out to Lunch”, It started 47 years ago. The performances were targeted for lunch breaks for downtown Seattle employees. In 2018, it was rebranded to Downtown Summer Sounds. The reason for the rebranding was to encourage people from outside the city of Seattle to come into town and enjoy the music. (And maybe spend some money.) 

Where is the music?

screen shot / downtownseattle.org/events/downtown-summer-sounds/

The free concerts will occur every Thursday with two main stages, the first half of the schedule will be In Westlake Park and the second half of the schedule will be at Occidental Square. In addition to those scheduled shows, there are other pop-up shows that will occur all around downtown Seattle.  

A complete schedule and also descriptions of the groups can be found at Downtown Summer Sounds  

I won't profile everybody that's on the list of concerts, but there are a few that you might be interested in. 

John Craigie will be performing at Westlake Park on July 23rd from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. 

The best way to describe his style is singer-songwriter, with a hint of classic folk singer, with voice, guitar, and harmonica. Personal songs that sometimes make you laugh. 

La Fonda will be performing on Wednesday, August 3rd from noon to 2:00 PM at, 999 3rd. 

Lafonda is a Seattle indie pop band fronted by two sisters, Valerie and Veronica. It's a little atmospheric; it's a little indie rock. It should be fun. 

 Byland is the Seattle-based project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alie Renee, Wednesday, August 12th from noon to two, at 1200 Fifth. 

Lush arrangements and deeply personal songs will dominate the playlist. 

What you've seen and heard here is just a small taste of the kind of music that's going to be made available during Downtown Summer Sounds and even though we've kind of focused on indie rock on our examples, there's all kinds of styles of music that will be made available to you, free. 

Don't forget to find out more at Downtown Summer Sounds
And remember to enjoy the music. Whenever you can, as much as you can.