Even though this weekend’s wonderful Capitol Hill Block Party exhausted us, I guarantee that our passion for music has grown exponentially. Who would want to leave all of this weekend’s fantastic music and festivities to go back to a desk job, right? After spending most of my energy on the heavy and upbeat music scene on Friday and Saturday at CHBP, I decided to have a laid back Sunday with some soul and folk music, because they’re a perfect pairing with the sunshine that Seattle so graciously gave us concert-goers.
The Spider Ferns | Photo by April Jingco
The Spider Ferns perfectly kicked off the final day of CHBP with a series of luscious dream-pop textures, dark, sophisticated electronic music, and heavy down-tempo beats. The music transcended the crowd, bringing an incredibly light and sweet mood.
SassyBlack | Photo by April Jingco
SassyBlack, a.k.a. Catherine Harris-White, is a banner of Seattle soul and R&B. She’s really a gifted singer-songwriter who creates so many innovative and easy-to-follow tunes, and she’s also very good at cheering up the crowds up with her humor and personable interactions. With all of her fans singing along to every song, she breezed through her set with ease and enjoyment. For me, the second to last song, “Comicon,” was one of the highlight moments of her set.
Laura Gibson | Photo by April Jingco
Thank everything that Laura Gibson made it through the terrible traffic from Portland to Seattle on Sunday, because her set was stellar. She played a couple songs from her new album, Empire Builder, which is the name of an Amtrak train from Seattle/Portland to Chicago. In fact, she drafted most of her songs in the new album on the train. Analogically enough, her voice is like a train, too; one that socks a punch and takes listeners on a journey. I was “Damn Sure” that this was the most elegant set today, even though a mosquito flew into her mouth at one point. Gross.
The Cave Singers | Photo by April Jingco
While Laura Gibson displayed an elegant aspect of folk music, The Cave Singers showed a much grittier one. CHBP was the last stop of their tour in support of their newest album, Banshee, and The Cave Singers went out with a bang. Everything started with the powerful bass drum beat that led the whole crowd into shaking their heads. Derek Fudesco, the guitarist and bassist, threw himself into each strum while Pete Quirks’ potent and raspy voice touched every mind and soul.
Even though I was stoked to see The Cave Singers, I didn’t end up catching all of their set because I wanted to get a good spot for CHVRCHES. As Lauren Mayberry sang during “Make Them Gold,”
“We will take the best parts of ourselves and make them gold,”
…the Scottish trio brought the festival to its peak with their mid-tempo, falsetto-heavy blend of synth-pop and electronic music. The shimmering pink and purple spotlights from their new album cover, combined with their danceable beats, made for the best possible setting to close out an amazing festival.
MELVIN YUEN | Business Director
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