The 23rd edition of the Capitol Hill Block Party(CHBP) dominated two block of E Pike in Seattle amidst great weather, providing a perfect setting for the three day event. The artist lineup for CHBP continues to include buzz worthy artists along with recognizable names who are making noise in the mainstream. 2019 is hands-down the year for Lizzo, who finally cracked the mainstream with her third studio album, Cuz I Love You, released earlier this year. With the crowds overflowing and residents hanging out of apartment windows, she was clearly the main attraction for the weekend and her performance on Saturday exceeded all expectations with her powerful voice and charismatic stage presence.
Earlier on Friday, the festival kicked off strong with up and coming artists Crooked Colours, whose easy-going dance vibes were the perfect soundtrack for a warm Seattle day. JPEGMAFIA wasted no time during his set to take things to the next level, as the rapper commanded the stage and got the crowds going. Evan Giia stood out on the Vera stage, as she presented the perfect mix of dance vibes to accompany her strong vocals, highlighted by her songs “Westworld” and the more recent release, “What U Need”. Headliners Phantogram were welcomed with a jubilant crowd eager to see the duo, who are currently touring North America. Seasoned festival performers at this point in their career, Phantogram put on a set highlighted by exciting visuals accompanied by the songs that have been a part of the formidable years of their fans, including “Mouthful of Diamonds”, “Fall In Love”, “Black Out Days” and the more recent release, “Into Happiness”.
Along with the unforgettable performance by Lizzo, Saturday was punctuated by a strong crop of emerging talent, including Shallou. The Maryland-based artist has been selling out venues, as fans can’t get enough of the ambient house vibes, and his set at CHBP showed why. Although performing during the day, his set that’s normally highlighted by stunning visuals was still just as captivating as the audience swayed to songs like “You and Me” and “Vignette | Nomad Series”. Chelsea Cutler had a crazy enthusiastic crowd during her set, as the audience was dancing and singing to much of her set. Meanwhile, Still Woozy put on a great set filled with his mix of dance/funk/electronic sounds accompanied by amazing dancers that inspired the crowd to bust a move of their own.
The final day of CHBP was filled with lots of great talent including Michigander, the solo project of Jason Singer, whose anthemic songs captured many people who were passing by, to stop and watch. Yves Tumor is showed why he’s an artist to see live, as the self-taught musician handed out cupcakes before hitting the stage. As he sauntered and danced about the stage, his backup band was just as engaging and energetic. Although the term “genreless” has been thrown about recently to describe an artist whose music bounces between various genres, Yves Tumor has been doing this for quite some time as many have noted influences of Prince and David Bowie in his much and stage performance. While Cuco had throngs of young women singing along to his set, it was obvious that the 21-year old musician, who started making music in his bedroom, has evolved into strong live performer. With music that ranged from dream-pop and chill, Cuco also had the crowds dancing and swaying along. Ending the night with a bang was electronic producer, RL Grime, whose set was filled with lots of visuals, strobe lighting and dancing to end the night.
Check out photos from Capitol Hill Block Party 2019!
Photo credit: Henry Wurtz