When visiting Seattle, Washington, as part of your road trip, doing so as a music fan should include following a guide that will steer you in the right direction. This includes learning about some of the city’s best hotspots and venues and some of the radio stations. If you’re unfamiliar with Seattle, don’t rely on a GPS to get you around town. The best radio stations catering to motorists in and around Seattle will inform you about certain road conditions you need to know. Sometimes, GPS systems don’t always pick these up. Overall, the best road trips are the ones that have been planned ahead of time. Concerns such as accommodations, major community events, and road conditions should all be factored in as you plot your course for Seattle.
Driving to Seattle
Three main highways lead motorists straight into the City of Seattle. Whether you’re traveling north or south by car, Interstate Highway 5 is the major thoroughway that will take you straight to its downtown core. For Canadians looking to pay their southern neighbors a visit from Vancouver, British Columbia, its Highway 99 meets with Interstate Highway 5 at the American-Canadian border. As for drivers trekking north from cities such as Portland, Oregon, or Los Angeles, California, Interstate Highway 5 is the best way to go about it.
When reaching Seattle from the east, Interstate Highway 90 allows motorists to approach the city with ease across the state of Washington. This is the same highway that travels as far east as Boston, Massachusetts. It also passes through New York City. Interstate Highway 90, as soon as it reaches Seattle, comes to an end after meeting with Interstate Highway 5 just east of the city’s T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners. What’s great about this highway, as well as Interstate Highway 5 is the easy access you have to concert venues, music festivals, and everything else the Emerald City has to offer.
As mentioned previously, listening to a Seattle-based radio station would be advised, especially if you intend to drive around town to see what it has to offer. For fans of classic rock, you have three great stations to choose from. KZOK 102.5 FM plays nothing but the classics and is one of the most popular stations in the city. There’s also another station known for classic hits, The Jet’s 95.7 FM. This is more of a feel-good station known for mostly playing classic rock from the 1980s. Another great station known for playing the best hit classics is 96.5 Jack FM. The motto shared by the DJs there is “We play what we want.”
Staying in Seattle
As soon as a road trip is planned for Seattle with dates in mind, the next step is to book accommodations if you intend to stay in the city for at least a night or two. The sooner you make reservations to stay at a decent hotel in Seattle the better. This is especially true if the timing of your visit coincides with major events scheduled to take place in the city. Those events can include concerts, festivals, and major league games. Seattle, like any other major city or tourist attraction that has accommodations available, becomes especially popular during the summer as this is when tourism is at its peak.
Where you choose to stay will depend on what you’re willing to spend. Keep in mind you want to find a hotel that has a good reputation with honest reviews shared by previous visitors who already stayed there. For music fans, if you don’t mind spending anywhere between $200 to about $600 USD a night, The Edgewater Hotel would be the place for you. According to some of the reviews given by previous guests at this four-star hotel, it’s a “rock and roll paradise in a classic setting.” This is where the Beatles stayed in 1964 when Beatlemania was at its peak. If you’re willing to spend the money, there is a Beatles-themed suite you can book.
Other popular bands and musicians who also stayed at Edgewater include Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Kurt Cobain, and Frank Zappa. It was the Edgewater who banned Led Zeppelin after this legendary rock group stayed at the hotel for the second time. The band didn’t exactly behave as ideal hotel guests at the time and it was enough to suggest the UK-based group take their future business elsewhere.
The Edgewater Hotel was briefly known as the Camelot when it first opened up for business in 1962. This fabulous hotel sits on its pier, overlooking Elliott Bay, and is the only one in Seattle. The street address is 2411 Alaskan Way, which shares the same road as Pier 66, Seattle’s main cruise terminal, and Bell Harbor. If you want a hotel that’s close to as much musical fun as you can handle, Edgewater would be the hotel for you. What’s also great about the place is it has all the amenities you need, such as a bar, restaurant, room service, and Wi-Fi.
If you choose this hotel and you’re into seafood, visiting Six Seven would be worth your time. It is a rather pricy restaurant but worth every penny if you’re willing to spend it. Aside from the great rooms, this is not only Edgewater Hotel’s pride and joy restaurant but Seattle’s as well. Aside from the picturesque view, guests have all-day access to the restaurant and its award-winning menu. If seafood isn’t for you, Six Seven has something for everyone, including diners who follow strict diets.
Seattle Sound
Seattle has been credited as the birthplace of grunge. Also referred to as the Seattle Sound, this alternative rock genre and subculture began to make its mark in the middle of the 1980s as the city’s collection of musical talent entertained the locals with their brand of rock music. That brand fused heavy metal and punk rock into a special sound that included distorted electric guitar and indie rock-style influences. The lyrics these grunge rockers came up with often addressed a variety of social-related issues, along with a musical cry for freedom.
It was a sound that witnessed the emergence of Seattle’s underground music scene and its independent record label, Sub Pop. By the time the 1990s hit, Seattle’s grungy music scene spilled into California before catching on like rockin’ wildfire across the United States and in nations as far away as Australia. By the time the mid-1990s hit, groups like Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots turned grunge rock into the most popular form of rock music. After Cobain’s 1994 suicide, the grunge music scene seemed to have lost its momentum. However, its influence is still heard in today’s modern rock and post-grunge music scenes. It has also influenced pop culture as the world knows it.
In addition to establishing itself as the birthplace of grunge, Seattle also has its own symphony orchestra earning the privilege of becoming one of the world’s most recorded fan favorites. If your road trip includes indulging in a bit of classical music, the Seattle Opera has won over its audience with one incredible performance after another. In addition to Emerald City as Seattle’s nickname, it’s also known as the City of Music. There are over eighty clubs and venues in this coastal city that offer a tremendous variety of live music options for their guests.
Live in Seattle
Should your road trip include attending at least one concert, Seattle has many great possibilities to choose from. Among the most popular, booking ahead of time to make sure you have a seat is highly advised. If there is that one city that has a neverending love for good music, it’s Seattle. Just between Belltown and SoDo alone, these two districts boast some of the best live music venues that will make your road trip to Seattle a memorable one. It also wouldn’t be a road trip without venturing away from the downtown area to hotspots that are easy enough to reach by car.
Lumen Field
Lumen Field offers more than a remarkable view of downtown Seattle. It also happens to be the home base for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. This is also the largest venue capable of handling concert performances by the most popular musical acts in the business such as Metallica and Taylor Swift. Nearly seventy thousand rockers can be packed into the stadium that sits only ten minutes south of the Edgewater Hotel. Even if you’re not staying at that particular hotel, it sits just west of Interstate Highway 5. This is also where Interstate Highway 90 meets its end. Should your road trip to Seattle be timed when a major concert is held at Lumen Field and you don’t have tickets, it should be noted this venue has been recorded in the Guinness World Records as one of the loudest. This has been credited to the collective roar of the crowd, especially when the venue has been filled to capacity of nearly seventy thousand hyped-up rockers.
Moore Theatre
Moore Theatre opened its doors for the first time in 1907 and catered to the elite members of Seattle’s society at the time. Today, the city’s longest operating theater serves as an arts and music venue that caters to a broader audience. Legendary icons such as Art Garfunkel and Jenny Lewis are among many musical performers who prefer this beautiful, intimate setting as their ideal stage to perform before a live audience. Although the Moore has kept up with the times through upgrades, it has also maintained its luxurious interior. For music fans wanting a mix of culture, history, and great music, Moore Theatre’s street address is 1932 2nd Avenue. It sits in the heart of Seattle’s downtown core and is only a few minutes away from the Edgewater Hotel.
Neptune Theatre
Up until 2011, Neptune Theatre maintained itself as a 1920s single-screen movie house. This changed in 2011 when it became a concert venue with a whimsical theme. Aside from enjoying the hottest indie music acts the city has to offer, guests are just as entertained with the decor fashioned after the well-known Roman god of the sea. Neptune is also popular for its old-school favorites, cabaret shows, musical parodies, and podcasts. To get here by car from downtown Seattle, it’s a thirty-minute drive north when taking Interstate Highway 5. Neptune’s physical address is 1303 NE 45th Street.
Paramount Theatre
During the Roaring Twenties, the Paramount Theatre was regarded as a magnificent cathedral of entertainment by the Seattle press after it first opened its doors in 1928. This beautifully decorated venue stands out just as much now for its ornate decor as it did back in the 1920s. Thanks to a restoration project that has since fully upgraded Paramount to what it is today, this is one of Seattle’s busiest entertainment and music venues. Classic and modern-day Broadway is also alive and well in this theatre. The legacy of the Paramount includes concert performances held by Pink Floyd in 1971 and Tenacious D in 2007. More recently, this nationally recognized landmark featured Mexico’s popular indie rock star, Siddhartha. Situated at 911 Pine Street, the Paramount takes about twenty minutes to drive east from hotels like the Edgewater. It sits just west of Interstate Highway 5.
Showbox SoDo
In 2007, Showbox SoDo opened up as part of the Showbox family. Located at 1700 1st Avenue South, this popular concert venue sits just a few blocks south of Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park. This converted warehouse once became a popular nightclub at one point before filing for bankruptcy, then Showbox took over and introduced Showbox SoDo to Seattle’s music scene as a bigger concert venue than the old Showbox Theatre sitting just a few blocks down the street.
T-Mobile Park
When T-Mobile Park isn’t busy hosting home games for the Seattle Mariners, it also serves as the ideal turf for the biggest stars in the music industry to entertain before a live audience of thousands. The first rock concert held at T-Mobile was on September 16, 2008, by The Beach Boys. Since then, the legacy of T-Mobile Park continues with fantastic concerts performed by Billy Joel, Foo Fighters, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Going into 2024, scheduled rock concerts include the return of Foo Fighters to the baseball stadium. This is followed a month later with Green Day and The Smashing Pumpkins performing together to make some noise, along with the roar of the fans who are certain to have the time of their lives. The location of T-Mobile Park sits directly south of the infamous Lumen Park as it sits across the street on South Royal Brougham Way.
The Crocodile
The Crocodile’s legacy began in 1991 as a small club situated at 2505 1st Avenue that quickly became a popular hangout for aspiring musicians as Seattle’s grunge movement continued to pick up steam. In 2009, an investment crew featuring members from Alice in Chains and Portugal. The Man pooled their resources together and breathed new life into what has now become a hotspot for aspiring and established musicians from all genres. Although the Crocodile Hotel has a great rating by guests who have stayed there, it doesn’t have its own parking lot. This may pose an inconvenience as road trips are better enjoyed when you have safe and easy access to your vehicle. As a concert venue, however, this place rocks.
The Showbox
The Showbox first graced Seattle with its musical presence in 1939 at 1426 1st Avenue. During the Jazz Age, Duke Ellington and Muddy Waters performed here. When grunge rose to popularity, bands such as Mudhoney, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, and TAD rocked before a live audience. In 2018, the fate of the Showbox looked as if its days were numbered until Seattle’s musicians banded together to preserve it as a City of Seattle landmark. Today’s Showbox owes its continuing legacy to Alice in Chains, Death Cab for Cutie, Duff McKagan, Macklemore, and Pearl Jam who all stood up and defended this historical building’s honor. Today, it continues to rock on, bringing new and established talent such as Fever Ray and Sun Room.
Tractor Tavern
If you’re game to do some square dancing, Tractor Tavern has a house band called The Tall Boys. This also happens to be the name of the beer this popular venue serves. Tractor Tavern has been regarded as one of Seattle’s best concert venues, no matter what style of music is played there. This cozy, yet lively hotspot is located at 5213 Ballard Avenue Northwest, which is about twenty minutes north of the city’s downtown core. It doesn’t take long for scheduled concerts to become fully booked here and it’s worth taking a drive to this popular hangout.
Clubbing in Seattle
Mint Lounge
Situated at 1207 Pine Street in the Capitol Hill neighborhood is Mint Lounge. This popular club has reached iconic status in Seattle as one of the city’s best musical venues for at least sixteen years. This is mostly thanks to the stylish decor, specialty cocktails, and the diversity of its dance music. The host of top-notch DJs and occasional live acts add extra flavor to a swanky nightclub that has so much to offer. If you’re looking for a lively nightlife either Friday or Saturday night, the Mint Lounge opens up its doors at 10 PM and keeps them open until 2 AM.
Ora
If you’re looking for a nightclub with a view of Puget Sound, head over to Ora at 2330 1st Avenue. The first floor is an intimate, private venue while the main floor is much bigger with its huge bar and two dance floors. One of Ora’s best features is the shows performed by some of the hottest DJs in the business such as Matt Lange. Ora also knows how to serve up a great rock concert with talents such as ATB and Leena Punks. Ora’s operating hours are Fridays and Saturdays from 10 PM until 2 AM. Before you go, make sure to do so on a full stomach.
Q Nightclub
The name is easy to remember. Q. This multilevel lounge and nightclub’s street address is 1426 Broadway, just south of East Pike Street. If you want to party inside the walls of a state-of-the-art nightclub, Q is it. In addition to playing some great music to keep the dance floor busy, this venue also has a line of signature drinks and flavored vodkas that add to this clubbing experience. On Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, Q’s nightclub delivers a nightlife experience that also includes live musical performances by some of the greats such as Camo & Krooked and SkiiTour.
Vue Lounge
One of Belltown’s pride and joy nightclubs is Vue Lounge. Situated within the walls of a building that started as a livery stable before becoming a garage shop in 1929, Vue utterly defines what a premier nightclub is about. Between multiple rooms and private karaoke suits, Vue offers musical vibes that range from a relaxing lounge to a vibrant nightclub. Visit the Hypebeast to bask in the lounge experience. From there, head over to the Liquor Room and have access to specialty cocktails sponsored by six different liquor companies. While visiting Vue, be sure to check out the Main Room. This is where music fans also take in a remarkable audio-visual experience. It’s like stepping into a high-end Las Vegas club. You may have to step outside to remind yourself you’re in Seattle.
Bringing Seattle Sound Home
Easy Street Records & Cafe
What more can a music fan ask for with an outlet called Easy Street Records & Cafe? This incredible corner store on 4559 California Avenue Southwest offers visitors a chance to eat, drink, and go through a great collection of records. If you’re approaching this charming shop from downtown Seattle, it takes about fifteen minutes to travel by car to the city’s West Seattle district. Once there, you will find a quaint little shop loaded with records, CDs, and other awesome finds ideal for music fans to add to their collection. While there, grab either a breakfast, brunch, or lunch before it closes the doors at 3 PM. According to locals and travelers, if you’re into omelets, Easy Street’s cafe would be the perfect place to go. The cafe also has a bar service so the opportunity is there to enjoy a cold beer or take a sip of wine.
Porchlight Coffee & Records
Since 2009, Porchlight Coffee & Records has catered to customers as a great little hangout during daybreak. Enjoy a hot cup of java as you go through the impressive collection of vinyl records. The street address is 1517 14th Avenue, which is in the Capitol Hill district. From downtown Seattle, it takes about fifteen minutes to drive east. This contemporary-designed cafe and shop doesn’t just carry old vinyls. It also has new albums as well as art, collectibles, and other memorabilia.
The Sound of Seattle Music
Seattle’s rise to fame as a music city was already established before grunge rockers such as Alice in Chains and Nirvana became global superstars. The first half of Seattle’s music scene was dominated by folk and jazz before upcoming musicians jumped into its brand of counterculture. This would eventually lead grunge music to win over a mainstream audience that would spread like wildfire across the world. Even after the momentum of grunge slowed down, the impact it made on the music industry continued.
A road trip to Seattle as a music fan offers a wonderful blend of art, culture, music, and incredible scenery as this is a coastal city that’s also bordered by two mountain ranges. The Cascades sit to the east while the Olympics sit to the west. What a great city to enjoy some hit tunes as you cruise about taking in the natural beauty that surrounds Seattle. There’s also the greenery and urban development that make it a popular destination for tourists all over the world.
Seattle Road Trip Guide For Music Fans article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023
Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain Creative Commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article. Album Cover Photos are affiliate links and the property of Amazon and are stored on the Amazon server. Any theft of our content will be met with swift legal action against the infringing websites.
