City Arts and Heineken Make Rocktober Official Seattle Holiday

Every autumn the post-summer, pre-holiday tour schedules converge into a glut of awesomely overscheduled live music that fans embarrass themselves by calling Rocktober. This year, City Arts magazine contributes to festival sprawl and makes that term a reality in the form of a four-day citywide set of music and arts events close to home. 

From October 20th to 23rd the following bands will be playing at venues large (the Paramount, Benaroya Hall), medium (Showbox, Neumos), and smaller (the Crocodile, the Triple Door, the Sorrento Fireside Room) under the umbrella of Heineken City Arts Festival:

Belle and Sebastian • Blue Scholars • She and Him
Gogol Bordello • Big Boi

Blitzen Trapper • The Vaselines • Roky Erickson • Brother Ali • Foals • James Carter & John Medeski • Dum Dum Girls • Macklemore with Ryan Lewis • The Weepies • Chase Jarvis’ Seattle 100 Project • Fresh Espresso • Pat Graney Company’s Triptych • The Maldives • Alloy Orchestra Scores Metropolis at SIFF • DBR Featuring Emeline Michel • Sera Cahoone • Atomic Bombshells Burlesque • Head Like A Kite • DJ Spooky with Joshua Roman and the Odeon Quartet • Late Night Piano Bar with Festival Artists • Our Lady J • Sarah Rudinoff, Nick Garrison, Sara Edwards and • Paula The Swedish Housewife Present Guys n’ Dolls • Brent Amaker and the Rodeo • Seabear • Paul Rucker • Tilson • Theresa Rebeck • Seattle Opera & Pacific Northwest Ballet Present the Encore Ball • Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies • Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs • The Head and the Heart • Esben and the Witch • Pica Beats • Mash Hall • Massy Ferguson

(Yes, just take a moment to revel in the implications, a.k.a., OMFG Belle & Sebastian finally added a northwest spot to their tiny tour schedule and it's at Benaroya Hall on 20 October! I die.)

Like SXSW, MFNW, CMJ, and other urban music festivals, a wristband ($60) grants admission to all shows, capacity willing. City Arts will take some of the gambling out of the cattle call by including a choice of "guest list" spots to guarantee admission to one of the five headliners. Those who don't want to press their luck for the big acts can upgrade to a $125 VIP pass, which includes a spot for all of the headliners.

The whole thing is being curated by Steven Severin and Michael Hebb, who in addition to pulling together a drop dead amazing lineup for the festival's first year are also bringing in a bunch of other arts types for collaborative arts events. Highlights include Alloy Orchestra doing a live score for Metropolis, Tilson & Paul Rucker talking about the relationship of hip hop and chamber music, and a pack of indie rockers, burlesque dancers, and other performers putting their own spin on Guys and Dolls. 

Although I'm most over the moon about one particular headliner, the lineup is certainly well stocked with four days of worthwhile entertainment. If we'd had a more consistent summer, I'd almost wish that it would hurry up and hand off the seasonal baton to autumn. As it stands, this fest looks like a beacon to make the inevitable post-summer a lot less dreary.

• City Arts Fest. Around town, 20-23 October. Passes go on sale on August 7th; tickets to individual shows will be available starting August 28th.