The legendary music scene of Seattle is visited ahead of Budweiser Made in America festival.
Nirvana remains to be one of the best things to come out of Seattle
Seattle has one of the most legendary music scenes in America so it's only right that we delve into their record collection as Budweiser Made in America festival quickly approaches.
Budweiser Made in America is all for musical diversity, celebrating the different subcultures of sound in all cities be it the country twang of Nashville, the superstar pop of LA or the Motown domination of Detroit. That's why Budweiser have put their heads together to release this series of nationwide music documentaries ahead of the festival, to cement that important ideology of variation and musical freedom.
Next up is Seattle, Washington, best known for its 90s grunge scene which took America by storm when it first appeared with the likes of Nirvana (and their offshoot Foo Fighters); who really became grunge kings with second album 'Nevermind'; Soundgarden; and Mudhoney - all of which became the breakthrough acts for the city's ever famous Sub Pop Records. Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains also became popular around the same time - so you'd be forgiven for thinking that's all there is to Seattle music.
Watch the Budweiser Made in America documentary for Seattle:
You'd be wrong, however. While Seattle is so often pigeonholed as grunge/rock, the truth is there's a lot more diversity now than ever. 'I feel like it's the best it's ever been', Tacocat insisted, and with their brand of riotuous bubblegum pop you start to believe that a change has taken place over the years. Of course, Sub Pop records are mainly to blame for the huge impact of grunge, but since developing subsidiary label Hardly Art, they've made sure to expand and diversify with a range of alternative pop acts such as Tacocat, as well as dreamy surf-pop band La Luz. Sub Pop is nowadays also quite happy to sign from the calmer side of guitar music, such as indie bands Fleet Foxes and The Head and the Heart. And while the label may still be the primary hub of Seattle music, there's also the likes of soloist Perfume Genius and pop sensation Macklemore & Ryan Lewis further broadening the scene.
Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard has a lot to say about the musical city
This idea that there is so much different music in Seattle now is echoed by Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie, who insists he's 'never heard anyone [he's] known from Seattle ever say, 'I wanna be famous' unless they were joking or unless they were about to move to Los Angeles.' It's this inherent musical passion over a desire for fame that no doubt led to such legends as Jimi Hendrix. Unquestionably one of the world's greatest guitarists to have ever lived, Hendrix started out his musical dreams in that very city as a teenager in a band called the Velvetones, during which time he received his very first electric guitar. And while we're talking Seattle's musical veterans, we have to mention the global superstar that is record producer Quincy Jones!
Jimi Hendrix started out his musical career in Seattle
Seattle has come a long way in the development of its culture and it's diversification like this that has inspired Budweiser Made in America festival. Hitting LA and Philadelphia on August 30th - 31st 2014, the event has some big names topping the bill. LA sees headliners Imagine Dragons and Kanye West, while the latter joins Kings Of Leon for Philly. Also among the range of acts in both cities are Steve Aoki, John Mayer, Cypress Hill, Capital Cities, Iggy Azalea, Rita Ora, Pharrell, The National amd Mayer Hawthorne with several more acts to be announced yet!
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