Since 1997, CHBP has been showcasing local talent right in the heart of town. Meet the 54 Seattle-based bands playing the festival this year, which takes place from August 31 – September 2.

Ayron Jones

Ayron Jones draws inspiration from Motown and artists like Dr. Dre and Michael Jackson to bring a blues-style rock-and-roll to the stage. His latest album, Audio Paint Job, released in 2017 to much acclaim. APJ showcases Jones’ guitar prowess—which is often compared to that of Seattle legend Jimi Hendrix—and aims to bring people together in a time where, in his own words, “there’s divisiveness in this country that we’ve never seen since the civil-rights era.” Jones has worked his way through the scene and now sells out popular venues such as The Crocodile and Tractor Tavern with a style that’s reminiscent of George Thorogood. — Chace Davy

Quid Quo

Three-piece Quid Quo likes their music short and to the point. The average song length on their 14-track EP, APAINTEDROOMISASMALLERROOM, rolls in at just over 70 seconds. A highly distorted electric guitar features prominently in each of the songs on the EP. The unconventionally short length of their songs leaves something more to be desired of the jarring punk-rock style, but perhaps that’s the point: six songs clock in at under one minute, including “I Forgot to Clock Out,” which is two guitar riffs punctuated by a haunting cry of the title. — Chace Davy

Scott Yoder

Evocative of The Beatles, Yoder’s twangy guitars pump out slow riffs throughout his published work. His lyrics are poetic in nature and an impressive compliment to the instrumentals behind them. Yoder lets his wistful voice drive the music, which works out excellently thanks to the precise guitar playing behind it. Fair warning: listening to Yoder’s vocals may make you lay on your bed, stare at the ceiling and reminisce about your past, contemplate your future and strive to be a better person. — Chace Davy

Swish Blade

Solo artist Jess Wamre creates experimental techno mixes that encompass the raw power of noise and push the boundaries of melodic sound. Wamre pulls on queer themes, sound bites, and pop culture to create Swish Blade. — Hailey Hackett

Pink Parts

A powerful punk-rock group of feminists that does not mess around, these musicians rock out all over Seattle. This band combines humor and anger to create a sound that forces you to get out of your seat. — Hailey Hackett

Spesh

Four piece band that’s promoting their debut album, Famous World, at CHBP. — Chace Davy

Close Encounter

Psychedelic pop with an ethereal feel. — Chace Davy

TERMINATor

TERMINATor may be relatively new, but the group is made up of already established local artists. They had their first debut at Central Saloon at the end of January and have been challenging the image of rock, punk, and pop ever since.  — Hailey Hackett

Atomic Rust

Atomic Rust oscillates between punk rock and metal, creating a sound meant for the “post cold war world.” The band says they’ve lived in Seattle since before it was cool. They now aim to spread rock across Seattle from dive bars to nightclubs.  — Hailey Hackett

My Cartoon Heart

A curious blend of synth and live instrumentals, My Cartoon Heart sounds more like an EDM group than anything else, but it’s pulled off effectively; it’s not often that male vocals find their way into the EDM genre, and it adds a surprising twist. In keeping with surprises, their most recent song, “Ice Cold,” seems to start out as a country tune before the drop kicks in. — Chace Davy

The Requisite

What do you get when you mix Rise Against with Panic! At the Disco? Something akin to The Requisite’s latest album, The Quiet Terror of Being Alive. You may be tempted to say “I feel that,” upon learning the name of the album—and that would be okay. Leaning more toward pop than rock, The Requisite, like many bands before and certainly many to come, are looking to capture what makes Panic! so successful. — Chace Davy

Metsa

A solo EDM artist who makes music that sounds like the forest. — Chace Davy

Blood Drugs

Four-member punk rock band. — Chace Davy

La Fonda

Surfer-vibes abound in all of La Fonda’s music, accompanied by vocals from sisters Veronica and Valerie Topacio. These two work in perfect harmony in front of lively guitar and keys. Their latest song, “In The Summer,” encapsulates a quintessential warm-weather vibe that is sure to get some heads nodding to the beat. — Chace Davy

Kylie Nelson

Kylie Nelson rocks a powerful presence in her music, driven by her impressive vocals. Nelson focuses on bringing the purity of her voice; simple instrumentals and vocal backups serve to help spotlight the power in her voice. She’s a must-see for fans of strong female performances. — Chace Davy

PARISALEXA

PARISALEXA’s music career started on a trip to Denmark with a Boss RC-505 loop station. From there, she’s done nothing but propel forward. She has over 130,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and is selling out shows at venues like Neumos. The future looks bright for the R&B songstress, and she’s working hard to get to the top. — Chace Davy

Monster Watch

These groove punk rockers bring just the right amount of angst and energy to their music. The band released a new record, Z O T, in March of this year. — Hailey Hackett

ex Licks

A new Seattle favorite made up of long-time Seattle musicians Alex Noble, Shawn Kock, and Dan Paulus. ex Licks gets inspiration from 1970s garage rock and punk music. — Hailey Hackett

ONONOS

Three friends decided to embark on a multimedia project exploring music and visual art five years ago. This project eventually turned into the eccentric concept behind ONONOS, where the group explores art through their music. The band is made up of members NoNo Ono, Yes, and Why, who all share one costumed “eye.” The group otherwise plays masked, which they claim makes them more sensitive to the music. — Hailey Hackett

Pheso

Producing and composing hip-hop beats, Pheso is part of the Seattle-based record label LightWav Music collective. CHBP will be Pheso’s first music festival, after playing venues such as The Crocodile. — Hailey Hackett

Dude York

When Dude York’s songs are sung by Peter Richards, Dude York sounds like Jimmy Eat World. When sung by Claire England, they give off a Paramore vibe. Either way, the three piece alt-rock ensemble sends upbeat tempos and high-energy performances into the air. — Chace Davy

Great Grandpa

Storming into the grunge scene is Great Grandpa, coming in with a mix of power guitar and strong female vocals. The band has been gaining traction online and embarks on a 10-city tour of the west coast from Vancouver, BC down to Los Angeles on July 19, including stops at CHBP and Bumbershoot. — Chace Davy

NAVVI

If you’re looking for a band to wind down and relax to, NAVVI is it. The electronic duo has been making ethereal, slow-tempo music since 2014, and they’ve nailed experimental music down to a tee. Singer Kristin Henry brings a pop-like flavor to the ghostly productions of Brad Boettger, but the duo gets the odd combination to work. Their most recent album, 2016’s Omni, provides spacious tunes and pretty vocals that beg to be listened to. — Chace Davy

Whitney Ballen

Whitney Ballen’s tender voice pierces the soul while soothing the ears. Her music is evocative, honest, and close to the heart. Ballen has played venues all around Seattle, with songs inspired by the Pacific Northwest. Her newest album, You’re a Shooting Star, I’m a Sinking Ship, is set to be released from Father/Daughter Records on August 24. — Hailey Hackett

Ayo Dot & The Uppercuts

Ayo Dot & The Uppercuts create music that is uniquely hip-hop, rock, and electronic without sacrificing the nature of any of the elements. MC Ayo Dot, vocalist Whitney Killian, drummer Jeff McNamara, guitarist Jordan Haas, and bass guitarist Jake Amster come together to create a catchy riffs and exciting musical moments. — Hailey Hackett

Lo’ There

Creating rhythmically hypnotizing rock music, Lo’ There brings a new level of intention to their emo-leaning sound. The group frames dark themes in curtains of relaxing melodies. Hailing from Tacoma, the group has been rocking the Pacific Northwest since 2011. — Hailey Hackett

Falon Sierra

R&B songstress Falon Sierra combines the smooth vocals of traditional soul with the modern day medium of electronica. Sierra’s music is soulful, gripping, and powerful, and the care she takes in composing her craft is readily apparent. Sierra, who has been featured on KEXP, made her debut in 2016 with Beauty in Danger. — Hailey Hackett

The Ramblin’ Years

The Ramblin’ Years’ country roots are ever present in their most recent album, Small Town Lights. Released in January of this year, Small Town Lights is full of classic country tunes. The vocals from Daniel Dunn, Katie Sweeney and Sean Clavere combine perfectly throughout the record, creating both peaceful serenades (“Sweet Smilin’ Girl”) and upbeat tracks (“Day in the Sunshine”). The five-piece band’s music is infectious. — Chace Davy

The Black Tones

Punk rock at its finest, The Black Tones are what you would get if grunge music was about happy topics instead of depressing ones. The Black Tones enjoy playing, and it shows in their music. The raspy guitar manages to find a way to sound upbeat and almost pop-ish, but not so much that it couldn’t get played on 99.9 KISW. — Chace Davy

Sundog

Sundog is doing the unusual—mixing a rock band with a jazz ensemble. The band’s music is hard to place, as it seems to be a mix of all of the rock bands from the 60s and 70s, but it combines into sweet melodies with remarkable instrumentation. — Chace Davy

Chong The Nomad

Chong The Nomad is quite the apt name for this EDM producer. Her songs are trancy in nature and full of air and space. They’re well produced — a solid blend of tones and synths that seem like they’re coming from another planet. Slow and methodical, each beat is incredibly measured, making itself heard not a moment before it was meant to, and not a moment after. — Chace Davy

Booboolala

Booboolala oozes funk and the kind of “fuck you” attitude that the music industry needs. They sound good, and they know it. The five of them combine to create a special type of pop-jazz-funk that’s lacking on the current scene. Their songs are powered by bass and drums, giving them a strong presence throughout the entirety of their tracks. — Chace Davy

Spirit Award

Spirit Award’s description as a psych-pop band is accurate, as the trio that make up the band have created something that akin to The Beach Boys gone to Woodstock. — Chace Davy

Sundries
A soft-punk-rock quartet that stakes its claim as the perfect soundtrack for “triumphs and break-ups.” — Hailey Hackett

Mirror Ferrari

Since popping up on the scene in 2016, Mirror Ferrari has made (sound) waves. The band started when three friends just decided to make some music and christen themselves with a couple of household objects (okay, or at least household-known-objects) for a name. The synth-heavy psych-rock trio is Bowie meets Grohl. — Dan Ray

Real Don Music

Kirk Huffman is Real Don Music. After working with other bands like His Weathered Underground and Kay Kay, Huffman wanted to branch out into something different. Huffman began playing with samples and producing trip-hop inspired tracks. A sort of Jesse McCartney-Ziggy Marley hybrid that somehow ends up being EDM, Real Don Music certainly is a signature musician. — Hailey Hackett

Novopain

An alt-rock garage band. — Chace Davy

Shelf Nunny

Hush-Hush Records electronic artist whose songs are one part forest fairy and one part sleeping cat. — Chace Davy

Vox Mod

A one-man EDM outfit that sounds like dreams. — Chace Davy

Lion’s Ambition

Lion’s Ambition is a seven-piece that combines hip-hop, punk, rap, and pop culture references into a sound that can only be described as a modern-day Good Charlotte featuring Travie McCoy. With lyrics like “I’ma call in sick / I’m a liar,” it’s no surprise Lion’s Ambition has been on the college show circuit. – Dan Ray

Jake Crocker

This EDM producer and performer has had a stable career mixing music since he was 17 years old and touring with Raz Simone. Since then, he has continued to work with Seattle artists, such as fellow-CHBP-performer Ryan Caraveo, while also producing his own music. Crocker has toured across 52 cities and is slated to play Bumbershoot on August 31. — Hailey Hackett

Automotive Steamhorse

Alt-indie rockers with one five-track EP: Heartbeats Float Like Jets. — Hailey Hackett

Pink BOA

A “sex rock” duo that owns its genre with songs like “Drop That D.” — Dan Ray

Kuinka

Featured on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert series, Kuinka is a folk-pop band with a name that means “how” in Finnish. They infuse each song, beat, and lyric with joy that they hope will spread to their audiences. Inspired by artists like Florence + The Machine, Vampire Weekend, and Paul Simon—among others— Kuinka, with its rotating lead vocalists, keeps your ear perked. They’re currently on tour with their new EP, Stay Up Late. — Hailey Hackett

SISTERS

SISTERS creates music in alignment with their strongest belief: joy. The group, comprised of Emily Westman and Andrew Vait, has been featured in The Stranger, Seattle Magazine, Impose Magazine and on KEXP. The pair combines soulful vocals of the 60s era with modern space-beats. — Hailey Hackett

Fell From a Star

Featuring angelic vocals and building beats, Fell From a Star creates the “moody pop” genre and experience we all craved as angsty teenagers with tender hearts. — Hailey Hackett

Steal Shit Do Drugs

A discordant punk-rock group. — Chace Davy

The Dip

The Dip, a seven-member ensemble made notable by the gritty voice of lead singer Tom Eddy and a perfectly syncopated rhythm section, melds jazz with the rhythm of modern pop and the raw emotion of the blues. After their debut 2015 self-titled album, the band performed at Sasquatch! Music Festival, High Sierra Music Fest, and Summer Meltdown. Currently, the band is in the studio recording their sophomore record. — Hailey Hackett

Fantasy A

A solo rapper with self-produced beats. — Chace Davy

Ryan Caraveo

The unsigned artist came into the public eye in 2014 with his debut album, Swings, in which Caraveo talked about his struggles with drug abuse and heartbreak. Since, Caraveo has erupted in the Pacific Northwest with sets featured at Sasquatch and on the Bumbershoot main stage. Caraveo has sold out venues across Seattle and has over 730,000 Spotify monthly listeners. — Hailey Hackett

Father John Misty

Sub Pop artist Father John Misty, also known as J. Tillman, headlines CHBP in conjunction with his June 2018 album God’s Favorite Customer, which is his fourth studio release. Misty, who drummed for Fleet Foxes from 2008-2012, is a GRAMMY nominated artist (for 2017’s Pure Comedy) and has performed on SNL and Late Night with Seth Meyers, as well as at Austin City Limits. With a style reminiscent of Elton John and The Beatles, lyrics that are unforgettable, and the musicality of the jazz greats, Misty is utterly captivating. — Dan Ray