This is the very last post I'll be writing for Seattlest. It's bittersweet, but a good time to move on to new things. The final photo in my countdown is Drew Grow and the Pastor's Wives at Musicfest Northwest. There's a good reason I chose this band as my last photo, check out why. more ›

As music editor for Seattlest over the last couple years, I've learned a lot. Mostly about local music but also about sharing what you love with others, the power of friendship and community and most importantly about myself. This is my goodbye (and hello) to all of you, our loyal readers. You've done more for me than I can say and hope to hear from you and speak to you in the future about the universal language of music. more ›

Bryan John Appleby is unadulterated talent, through and through. His piercing and emotionally charged voice doesn't need strength to carry it to the back of the room. He is, simply put, beautiful. His lyrics bring tears to your eyes no matter how many times you hear them. Morgen has been following his career for a couple years and couldn't think of leaving him off her countdown list. more ›

Campfire OK isn't just a bunch of pretty faces, they've got a unique blend of vocal, banjo, guitar, piano and percussion that brings people in and gets them dancing. Mychal Cohen may be the face of the band, but the incredible talent of each member is what makes this group great. Morgen takes us to their performance at Capitol Hill Block Party earlier this year. more ›

Morgen takes us over to Capitol Hill today in St Mark's Cathedral. The same people behind Fremont Abbey's Round put on an incredible show at the cathedral with a killer lineup including the subject of today's photo, Noah Gundersen. more ›

Morgen takes us back on the road up to Bellingham at Wild Buffalo once again. Allen Stone has an unforgettable look and voice but the two don't exactly seem like they go together; She says, who cares. Whatever package that kind of natural talent and raw emotion comes in we'll take it! more ›

Morgen takes us back to Bumbershoot once again for KEXP's special lounge session with none other than local soul sweethearts Pickwick. Sold out shows left and right, Doe Bay mainstage, and nods on NPR are just the beginning for this incredible group. more ›

Morgen heads over to Columbia City Theatre once again for today's photo. The Fremont Abbey's first round at CCT is the setting. This photo in particular is Shenandoah Davis who recently embarked on a four month tour of non-stop shows. She has a beautiful voice, soul... and tattoo. more ›

Morgen is choosing some very personal favorites to round out this month's countdown. Jake Hemming, otherwise known as Big Sur, is one of the nicest, most generous and warm-hearted people you'd ever meet not to mention one hell of a singer and songwriter. Today's photo is from Big Sur's show with The Local Strangers, Shenandoah Davis and Hannalee at Columbia City Theatre. more ›

Today Morgen takes you to a humble part of the Seattle music community, but still a big one, a living room show. So many amazing artists are found at small shows and others are able to connect with a smaller audience after reaching a popularity that rarely affords them that luxury. One of Morgen's favorite new artists she found this year is Levi Weaver. His lyrics are beautifully written, his mastery with looping machines is hypnotic and he has a great voice. She's excited to share this under-the-radar talent. more ›

Morgen has had the unbelievable opportunity to get to know many talented local musicians. She counts The Local Strangers amongst some of her closest friends and over the past year she's been able to watch their success grow exponentially. Their most recent show at Columbia City Theatre seemed to be their best yet and at this performance Morgen captured some of her favorite moments of this fantastic group. more ›

Today's photo is one of Seattle's greats, Eddie Vedder, during his recent performance at Benaroya Hall. He has ventured into solo-dom with a ukelele at his side. Though tentative about how well that would work, Morgen was impressed and awed at his voice and musical talents. more ›

Today Morgen takes us a few months back to the Bumbershoot music festival. One of the most surprising performers of the weekend was Charles Bradley. He's a kickback to the old days of rock and blues and holy cow does he know how to put on a show. more ›

Sting is a legend, there's no denying that even if you don't like his music. The Police and his solo career have inspired countless musicians. Morgen had the chance to photograph him less than a month ago at the Paramount Theatre. She may have been nervous, but it was and incredible experience. more ›

Duff McKagan's group Loaded opened up the night for an epic night of music at the Key Arena last Friday. Then the headliner, Guns and Roses, finished out the night with what had to be one of the best rock shows of the year. Alex dropped us a few bits of photographic evidence from that night we think you'll want to see. more ›

Morgen is taking you up to Bellingham for today's shot at Wild Buffalo. That venue is quickly becoming our favorite out of town spot to catch shows. They've seen Macklemore, Allen Stone, Kris Orlowski and so many more including today's band Hot Bodies in Motion. more ›

Kris Orlowski is number seventeen in Morgen's countdown in photos. He's a wonderful musician and a great example of what Seattle musicians hold dear: honesty and sincerity. Whether other critics find sincerity trite or not, we value it and hold it dear. more ›

Day sixteen in our countdown is set during Capitol Hill Block Party in Neumos. The Lumineers were one of Morgen's big favorite unknown finds for 2011. They're don't even have a full-length album (soon to come) but continue to blow away audiences at every show. more ›

On the sixteenth day of the countdown Morgen sets aside music and puts us in the middle one of the biggest political and financial struggles of our generation: Occupy Wall Street. more ›

Morgen takes us once again down to Portland for MusicFest Northwest. This time she goes with a more artistic photo of a killer Canadian band, The Handsome Furs. She recounts one of her favorite shows of the entire festival that occurred on her birthday no less. more ›

Looking for a way to give back this holiday season but still feel like you're getting something other than a good feeling? Head out to Gigs4Good show with Drew Grow and the Pastor's Wives, Lower Lights Burning and Chris Cunningham (of Ravenna Woods) at the Tractor tomorrow. It's going to be a great time and will help satiate your charitable side. more ›

Does it really surprise you that the Head and the Heart made it onto Morgen's countdown? Yea, we didn't think so. Day 13 in this series is a photo for each member of the group since our photographer had a really hard time choosing just one photo for the local sweethearts. more ›

It was a icy cold day up in North Seattle Saturday morning, clouds threatening rain. But we didn't care; we were off to warm up with hearty beers and enjoy three phenomenal tours of some of Seattle's oldest and newest breweries up in the Fremont/Ballard neighborhoods. Each location brought new and interesting insights into the local brewing community. Dikla Tuchman explains... more ›

Day twelve is upon us and Morgen is taking a nostalgic turn. Shonen Knife has been a mainstay in Japanese pop music for twenty years and our photographer got caught up in their magic web in high school. They're just as fun and full of energy two decades later as you can see in today's photo. more ›

Day eleven in the photo countdown heads south once again to MusicFest Northwest. It held so many great moments for Morgen that she can't help but choose more than a few shots from this event. Today is a lesser known Portland-based group dubbed The Quiet Life, but they made quite an impression on our photographer. more ›

Day ten in the photo countdown takes us to the newest venue in the city, the Neptune Theatre. City Arts was somehow pulled off another amazing festival lineup for the second year in a row. Morgen talks about one of her favorite groups pulling you into a show with the Hold Steady. more ›

Day nine of our countdown in photos is a sexy one. Musicfest Northwest was an incredible experience with new music surrounding us at every turn. Morgen ended her third night there at Mississippi Studios with swoon-worthy Rhett Miller. more ›

Day eight of our countdown in photos is here and you're in for a treat. As we sift through the last year's photos all the memories come rushing back and Morgen is excited to share those with you. Today she takes you back to down to what was Qwest Stadium with the most massive show we have seen in Seattle for a long time, if ever, with U2. more ›

Day seven of our countdown in photos has arrived and things are heating up. The standouts are obvious, but it's getting difficult to sift through and choose only enough for one each day. Morgen takes you back to September in the frenzy of the festival season with Little Dragon more ›

Amazon put out their "Outstanding 2011 Albums You Might Have Missed" list and the Pacific Northwest is littered throughout including a number one spot for Shelby Earl. We knew about them and we're glad everyone else is about to discover them too. more ›