We've finally come to the end. This Saturday brings the Finals of the 10th Annual EMP Sound-Off! Competition. Over the last month, we've previewed all 12 finalists in preparation for this: four contesting bands enter, one emerges victorious! more ›

We've been previewing the competing bands throughout the week. Maybe you remember The Oh Wells, Micah B, Land of Pines, and Kids and Animals? Now we'd like to send you and a friend to see them in person. more ›

The Oh Wells are not dismissive. Nor are they American. We don't believe the two are necessarily related. Out of Vancouver, B.C., The Oh Wells put ukulele and piano front and center on their technicolor pop. Citing Simon & Garfunkel and Belle & Sebastian as influences, tOW recognizes and transcends them by writing hyper-literate, structurally sophisticated songs about the minutiae of their lives, sprinkled liberally with Harry Potter references and high school boys. more ›

Micah B spits syllables through cinderblock phrasings, carves smooth grafs on a solid hip-hop foundation, and keeps sure-footed on skittered meters. He's a samurai mountain goat with spraypaint, ever on the climb, tagging his way for others to follow. more ›

Back in aught nine, Fate intervened to separate two fast friends, like Fate will. Came calling in Education's guise, sending one East and one West with the whole of our great Country in between. And you can imagine what it's like to be alone somewhere new, wanting only to share it with a person—that one person—who understands. Can't you? Well, they had no need of imagining. They was living it. more ›

The gamboling Kids and Animals of Seattle like to hop around, beat at colorful rhythms, and let fly joyful yelps into warm summer nights. They enjoy setting the cups and saucers of their plastic tea sets, warming the jams with melodies, and enjoying the long moments in the conversations where the breeze holds sway. Long constitutionals and ivy awnings are their favorites, but you shouldn't be surprised by a game of laughing tag or a spontaneous cricket choir. The way these Kids and Animals play together can be quite beautiful. more ›

Kung Foo Grip is hip hop duo Greg Cypher and Mc Eff Is H. Straight out of Kirkland, their beats and rhyme scheme nestle perfectly with the current Seattle rap scene—think The Blue Scholars and Mackelmore—but you can't say they haven't been doing their homework when they toss out throwback hits like the aptly titled Yesterday that recall the earthy streetview of early 90's rap. more ›

Brother and sister band Fit For Hounds sells themselves short. They are fit for much more than the dogs. A hot mash of handclaps, synth, and insistent vocals, Fit for Hounds are fully in the fold of The Killers and Hot Hot Heat, the propulsive underpinning to a Saturday night dance party. more ›

Electricity and its Double is Seattle-based Sean Bulkley's nom de musique, a tantalizing pas de deux between him and his pop-blues tunes. The most straight-forward heavy act that Sound-Off! has seen so far this year, Bulkley's EaiD puts drop-d into classical folk structures and sets them off with smartly-timed drums and devilish hooks. Although most of EaiD's recorded output is Bulkley alone, live he rolls deep with bassist Nick Lonien, guitarist Matt Williams, and drummer Ben Brock, assuring your ears get that light kicking they so richly deserve. more ›

Seattle pop quartet Chinook Jargon is regional argot for polyrhythmic forest raves, mountain slang for firefly sing-alongs, and a dog whistle for creekside cook-ups. Descended from the explosive pop of Man Man and Akron/Family, Chinook Jargon describes impossible dreams right in front of their audiences, even when—especially when—no one is watching but the stars, the grass, and maybe a spirt animal or two. more ›

This Saturday is the first round of the 10th Annual EMP Sound-Off Competition. We've been previewing the bands competing this weekend here on Seattlest—Tomten, Ambulance, Northern Departure, and Young Pacific—and now we'd like to send you and a friend to see them in person. Everyone who comments on this post will be entered to win two tickets to Saturday's semi-final. We will randomly select the name at noon tomorrow (2/12), so make sure you've commented before then. Make sure there's an active email in your comment, or else we will have no way to contact you. And that would make us sad, because that means someone else is going to take your tickets. Saturday 7:00 p.m. // EMP/SFM // $10 ($7 students / EMP|SFM members) more ›

When Young Pacific takes the stage this Saturday at the first round of EMP's Sound Off! competition, don't be surprised if the room gets very quiet and the tension--always a subtle undercurrent at events like these--becomes a palpable humidity. It will be the moment everyone knows Canada is in the HOUSE. more ›

Ok, we're going to call BS. There's no way every member of Tomten is under 21. We simply don't believe it. From song structure to arrangements to basic chops, Tomten's tracks seem the product of musicians weathered and traveled. more ›

• Experience Music Project’s Sound Off! is now accepting applications for its 2011 competition. Performers 21 years or under (as of March 5, 2011) who play rock, hip-hop, electronic, pop, or any other kind of music are encouraged to enter. Applications can be submitted online and must be received by Monday, November 8, 2010. Read our coverage of Sound Off! 2010 here and here and here and here and here.
• The nominees have been announced for the 2010 Gregory Awards, Washington's second annual regional theatre awards ceremony. Tickets are on sale for the 2010 Gregory Awards Ceremony at ACT, taking place on Monday, October 25, 2010. Purchase tickets online or call the ACT box office at 206-292-7676. Presale tickets are $15 for TPS members and $20 general admission, or $30 at the door.
• The Jury Award winners for SIFF's 1 Reel Film Festival have been announced. Selected from 100+ U.S. and international short films, the winners are: Best Film Your Lucky Day, directed by Dan Brown (U.S., 2009) and Best Animation Madagascar, A Journey Diary, directed by Bastien Dubois (France, 2009). Each winning film will be awarded a $500 prize.

And the winner of the 2010 Sound Off! Battle of the Underage Bands is the great……..Great Waves! more ›

The competition was tight at last Saturday’s third semi-final round of Sound Off! Underage Battle of the Bands. Ultimately, Sammamish’s Great Waves came out on top, overcoming Kelso’s SEACATS for the win. SEACATS ended the competition as a potential wild card entry into the finals, and the band was later granted the fourth position on the list of final round artists. So tomorrow night’s competition is set! Candysound, Hooves and Beak, Great Waves, and SEACATS will battle it out using variations of the same weapon, music. more ›

Last Saturday Hooves and Beak's Whitney Flinn wowed judges and earned a spot in the final round of Sound Off! Battle of the Underage Bands, which will be held on March 6th. She'll be battling the previous semi-finals winner, Candysound, and two others for a performance at this year's Bumbershoot Festival or the Northwest Folklife Festival. Listen to Hooves and Beak's music here. We had a few questions for Miss Flinn, and she was more than happy to share her story with Seattlest, tell us a bit about her music, and muse about the future. more ›

We've been dishing out tickets for Sound Off! and playing songs from each of the underage battling bands all week, but now it's time to let the musicians speak for themselves. We had a few questions for Candysound -- winners of last week's Sound Off! semi-final. Teo and Tom, the Bellingham drum and guitar duo, were kind enough to tell us a little about themselves and the music they enjoy. more ›

This weekend, A Cozy Kitchen, Hooves and Beaks, Pan Pan, and The Cat from Hue face off. We've covered them this week -- you're excited, we're excited. Leave a comment if you want to attend this Saturday's event! Doors open at 7:00 p.m. more ›

Like their namesake, Pan Pan conjures whimsy, the wilderness, and the quiet swell of subtle emotions with a simple flourish of horn set above piano rumble. The solo project of Bellinghahm’s Sarah Jerns, Pan Pan is Morricone by way of Beirut, a suggestive mix of cinema and exuberant release. Spare percussion underpins Jerns’ wandering trumpet. Her piano skips through a field-recorded dream. Horns catch your hair and buoy traveling spirits. It’s an abduction of your senses, a permission slip for wild abandon. Listen. more ›

Hooves and Beak harpist Whitney Flinn automatically draws comparisons to indie star Joanna Newsom. Both musicians play harp and sing in American folk styles, but there may be more differences between the two than similarities. Newsom’s vocals are light and jagged, and are, for some, a bit childish sounding and cutesy - great for a few songs but quick to grate. Flinn’s singing style is a bit more traditional, like sweeping brush strokes; distant sounding, strong but subdued. She sounds as though she would be just as at home with a banjo or upright piano as with her harp. more ›

Congratulations to Candysound for winning last week’s Sound Off! Underage Battle of the Bands first semi-final. The Burlington duo moved into the finals on March 6, and the next two semi-final rounds to be held this Saturday and the next will determine their competition. Seattle’s Sea Fever came in second place at last week’s battle and stands a chance to enter the final round as a wild card. more ›

We've got two tickets to the EMP's Sound Off! this Saturday at 7 p.m. still available! more ›

If Burlington duo Candysound were actually candy instead of a band, it wouldn’t taste like bubblegum or soda pop. It would probably be more like a Snicker’s bar, smooth and sweet but packed with just enough crunch. “Super-catchy” seems to be a popular way to describe the drum and guitar group, a definition that applies to their song “I’ll Drive Forever.” Interestingly, if the group advances past the first round of the Sound Off! Battle of the Bands this weekend, they’ll play three shows around Seattle before the competition’s final round. That’s a lot of practice. more ›

Be there to witness the first battle! Seattlest has a set of two tickets to give away for this Saturday's 7:00 p.m. performance. Leave your name in the comments if you'd like to enter to win tickets to the Sound Off semifinal! more ›

The 2010 Sound Off! Battle of the Bands begins this weekend, and it’s time for another taste of what our region’s minors have to offer. Yesterday we posted a barnburner of a hardcore track from Tacoma’s Apache Chief. Today we hold the mic to (Sui Generis), a Kennewick quartet that plays around with righteous chops, metal influences, and character studies. “The Phantom” is a song that begins slow and steady before voyaging into power and speed and ending with a bit of fast-paced old world folk. more ›

The field is set for Sound Off 2010, Experience Music Project’s battle of the underage bands, and we’ve got the DL on the first competitors slated to do battle this weekend in the competition’s first semi-final round. On Saturday, four groups go into EMP; one comes out the victor and moves into the final round March 6. What do these young artists stand to gain? First prize is a performance at Bumbershoot 2010 and a bunch of sweet gear. The second place winner will perform at the Northwest Folk Life Festival 2010 and also receive some of that sweet gear. more ›

Port Townsend pop/rock trio New Faces have had a pretty damn good year, and with an upcoming West Coast tour and release of their debut full-length album, it's only going to get better. more ›