Top 20 outdoor concerts of summer 2024 in central, Western Washington
Despite a few early outliers, Memorial Day weekend typically marks the unofficial start of summer concert season. This year’s holiday weekend slate is especially heavy with piano man Billy Joel taking T-Mobile Park, the opening of Seattle Theatre Group’s new Remlinger Farms venue in Carnation, two-nighters with Sarah McLachlan at Chateau Ste. Michelle and dance music titan Illenium at the Gorge Amphitheatre and the 53rd annual Northwest Folklife Festival.
Of course, as rain clouds grow scarcer, the open-air party is just getting started. Here are 20 of the top outdoor concerts and festivals coming to the Seattle area through Labor Day weekend, with an honorable mention to Bumbershoot, which had yet to reveal its lineup at the time of this writing.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The funky pop rockers were feeling California casual when they last pulled into their grunge buddies’ hometown for a midsummer night at T-Mobile Park back in 2022, two months before dropping their second lengthy album of that year. RHCP are still sailing on those sprawling/kinda bloated 2022 LPs – “Unlimited Love” and “Return of the Dream Canteen” – their first since reuniting with heyday guitarist John Frusciante.
May 31; Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Road N.W., Quincy; tickets start at $175; livenation.com
Jon Batiste
New Orleans’ genre-dabbling jazzman has been on a tear since winning album of the year at the 2022 Grammys and leaving his post as Stephen Colbert’s late-night bandleader. The affable piano man steps up to Chateau Ste. Michelle this summer following a February Paramount Theatre engagement, still touring on last year’s sonically ambitious “World Music Radio.” Batiste is an early-season standout amid a strong Woodinville slate that also features country/pop star Maren Morris; Americana heavyweights Charley Crockett and Jason Isbell; alt-rock shape-shifter Beck performing with a symphony orchestra; and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.
June 5; Chateau Ste. Michelle, 14111 N.E. 145th St., Woodinville; standard tickets sold out, packages available starting at $270; ste-michelle.com
Beyond Wonderland
Washington’s premiere EDM festival returns to the Gorge one year after a campground shooting left two people dead and three injured. As a lawsuit against Live Nation and festival organizers unfolds in the background, the beat goes on at Beyond Wonderland with electronic stars Mellodeath – a team up between crossover producer Marshmello and dubstep destroyer SVDDEN DEATH – Alison Wonderland, Rezz, Kayzo, Dillon Francis, Zedd and more.
June 22-23; Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Road N.W., Quincy; single-day tickets start at $158, two-day passes $229; camping starts at $202; pnw.beyondwonderland.com
Noah Kahan
This folk-pop sensation’s massive online following boiled over to a chart-conquering Lumineerian buzz last year, coming on the heels of his late 2022 “Stick Season” LP. The Vermont singer-songwriter, who was up for a best new artist Grammy this year, will play his biggest (by a longshot) local show yet, taking on the Gorge.
June 29; Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Road N.W., Quincy; sold out; livenation.com
ODESZA
The Seattle electronic heavyweights are concluding “The Last Goodbye” album cycle the same way they started it two summers ago: with a three-night blowout at the largest home state venue they’ve ever played, this time stepping up to the Gorge Amphitheatre after a mesmerizing Climate Pledge Arena run in 2022. On May 31, ODESZA will release an appetite-whetting live album, “The Last Goodbye Tour Live,” recorded over the last two years.
July 4-6; Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Road N.W., Quincy; remaining single-day tickets start at $80; livenation.com
Tate McRae
Canada’s new leading pop export looks to bring a younger crowd to Chateau Ste. Michelle than the usual wine-and-cheese set that flocks to one of Greater Seattle’s most popular outdoor venues each summer. The freshly minted 20-year-old pop star is riding the success of “Greedy,” her first Top 10 hit and infectious lead single off sophomore album “Think Later,” replete with very Canadian cover art of Tate McRae wearing hockey goalie pads.
July 7; Chateau Ste. Michelle, 14111 N.E. 145th St., Woodinville; remaining demand-priced tickets $444; ste-michelle.com
Day In Day Out
The chiller sibling to Capitol Hill Block Party slides up a month in the calendar this year, due to scheduling reasons at Seattle Center, while expanding to a third day after its first sellout in 2023. DIDO continues to shoulder some of the buzzy indie-rock acts that have subtly waned from Block Party’s main stage over the years while offering a less frenetic experience on the Fisher Pavilion lawn. Alt-pop fan favorite Carly Rae Jepsen, Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers and hometown heroes The Head and the Heart headline.
July 12-14; Fisher Green Pavilion at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., Seattle; single-day tickets start at $130, two-day $225, three-day $275, kids 8 and under free; dayindayoutfest.com
Kenny Chesney
Country’s rum-endorsing king of summer circles back to Seattle this year, bringing his island vibes and No Shoes Nation fan base to Lumen Field. Armed with decades of country radio hits, the perpetually sleeveless honky-tonker remains one of the genre’s biggest draws and his Sun Goes Down tour features some serious firepower among its supporting cast. For this run, Chesney is joined by the country rockin’ stalwarts Zac Brown Band and red-hot newcomer Megan Moroney, who turned Nashville heads last year with her breakout single “Tennessee Orange.” Also performing: Uncle Kracker, Chesney’s back-in-the-day duet partner on the tour’s 2004 namesake, “When the Sun Goes Down.”
July 13; Lumen Field, 800 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle; tickets starting at $30; lumenfield.com
Capitol Hill Block Party
Seattle’s unmatched party of the summer will continue its Pike-Pine reign with firepower aplenty across its ready-to-dance lineup headlined by electronic maestro Kaytranada, psych-pop vibesmith Still Woozy and funky alt-pop star Remi Wolf – a standout from Block Party ’22 – stepping in for Kim Petras, who scrapped her summer festival slate due to health issues. Deal-chasing festival hoppers take heed of the combination DIDO/CHBP passes starting at $349.
July 19-21; Capitol Hill; 1122 E. Pike St., Seattle; single-day tickets $105-$149, two-day passes $179-$225, three-day passes $235-$365; capitolhillblockparty.com
Chris Stapleton
This soulful country star is starting to get familiar with Sodo. Following a Lumen Field supporting slot with country legend George Strait last year, Chris Stapleton returns to Seattle’s stadium district for his own headlining date across Royal Brougham Way. This time, Stapleton’s bringing a country legend with him, as a 91-years-young Willie Nelson will link up with Stapleton’s seemingly endless All-American Road Show Tour just for the Seattle date. Upping the ante for a loaded triple bill, recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Sheryl Crow hops aboard too.
July 27; T-Mobile Park; 1250 First Ave. S., Seattle; sold out; ticketmaster.com
BLASTFEST
The fledgling Afrobeats fest became the most exciting new addition to Seattle’s festival landscape during its inaugural event in 2023. For a follow-up act, organizers tapped one of the genre’s brightest lights, Davido, who earned three Grammy nods stemming from last year’s “Timeless” LP, to headline Year 2. The Afrobeats titan is joined by Nigerian model-turned-singer Ayra Starr – a late scratch from last year’s lineup – rising singer/rapper Shallipopi, South African producer Musa Keys, Sarz and more.
July 27; Fisher Green Pavilion at Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., Seattle; tickets start at $90; blastmusicfest.com
Watershed
After canceling last year’s appearance at Washington’s preeminent country bash due to illness, Luke Bryan was reslotted as the denim-wrapped centerpiece of Watershed’s 2024 lineup. The country superstar’s fellow headliners are spitshined Nashville vets Old Dominion and Hardy, one of Music Row’s latest behind-the-scene’s songwriters to make it big on their own, while drawing influences from contemporary hip-hop and rock. Hardy’s star-solidifying murder ballad “Wait in the Truck” with Lainey Wilson, who headlines White River Amphitheatre on Sept. 27, remains the most chilling mainstream country hit of the last two years.
Aug. 2-4; Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Road N.W., Quincy; three-day passes start at $295, camping $225-$1,035; watershedfest.com
THING
Remlinger Farms’ inaugural summer lineup is a trusty mix of time-tested greats (Elvis Costello, Parliament Funkadelic, Blondie) and new-guard splash-makers stepping into larger venues (Hiatus Kaiyote, Goose, Goth Babe). But the centerpiece is THING, the indie-centric festival sliding over to the Snoqualmie Valley after three years in Port Townsend. This year’s leading acts include art-rock auteur St. Vincent, synth rockers Toro y Moi, Grammy darling soul rockers Black Pumas and revered rappers Earl Sweatshirt and Killer Mike. While on-site parking is free, Seattle Theatre Group is working on a ticketed shuttle service with pickup points around the Seattle area for all shows. Details to come.
Aug. 9-11; Remlinger Farms; 32610 N.E. 32nd St., Carnation; single-day passes start at $129-$300, three-day passes $349-$825; thingnw.org
Willie Nelson + Bob Dylan
That Seattle date with Stapleton isn’t the only time ol’ Willie’s passing through this summer. The country icon’s always-stacked Outlaw Music Festival blows into the Gorge with arguably the heaviest of heavy hitter lineups this summer. The 91-year-old Nelson is accompanied by another one of America’s greatest living songwriters, Bob Dylan, a third Rock & Roll Hall of Famer in John Mellencamp and new-school star Billy Strings – a progressive bluegrass ripper who could probably headline the Gorge on his own. Washington lucked out landing the only tour stop on which Strings joins the trio of greats.
Aug. 10; Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Road N.W., Quincy; tickets start at $78; livenation.com (This duo, plus John Mellencamp and Brittney Spencer, play Aug. 9 as part of the Outlaw Musical Festival at Spokane ONE Stadium).
Sierra Ferrell
The Nashville-based Americana breakout has been bubbling in roots circles for the past few years, earning an emerging artist of the year award from the Americana Music Association in 2022. With her new album “Trail of Flowers,” Sierra Ferrell is deservedly getting hers, making her headlining debut at the Ryman Auditorium and playing some of the biggest venues of her career supporting Zach Bryan and The Avett Brothers this spring. Punk rocker-turned-alt-country singer-songwriter Nick Shoulders opens.
Aug. 11; Woodland Park Zoo; 5500 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle; sold out; zoo.org
Kane Brown
Country-pop star Kane Brown looks to fill his biggest Seattle boots yet, bumping up to the stadium district after his 2022 headliner at Climate Pledge Arena. This month the crossover-savvy Brown released the fist-pumping single “Miles on It” with Marshmello, marking the second time he’s connected with the EDM-pop hitmaker. Ticket sales for Brown’s T-Mobile Park date have been sluggish out of the gate, with a “buy one get one” special offering two upper-level tickets for $44.50 (a stadium country steal) at the time of this writing.
Aug. 16; T-Mobile Park; 1250 First Ave. S., Seattle; tickets start at $29; ticketmaster.com (Brown will play the Northern Quest Resort and Casino on Aug. 15)
Waxahatchee
2020’s critically acclaimed “Saint Cloud” was a marked shift for Waxahatchee, the musical vehicle of singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield, leaning into a gentle-breeze alt-country sound in step with her Alabama roots. The mood continued with her Plains duo album with twangy contemporary Jess Williamson in 2022 and the latest Waxahatchee LP, “Tigers Blood,” one of the most well-received indie-rock records of the year. Waxahatchee’s ZooTunes date is perhaps the buzziest of the zoo’s stellar (and nearly sold-out) season, also featuring Seattle indie rockers Car Seat Headrest and hip-hop’s live-band standard-bearers The Roots.
Aug. 18; Woodland Park Zoo; 5500 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle; sold out; zoo.org
Foo Fighters
Another legacy rock band forging on after the death of their drummer, Dave Grohl and the Foos channeled their vintage fuzzed-bombed, big-hooking ways on last year’s “But Here We Are” – the band’s first album without the late Taylor Hawkins since 1997’s “The Colour and the Shape.” Riding the album’s emotional outpouring, the Foo Fighters embark on their Everything or Nothing at All Tour, which hits T-Mobile Park this summer. It’ll be the band’s first trip back to their birth city since christening Climate Pledge Arena shortly before being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Support from the Pretenders and Alex G makes this one of the best stadium rock bills of the summer.
Aug. 18; T-Mobile Park; 1250 First Ave. S., Seattle; sold out; ticketmaster.com
Metallica
Seven years after they last pulverized Lumen Field, the Bay Area metal gods are doubling down on their stadium-crushing ways. With their M72 World Tour (the name evoking their thrashtastic new double album “72 Seasons”), Metallica are bringing “no-repeat weekends” to select cities around the world, playing two shows per town with different openers and set lists each night. It’s a fresh approach for a band which, if there’s any knock against their colossal live shows, it’s the relative predictability of their song selections. Joined by openers Pantera and Mammoth WVH the first night and Five Finger Death Punch and Ice Nine Kills the second, Metallica’s Seattle stand is their last on U.S. soil before closing the tour with a four-night, two-weekend blitz in Mexico City.
Aug. 30 and Sept. 1; Lumen Field; 800 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle; single-night tickets start at $55; lumenfield.com
Dave Matthews Band
This spring brought word that the jammy, folk-rocking behemoths and their Seattleite frontman will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this fall. But before receiving their Rock Hall flowers, DMB and their legion of rabid fans will convene for their annual “Labor Dave weekend” at the Gorge – three nights of intricate, freewheeling musicianship and Matthews’ gently darting vocals.
Aug. 30-Sept. 1; Gorge Amphitheatre, 754 Silica Road N.W., Quincy; single-day tickets start at $67, three-night lawn pass $162; livenation.com