The annual fundraising concert for local non-profit arts organization SMASH will be a tribute to venerable Seattle label Sub Pop Records this year.
The concert will feature a yet-to-be-announced lineup of local musicians covering songs from the massive catalog of former and current Sub Pop artists. The label, which has famously been going out of business since 1988, has been home to hundreds of local bands and in the process has become a Seattle institution. There’s no telling who might show up for the show, which will take place Nov. 19 at the Moore Theatre.
The stable of acts on the Sub Pop roster includes big names like The Postal Service, Soundgarden, Sleater-Kinney, and of course Nirvana. Then there is the wealth of local talent that includes Fleet Foxes, Sunny Day Real Estate, Shabazz Palaces, The Head and the Heart, Mudhoney and many, many others. And there’s also an embarrassment of excellent lesser-known niche artists with Sub Pop ties such as Goat, Spoek Mathambo, and clipping. Needless to say, there won’t be a lack of options or genres for musicians to cover at the concert.
Previous concerts have had several memorable moments. During the Mother Love Bone tribute show, which was originally booked for the Tractor Tavern before moving to the Neptune Theatre due to a high demand for tickets, the surviving members of Mother Love Bone played a surprise reunion set with Shawn Smith filling in for the late Andy Wood. And the Neil Young tribute concert in 2019 featured a heater of performance in the form of Dave Matthews’ rendition of “Hey, Hey, My, My.”
SMASH, which stands for Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare, works to provide access to health care services for musicians in King, Snohomish, Pierce, Mason, Thurston and Kitsap counties. The group has previously put on benefits concerts paying tribute to David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, U2, Sam Cooke and others.
Ticket for the SMASH Tribute to 35 Years of Sub Pop concert are currently on sale and range in price from $65 to $285.
