Author: Megan Okuma
At about 9:30 p.m. on March 5, 2023, Macklemore went live on Instagram from Capitol Hill sending a notification to all his followers. Not one to closely follow Macklemore’s social media activity, my friend mindlessly clicked on the notification. To our surprise, we saw the man himself only a five-minute walk away from us. We watched, as he unfurled a banner across the top of Neumos reading “Macklemore” at the top and the title of his newly released album, ‘Ben’ below it.
Call it fate or pure coincidence, but seeing Macklemore on the streets of Seattle had been the subject of many of our conversations as of late. My friend Diana, who propelled this wild 24-hour journey by clicking on Macklemore’s live, had never seen Macklemore out and about in the city despite accounts from many others saying they would run into him at their QFC or just around in general. More than that, being a Seattle local and living in Washington her entire life, you’d think a man who is so present in the Seattle community would be easier to find.
With the release of his US tour dates for The Ben Tour just two days prior, this topic was more discussed than ever, especially as a Seattle date was nowhere to be found. Though in the comments, Macklemore reassured his fans that Seattle would not be forgotten, replying to a fan who pointed out the missing Seattle date with, “don’t worry about Seattle….We got something coming.”
Rest assured, Macklemore dropped a grand surprise that night on his live. Without thinking, Diana and I dropped everything and ran out into the night once we realized he was at Neumos. Walking the almost-dead streets of Capitol Hill that Sunday night, we made it to the venue on Pike in probably less than five minutes.
Too focused on the fact that Macklemore was right in front of us dressed in a giant red coat with big rubber boots, we hadn’t noticed the spraypainted announcement across the banner. Finally looking up, I read the message, “7 p.m., Monday, March 6. Free Show.”
Stunned and in disbelief, I tapped on Diana to make sure what I read was correct. At that moment, she and I had decided there was no way we weren’t making it to this once-in-a-lifetime event.
The next day, we met at 11 a.m. to wait in line for the next eight hours. We had no idea how long the line would be at this point but to our surprise, we were probably around 10th in line. We soon found out the fans in line before us had been out there since 7 a.m. equipped with chairs, blankets, and food.
The whole ordeal of waiting in line was a whirlwind and before we knew it, only two hours remained until doors opened. At this point, the line had wrapped around the corner by QFC, up Broadway, turning on Union, and eventually came around 10th Ave. ending at Bok A Bok Chicken.
To make this moment even wilder, Macklemore made an appearance with his media team, walking down the line to take pictures with people. Though he didn’t stop at us, he did get a picture with the folks in front of us which Diana and my other friend Diya photobombed.
In the final hour before doors opened, Macklemore’s team passed out the last of his merch from 2011 including hoodies and t-shirts with the line, “My city’s filthy” from his song ‘This Town’ with Ryan Lewis. Those in line were also treated to free cheeseburgers from Dick’s Drive-In courtesy of Saint Deon, the opener.
At exactly 7 p.m., the moment we waited for all day finally came and we were let into the venue. Being so close to the beginning of the line, we were able to secure spots in the second row.
With a pretty quick turnaround, Macklemore entered the stage only an hour and a half after doors opened. His full set was relatively short with 12 songs including the encore. The full setlist included:
1. “Chant”
2. “No Bad Days”
3. “1984”
4. “Same Love” with Mary Lambert
5. “Sorry” with Livingston
6. “Heros”
7. “Grime”
8. “Gods Will” with Vic Daggs II
9. “Glorious”
10. “Good Old Days”
11. “Tail Lights” with Morray
12. “Can’t Hold Us”
Though many of the songs were from his newest album, granted the show was to promote the release, it was amazing to hear some of his older songs live, especially “Same Love” and even more so because he brought Mary Lambert on stage. The moment was entirely magical, and I almost cried seeing her perform. It was definitely the highlight of the night.
The special guests didn’t stop at Mary Lambert. Macklemore also performed with Livingston, Vic, and Morray who are all featured on “Ben.” Throughout the show, Macklemore emphasized that this night was more of a celebration with family, friends, and community than a concert. The energy of his appreciation towards this community and his excitement for the next chapter of his music was definitely felt in the small but intimate venue.
Ending the night with a Macklemore staple ‘Can’t Hold Us,’ Macklemore jumped into the crowd for the second time that night (the first during “Good Old Days”). To say he ended on a high note would be an understatement.
Diana and I were quite disappointed that he didn’t play more of his iconic songs like “Thrift Shop” and “Downtown,” though we might, one day, get to see it live as he reassured the crowd that Seattle would not be forgotten on this tour.
Still not releasing more information about when the Seattle show will happen, Diana and I are still speculating whether the comment on his tour date release post was in reference to his free live concert or perhaps something bigger for Seattle. I guess only time will tell…
Megan Okuma | KXSU Graphic Designer