Author: Ella Rustin
For the past 25 years, Capitol Hill Block Party has been cherished by the Seattle community, showcasing local and traveling artists. This year, I was able to attend the 3-day festival in my very own neighborhood. As someone who had never been to Block Party, I had no idea what to expect, but I was very pleased with how organized the event was. With a lineup of over 50 artists, it was difficult to pick my favorite performances. Here are a few standout artists that took the stages by storm.
Momma
Photo Credits: Harper King
Momma, the indie rock band from Los Angeles, California brought tremendous energy to the opening day of the festival at the Vera Stage. Ever since seeing them live back in 2019, I have been a fan of Momma, and I was super grateful that I got the opportunity to see them again, with a whole new range of music under their belt.
Momma played a curation of their material, with tracks from both their new album and older releases. Standout tracks from their set include “Biohazard”, “Apollo”, and “Medicine”.
One of my favorite moments of their set was right before they introduced and played their final song. Momma’s guitarist Etta Friedman switched instruments with their bassist, Zach Capitti Fenton just as they launched into their final track “Speeding 72”. As a member of the audience, you could tell that the artists were genuinely having a good time performing, which is always refreshing to see.
Denzel Curry
Photo Credits: Travis Trautt
One element of hip-hop performances that I highly value is artist collaborations with one another. Throughout his set, Denzel Curry brought out multiple guests within the rap industry that he has worked with, including Redveil, who gave an energetic and sincere performance on the Vera Stage earlier that day.
Denzel Curry is a fantastic live performer who has great control of the crowd and the energy during his shows. One highlight of his set was moments before arguably his most popular song “Ultimate”. Curry had every single person in the crowd get down on the ground in preparation for the heavy beat drop at the beginning of the track. As soon as the track began, the explosiveness of the crowd was impossible to overlook. It was mesmerizing to see how magnetic the crowd’s energy was.
Rico Nasty
Photo Credits: Luke Johnson
On Sunday, before the act of the weekend, Rico Nasty took control of the main stage with thousands of fans present to watch her performance. The crowd was full of anticipation, chanting “Rico” just moments before her DJ stepped in front of the turntables. Warming up the crowd, the DJ played a handful of songs, including one from PinkPantheress, who was set to perform on the same day, but unfortunately had to cancel because of illness. As soon as Rico Nasty began performing her first song, pits opened up in multiple areas of the crowd. Although it was the festival’s hottest day, Rico and her fans gave it their all throughout her show.
Dance circles and moshpits were dispersed throughout the crowd from the start to the finish of Rico’s set, and people gave it their all for one of the most energetic performances of the weekend.
Conclusion and Thanks
Overall, this year’s block party was full of energy, excitement, and many talented performances. Thank you to Capitol Hill Block Party for allowing me to participate in this year’s festival!
Ella Rustin | Program Director, DJ, & Writer | Tune into Heaven Radio on Thursdays & Fridays at 3 pm!