The port city of

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

, has been a center of

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

anti-folk Anti-folk (sometimes spelled antifolk) is a music genre that emerged in the 1980s in New York City, founded by the musician, author and comedian Lach, as a reaction to the commercialization of folk music. It is characterized by its DIY ethos, ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

and other youth-oriented musical genres since the late 1970s. Before this period, Olympia's

The Fleetwoods The Fleetwoods were an American vocal group from Olympia, Washington, whose members were Gary Troxel (born November 28, 1939), Gretchen Christopher (born February 29, 1940), and Barbara Ellis (born February 20, 1940). Early history The band ...

had several

Billboard chart The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

successes between 1959 and 1963. Olympia saw a rise in feminism in the music industry, where artists commonly addressed rape, domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, patriarchy, classism, anarchism, and female empowerment in their songs. It was a center for the

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington, and the greater Pacific Northwest, and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement ...

movement of the early 1990s, which featured

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pio ...

and

Bratmobile Bratmobile is an American punk band from Olympia, Washington, formed in 1991. They are known for being one of the first-generation "riot grrrl" bands. The band was influenced by several eclectic musical styles, including elements of pop, surf ...

. Olympia's downtown Capitol Theater hosted the punk and indie-rock International Pop Underground Convention in 1991 and the Yoyo-A-Go-Go festival in 1994, 1997, 1999 and 2001. The city has several record labels and companies, including

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent mu ...

and

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in February 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but it was orig ...

; Kill Rock Stars has signed

Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime member Janet We ...

Unwound Unwound () is an American post-hardcore band formed in 1988 in Tumwater and Olympia, Washington. It presently consists of vocalist-guitarist Justin Trosper, bassist Jared Warren, drummer Sara Lund, and guitarist Scott Seckington. Originally ...

and

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, whe ...

Notable musicians and groups

Bangs Bang, bang!, or bangs may refer to: Products * M1922 Bang rifle, a US semi-automatic rifle designed by Søren Hansen Bang * Bang, a List of model car brands, model car brand * Bang (beverage), an energy drink Geography * Bang, Central African ...

, part of the riot grrrl movement, formed in 1997 and were active until 2010. Kill Rock Stars signed the band. *

Beat Happening Beat Happening was an American indie pop band formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members. Beat Happening were early leaders in the American indie pop and lo-f ...

, which formed in 1983, played

lo-fi music Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

. *

, which formed in 1990 as pioneers of the riot grrrl movement, released several EPs and two albums. *

The Blow The Blow is an American electro pop band, comprising Khaela Maricich and Melissa Dyne. Maricich and Dyne write, compose, produce and perform all the music. It was formed as a solo project by Maricich in 2002, and she was joined by Jona Bechtolt ...

, founded in 2001, deliver Olympia-influenced monologues. *

played punk and early

music from 1991 to 2003. * Cool Rays, formed by Evergreen State College students, active 1980-1981. *

Lois Maffeo Lois Maffeo (professionally known for much of her career as Lois) is an American musician and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. She has been closely involved with and influenced many independent musicians, especially in the 1990s-era O ...

was most active during the early 1990s. *

Dub Narcotic Sound System Dub Narcotic Sound System (D.N.S.S.) is an Olympia, Washington based indie-funk musical group founded by Calvin Johnson, signed to K Records. Origins The band was named after Calvin Johnson's basement recording studio, Dub Narcotic. The band a ...

, formed in 1995, was signed to

. *

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

, 1989–1997, 2003–present. *

Excuse 17 Excuse 17 was a punk rock band from Olympia, Washington, US, that performed and recorded from 1993 to 1995. The band consisted of Becca Albee (vocals and guitar), Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), and Curtis James (drums). The band recorded ...

recorded from 1993 to 1995. *

Fitz of Depression Fitz of Depression was an American punk rock band from Olympia, Washington, formed in 1987. The band released three albums before splitting up in 1997. There were brief reunion tours in 2000 and 2002. The band continued to play, particularly in t ...

punk band formed in 1989, active until 2019. Released work on K and Kill Rock Stars. *

, a vocal pop group, recorded "Come Softly to Me" (their debut single and biggest hit) in 1959. *

The Frumpies The Frumpies were an American lo-fi punk rock band formed in 1992 in Olympia, Washington. The original line-up consisted of singers/guitarists Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, and Billy Karren (all of whom were also a part of the riot grrrl band Bikin ...

, a lo-fi

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band, formed in 1992 and split in 2000. * G.L.O.S.S. was a trans-feminist hardcore punk band which formed in 2014 and split in 2016. *

godheadSilo godheadSilo is an American noise rock duo formed in Moorhead, Minnesota, that later moved to Olympia, Washington, before disbanding and moving to different parts of the country. The duo is composed of bassist Mike Kunka and drummer Dan Haugh ...

, a

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

duo which first formed in 1991 and reformed in 2015, focusing on

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sl ...

and

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge doom or simply sludge) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that combines elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. The genre generally includes slow tempos, down-tuned guitars and nihilis ...

. *

The Go Team The Go Team was a 1980s band from Olympia, Washington, consisting of Tobi Vail and Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening. Career The Go Team was founded in 1985. As Vail described: The Go Team released several cassettes and 9 singles on the i ...

was a duo which was active from 1985 to 1989. *

Gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Etymology The word is from Old English ''godsibb'', from ''god (word), god'' and ''sibb'', the term for the ...

was active from 1999 to 2016, and participated in Olympia's 2000 Ladyfest. *

Heavens to Betsy Heavens to Betsy was an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1991 with vocalist and guitarist Corin Tucker and drummer Tracy Sawyer. The duo were part of the DIY riot grrrl, punk rock underground, and were Tucker's first band ...

was a punk duo which formed during the early 1990s. *

Lync Lync was a 1990s post-hardcore band from Olympia, Washington. Formed in 1992, Lync was composed of vocalist/guitarist Sam Jayne, bassist/vocalist James Bertram and drummer Dave Schneider. Lync's distinctive sound of distortion, cryptic lyr ...

was a post-hardcore band active from 1992 to 1994. * Milk Music was a four-member band founded in 2008. *

The Microphones The Microphones were an American indie folk, indie rock, and experimental project from Olympia, Washington. The project was founded in 1996 and ended in 2003, with a short reunion following in 2007 and revivals in 2019 and 2020-22. Across ever ...

was a project fronted by

Phil Elverum Philip Whitman Elverum (; born May 26, 1978) is an American musician and songwriter known for his Independent music, indie bands the Microphones and Mount Eerie. Based in Anacortes, Washington, in the mid-2000s he began to spell his surname Elv ...

that lasted from 1996 to 2003. * The Need, a

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically ...

band formed in the mid-1990s, was signed to the Kill Rock Stars label and was active until 2001. * The Old Haunts, formed in 2001, was also signed to the Kill Rock Stars label. *

, originally part of the riot grrrl movement, have been active since 1994. *

Team Dresch Team Dresch is an American punk rock band originally formed in 1993 in Olympia, Washington. History In 1993, Donna Dresch formed Team Dresch with herself playing guitar and bass, Jody Bleyle on guitar and vocals, Kaia Wilson on guitar and voc ...

, a queercore/punk band formed in 1993. * Trans FX, a rock band formed in 2011. * Wynne Greenwood performed

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

music as

Tracy + the Plastics Tracy, Tracey, or Tracie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tracy (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname, also encompassing spelling variations Places United States * Tracy, C ...

during the early 2000s via video projection. *

, a post-hardcore band, was active from 1991 to 2002. They have since reunited in 2022.

Radio stations

* KAOS Olympia Community Radio 89.3 FM * KXXO

Record labels

(founded 1982) *

(founded 1991)

Music festivals and events

Yoyo A Go Go Yoyo A Go Go, usually abbreviated to Yoyo and often typeset in various ways, was an independent music festival in Olympia, Washington, first held in 1994 and followed by successor festivals in 1997, 1999, and 2001. Five- and six-day concert mara ...

(1994–2001) *

Ladyfest Ladyfest is a community-based, not-for-profit global music and arts festival for feminist and women artists. Individual Ladyfests differ, but usually feature a combination of bands, musical groups, performance artists, authors, spoken word an ...

(2000) * The

International Pop Underground Convention The International Pop Underground Convention (or IPU) was a 1991 punk and alternative rock music festival in Olympia, Washington. The six-day convention centered on a series of performances at the Capitol Theater. Throughout August 20–25, 1 ...

(1991) * Girls to the Front (1991).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olympia, Washington music Olympia Music scenes