austin

Austin

chicago

Chicago

denver

Denver

lasvegas

Las Vegas

madison

Madison

nashville

Nashville

philly

Philly

pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

portland

Portland

saltlake

Salt Lake

seattle

Seattle

twincities

Twin Cities

We make podcasts and newsletters that connect people with the cities they love.

City Cast Seattle

In recent years, small venues in Seattle have been shuttering and taking with them some of the art scene our city is known for. Just as City Cast Seattle launched, we reported on the 

. But, there are still many small and DIY venues for just about every kind of show. Here are just a few:

Home to the incredible drag show TUSH! and a whole range of music from lo-fi and dark wave to roadhouse and punk rock, this Beacon Hill bar and music venue is a gem. Also, it has amazing pizza thanks to Stevie’s Famous – which was the winner of the 2024 Seattle Times Pizza Smackdown.

I’m a huge fan of anything the Vera Project does, and Black Lodge is no exception. The venue closed during the start of the pandemic, but the Vera Project brought it back to life by combining the space with the former Lo-Fi Cafe (RIP). The new space sits in the back of 

 in SLU, which is where I found my copy of the Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Suzanne Ciani record Sunergy (synth nerds, I know you get it). It’s a great DIY venue that can hold about 150 people, perfect for discovering that new group you can’t wait to say you “knew when.”

This 15-year-old storefront performance venue in the Central District is a staple for that project your friend has been working on for years and is finally showing the world. They operate as a collective of independent artists – “primarily musicians, but also writers, dancers, theatre artists and other fellow travelers.” Because they are in a residential neighborhood, they have a much lower volume restriction than most venues, so this is the place to go for low-fi, acoustic or more contemplative shows.

I somehow didn’t know about The Rabbit Box until a friend of mine played a show there (shout out 

). Located right by Left Bank Books in Pike Place Market, the venue feels like traveling back in time. It has ornate wallpaper, chandeliers and vintage couches. The lighting is warm and low and the cocktails are served in vintage glassware. Unfortunately, 

the venue is currently seeking a new owner

. But hopefully it will continue to host shows in the meantime!

From Executive Producer Ashley Smith: I lived in a tiny studio apartment across from the Tractor Tavern in 2014. In the year that we were neighbors, I can say the venue only woke me up a couple of times and I couldn't even complain because I was basically getting to hear concerts for free! And I decided to live across the street from a music venue, so really what did I expect? My best Tractor memory is seeing the elusive Fiona Apple grace their stage with The Watkins Family Hour. I'll never forget seeing her perform 5 feet from me while I drank a Rainier at the bar and stumbled home (again, across the street) after. Long live the Tractor!

In the years I’ve lived in Queen Anne, the Bad Bar location has gone by many names, but their Twin-Peaks-inspired decor and side room venue for all things DIY remains a great space to see experimental noise shows, host your own DJ sets or just drop by for a drink next door.

Okay, so this isn’t exactly a small venue, but Abbey Arts puts on this concert series every year, featuring indie bands playing in the incredible acoustics of the St. Marks Episcopal Cathedral. This is the perfect space for fans of reverb-washed surrounds and picnics at a show – attendees can spread out blankets and pillows on the floor or choose seating on chairs or the pews. Especially in the winter, these shows are really a balm for the soul.

As promised, the list is long. And there are still more. Here are some other beloved venues to add to your weekend plans: 

 (owned by Ryan Granger who still plays in rock bands around Seattle), 

Your Guide To Seattle's Small Music Venues

What To Do

Seattle is a town of nerds, and it’s no wonder that we have a plethora of fantastic bookstores. Here are a few of my favorites:

Elliott Bay, located in the heart of Capitol Hill, is perfectly positioned for a post-brunch peruse or a spot to browse before you go out on the Hill for the night, but it’s also worth stopping in to the basement for their readings. Big-name authors regularly drop by on book tour, and the reading space is somehow both spacious and cozy.

The Couth feels like you walked into a cool arty friend’s living room. In a city that’s increasingly besieged by a minimalist light-wood-and-brushed-steel interior design, the Couth has old Seattle charm with zero frills: concrete floors, no-nonsense wood bookshelves, and solid coffee at the cafe. They also sell local art, and have a gathering space in the back with board game nights, open mics, book clubs, and fiber arts meet-ups.

Come for the queer books, stay for the bathroom. Yes, the bathroom — Charlie’s is located in an impeccably decorated, charming one-story Fremont home that screams queer joy, and its crown jewel is the f bathroom, complete with flamingo and palm tree wallpaper. And after you go, you can pick up 

 that says “I pissed in Seattle’s most beautiful bookstore bathroom.”

Located in Pike Place Market, Left Bank has been running since 1973 and is collectively owned and operated by its workers. Its selection elevates writers from marginalized communities and you’ll find a variety of local zines as well as books published by Left Bank’s publishing arm. The collective is also the sponsor of Books to Prisoners, a program that mails books to people who are incarcerated.

Girl math says that if you make money selling your old books and you use that money to buy new ones, you got them for free. Third Place will let you make an appointment at any of its three locations to bring in your used books, and while you wait for them to review your haul and make you an offer for in-store credit, you can browse around or get yourself a sweet treat at the cafe.

Our guide to the best bookstores Seattle has to offer.

Guide to Seattle’s Best Places to Buy Books

Your Ultimate Guide to Seattle Bookstores

Liam Billingham

It’s Liam, your friendly producer and movie nerd. The first thing I did when I moved to Seattle was start checking out the movie theaters. Real heads know that Seattle IS a movie town, not only with a great history of movies made here but with some real movie fans and 

 As I’ve been visiting as many local theaters here, I thought I’d put a guide together for the un- or under-initiated.

SIFF is, in my humble opinion, the crown jewel of Seattle film. They show new releases in 2 venues, Downtown, Uptown, and show cult classics and repertory screenings at both Uptown and The SIFF Film Center near Seattle Center. The popcorn is good, the projection excellent (they even do some 35mm), and you can feel that the audience is full of serious cinephiles watching movies. SIFF is a nonprofit organization, and you can support them, which gives you discount tickets, event invites, and free(!) concessions! On a sad note, SIFF recently announced 

they were not reopening the famed Egyptian, which suffered damage in the past few years.

 No word yet on who's taking over, but Seattle has some ideas.

I’m going to complain: Seattle doesn’t have a 70mm IMAX. This makes me, a format obsessive, pretty sad. However, we do have one of the best digital IMAX theaters in the country here at the Pacific Science Center, and when it isn’t showing nature documentaries and other awesome museum fair, they’re showing the latest and greatest in large scale projection entertainment. A recent screening of 

If you’re in Ballard and don’t wanna leave…

I love hanging out in Ballard. I could walk around there all day, stop at a few spots for drinks and snacks, and then finish up my evening at the Majestic Bay, the cute, classy feeling theater that has both fun retro nights and new releases! If you haven’t filled up on Ballard’s delicious restaurants, they have fun, yummy popcorn. A warning before you go: they only accept cards for concessions unless you have exact change. Don’t love that, but what can you do?

Munching while you watch a cult classic…

Maybe you’re looking for something more substantial than popcorn and soda when you watch a cult classic. In that case, Central Cinema, located in Cherry Hill, has got you covered. 

Go see a film by Carpenter, Gillian, or Ridley Scott with a tall Pilsner and some fried cheese curds. Heaven.

There are cult classics, and then there’s 

The Beacon Theater, a 48-seater located in Columbia City, is for the latter. Their about page reads ‘

We desire to re-see the possibilities of cinema and think again about the relationality of art, life, struggle and pleasure. We call upon our community to gather together, in the real world, and experience cinema collectively. We aim to foster cultural forms that imagine tomorrow as something more than an endless repetition of an infinite now.’ 

This is a great place to see absolute (underseen) classics like 

or practically unheard of masterworks like the 

For your burgeoning student film lovers…

The only way I could ever become a film fan ranting about the Kazakh New Wave is if I had access to cinema as a student, and that’s what U District’s Varsity Theater provides. Tickets are student-friendly ($9.50 with a student ID!) and you can see all sorts of new releases.

For cinephiles who want to support a locally-focused organization:

Founded 30 years ago, Northwest FIlm Forum seeks 

‘incite to public dialogue and creative action through collective cinematic experiences.

, and screenings of classic foreign cinema (some of it unheralded in the USA). They also do cool double features, like one of Douglas Sirk’s 

Movie theaters in Seattle that are better for screening a new film instead of streaming it at home

What To Do

Your Guide To Seattle's Small Music Venues

Your Ultimate Guide to Seattle Bookstores

Seattle Movie Theaters That'll Make You Forget Streaming Exists