The Seattle Music Commission is seeking six new members for 2027

Now, if you know the city of Seattle, you know how big music is to this city, the history of the city, the people who still live here, and the community that make this place their home. Music has historically been what this city is known for. There has been different genres of music that have gotten their starts here, and it has not stopped. music is still such a big part of the city of Seattle, and there is an opportunity for you to help craft what music looks like in this city. Joining me now is Marshall Hieu and Kay Van Patten of the Seattle Music Commission. First off, thank you both for taking the time to join me today. Let's talk about what it is that you guys are here about. There are some openings for folks if they would want to get more involved with Seattle's music scene. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for having both Kay and I. We are new Seattle Music Commissioners ourselves, and what is really exciting is that we've been able to join this advisory board that can get musicians in the rooms to where policy is being made for tangible growth to getting Seattle to be, once again, globally recognized as the powerhouses that we are when it comes to music, live music, recorded music. And so we are here today to get the word out about six new openings that are open right now on the Seattle Music Commission all the way through Monday, November 16th. And we're really excited to get it out. And Kay also has been working on an amazing Music Laureate program. and we're just pumped to be here yeah and I appreciate it Kay, let's talk about what the actual music commission is what does this look like what does it do and how if someone is able to become a part of it would have involvement in the city of Seattle's music scene yeah thanks so much for asking we advise the city on how to support Seattle's musicians and our live music venues and all of the amazing music businesses in Seattle so our community can thrive and since Seattle is known around the world for music this musician laureate program that we're working on as an example of the types of things we advocate for through the city so we show up at City Hall we make public comments we turn our opinions into action and advocate for a better future for music so we're always looking for more people to get involved like Marshall said we have those six seats opening up so if it sounds interesting to you to advocate for the future of music apply for one of those seats or show up um you know come to City Hall with us on November 5th there will be an app an action to help advocate for this new musician laureate program we're working on yeah so what is the specifics if you're watching here and you're saying oh i i'm interested in this the Seattle Music Commission is i think 20 plus members correct is it 21 yep so there's 21 members total and this now are an opening for six so if i'm listening i have until it's November right to to get my application in yes November 15th i believe uh which is a Monday and so November 15th is when applications close i apply i get my information out um what what does an application look like if i'm interested in kind of being a part of this yeah you can go to our um website that we'll have linked here and it's a pretty simple straightforward form we're trying to keep access barriers low so that all different type of applicants can apply and it'll walk you through the type of time commitment that you have we'll get a little bit of history on what you've done in the past what makes you so passionate about the Seattle music scene and then we'll have opportunities to meet in person and just see if it's something that feels good and feels connected to you both with your time availability and as well as your passions and if they align as far as a time commitment goes uh again we're also new ourselves this is our first year on it but uh you know there's uh bi-monthly meetings you can join a subcommittee and then about six in-person meetings a year so it's not a massive time commitment but there's definitely a lot of work to be done and you can find a way to put a lot of time into it if that's what you want to do yeah so let's talk about this um for Marshall NK tell me for you why is music important to you why is this something that uh for this year you have decided to join the music commission as a working musician myself i wanted to help bring some of these experiences that artists have in my community into the decisions that are making being made that shape our city so getting involved with advocacy so we can make a better future for all the musicians we know even folks that maybe aren't sure about how to navigate our local government that we can show up do all of that learning and bring our experiences as working musicians to that. And Marshall is a working musician as well, right, Marshall? Yeah, I've been at it in this city for coming up on nearly a decade. I've played pretty much every single club, every single venue. We started an event series called Fremont Fridays ourselves, so I think I have a pretty good handle on what it's like to be a working musician in this city. I'm starting to learn a lot more about what it's like to run an event series in a venue in this city and i wanted to be able to give a little bit more of a voice to people that look like me and don't look like me and uh you know be able to get into some rooms that we haven't uh been to yet one thing that you mentioned is kind of um making sure everybody feels like they have a place um where their voice can be heard and i think that i saw that equity is a big uh forefront of the work that you guys do um talk to me about that talk to me about making sure that everyone can have their music heard within the city. Yeah, I think it comes down to a lot of factors that go into what is tangible, how do you work the larger system in a larger budget, and how do you get it to accessibility and equity are at the forefront. So one of the things that we're most proud of here at the Seattle Music Commission as of late is being able to provide free parking and loading zones for Seattle musicians at over 20 different venues throughout the city. So that speaks to accessibility and the ability to not worry about what's happening with your gear, where you're going to park afterwards, and making each event and every concert at those venues just a tad bit more affordable for people that aren't bankrolled or backed by major label or financing. And that's something that we're super pumped about. Marshall, I think Kay might have mentioned, or you might mentioned is the the community that you've been able to build um every summer with Fremont Fridays this is for me the truest way to kind of find out about your community uh to give a little background we're showing some of the the videos that we have on file from previous ones i think it's you guys on stage too Marshall um from you know that final night but this is an event this is a music series that happens every summer in the neighborhood of Fremont multiple venues um different kind of events going on it's not just music but it's film and this gives people the opportunity to kind of be heard you you look for um different musicians i know that they're not always local there are some big name acts that come from across the country but there has been such a push since i moved to this area to highlight local music i know uh all-star opera years and years ago had the um Seattle World Tour um concert series basically a festival for all Seattle musicians who might not make it onto the bumper shoots or or the the larger scale concerts just to be a part of the city to be heard what can folks expect to do can they be a part of things like this if they have visions if they have ideas can they work to make sure that other musicians um have a place to be heard like you guys have already done um over the last few months and years i think absolutely you look at of course Fremont Friday is something that we intentionally keep uh you know we kind of have like a company-wide baseline of we want to keep at least 60 percent of the artists that touch the stage from the Pacific Northwest so creating guardrails within the events that we do to highlight the Pacific Northwest and the talent that's always on the forefront of our minds and that's on the forefront of the Seattle Music Commission as well and Kay works with Sonic Guild who's a partner with Fremont Friday as well and it's all about finding ways to champion the amazing talent that we have here because it truly is world class. Kay I'd love for you to highlight Sonic Guild and some of the other work. Absolutely at Sonic Guild we bring music lovers together directly to support local musicians. We have monthly secret shows and we give out grants to the community. Marshall has received one and we are supporters of Fremont Friday as well. So my work at Sonic Guild lets me see where that direct support makes the most impact for artists. So I bring that perspective to my work on the commission. And I know that our music community grows when people show up for each other, when they buy that ticket or discover that local musician at Fremont Fridays and help them keep creating and help our community get strong. So at Sonic Guild, we always turn that shared love for music into real support for the artists that make it. Let's talk. I know we've been kind of hitting on this, but there's a need. There's a need for at least six people to fill the commission. Where can they go? Where can they sign up? Where can they get in contact with you guys if they want to take part in this? You can go to first our Instagram at Seattle Music Commission. All of the updates and details are there. It's Marshall behind the scenes running our Instagram. And then linked in there, you'll see Seattle.gov slash Seattle dash music dash commission. And that's where the form will be. So you'll be guided to that link to the form that will help you fill it out. and you do need to apply by November 16th yeah we're pulling that up right now um Alan you think we're good to to go to that okay so here is the Instagram right here that you heard Kay mentioning um and Kay folks can just go and i think we have the link highlighted and you said right in the bio so people click there um Alan you want to give it a click and show people what it looks like so you click and it goes right to the website where you'll be able to uh well goodness gracious I just think that we'd have better internet at the station. No, this is live TV. This is what you love to see. Yeah. Let's go back to you guys as that loads up. But people can go. They can sign up. And, hey, we got the Instagram pulled back up. That looks a little bit nicer. There's Marshall right there. And you can apply. And, again, when is that deadline to get your information in? November 16th. November 16th. November 16th. It's coming up, y'all. So if you have interest, if you want to be a part of this, there it is. they're the new commissioners um there's some time before i go i want to kind of give you guys an opportunity to talk about some of the work that you guys do individually i know that you both are so connected to the music scene here in the city is there anything that you have um in the works or in the pipeline that you would like to to kind of highlight uh for me i'm just always trying to be in a creative space we're uh playing a string of shows and uh i'm getting started on Fremont Friday a lot earlier this year. As it becomes more tangible and as the city embraces it more and more, I'm realizing I can't start in late spring anymore. So I'm already having meetings. We're going to come back bigger, better, hopefully be able to add more venue partners and more strategic partners. So I'm already hard at work as that. And the Seattle Music Commission has actually taken up a good amount of my time in the most exciting ways. And And right now, we're pushing for the Music Laureate Program, spearheaded by Kay. So, Kay, let them know how we can make this thing happen. Our next action is on November 5th. So, we'd love to see folks at City Hall to come and make a public comment in support of the future of music, of all these changes that we want to make to see happen. And I also want to shout out Sonic Guild. We currently have our granting process open. So, we just received over 500 nominations for local artists. Wow. Ten $10,000 grants. It'll be at the Triple Door in February. You'll get handed a big check, so we just finished up the nomination process and voting is now opening on Friday so it's a really exciting time to get involved with Sonic Guild. Come out to the one of the shows. It's sonicguild.org. We have shows every month and it's really exciting to see who will be the next 10 local artists to receive that ten thousand dollars. Okay, I think that's just a kind of adds context. You said 500 entries for just 10 available positions. That's right, yeah so just like the scale that is also just a portion too of the musicians that are within the area so music for the city is such a huge thing, uh Kay and Marshall, thank you both for taking some time to talk to us about the work that you're doing and the possibility that others can have in um shaping and help to give artists uh opportunities in the city. Thank you for having us. Yeah, I miss seeing you out at Fremont Fridays dancing. You're the life of the party. I was there, I was there, I know I missed, I missed seeing you. It reminds me of when you're in uh what you're saying when you're in like Walmart or Walgreens or wherever and you see the Halloween decorations on one shelf and then right next to it is the Christmas decorations you saying you're already getting ready for your summer music series the Fremont Friday that that seems so early but you guys put in so much work with that heck yeah we do it for people like you buddy no it's a blast guys thanks so much for taking some time to join us