Sonic Guild Seattle

Nominations are OPEN for the 2026 Sonic Guild Seattle Artist Grants. 🎶

This year, 10 Seattle-area artists will each receive $10,000, putting $100,000 directly into the hands of local musicians.

Know an artist whose music deserves to be heard? Nominate them. Work with someone doing incredible things? Nominate them. Have a band or project of your own? Nominate yourself.

Anyone can nominate, and one nomination is all it takes for an eligible artist to be considered. Multiple nominations do not increase an artist’s chances.

Who’s eligible?
Artists must be active working musicians creating original music, performing regularly, and pursuing a professional music career, and be based within approximately 100 miles of Seattle, including Tacoma, Olympia, Bellingham, and the surrounding region.

Artists do not need to be Sonic Guild members or have previously performed at a Sonic Guild event.

Sonic Guild is a community of people who believe local music is worth investing in. Our members come together at shows throughout the year to discover and celebrate local artists, while their support funds grants and programs that put resources directly into musicians’ hands.

Nominations are open through October 20.
🔗 Nominate an artist: sonicguild.org/nominate

Help us reach the artists who should be in the room. Tag them, send this their way, or nominate them yourself.

Next Saturday, we’re bringing together artists, industry folks, music fans, and some of the people helping shape the Pacific Northwest music community for the 8th annual Shoreline Music Summit.
And it’s completely FREE.

Come for a conversation. Stay for a new connection. Find your next favorite band. Meet a future collaborator. Ask the question you’ve been sitting on. Learn something that changes how you approach your career.

We’ve got conversations on building a sustainable career, audience growth + storytelling, DIY touring, women in music, and music law, plus Songs + Stories with Tomo Nakayama and Alie Byland, a keynote with Tony Kiewel of Sub Pop, and a closing performance from Oblé Reed.

📅 Saturday, October 3
📍 Shoreline Community College
🕚 11 AM–7:30 PM
🎟️ FREE

RSVP at the link in bio + send this to someone you want to see there.

Presented by Sonic Guild - Seattle in partnership with Recording Academy, the City of Shoreline + our community partners.

Seattle music community, this one’s for you. 🎶

Join us Saturday, October 3 for the Shoreline Music Summit, a free day of conversations, connection, and live music for artists and music industry professionals.

Hear from Tony Kiewel of Sub Pop Records in our keynote conversation, catch Oblé Reed on Building a Sustainable Career before his special live performance, and dig into conversations on audience growth, DIY touring, women in music, music law, and more with some of the people helping shape music in the Pacific Northwest.

Plus, Tomo Nakayama and Alie Byland come together for Songs & Stories, followed by a community networking reception and Oblé Reed closing out the Summit live.

📍 Bracken Building at Shoreline Community College
📅 Saturday, October 3
🕚 11 AM–7:30 PM
🎟️ FREE

Swipe to meet this year’s speakers + artists →

🎤 KEYNOTE • 12:30 PM
Tony Kiewel + Michelle Feghali • Sub Pop

🌱 BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE CAREER • 1:45–2:30 PM
Oblé Reed • Oblé Reed
Jessica Toon • Jessica Toon

📈 AUDIENCE GROWTH + STORYTELLING • 2:45–3:30 PM
Rachel White • Sub Pop
Mikhael Williams • Seattle Theatre Group
K. Van Petten • K. M. Van Petten

🚐 DIY TOURING + BEYOND • 2:45–3:30 PM
Sami Frederick • Zookraught (Zook-Rot)
Ethan Anderson • Massy Ferguson
Alex Vile • Alex Vilenius
DeVon Manier • DeVon Manier
Ben London • Ben London

✨ WOMEN IN MUSIC • 2:45–3:30 PM
Taryn Dorsey • Taryn Dorsey
Rachel Flotard • Red Light Management
Mackenzie Mercer • Seattle Theatre Group
Heather Johnson • Sub Pop

🎶 SONGS + STORIES • 4–5 PM
Tomo Nakayama • Tomo Nakayama
Alie Byland • ALIE BYLAND

🥂 COMMUNITY NETWORKING • 5–6 PM

🎤 OBLÉ REED LIVE • 6–7:30 PM
Oblé Reed

🌙 KEEP THE NIGHT GOING • 7–11 PM
Free live music continues throughout Shoreline!
Nazu's Café with Zoser • sister swimmer • Richard Simeonoff
Darrell’s Tavern with Hate Knife • PSYCHO78 • Dumdums

Presented by sonicguild in partnership with Recording Academy, the City of Shoreline + community partners.

Free RSVP at the link in bio.

Announcing our final 2026 Tour Support Grant recipients 🎊

24 independent artists across Seattle, Austin, and Colorado are hitting the road with support from Sonic Guild, representing more than 220 tour dates in our final cycle of the year.

Touring is where momentum happens. It’s also where costs stack up fast. These grants help cover the real things, gas, hotels, vans, crew, flights, and the unexpected costs of life on the road, so independent artists can keep going and bring their music to new communities.

Austin grantees: The Animeros, Bee Blackwell, Big BRali, iiesney Santana, Flight by Nothing, Next of Kin, The Well

The Animeros: “With every single aspect of touring being more expensive, this grant will immensely help the touring musician be able to actually turn a profit.”

Seattle grantees:Cytrus, Fan Club, Hayden Everett, instant crush, Lucha Luna, Massy Ferguson, The Rat Utopia Experiment, Sera Cahoonee, St. Yuma, Tiny Vipers

Tiny Vipers: “In order to do this tour I had to take unpaid leave from work. This grant will help offset that cost and build a security blanket in case there are unexpected costs on the road.”

Colorado grantees: autumnal, Cherokee Social, Deth Rali, iies., KNDRX, Shadow Work, Xanthe Alexis

iies.: “This grant quite literally was the means of living our dream or staying home.”

That’s 24 artists and 220+ tour dates supported in this final round. To every artist getting in the van, catching a flight, loading in, sleeping somewhere new, and doing it all again the next night: safe travels. We’ll see you out there. 🖤

Chico Detour + Torch are taking over The Rabbit Box on September 17.

Chico Detour brings reverb-soaked garage psych, pulling from surf, garage + psychedelia with crooked hooks and raw energy. Torch brings Seattle sludge punk, making this a night for the heavier, louder + stranger corners of our local music scene.

At Sonic Guild, every show is more than just a concert. It’s a chance for artists and music lovers to come together, build community, and directly support the creation of new music.

Members can RSVP now, and our guest list is open for anyone curious about Sonic Guild who wants to come check it out and see what we’re all about.

Thursday, September 17 at The Rabbit Box. Doors at 6:30 PM, music at 7 PM.

RSVP at sonicguild.org/seattleguest

Bumbershoot weekend is almost here.

We’re proud to partner with Bumbershoot as it returns to Seattle Center September 5 + 6 for its 53rd year, bringing together music, art, food + the wonderfully weird for one of Seattle’s most beloved cultural traditions.

We’re especially excited to see so many artists from the Sonic Guild community across this year’s lineup, including grant recipients Sera Cahoone + Oblé Reed, among many others.

See you at Seattle Center this weekend.

The story and songs of Gregg Allman, on the big screen for one night in Seattle. 🎸🎬

On Tuesday, September 1, Nectar | Seattle is hosting a special screening of Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul, celebrating the life, songs, and legacy of one of American music’s most influential voices.

And we’re especially excited about this part: $2 from every online ticket sold will be donated to Sonic Guild, helping us fund grants and opportunities for local musicians across the region.

Come discover the story behind the music and help support the artists making their own right here at home.

🎟️ Tickets at the link in bio.

We love hanging out with our members at the annual grant celebration! Check out these photos from past years.

It is events like these that make Sonic Guild membership so special. In addition to having a real impact, membership means entering a community of people who are passionate about music and care about supporting it. This community shows up at monthly performances in cool venues all around the city.

Learn more about joining the membership community at the link in our bio.