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The port city of Olympia, Washington, has been a center of post-hardcore, anti-folk, and other youth-oriented musical genres since the late 1970s. Before this period, Olympia's The Fleetwoods had several Billboard chart 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 movement of the early 1990s, which featured Bikini Kill and Bratmobile.
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 and Kill Rock Stars; Kill Rock Stars has signed Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, Unwound and Elliott Smith.
Notable musicians and groups
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- Bangs, part of the riot grrrl movement, formed in 1997 and were active until 2010. Kill Rock Stars signed the band.
- Beat Happening, which formed in 1982, played lo-fi music.
- Bikini Kill, which formed in 1990 as pioneers of the riot grrrl movement, released several EPs and two albums.
- The Blow, founded in 2001, deliver Olympia-influenced monologues.
- Bratmobile played punk and early riot grrrl music from 1991 to 2003.
- Cool Rays, formed by Evergreen State College students, active 1980-1981.
- Lois Maffeo was most active during the early 1990s.
- Dub Narcotic Sound System, formed in 1995, was signed to K Records.
- Earth, 1989–1997, 2003–present.
- Excuse 17 recorded from 1993 to 1995.
- Fitz of Depression punk band formed in 1989, active until 2019. Released work on K and Kill Rock Stars.
- The Fleetwoods, a vocal pop group, recorded "Come Softly to Me" (their debut single and biggest hit) in 1959.
- The Frumpies, a lo-fi punk rock 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: A noise rock duo which first formed in 1991 and reformed in 2015, focusing on stoner rock and sludge metal.
- The Go Team was a duo which was active from 1985 to 1989.
- Gossip was active from 1999 to 2016, and participated in Olympia's 2000 Ladyfest.
- Heavens to Betsy was a punk duo which formed during the early 1990s.
- Milk Music was a four-member band founded in 2008.
- The Microphones was a project fronted by Phil Elverum that lasted from 1996 to 2003.
- The Need, a queercore 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.
- Sleater-Kinney, originally part of the riot grrrl movement, has released ten albums since 1994.
- Team Dresch is an American queercore/punk band which formed in 1993.
- Wynne Greenwood performed electropop music as Tracy + the Plastics during the early 2000s via video projection.
- Unwound was active from 1991 to 2002.
Radio stations
Record labels
- K Records (founded 1982)
- Kill Rock Stars (founded 1991)
Music festivals and events
- Yoyo A Go Go (1994–2001)
- Ladyfest (2000)
- The International Pop Underground Convention (1991)
- Girls to the Front (1991).
References
- Lowndes, Sarah (2016). "Rebel Girl You Are My World: Riot GRRRL in Olympia, Washington, after 1991". Rebel Girl You Are my World: Riot Grrl in Olympia Washington after 1991. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315732664-22. ISBN 978-1-315-73266-4.
- Schilt, K (2004). "Riot Grrrl is…': Contestation over meaning in a music scene. Music scenes: Local, translocal, and virtual" (PDF). Bennett Peterson Music.
- van Horn, Teri (June 25, 2001). "Bratmobile, Need, Gossip Playing Yoyo A Gogo Festival". Mtv.com. MTV. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Fleetwoods". Allmusic. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- Shaffer, Claire (11 May 2021). "Sleater-Kinney Return With New Single 'Worry With You'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- Rose, Cynthia (July 5, 1996). "The Return Of Vinyl Frenzy – Seven-Inch Singles Are The Hot New Item For Rock's Underground". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- Lord, Mary Lou (2011). "About Mary Lou Lord". Kill Rock Stars. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- "Sisters Outsiders: The Oral History of the 'Bikini Kill' EP". Spin: 3. November 15, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
- Hunt, El (27 August 2019). "A brief history of Riot Grrrl the space-reclaiming 90s punk movement". NME.