Music of Olympia
The Pacific Northwest town of Olympia, Washington, United States, has been a center of post-hardcore, anti-folk, and other youth-oriented musical genres since at least the late 1970s; before that, Olympia's The Fleetwoods enjoyed several Billboard chart successes between 1959-1963. Along with Washington, D.C., Olympia was a center for the riot grrrl movement in the early 1990s, with Bikini Kill and Bratmobile as prominent proponents of the movement.
Olympia is also the home of a number of record labels, including K Records (Beat Happening, Mirah, The Microphones), which was co-founded in 1983, and Kill Rock Stars (founded in 1991 by Slim Moon) (Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, Unwound).
Notable early-period musicians and recording artists included John Foster (John Foster's Pop Philosophers), Lois Maffeo and Steve Fisk (Pell Mell). Beck and Ian Svenonius (of the Make-Up) frequented Olympia in the early 1990s and Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana moved to Olympia from Aberdeen/Hoquiam in the late 80s/early 90s before moving on to Seattle and worldwide fame.
The Olympia scene is the subject of the closing song on the Hole album Live Through This.
Notable Olympia bands
- Anna Oxygen
- Bangs
- Beat Happening
- Bikini Kill
- The Blow
- Broken Water
- C-Average
- Christian Mistress
- Cool Rays
- Courtney Love (the Lois Maffeo band)
- Danger Bunny
- Dead Air Fresheners
- Dub Narcotic Sound System
- Earth
- Excuse 17
- The Family Stoned
- The Frumpies
- Gag
- godheadSilo
- The Go Team
- The Gossip
- Growing
- Gun Outfit shoe
- Halo Benders
- Heavens to Betsy
- Hysterics
- Karp
- Lync
- Kicking Giant
- Kimya Dawson
- The Microphones
- Milk Music
- Mirah
- Miranda July
- The Need
- Nirvana
- Nomy Lamm
- The November Witch
- The Old Haunts
- Old Time Relijun
- Peeple Watchin'
- RVIVR
- Sleater-Kinney
- Some Velvet Sidewalk
- Spider & the Webs
- Steve Fisk
- Pell Mell
- Survival Knife
- Team Dresch
- The Emerald Down
- Tracy + the Plastics
- Unwound
- Western Hymn
- White Boss
- Wolves in the Throne Room
Radio
These are radio stations that play local music.
Record labels
- K Records
- Kill Rock Stars
- 5 Rue Christine
- Bicycle Records
- Wayfarer Records
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