January 12, 2010 Laura Veirs’ July Flame drops to critical and commercial acclaim. She tours Europe and the U.S. before putting together a band that includes Jim James on backup vocals and piano. On tour, the My Morning Jacket frontman confesses to Veirs, “I don’t think I want to be Bono anymore.”
May 29–31, 2010 Pavement, Arcade Fire, and the Beastie Boys headline Sasquatch! 2010. All three days sell out in a week. Matthew McConaughey is the first guy to buy tickets. “That’s what I love about these Sasquatch! bands, man,” says Wooderson. “I get older, they stay the same.”
August 3, 2010 Caffé Vita releases a Fresh Espresso blend of beans and Tea Cozies–inspired tea cozies. The two acts collaborate on a charity single called “Starbucks? Starfucker!”
October 19, 2010 Fleet Foxes release their new Port Townsend–inspired record, Exile on Water Street. The album brings heightened success not only to Fleet Foxes but to Port Townsend as well. The city then launches an An Officer and a Gentleman Festival, and Joe Cocker makes his first annual appearance.
Friday, March 11, 2011 KEXP’s John Richards unwraps a 40th-anniversary re-issue of the Allman Brothers Band’s At Fillmore East. “See, kids, roadies have been drinking Pabst since 1971!” Richards exclaims, before playing all 23 minutes of “Whipping Post.” Thus begins the great Allman Brothers frenzy of 2011.
Monday, March 14, 2011 KZOK’s Allman-friendly format immediately makes it the #1 station in town.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 LiveNation announces a fourth and fifth day of Sasquatch! 2011 so that the Allman Brothers Band can play At Fillmore East and Eat a Peach in their entirety. It ends up taking three days instead. The Allman Brothers’ then-31-year-old slide guitarist, Derek Trucks, immediately becomes the artist du jour. Pitchfork proclaims “The guitar solo is officially back. Everyone needs to start learning how to play their instruments now.”
November 11, 2011 Death Cab for Cutie releases In Denver: At the Other Fillmore. Three tracks are used in Twilight: Breaking Dawn.
May 8, 2014 Pearl Jam releases its Sub Pop debut, Code, released only digitally—and on vinyl at Target.
2015 Responding to market demands, Neumos opens a daycare called Neumoms. PB&Js become the new Pabst on Capitol Hill, and the onesie is the new Snuggie.
2016 Eight-tracks are re-introduced into the marketplace, and touted as the “most durable medium on the planet.” They fit perfectly in gas-guzzling Ford Granadas from the mid-’70s, which have also come back into fashion now that “green is the new Atkins.”
2017 David Bazan releases I’m Back, an album about his reversion to Christianity. “I guess there always was a little part of me who always knew that I’d be coming back,” he says. “In retrospect, I never really did lose my faith—I was just strengthening it on my own terms.”
2018 With Capitol Hill converted entirely to condos, ice-cream parlors, and cupcake shops, the Pioneer Square music scene takes off. Given a boost by the demise of the viaduct, the Central Saloon becomes the epicenter of Seattle music.
January 1, 2019 “Fuck it!” declares Bill Gates in a holographic press release. “Buy a Zune and I’ll pay for every damn mp3 you put on it.” In spite of this proclamation, Zune sales continue to flatline.
October 7, 2019 The last mp3 is “sold” in the United States. Record labels of all sizes have given up on the idea of fetching a fee for digital music, which has proven to be the most dispensable medium in history. Bands spend fewer than three days making any album, and the remaining labels (all “indie” at this point) pay the bills by schlepping vinyl and eight-tracks.
November 5, 2019 Kenny G and Weezer finally collaborate on a full-length album, Kind of the Blue Record. “No, I’ve always liked Kenny G” is the most Tweeted phrase of the year.
