Music of Olympia

The city of Olympia, Washington (USA) has been a center of post-hardcore, anti-folk, and other youth-oriented musical genres since at least the late 1970s. Along with Washington D.C., Olympia was a center for the riot grrrl movement in the early 1990s (Olympia's Bikini Kill and Bratmobile being arguably the most 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 by Calvin Johnson, 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. Olympia's The Fleetwoods enjoyed several Billboard chart successes between 1959-1963. The Olympia scene is the subject of the closing song on the Hole album Live Through This.

Notable Olympia Bands

• Bangs
• Beat Happening
• Bikini Kill
• The Blow
• C Average
• Cadallaca
• Cool Rays
• Courtney Love (the Lois Maffeo band)
• Kimya Dawson
• Dead Air Fresheners
• Dennis Driscoll
• Dub Narcotic Sound System
• Earth
• Emnity
• The Frumpies
• Excuse 17
• Johnny Stranger
• Steve Fisk
• godheadSilo
• The Gossip
• The Go Team
• Halo Benders
• Heavens to Betsy
• Nomy Lamm
• Miranda July
• Meconium
• Karp
• Rose Melberg
• Men's Recovery Project
• The Microphones
• Mirah
• The Need
• Nirvana
• Old Time Relijun
• Anna Oxygen
• Pell Mell
• Sleater-Kinney
• Some Velvet Sidewalk
• Team Dresch
• Tracy + the Plastics
• Two Ton Boa
• Unwound
• Wolves in the Throne Room

Radio

These are radio stations that play local music.

• KOWA-LP
• Free Radio Olympia 98.5 FM
• KAOS Olympia Community Radio 89.3 FM

Record Labels

• K
• Kill Rock Stars
• 5 Rue Christine
• Bicycle Records
• Radio is Down