Started in 2003, the nationally recognized Ballard Jazz Festival highlights jazz musicians from the Seattle area.  There will be 12 venues hosting 18 groups–some are all ages, some are 21+.  Shows start as early as 6pm and end as late as 12:30am.

Today is the last day to buy advance tickets ($20 online or $21 with service fee at Sonic Boom Records).  Tomorrow, tickets will be $25 online, or available for purchase at Sonic Boom all day,  New York Fashion Academy starting at 5pm, and Egan’s Ballard Jam House starting at 6pm.

And, according to the festival website, “there is no better deal in jazz!”

Venues include staples like the Sunset and the Tractor Tavern, as well as more unexpected spots like Volterra and the New York Fashion Academy.  Shows start as early as 3pm, depending on the venue, with some acts beginning as late as midnight.  There is enough variety for almost any musical taste, from hip hop to jazz to roots to rock and everything in between.  Each location will showcase one genre throughout the night, so you can stick around and listen to hours of your favorite music, or hop around to hear a mix of local artists.  The wristband allows entrance to all venues.  See a complete line-up here.

In addition to the music, there will be a debate between mayoral candidates Mike McGinn and Joe Mallahan at the Conor Byrne at 8:30pm.

Come to downtown Ballard, buy a pretty wristband, and support your local artists!

This festival is the longest running rockabilly festival in the country. Tickets are $16 for each night or $45 for a 3-day pass (available here). Some rockabilly highlights include Slim Sandy, the Stillcreek Brothers, and Billy Dwayne and the Creepers.  Click here for a complete rockabilly line-up and come shake the shack, err, tavern!

Bring the family, pack a picnic, blanket and lawn chairs (and umbrella just in case), watch the boats passing through, watch the salmon navigate the fish ladder, and enjoy a free outdoor concert on the lawn in the Carl S. English, Jr. Botanical Gardens at the Locks. Located at 3015 NW 54th Street.

Bop Street Records is Ballard’s finest unofficial museum. This giant emporium of records captures an essential element of music history and culture. Upon walking through the door the smell of the thousands of old records will flood you with nostalgia. The helpful and knowledgeable staff aide you in your search for whatever music your heart desires, be it obscure 45’s, or a popular record you lost 20 years ago. Bop Street’s two floors of records have entertained many famous guests looking to improve their vinyl libraries.

Another exciting element of Bop Street is their recent addition of live music. Often on weekends customers can come shop for records while hearing great local bands. I have been able to attend a few of these charming events. They are always free, so you can spend your money on records (of course). Bop Street Records is located at 5219 Ballard Ave NW.

The Maldives, a Seattle-based country rock group deep in the roots music scene, is composed of nine members playing a variety of instruments, including fiddle, lap steel guitar, banjo, accordion, acoustic and electric guitar, bass, and drums. Each night, they will be performing with other local bands, including North Twin, 17th Chapter, The Moondoggies, Zoe Muth & the Lost High-Rollers, Shim, Thee Emergency, and Pickwick.

The Maldives will also be at Sonic Boom Records for a free, all-ages event on Saturday the 29th at 4pm.

Tractor Tavern
5213 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
206.789.3599

“The Hall of Justice” as it was most recently dubbed, is perhaps one of Ballard’s least known historical landmarks. Originally a small grocery store, the now dilapidated building on 4230 Leary Way has been a recording studio for the past few decades. First called Triangle Studios, then most notably, Reciprocal Recordings, the space has seen the likes of Nirvana, Mudhoney, Modest Mouse, and Death Cab for Cutie (to name a few). The building is now mostly vacant aside from rats and old speaker cabinets. Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie was the last recording engineer to lease the space before moving his studio to Portland. The building is unlikely to stay standing for much longer, so go take a peak at it while you still can.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reciprocal_Recording

Neon Nights (all dudes) and the Valkyries (all chicks) are both bands that embrace classic punk themes: loud, fast and gritty, and 80′s metal motifs– each fronted by vocalists that couldn’t have been created better by the gods of rock themselves. Stevie Barile, left, of the Valkyries, is everything that makes for a legend… a voice like a chainsaw, destructive stage behavior and party animal tendencies.

 $7 buys you a glimpse of Seattle’s baddest punk music and a punch in the face. They’re live performances are guaranteed to leave you with bruises and war wounds of rock.

Bit Saloon, $7, 9pm
4818 17th Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
(206) 782-1680

Neon Nights

The Valkyries

Rat City Ruckus

Church of Sinners

Mike Frottage

Bayonet

7/7/2009 9:00 PM at The Sunset
5433 Ballard Ave., Seattle, Washington 98107
Cost: $6

The Bit Saloon

(4818 17th Ave. N.W., 782-1680)

 myspace.com/thebitseattle.

$7. 9 p.m. Sat., April 11.