Events › Stomp and Shout: The Untold Story of Northwest Rock & Roll with Peter Blecha

Long before the world discovered grunge, the Pacific Northwest was already home to a singular music culture. From 1958-1965, bands like the the Sonics, the Wailers, and the Kingsmen popularized a distinct offshoot of rock n' roll that some people called the "Sea-port Beat." Yet these iconic bands are only half the story. 

Hear author and historian Peter Blecha talk about this specific brand of R&B-spiked roots music. Where did it come from? What were some of the lesser-known bands? How did it inspire future generations of artists? 

Peter Blecha is the director of the Northwest Music Archives, an award-winning author, a founding curator at MoPop, and a longtime staff historian at HistoryLink.org. Blecha’s newest book, Stomp and Shout: R&B and the Origins of Northwest Rock and Roll, draws on his deep knowledge as a leading expert on Pacific Northwest music history to chronicle both well-known and overlooked icons of the early Northwest Sound.

Registration is not required.

Sponsored by the King County Library System Foundation

Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Email access@kcls.org at least seven days before the event. Automated closed captioning is always available for online events.