We might be in the middle of a pandemic, but that isn’t stopping Seattle’s go-to all-ages venue The Vera Project from ringing in its 20th anniversary in style.
The youth-driven music venue has announced its Viva Vera 20 celebration, a series of events and fundraising initiatives throughout the year culminating in a “large-scale blowout” sometime this fall (we remember those). Up first, the nonprofit has wrangled a number of musical heavy hitters for a Wednesday, Jan. 27 virtual event beginning at 7 p.m. at VeraTV.org.
The livestream event marking the 20th anniversary of Vera’s first show is led by performances from Seattle favorites Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and indie-pop shapeshifter Perfume Genius. Also appearing to extend their birthday wishes are the Foo Fighters, Tunde Adebimpe of art rock greats TV on the Radio, punk vet Jeff Rosenstock, Seattle pop-punk band Tacocat, Sub Pop’s Megan Jasper, Asian Man Records founder Mike Park and more. The virtual event is free though donations are accepted for Viva Vera 20.
The Vera Project was born in 2001 as an answer to Seattle’s infamous Teen Dance Ordinance, which effectively halted all-ages concerts in city limits, in part by imposing costly insurance requirements on establishments hosting all-ages events. For the past 20 years, Vera has played an essential role in nurturing Seattle’s next generation of music makers and lovers, hosting shows from touring and local bands, running a recording studio, screen print shop and a bevy of education events. Earlier this month, Vera announced a free media production program for youth ages 14-24.
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