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Olympia Music History Project
Founded in 2023, the Olympia Music History Project researches, documents, and preserves Olympia’s independent music scene. Between 1980 and 2002, Olympia experienced a cultural explosion.
Olympia’s indie music scene exploded in the mid-eighties with the opening of multiple all-ages venues, including the Tropicana, the Pacific Surf Club, Evergreen-sponsored club GESCCO, and Reko/Muse Gallery. Meanwhile, the Olympia City Council passed an ordinance that banned daytime skateboarding in downtown Olympia and another that strengthened the Teen Dance Ordinance to further restrict teens’ rights to congregate and dance together.
The nation took notice during this unprecedented time of creative collaboration. Olympia’s music scene was featured in articles and magazines across the country. Record labels like K Records and Kill Rock Stars championed a feminist movement known as Riot Grrrl and introduced new sounds, including experimental, punk, lo-fi, and early grunge.
Learn how Olympia’s music scene has shaped the community’s sense of self and identity through the perspectives of three people who lived through this time: interdisciplinary artist Bridget Irish (Rain Shadow, No Cash Value, the Slatternlies), Heather-Jane Anderson (the Wimps, Nisqually Delta Podunk Nightmare, Cactus Love), Pat Maley (Big Idea, Courtney Love, Yoyo Recordings), and Chris Pugh (Pet Products, Young Pioneers, Swallow).
This presentation and panel discussion is brought to you by the Olympia Music History Project and the Washington State History Museum’s “We the People” free public program series.
Image credit: The Tropicana, courtesy of Olympia Music History Project.
About the “We the People Lecture Series”
