Capitol Hill Block Party: About 30,000 turn out to party at weekend music fest

Capitol Hill was completely taken over this weekend.

"It was a giant dance party," said Ollie Nicoll, 17, about the Capitol Hill Block Party, a music festival that sprawled over three blocks with four stages of music.

Close to 30,000 people came through the neighborhood — many from the area, but others traveling from as far as Vancouver, B.C., New York and Denmark. For the first time, the festival stretched to three days, from two, with nearly 10,000 attendees each day. More than 60 bands played, including local groups such as the Blue Scholars, Mad Rad and Macklemore, plus big names like MGMT, Atmosphere and the Dead Weather.

"Everyday it's been 10,000 drunk people, packed in, smiling," said Steve Manning, Block Party spokesman.

To accommodate the added day, security doubled from about 30 to 65 across the weekend. There were the usual folks trying to hop over or dig under the fences to get in, but no major incidents, said Hoss Grijalva, who has headed up Block Party security for the past eight years. Electronica band Holy F! even twittered that it was the "best security" they've seen.

"The weather has helped, but it's also the type of bands this year," said Grijalva, about a diverse lineup that included everything from rock to rap. "There is something for everybody."

The festival has garnered some loyal fans. Nicoll has come for the past three years. And Capitol Hill resident Barbara Brown has gone off and on to the Block Party since it started 14 years ago. Brown, 68, who lives blocks away from the festival, said she actually couldn't hear the festival from home, compared with other weekends when she could hear music blasting.

"It's more controlled," Brown said about the festival. "I feel very safe."

Festival organizer David Meinert added some time for shopping in between the music. There was 45 minutes of music, then 30 to 40 minutes of DJ music at half the volume. Organizers spent $10,000 on outreach to the neighborhood, in advertisements and meetings to make sure area shop owners were comfortable with what was going on.

Of course, there were some glitches. Thursday night, the tractor towing the main stage was five hours late. Coming from Eugene, it broke down outside Portland, but the music went on without a hitch. The band Blonde Redhead also had to cancel its Saturday performance because the lead singer got sick.

The festival, along with the neighborhood, has grown in the 10 years since Meinert took on the single-day festival. Bands like the Dead Weather wanted in on the lineup, rather than the other way around. Attendees have skewed younger. Politicians also have joined in — for example, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn introduced the hip-hop duo Blue Scholars.

Along with festival producer Marcus Charles, Meinert is hoping to add an arts element or even a film festival in the coming years.

"We create a mini-city within a city," said Charles. "When you go back and look at the pictures and think, that's what we did, it brings a lot of joy."

Marian Liu: 206-464-3825 or mliu@seattletimes.com