Seaprog 2018 Dates Set — June 1 – 3

The dates are set — Seaprog will happen again on the first weekend of June, 2018. We’re working on getting some artists lined up and will make announcements as soon as details are nailed down.

Four weekends of amazing music over the course of the last five years presents the promise of more great things to come. Thanks to all who have supported us, especially those who have attended multiple times.

And once again, heartfelt thanks to the management and staff at both the Columbia City Theater and the Royal Room, all of the artists who graced us with their performances, and the volunteers who made it work.

Stay tuned for more details!

Seaprog 2017 features Jack o’ the Clock and Zero Times Everything

Jack o' the Clock promotional photo
Jack o’ the Clock promotional photo

Seaprog is thrilled to announce the majority of the 2017 lineup! California will be represented by the amazing Jack o’ the Clock, a Bay Area band with a unique sound that has been garnering praise for several years, with their latest album gracing many Best of 2016 lists. And we’ll have a Seaprog first with the audio-visual show of Zero Times Everything. This band combines innovative electronics and visual presentations into the kind of performance we’ve yet to experience on our stage.

But once again, our focus remains on highlighting the talent available in the Northwest, with bands representing Seattle (Omni, Paraeasthesia, Pinto Wagonfire, Moon Letters), Portland (Human Ottoman), and Bellingham (Ibex).

Additional extremely appetizing acts are currently in negotiation and will be announced in due time. Look for periodic artist profiles to come on our Facebook page.

2017 Festival dates set

Seaprog will be happening on first weekend of June, 2017. As usual, it will kick off with a night at the Royal Room – Friday, June 2. Then we’ll have two full days of music at the Columbia City Theater, Saturday June 3 and Sunday June 4. The festival will feature the established formula of nationally and internationally known artists and local Northwest performers.

As more information, like artists and times, becomes available, it will be announced here and on Facebook. We’re looking forward to another successful event!

First “Seaprog Presents” concert slated for 28 Jan 2016

Seaprog Presents 2016 event poster by Nat Damm
Seaprog Presents 2016 event poster by Nat Damm

In the first of a number of one-off events presented by Seaprog during the off-year before the festival returns in 2017, Seattle instrumental avant-rock stalwarts Moraine return to their favorite local venue in the company of two formidable festival favorites, Nosretep and Super Z Attack Team.

Join us at the Columbia City Theater on Thursday 28 January, 2016. And make sure you RSVP to the event on Facebook while you’re at it.

Of course, you’ll remember Moraine from their 2013 headlining slot. The other two groups played in the front room (Super Z Attack Team in 2014 and Nosretep in 2015), so they’ll get a chance to play the main stage this time.

Our friend Nat Damm has created a beautiful poster for the event, don’t you think?

So come join us for an evening of great music, the companionship of fellow musical pilgrims, and even the chance to pick some festival merchandise. You can see further details on the artist pages for their respective years — hint: click on the items under Events on the menu at the top of our site.

On the future of Seaprog

Not long ago we announced our intention to stage a Seaprog 2016, and to carry the event forward into the future for as long as it’s realistic to do so. While the Central Committee remains committed to extending Seaprog’s run, circumstances have arisen that have led to a decision to skip a year and stage the next Seaprog in 2017 instead. We apologize for the reversal, but please hear us out.

The decision was not made lightly, and is not an indicator of the festival’s overall health, which we feel is very robust indeed on an artistic level. The choice arises from two main reasons: First, we’ve come to realize that soliciting additional funding from a supporting organization is a lengthy process — likely too lengthy to yield material results in time for a summer 2016 event. Second, Seaprog is organized entirely by volunteers who are also musicians with busy lives, and 2016 is shaping up to be extremely busy (in a good way) for all of us. Dennis has been tapped to co-direct a major music project in Russia in fall 2016 that will consume all of his available time up to then; John’s new recording studio is nearing completion, with multiple sessions slated for production; and Jon is busily expanding his musical horizons with his projects Super Z Attack Team and Zhongyu. Such are the vagaries of all-volunteer undertakings like Seaprog, but based on past success, we’re all eager to mount the festival again in 2017, by which time we’ll have had time to strengthen its financial footing.

  • In the meanwhile, we plan on keeping Seaprog in public view by staging several single-day concert events at intervals throughout the coming year — stay tuned for details.
  • Obviously, we’re not going to be fielding submissions during this brief hiatus, so please hold off on making inquiries until the calendar approaches 2017.

We thank you profusely for your understanding and support, and pledge to be back in 2017 with the same high caliber of progressive music you’ve come to expect from Seaprog. We’ll keep you posted…

— Dennis, John, and Jon
Seaprog Central Committee