#seasummer

Oh dear, I wish you were here.

There’s one more reason to avoid eating lunch at your desk this summer: The Out to Lunch Concerts Series happening in Downtown Seattle.

Here’s how it goes: first, you grab your favorite food to go from one of the downtown restaurants, then you pick a great spot with maximum sun exposure, you put your shades on and enjoy a great concert with your friends and coworkers in Downtown Seattle. Finally, you pause and think that there’s nothing better than Summer in Seattle and that going to work was pretty fun today.

We sat down with Malarie and Brian from the Downtown Seattle Association/Metropolitan Improvement District to go over this year’s Out to Lunch Concerts Series.

Hi Malarie and Brian, Big thanks for organizing this! We’re located in downtown in the SURF incubator and we love those concerts. When will the first concert happen? Did you announce the lineup? Who’s going to perform this year?

Malarie: Out to Lunch Concert Series kicks off on Wednesday, July 9th at Westlake Park at Noon.We haven’t released the lineup, so I can’t share our list of performers yet… But on May 14th we are throwing the first-ever Out to Lunch Launch Party at Hard Rock Café from 5:30-7:30pm. We’ll announce the full line-up and have two of this year’s Out to Lunch artists perform, Tubaluba and Mango Son. The launch party is FREE and all ages, it’ll be a great time, bring everyone you know!

Where do the concerts usually take place? Are the concerts indoor or outdoor?

Brian: All the concerts take place outdoors are various parks and building plazas all over Downtown. This year we added a new venue—Bell Street Park—and we will be closing on a block for a concert in early September!

Malarie: We’ve also partnered with the Office of Arts & Culture to bring Out to Lunch to City Hall Plaza, everyThursday. You can find the full rundown of OTL dates and locations on SummerInSeattle.com, after the launch party.  

Is there usually a specific genre for the concerts?

Brian: We try to represent as many genres as possible and mix it up between local and national touring acts. We have an exciting list of performers this year and I think there will be a little something for everyone--Rock, Jazz, Folk, Soul, Electronic music--you name it!

Sandwich or Salad? What’s the best meal to complement a great concert? Malarie: I think sandwiches are a perfect Out to Lunch concert meal. They’re easy to hold and give you the freedom to stand up and dance!

Brian: Oh most definitely sandwich. Always sandwich.

Any other events happening in the summer?

Malarie: Yes! There’ll be plenty of summer events happening Downtown. On June 1st, we’ll launch SummerInSeattle.com which will highlight all of the fun things to do Downtown this summer. We’ll also be tagging Downtown summer events on Attendible with the hashtag, #SEAsummer

Please follow Downtown Seattle to stay up to date with what’s new with them.

For summer events in Downtown, check out #SEAsummer.