Tucked into the heart of Seattle Center, KEXP’s Gathering Space is a community hub powered by a nonprofit committed to championing music and the artists behind it.

Between the coffee shop, record shop, and live shows, there’s a vibe here that feels muy Seattle to me: creative, inclusive, and just the right amount of offbeat. I’ve always admired KEXP’s mission to make music discovery accessible and human. Seeing it all come to life in person, surrounded by posters affirming safety and inclusion, and a crowd ready to rock at noon was kind of magic.

My brother is a big fan of Amyl & the Sniffers, a Melbourne-based punk band that I had no idea even existed before Manny introduced them to me.

It was a rainy, cold Friday in March & I didn’t know what to expect. I’d never been to a KEXP show before, which is kind of embarrassing considering how long I’ve lived in Seattle. The day of, I was cranky as hell. I hadn’t had food or coffee yet, and I was about 0.2 seconds away from cancelling on my brother. I only knew two of their songs, Alex was still in Texas with his family, and I was drowning in work stuff.

But I figured it was a good opportunity to bond with Manny (and I was curious). Plus, it was free.

My brother being a cutie and dragging me to a punk show :)

Side note: the lil lounge at KEXP is dope as hell. If you’ve ever thought about working out of there, highly recommend.

We got there a little early, and I worked for a couple of hours before the show started at noon. Cafe Vita is right there too, but the line was long, so I ran out to grab coffee at another spot outside KEXP. The wait there was still kinda long, but I gave the guy a pass—there was only one dude running the entire coffee stand.

When I came back, I found that Manny had secured a spot on the couch— and, very gentleman-ly, plopped himself on the floor so I could have the seat. Armed with coffee, some food, and after coming to a good stopping point at work, I finally got curious and started looking around.

I noticed posters all over the venue making it clear they don't tolerate any hate, racism, sexual harassment, etc. We love to see it.

Side note: If you’re curious about Gathering Space shows at KEXP: You can come in as soon as the coffee shop opens, but honestly, it’s hardly necessary. We got there around 9:30, walked right in, and still got to chill toward the back. By 11, the room was close to full; by 11:30, they were at capacity. I even saw people crowding around the windows outside to watch. The set ran from about 12:00 to 12:30-ish, and by 1PM, the crowd had mostly dispersed.

They started sound check around 11, and it was a little bit of sensory overload for me. (Pro tip: bring noise-canceling headphones!!)

But when the show actually started—holy shit. The announcers came out, the band kicked off, and I instantly became a big fan. Amy had the most insane energy, and the band sounded exactly like the few songs I had heard. My favorite was definitely “U Should Not Be Doing That”. It’s such a funny but real song. Their irreverence is next level, and I loved it. It was a short set, and definitely a little more toned down (they joked that “noon isn’t rock and roll hours”). Think less mosh pit, more fun energetic vibes.

There were even a bunch of cute kiddos on their parents’ backs. It was adorable.

I definitely didn’t expect to be so charmed, but I’m so glad I went. There’s no denying these guys are insanely talented. Overall, I had a great time and I’m officially looking forward to going to more KEXP shows.

🎵 Shoutout to live music for fixing my mood yet again. And major props to KEXP for creating such a joyful, intentional space for us music lovers in Seattle.

Hasta la próxima, amigos!