Summer signifies many things for many different people. For families, the excitement of long weekends spent lounging on the beach is sparked. For students, the freedom of no school opens up a world of possibilities, and ice cream shops prepare for their busiest season. The blaring sun and warm breezes stir up a rainbow of emotions, and now, for Seattleites, summer means it’s concert season. Seattle’s art scene has always been a vibrant one, and the good people over at The Crocodile, one of Seattle’s most historic venues, are taking the party to the great outdoors and Puget Sound.
Oodalalee is the new outdoor concert series coming to Seattle’s Pier 62, picking up where Summer Nights at the Pier left off twenty years ago. The honored tradition of concerts at Pier 62 is being revitalized, and the city is already buzzing around the incredible lineup of events and headliners heading to the Pacific Northwest. The party kicks off on June 1 with a sold-out show from Hermanos Gutiérrez and will continue throughout the summer of 2025 with appearances from Deltron 3030, Fruit Bats, and Silversun Pickups. Along with this incredible list of headliners, Oodalalee will also host events such as Gimme Gimme Disco and Queer Pier Pride with The Knocks and Dragonette.
As the city prepares for a Summer of immersive concerts, Glide had the pleasure of speaking with The Crocodile’s Hunter Motto about the importance of Pier 62, preserving the city’s artistic legacy, and how Oodalalee plans on expanding Seattle’s already iconic contributions to art. You can read our whole conversation below.
Twenty years have passed since the last outdoor concert series at Pier 62. How has the city changed, and how did the history of this series inspire your work with it now?
Great question! Seattle has changed so much since the 90s and early 00s, but fewer places more so than the waterfront. This stretch of coastline used to be wet, dark, grungy, and half-industrial, which was much of its charm back then. There was an elevated highway over much of the area providing free (but was it free?), shadowed, and noisy parking for concerts or ball games. The waterfront was home to the cheeky pre-legal Hempfest and petty cabs to carry you from Sodo to somewhere else.
In the convening years, the city and community have invested time, energy, and resources to make the waterfront a fun, light, and continuous place for locals and tourists to spend time. That highway went underground, the ferry terminal has been rebuilt, a Ferris wheel lights up the Seattle downtown Skyline, and a new bike path that runs all along the water safely connects a number of other bike trail systems. As a local, pass by the new waterfront and do a double-take. The re-opening of Pier 62 as a community hub adds to this interconnectedness and excitement.
The Crocodile team is absolutely overjoyed to be relaunching the grand-scale concert series at Pier 62 in large part because of the venue’s legendary past. I mean…how many venues have hosted Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Lauryn Hill with The Roots, David Byrne, Sleater-Kinney, and James Brown (twice!)?
Do you have any fond memories from Summer Nights at the Pier? What were some of your favorite memories, and how did they inspire the direction you’re taking the concert series?
Well, I was a special type of music dweeb who would pick up a copy of The Stranger (our local alternative arts & entertainment publication) at the nearest suburban coffee shop and would page through the concert listings circling all the shows I dreamed of going to in Seattle. That often included local bands and national tours at The “old” Crocodile, Graceland (now El Corazon), and Pier 62. It was a rare and special treat when my family would buy pre-sale tickets at a grocery, load the kids into the minivan, tickets and trek into the city for an event. One of those magical nights was Earth, Wind, & Fire at the Pier–one of the biggest sing-alongs and marathon concerts I’ve ever experienced. That band continues to be a force of nature!
Our team hopes to book an ongoing concert series that will feel as incredibly epic 20 years from now as the Pier’s past concert history.
How do you plan to reinvent this honored tradition? How do you balance the legacy with your visions of the series?
This concert series will be different from the ’90s concerts at Pier 62/63, it’s a fact. Oodalalee will be a more intimate experience focusing on music discovery. Kinda like seeing a show at The Crocodile or The Showbox but outdoors with views of the Olympic Mountains, ferries rolling in, and the city skyline lighting up at dusk.
In time, we hope we can continue to build trust with our community so that when we say things like…” this band is incredible, we hand selected this show for you, Seattle” or ”you don’t want to miss Otoboke Beaver on August 3, we love them,” music fans believe us. The response has been incredible, but for now, we’re not above name-dropping (if you don’t trust us, we’ll shamelessly lean on the clout of our music industry friends–Otoboke Beaver, for example, have Pearl Jam and Dave Grohl’s seal of approval, ha!)
Looking at all the articles and buzz about the return, Seattle seems ready for a big comeback. What is it like to receive such a positive reaction from your city?
It is a real honor to produce a large concert series with our waterfront partners, and seeing the city’s response to the series is even more inspiring. Our goal with Oodalalee is to create a bright, fun, inclusive, magical, one-of-a-kind place to see breaking and legendary artists. I think that resonates with our community. Then knowing how much folks here lovvvvvvve being outside in summer…oh, and then you realize we are nostalgic people, Seattleites…and you add in the venue’s uniquely central downtown location–it’s busable, bikeable, and ride-shareable–and I think it starts to make sense. Plus, frankly, there’s not enough good news to go around.
Why did it feel appropriate to revitalize this outdoor concert series? What inspired you to head back out to Pier 62?
Seattle, like most cities in America, is trying to figure out who we are, what we support, and what the path forward is. I am optimistic that the music, live events, and the arts are one of our best ways to revitalize downtown and build the lively daytime and nightlife ecosystem that we need to go boldly forward. The Crocodile’s move in 2020 to a bigger three-venue complex with a boutique hotel on the top floor was a small but not insignificant puzzle piece! Launching a vibrant concert series at Pier 62 that adds to the other incredible community events happening across the waterfront feels like finding another piece in the puzzle.
What freedoms come with an outdoor venue that might not be available when booking shows for The Crocodile?
There’s something special about seeing a show, right downtown, in the open air. It’s a fleeting and special moment that you have. I mean, look at how people talk about past concerts at Pier 62–you had to be there! This is the not-so-secret joy of being outside for events. It feels big and dripping with that “sense-of-place” that we don’t often feel. We love the indoor, “black box” experience where artists can transport a crowd into their world. And with our earlier curfew outdoors, we’ll do plenty of afterparties for Pier 62–but it’s a wholly different thing.
What was it like putting together this initial lineup? What did you look for in the artists you booked?
In 2025, we booked a bunch of our favorite live performers who we knew would vibe with the above-mentioned ” sense of place.” We’ll announce a few more additions to our 2025 line-up who expand the genres you’ll see, but the same formula applies.
Along with some impressive headliners, you guys are also hosting events like Gimme Gimme Disco Fest. What is it like balancing more traditional concerts with theme nights like this?
We really tried to appeal to as many people in our community as possible and will continue to expand the genres we book in the future. Gimme Gimme Disco is for those who want to let their hair down (or maybe throw in some tight curls), dress up, and see what fun production elements we have in store for this daytime dance party!
Everyone from James Brown to The Roots has performed at Pier 62. Now that the series is back, who is on your bucket list to perform?
Oh, gosh, the list is too long to do justice to here. There are some special local artists we can’t wait to surprise fans with at Pier 62, but I wouldn’t dare jinx it by saying.
What excites you most about large-scale concerts returning? What can we expect to see from Oodalalee?
Location, location, location! We’re overjoyed to be at Pier 62 and want Oodalalee to be Seattle’s new favorite place for sun-kissed fun, incredible performances, and “had to be there” summer memories. Give our Instagram post another spin and tell me our catchy local DJ’s remix doesn’t say it all.
