Seattle
Seattle sound
Seattle
Four days on the trail of Hendrix and grunge: MoPOP, the clubs and record stores of Belltown and Capitol Hill, the Hendrix memorial and a day in Aberdeen.
From $2,190 per person, double room
See the tour
Washington, 4 places we take you
Seattle music history tours: grunge, Jimi Hendrix and MoPOP
Seattle music history tours visit a rainy port city at the top corner of the country that gave the world Jimi Hendrix, then twenty years later a sound of heavy guitars and flannel shirts that the record labels called grunge.
From $2,1901 tour that go there
About Seattle
Seattle was a long way from the music business, which turned out to help. Jimi Hendrix grew up in the Central District and left to find fame elsewhere. In the late 1980s a small label called Sub Pop, a few clubs in Belltown and on Capitol Hill, and bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains built a scene of their own that the rest of the world caught up with in 1991.
Our Seattle tour mixes the museum and the streets: a morning at MoPOP, a walk through the clubs and record stores with a guide who played in the scene, Hendrix's grave at Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton, and a day trip to Aberdeen, the logging town where Kurt Cobain grew up.
- Known for
- Grunge, Jimi Hendrix, Sub Pop, indie rock
- Places on our tours
- Museum of Pop Culture, Belltown and the Crocodile, Jimi Hendrix's Seattle, Aberdeen
- Tours
- 1 tour, 4 to 4 days
- Price from
- $2,190 per person
- Best months
- June to September
- Your tour leader
- Mara Lindqvist, based in Seattle
1 tour
Seattle music tours for 2026 and 2027
Prices per person sharing a double room; day tours per person. Flights to the start city are optional and priced on each tour.
The places
Where we take you in Seattle
The Museum of Pop Culture
Frank Gehry's building at Seattle Center looks like a smashed guitar in red, blue, gold and silver metal, which was more or less the idea. It opened in 2000 as the Experience Music Project, funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, a Hendrix fan.
Inside, the permanent Nirvana exhibit has Kurt Cobain's guitars and handwritten lyrics, and the Hendrix galleries hold his stage clothes and the guitar he played at Woodstock. A tower of 500 instruments rises through the middle of the building, and the Sound Lab lets you play.
- The Nirvana exhibit From the first demo tapes to Nevermind.
- The guitar tower Five hundred instruments in a sculpture.
- The Space Needle Next door, for the view after.
Tours that visit Museum of Pop Culture
- Seattle sound4 days, from $2,190
Belltown and the Crocodile
Belltown, between downtown and Seattle Center, was a cheap neighborhood of warehouses and bars in the 1980s. The Crocodile Cafe opened on Second Avenue in 1991 and hosted Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Mudhoney; it moved to a bigger building a few blocks away in 2021, with three stages and a small hotel.
Our guide walks the route from the Crocodile to the old Sub Pop offices and the Moore Theatre, where Mother Love Bone and Pearl Jam played, and on to Easy Street Records and the other record stores for an afternoon of digging.
- The Crocodile A night show on one of its three stages.
- The Moore Theatre Seattle's oldest theater, from 1907.
- Record stores Easy Street and Sonic Boom, with listening stations.
Tours that visit Belltown and the Crocodile
- Seattle sound4 days, from $2,190
Jimi Hendrix's Seattle
Hendrix was born in Seattle in 1942 and went to Garfield High School in the Central District, where he played his first gigs at school dances before leaving to join the Army. He is buried at Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton, south of the city, under a granite dome with his signature on it.
Our guide tells his story on a drive from the Central District to Jimi Hendrix Park, next to the Northwest African American Museum, and on to Renton. We finish on Capitol Hill, the bar district where Seattle's young bands play now.
- The memorial in Renton A granite dome over the grave, with fans' flowers.
- Jimi Hendrix Park A small park in the Central District.
- Capitol Hill Bars and clubs along Broadway and Pike.
Tours that visit Jimi Hendrix's Seattle
- Seattle sound4 days, from $2,190
Aberdeen, Kurt Cobain's hometown
Aberdeen is a logging and fishing town on Grays Harbor, two hours southwest of Seattle, where Kurt Cobain grew up and formed Nirvana. The welcome sign now reads Come As You Are, after the song.
Kurt Cobain Memorial Park sits by the Young Street Bridge over the Wishkah River, where he said he spent nights as a teenager. The underside of the bridge is covered with fans' messages. It is a quiet, slightly sad place, and our guide is honest about the town's hard years. We stop for clam chowder on the way back.
- Come As You Are The welcome sign on Highway 12.
- The memorial park A guitar sculpture and lyrics by the river.
- The Young Street Bridge Fan messages under the bridge.
Tours that visit Aberdeen
- Seattle sound4 days, from $2,190
Getting around
Getting around Seattle
Walking and monorail
Belltown and Seattle Center are linked by a short walk or the 1962 monorail.
Our van
For Renton and the day trip to Aberdeen, two hours each way.
From the airport
Sea-Tac is 30 minutes from downtown; pickup on the tour dates is included.
Loading the map
Tour vanAmtrak trainRiverboatShort flight Map tiles: © Esri, HERE, Garmin © OpenStreetMap contributors. Lines join the stops in tour order in simplified form.
What is included
On our multi-day tours to Seattle
Included
- Hotels in walking distance of the music (3 and 4-star, some historic) with breakfast
- Our own van and driver between cities, as in the program
- Airport pickup and drop-off on the tour dates
- A named tour leader from the first evening to the last morning
- Show tickets, studio tours and museum entries listed in the program
- Welcome and farewell dinners, plus the meals listed in the itinerary
- Reserved tables or seats at the shows in the program
- Local music guides in each city
- Entry to the Museum of Pop Culture and a night show at the Crocodile
Not included
- Flights to the start city (optional add-on, priced on each tour)
- Lunches and the dinners not listed
- Drinks and cover charges on free nights
- Travel insurance
- Tips for the tour leader, guides and driver
- Single room supplement
Best time to visit
Seattle month by month
Summer is dry, long and lovely, the season to visit. From November to March it rains often and gets dark early, which, people say, is why the bands practiced so much.
At a glance
Seattle before you go
- State
- Washington
- Known for
- Grunge, Jimi Hendrix, Sub Pop
- Airport
- Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA), 30 minutes
- Time zone
- Pacific
- From Nashville
- About 4.5 hours nonstop by air
- Food
- Salmon, oysters, coffee everywhere
- Weather
- Bring a light rain jacket at any time of year
- Best months
- June to September
Questions
Seattle music tour questions
Is the Nirvana exhibit permanent?
Yes, at the Museum of Pop Culture, with changing items. The Hendrix collection is also there.
Do we go to the Viretta Park bench?
Yes, the bench near Kurt Cobain's last house in Denny-Blaine, which fans cover in notes. We stop on the way to Renton.
Is Aberdeen worth the drive?
For Nirvana fans, yes. For others it is a long day; you can stay in Seattle instead.
Is Seattle on the same trip as the Southern tours?
It is a separate four-day tour. Some guests fly from Seattle to Nashville and join a southern tour after.
Do the clubs check ID?
Yes, most are 21 and over and check everyone.
Nearby
Combine Seattle with
Detroit and Cleveland music tours
Hitsville U.S.A., Foxtown and Woodward Avenue, Baker's Keyboard Lounge, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Best: May to October
1 tourFrom $2,390Explore
Chicago music tours
Chess Records, Buddy Guy's Legends, The Green Mill, Kingston Mines
Best: May to October
2 toursFrom $1,990Explore
Austin music tours
Sixth Street and Red River, South Congress and the Continental Club, ACL Live at the Moody Theater, Lady Bird Lake and the Congress Avenue Bridge
Best: March to May, October and November
2 toursFrom $2,290Explore
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