3 Questions With Capitol Hill Block Party Owner Jason Lajeunesse

Since 1997, the streets of Broadway and 12th Avenue to East Pine Street and East Union are shutdown each year for one weekend: Capitol Hill Block Party. This year’s CHBP is now officially underway with a stacked lineup, including dance music acts like Ratatat, Jamie XX, Giraffage, and much more. While CHBP continues to stick to its roots as a multi-genre festival with an emphasis on local Seattle culture and music, things are a little different this year. CHBP organizers debuted a new sleek geometric logo representing the Capitol Hill blocks and simply the words, “Block Party.” Organizers also made the decision to partner with Billboard to reveal the initial lineup to a national audience.

This had us wondering: Is Capitol Hill Block Party planning to expand outside Capitol Hill? With only a few hours before the big party, we caught up with festival owner Jason Lajeunesse to set the record straight.

[divider]3 Questions with Jason Lajeunesse[/divider]

1) What makes Capitol Hill special in terms of both music and the spirit of the neighborhood? 

It’s the combination of arts, community and food… a lovely melding of culture and commerce with an identify that is unique from any other neighborhood in the country. There’s just always something interesting going on.

2) In a time where music festivals are popping up all around the country, how does Block Party differentiate itself from other events?

60 percent of lineup is local bands, many of whom live and work on Capitol Hill. Surrounding them with the best emerging national and regional talent in the heart of the city’s coolest neighborhood gives bands a chance to play to bigger audiences and local music fans to be exposed to bands they wouldn’t otherwise see. No other festival has the formula down as well as we do.

3) Was there any significance behind the Capitol Hill Block Party re-branding, concerning the shorten name “Block Party” and new logo? 

Regarding the shortened name: It’s still “the Capitol Hill Block Party” we just have a visual mark to represent Capitol Hill in certain logos and visuals. Regarding the logo: It’s nice to have our visual mark distinguished with the geography of our footprint and neighborhood. The event has become a real part of the fabric of the Capitol Hill over the last almost two decades and we wanted a proper logo and mark that, in the simplest way, could represent us and our neighborhood. Regarding expansion: It’s possible. We already do other events in town as “Block Party Presents,” and we have looked at different cities and neighborhoods where we might like to do something. But for the time being we are content calling Capitol Hill home.

With the party kicking off at 4 pm, it’s not too late to purchase tickets for the weekend. A three-day wristband will run you $174 with fees or $72 for a single day pass. Are you attending Capitol Hill Block Party this year? Let us what you think of the festival! Comment down below, send us a Tweet, or hit us up on Facebook!