Kygo's Mini-Coachella. Minus the sun.

Kygo w/ Alan Walker
Accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, WA
04.10.18

As festival season kicks into full swing, it seems like people are divided into three groups: those at Coachella, those sadly watching Coachella through live streams and Snapchat stories, and those who didn’t even know Coachella was happening right now.

And on Tuesday, April 10, in Seattle, there seemed to be a lot of shows you could pick from. There was Camila Cabello shutting down the Paramount, Roy Woods getting sweaty at Showbox SoDo, or if you wanted to start your festival weekend a bit earlier, you could make the journey down to Kent to see Kygo.

As one of the kings of the tropical house sound running through everyone’s vacation video edits and festival hype videos, seeing Kygo’s live performance was like a dream. With everyone in the crowd either dressed in rave gear or bohemian festival looks, the night was like a mini-Coachella. That is if you could ignore the fact that it was freezing outside, and you were in a sports arena—but it was close enough.

The night opened with Alan Walker, who pumped more sunny dance tunes as fans flooded into the venue. But after a quick set, Kygo’s massive stage setup was left ominously empty for the break between sets.

Standing atop his LED-screen tower, Kygo got the night started with “Never Let You Go,” the perfect mix of a chorus that’s easy to sing along to, but a break that the crowd had to dance to. The night continued as more of the same: glowstick bracelets waved around in the crowd, big pyrotechnics went off, and more tropical dance tracks pumped through the arena as fans happily moved along with them.

“First Time,” Kygo’s collab with Ellie Goulding was easily a highlight of the night. As soon as those first few notes were played, and the crowd recognized it, the energy in the room multiplied as drinks were held up and fans screamed along.

So instead of expensive festival tickets, hot weather, and giant crowds, Kygo brought the festival feel to Seattle for a Tuesday night full of the warm tropical house music we all know and love.

Review and photos by Lulu Dawson

Kygo