Seattle waterfront concert series will not return to Pier 62 in 2026
Well, it was fun while it lasted.
Last year, with Seattle's newly renovated waterfront to showcase, Friends of Waterfront Park teamed up with beloved Belltown music venue The Crocodile for a summer concert series at Pier 62. The so-called Oodalalee series revived a Seattle tradition of marquee concerts on the pier, which halted in 2005 when the pier's old wooden support structures could no longer handle the crowds.
Despite getting off to a promising startin 2025, the concert series will not return this summer, according to Friends of Waterfront Park - a nonprofit that oversees programming at the 20-acre park.
"Last year's partnership with the Crocodile was a pilot to see how we might be able to bring back large-scale concerts to the Waterfront," a spokesperson wrote in an email. "Given this year's activities with (the) World Cup, we decided to pause on bringing that series back."
The seemingly one-and-done Oodalalee came together in short order in 2025 - "basically two weeks," Crocodile creative director and talent buyer Hunter Motto said that spring. The lineup at the 2,500-capacity pier featured shows with instrumental duo Hermanos Gutiérrez, indie-rap trio Deltron 3030, Japanese punks Otoboke Beaver and Spokane soul man Allen Stone.
"Not every outdoor experience is an attractive thing for bookers," Motto said at the time. "There's a lot of logistics and challenges with outdoor (concerts). It's really expensive to produce and build out the infrastructure for outdoor events. But this one's really unique and magical."
Last fall, The Crocodile's broader financial troubles became public when word leaked that the Belltown institution would close its smaller downstairs venues, Madame Lou's and Here-After, by year's end and cut approximately 100 jobs. Crocodile management has since elected to put the independently owned club up for sale through a court-appointed attorney using a process called receivership, which is often used as an alternative to filingforbankruptcy. In early April, Crocodile general manager Shaina Foley said she had "nothing new to share" regarding a potential sale.
While Pier 62 might be a little quieter this summer, it's possible that a similar series could return down the road. Friends of Waterfront Park is "exploring these types of concerts as a possibility for 2027 and beyond," according to the spokesperson.
In the meantime, there will still be plenty of opportunities to take in live music along the waterfront this summer with a number of community-centered events, including the fifth-annual Indigiqueer Festival (June 27, Pier 62), the Waterfront Block Party featuring Seattle reggae dignitary Clinton Fearon and Khu.éex' (Aug. 29, Pier 62), and a date with the Seattle Jazz Fellowship's all-star house band (Aug. 13, Pier 58).
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