The inaugural Baba Obscura Festival will take place November 5, 2026 – November 8, 2026 in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. Spanning four days and six stages, the new music and arts weekend is a collaborative production between Desert Daze founder Baba Yaya and strategic planning partnerships with local nonprofits Sonic Guild, Freakout and Paper Plane Music.
Taking place in Seattle‘s oldest neighborhood, Pioneer Square has long served as a crossroads for the city’s creative communities. The inaugural event, builds on that history by activating the neighborhood through a weekend of performances that encourages festival-goers to move between venues and enjoy the neighborhood as a deeply interconnected cultural landscape.
Baba Obscura is imagined as annual event reflecting Seattle’s ever evolving independent music ecosystem while connecting with the surrounding community through its nonprofit partners to cultivate a sustainable creative workforce while strengthening the cultural and economy vitality of the community by providing education, professional development and economic opportunities for emerging and historically underserved artists.
“As a touring musician, venue owner, and founder of both Baba Obscura and Paper Plane Music, I’ve seen how transformative the right stage, resources and support can be for an artist,” Baba Yaga’s Ryan Granger says. “This is about creating those opportunities and building community while celebrating the independent spirit that makes Seattle’s music scene so special.”
The festival’s inaugural lineup will feature a carefully curated blend of established artists, emerging voices and regionally recognized talent across different genres and styles including The Black Angels who celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut Passover, as well as Provoker, the amazing Mdou Moctar, JJUUJJUU and friends, Art D’Ecco and many more. The full lineup is below.
Check out www.babaobscura.com for tickets, venues, scheduling and more information. And you can follow the festival @BabaObscura on social media platforms like Instgram and others.
BABA OBSCURA 2026 LINEUP
The Black Angels – Passover 20th Anniversary * Provoker * Mdou Moctar * Rose City Band * Black Mountain Twin Oscillations * The Gories * Leenalchi * The Drags * Emily Kokal (Warpaint) * Dark Chisme * Night Beats * Downtown Boys * Art D’ecco * jjuujjuu & friends * Ghostwoman * Skating Polly * Strawberry Fuzz * The Shivas * Margaritas Podridas * Spoon Benders * The Intelligence * Naked Giants * The Grizzled Mighty * Federale * Packaging * Carrion Kids * The Macks * Alex Vile * Orquesta Pacífico Tropical * Zookraught * MUÑECA * King Youngblood * So Pitted * KADABRA * The Black Tones * Brent Amaker and the Rodeo * Biblioteka * Weep Wave * Killbuzz * Zailee Haze * SUX * Nathan Nothing * Linda From Work * CASI * Serpentfoot * Love So Deep * RUB * Mikey Moo * Shifters!! * Melts * Frond * Orihuela MSS * New Stallions * Erica Rose and the Ragged School * Dalmatia * Noches De Rock En Espanol DJ Set * DJ Miss Alex White * Vinyl Brunch w/ Jewel Loree
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