Recent transplant Carolyn Manney acquaints herself with her new city by exploring the two things Seattle is, perhaps, best known for: coffee and music. Her report below provides an overview of the music programs offered by our favorite coffee houses in Capitol Hill, a neighborhood which boasts some great places for roasts and tunes of all different flavors.


When I was a barista, one of my favorite things about the job was picking the music to play during my shift. One place I worked at used only satellite radio while another place, we pretty much had the freedom to play our own CDs. The last coffee shop I worked at, unfortunately, had its creative musical limitations because it was housed in a public library.

So, excitedly, I roamed around Capitol Hill this November to survey the more-independent coffee shops to capture the vibe in each environment that is determined, in part, by the musical delivery systems they use (iPod, satellite radio, CDs, etc.) and the types of music they play. It turned out to be quite fascinating as most cafes I visited take their music really seriously.

Whether you want to hang out at a place that's quiet and chill or somewhere with a lot of energy...or if you're looking to see some live local music, check out one of these coffee shops which offer their own unique musical character to fit your mood.







15th Avenue Coffee and Tea
328 15th Avenue E.
Open daily from 6am – 11pm
[website]

15th Avenue Coffee and Tea exudes a sort of natural charm when you walk through the doors. It's cozy, earthy, much of it decorated with dark, recycled wood and the music always seems to fit the mood, whether it be Talking Heads, Feist, or Muddy Waters. The music is delivered by PlayNetworks, a company that offers 40-50 hours of themed playlists covering a variety of genres including blues, indie, folk, jazz, etc. But this is the place to see live local music every Friday from 8pm – 10pm and Saturday from 4pm – 6pm and 8pm – 10pm. Visit their blog to get details. On Sundays, the jazz band Wood and Brass performs from 4pm-6pm, a duo featuring trumpet and upright bass.







Caffe Vita
1005 E. Pike Street
Monday – Friday: 6am – 11pm
Saturday and Sunday: 7am – 11pm
[website]

Caffe Vita is in a league of its own. Their coffee is great—that goes without saying—and they are the most versatile coffee shop in terms of the events they schedule. They do book signings, special dinners, a public brewing school, monthly coffee cupping, chocolate tastings, and more. But it seems that music is where their true passion lies. At Caffe Vita, the baristas can truly play whatever they want, save for aggressive punk or techno or songs with swear words. They use some discretion during the day, as the barista I talked to put it, "you don't really want to play NWA when families are here, but in the evening, anything goes." They often have live shows upstairs that they co-sponsor with KEXP. At the end of November 2009, they released GIVE, a downloadable music and video compilation that they produced, curated and funded in collaboration with 30+ Seattle artists. To learn more about it, go here.







Espresso Vivace
532 Broadway E.
Open everyday from 6am – 11pm
[website]

Espresso Vivace is known for their coffee, not just in Seattle but across the country and around the world. The people who frequent this shop know they're getting the good stuff. The music here is all over the place as baristas can bring in their own CDs or play music from the store's Zune MP3 player. It's understood by those working there to steer clear of the more aggressive, hard punk rock. Other than that, they have complete freedom to play what they want. They do not offer live music, but they do have a "quiet room," if you want to avoid the sometimes loud music.







Joe Bar
810 E. Roy St
Monday – Friday: 7:30am – 9:30pm
Saturday and Sunday : 8:30am – 9:30pm
[website]

Joe Bar is a neighborhood coffee shop in every sense of the word. It's small, quaint, and tucked away on a quiet little stretch of Roy Street just off Broadway. What sets Joe Bar apart—musically—from some of the other coffee shops is that they frequently play music recorded by local musicians—ones that are famous and not so famous. They're too small of a shop to have live music and since a large portion of their clientele are musicians, their programming decisions offer a mutually beneficial relationship. There are no limitations on what they can play, however, the barista I talked to summed up the musical direction like this: "as long as if your mom wouldn't feel bad sitting here listening to the music, then go ahead and play it." Taking into account that some moms are cooler than others, this rule of thumb seems to work quite well for this little neighborhood shop. Some of their favorite local artists include Common Market (hip hop), Paul Rucker (Jazz), Fleet Foxes, Josh Tillman (singer/songwriter), and Bill Patton (singer/songwriter).








Online Coffee Co.
1404 E. Pine St.
Monday – Friday: 8am – 1am
Saturday and Sunday: 9am – 1am
[website]

The Online Coffee Company shops are a great place to hunker down and get some work done, especially at the Pine Street location where they have rows of office-like desks. The music is delivered via Sirius Satellite Radio and is usually of the retro or indie flavor. Their favorite stations include 40s on 4 (Forties Pop Hits/Big Band), 50s on 5 (First Decade of Rock 'n' Roll), 60s on 6 (Sixties Pop Hits), 70s on 7 (Classic '70s Hits/Oldies), 80s on 8 (Pop Hits of the '80s), 90s on 9 ('90s Pop Hits), Classic Vinyl ('60s & '70s Classic Rock), Classic Rewind ('70s & '80s Classic Rock), and SIRIUS XM U (Independent, Unsigned and Under The Radar). If you're interested in checking out the Sirius playlists, go here.







Roy Street Coffee and Tea
700 Broadway Avenue E.
Open daily from 6am – 11pm
[website]

Roy Street Coffee and Tea recently opened at the corner of Broadway and Roy. It is designed in the same spirit as the 15th Avenue cafe with a focus on sustainable materials for the décor, creating a comfortable, but chic, atmosphere. They have live music most weekends, monthly shows that feature local artists, as well as a separate area for video artists to show their work. If you are interested in performing here, shoot them an email: roystreetcoffeeandtea@gmail.com







Stumptown Coffee Roasters (2 locations)

1115 12th Ave.
Monday – Friday: 6am – 10pm
Saturday and Sunday: 7am – 10pm

616 E. Pine
Open daily 7am – 9pm

[website]

Since opening their first store in Portland, OR in 1999, Stumptown has been recognized as having “revolutionized the coffee business” through, both, their business practices and high quality standards. They seek out the best, certainly when it comes to coffee, but also, in my opinion, when it comes to music. It is the only coffee shop I found that plays mostly vinyl, although they also have CD player and an iPod hookup. There's something about listening to an entire album straight through that you don't hear so much nowadays, especially at restaurants, bars and cafes. Some of the baristas favorite records include Songs of Leonard Cohen, Stevie Wonder's Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants and Yes!.







Top Pot Doughnuts
609 Summit Ave. East
Monday – Friday: 6am – 9pm
Saturday and Sunday: 7am – 9pm
[website]

Top Pot is sort of like a funky, retro library that serves amazing doughnuts alongside an equally delicious cup of coffee. The walls are lined with custom-made bookshelves that give the place a warm, homey feel which somehow works with the 80s music that is often playing whenever I'm there. They use satellite radio at Top Pot, a change from how it was a few years back when baristas could bring in their own music. But change can be a good thing; before, you had to constantly deal with CDs skipping which was sometimes impossible to fix when there was a long line. Satellite radio takes care of that issue and still provides the baristas with endless music to choose from. Some of their favorites are the aforementioned 80s station, "Concrete Beats," as well as a reggae and a hip hop station.







Victrola Coffee and Art on 15th
411 15th Avenue E.
Open everyday from 6am – 11pm
[website]

Victrola Coffee on 15th Avenue always seems to be busy with a kind of electric energy usually found only in bars and the music they play definitely feeds off that energy, or maybe it's the other way around. The baristas at Victrola can bring in their own iPods and pretty much play whatever they want as long as it's agreed upon by at least 50% of the people at the cafe. The key is to try to match the mood. That being said, according to the baristas, it's also okay to challenge their customers' musical palettes, especially when it's busy and the energy creates an opening for music that stretches the ears. Also, be sure to check out the live music here every Thursday from 8pm – 10pm and sometimes on Friday as well. Polling just a handful of the baristas, I found that Kelly prefers classic country or old French music; her iPod features the likes of Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Serge Gainsbourg. Amanda plays a lot of Talking Heads and Brian Eno while Mark's recent favorites include Junior Boys, Neko Case, Beirut, and The Cave Singers.







Victrola Roastery and Cafe on Pike
310 E. Pike Street
Open weekdays from 6:30am – 8pm
Weekends from 7:30am – 8pm
[website]

Victrola Cafe on Pike Street has a decidedly more mellow mood than their counterpart on 15th Avenue. The cafe is bright, open and airy with big windows where you can see into the coffee roasting room while working on your laptop. The same arrangement applies to this shop as to the other, but the music here is typically more chill. You'll hear a lot of Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation, Feist, etc. They have monthly art openings and some live music, check out their website for upcoming events.