El Corazón

When Dana Sims opened his nightclub/live music venue in downtown Seattle in 2005, the name was a no-brainer: El Corazón. Meaning “The Heart” in Spanish, the space El Corazón inhabits has functioned as a live music venue, club or bar since 1910, and helped launch some of Seattle’s most iconic bands.

The venue was the heart of the grunge explosion in the ’90s that changed Seattle and music forever; Pearl Jam’s first five shows were in this room. Soundgarden, Alice In Chains and Mudhoney all cut their teeth here. Nirvana even debuted an early version of Aneurysm here in 1990, before it was changed for its official release the next year. El Corazón has served as the launching pad for new generations of Seattle bands that have gone on to big record deals and world tours (The Fall Of Troy, Macklemore, Aiden, Schoolyard Heroes, Himsa, 3 Inches Of Blood, This Providence, Monsters Scare You, etc).

While many Seattle venues have shuttered, El Corazón is still pumping life into the scene. The venue continues to host national and international acts, provides local bands with a place to build their foundation, and remains one of the leading concert halls for the all-ages crowd.