Dreaming In Color Entertainment and Jack Daniel’s are happy to announce that alt-rock legends Living Colour will be headlining the Seattle and Portland installments of Black and Loud Fest 2025. Taking place September 13th and 14th, tickets are on sale now via:
Over the last four years the Black and Loud Fest has grown from a free community event in a parking lot in Seattle to a full-on music festival at premier venues in Seattle, Portland, and beyond. This year, festival founder and producer King Youngblood band leader Cameron Lavi-Jones with his Dreaming in Color Team have utterly outdone themselves by bringing in LIVING COLOUR to headline. The iconic multi-Grammy, genre breaking act of alternative Black Rock is one of the few groups from that era still featuring all four original members: guitarist Vernon Reid, vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish.
“I wanted to really hammer home the mission and community of Black and Loud this year by bringing Living Colour. These guys embody every single reason why me and myband King Youngblood have had a chance to cut through to the forefront of Black Alternative Rock. Let me be clear, there would be no King Youngblood if Living Colour didn’t exist and pave the way. Call Living Colour the Goats and me and King Youngblood the Kids; that’s just fine by me.” explains Lavi-Jones.
Black and Loud may have started with humble beginnings but they have two sponsor partners who have stood loudly with them these four years – Electric Bike company Ariel Rider based in Tukwila, WA and of course title sponsor Jack Daniel’s. Both sponsors have been with the project since day one and are still going strong helping build the Black and Loud movement.
This movement gained steam with the addition of Black and Loud New Orleans in April 2025 at the House of Blues New Orleans. Featuring multi –Grammy winning Cyril Neville, the Uptown Ruler himself, and his son Omari Neville and the Fuel. The event also gave King Youngblood an opportunity to debut in New Orleans. Explains Cyril Neville, “I feel blessed to be part of this Black and Loud Movement and given a chance to fully change it up and get down with these young people. My roots are just as much in rock as they are in the funky soul sound of the Neville Brothers, The Meters, The uptown Rulers and of course the Wild Tchoupitoulas.”
Lavi-Jonesis bringing Cyril Neville to Black and Loud Seattle and Portland because the Mighty Neville Brothers have always had a strong following in the PNW.
Back by popular demand comes the return of Down North, and Nikki Dand the Sisters of Thunder, who would make the spirit of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the mother of modern-day rock and roll loud and proud. Lavi-Jones discovered the fusion alt funk soul band Waterseed in New Orleans and is bringing them to the PNW for two nights of mayhem in Portland and Seattle. The list goes on with PARISALEXA, BLACK ENDS, Year of the Dragonf eaturing Dirty Walter of Fishbone, Nathan Nzanga and his band Up Left leading the ever popular Black and Loud Hip Hop Cypher, and many more. Also, an unexpected highlight for Black and Loud Seattle this year is the inclusion of Moka (aka MXKA) – a Blaxican (Blackand Mexican) Corridos singer who sings in exquisite Spanish the Corridos songs of her Mexican heritage. Moka has sparked Spanish speaking music communities across the USA. Moka caught the attention of Jack Daniel’s early in her career, and they are bringing her into the Black and Loud musical family of diverse artists.
Led by Lavi-Jones and his band King Youngblood, Black and Loud goes full on national in 2026 hitting Brooklyn, Nashville, Atlanta, New Orleans, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Chicago and more carrying the banner that Black Art is Resistance everywhere Lavi-Jones goes. Lavi-Jones, an independent voter, has been tapped by national/regional organizations including the Democratic Progressives and Indivisible, speaking at large rallies with crowds ranging from 17,000 to70,000 about the need for America’s youth to wake up and get involved because as Lavi-Jones has said, “This is not about left or right, this is about rich and poor and the fascist oligarchs who are trying to kill us all in an America on fire.”
Black and Loud by its very authentic and joyful existence, has a mission to bridge the Goats and the Kids of Black fronted alternative music in any genre, with serious intent to build community in a music industry overrun with internalized marginalization. The Fest has matured into an important genre bending movement with some of the best Black artists in the world.
There will be Black Painters painting on stage again this year and a pop-up Art Gallery by Black gallery owner Avery Barnes of Taswira Gallery. KISW will get behind the event on the airwaves and this year Black owned community radio station KVRU based in South Seattle will record during the event and broadcast Black and Loud Seattle 2025 after the event.
The festival producers hope folks will consider donating to the Black and Loud Ticket Scholarship fund to help BIPOC young people who might not be able to afford a ticket to experience all this Musical Blackness.
WHERE: Seattle The Crocodile 25051st Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
Portland Revolution Hall 1300 SE Stark St #203, Portland, OR 97214
WHEN: Seattle- Saturday, September 13, 2025
Portland– Sunday, September 14, 2025
WHAT: Black & Loud Fest 2025, VIP Pre-Show Event
LINKS: Seattle
