By Hayden Yu Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

From the basement of Mode Music Studios to the top of the Space Needle, West Seattle-rooted band THEM has quickly marked itself as a standout in Seattle’s music scene. The more the band’s popularity grows, though, the more its core members reaffirm that no matter what, they’ll always be a group of friends first and foremost.

At 9 pm tonight, THEM will be performing on the West Seattle Summer Fest main stage. This will be their third performance at Summer Fest, and for the group, a hometown show. All four members of THEM met at West Seattle High School in 2017, “so getting to play five minutes from our stomping grounds is very very special,” said THEM member Hudson.

“It was a bit of a surprise to my family when I asked for a guitar for Christmas,” Hudson told us. “Since then, I’ve tried to learn everything I can get my hands on.” Sticking with the band’s theme of never losing touch with their roots, band members Thompson, Hudson, Ellie, and Lydia are all still working with Mode in some capacity, whether hosting a summer program or working at the front desk.

Since the band’s founding eight years ago, they’ve gone from, as Ellie put it, “Hundreds of shows where maybe our parents were there,” to the top of the Space Needle – broadcast on TV – during the 2024 New Year’s celebration, and the blinding lights of the Paramount Theater, where they all at one point worked as ushers. But according to Ellie, their enthusiasm was always the same, whether the crowd was one or one thousand people.

The spotlight has gotten less scary as time goes on, according to Thompson. “Before every show, we’re backstage talking through our set, and then we have a little chant and do some breathing exercises,” She said, “I think because we’ve played together so long, that stage fright isn’t present. It also helps so much that we’re all together and we’re all friends.”

They’ll be taking the energy back home tonight, in a show that’s more than just a return tour. Soon, the band will be moving to LA, which makes this a bittersweet sendoff. “Of every performance we’ve done,” Lydia said, “I think this is the one I’m the most excited for.” “It’s like a sendoff to our home,” said Thompson, “To get to play at Summer Fest again.

Tonight’s sendoff is just the beginning for a new chapter in THEM’s history. Outside of performing, Lydia enjoys photography and videography, and she’s been working with the rest of the band to produce more music videos, which you can find on their YouTube channel.

“We’ve all spent so much time here, so looking out and seeing all of our favorite people and places is going to be so special,” said Hudson, “The people of West Seattle are the reason we get to go everywhere else and play.” See them at 9 pm tonight on the Summer Fest main stage (California SW north of SW Oregon) – and for more news about where THEM is performing next, check out their Instagram page.