Macklemore (with show review)

climate pledge arena - seattle, wa

 

Hometown hero Macklemore was welcomed back to Seattle in spectacular fashion, opening his two night stint at Climate Pledge Arena to a sold out crowd of 17,000 on December 21st, 2023. People from Seattle are no strangers to Macklemore’s music. I’ve grown up hearing it at sporting events, school dances, and in various stores and restaurants. His 2011 single, “Can’t Hold Us” became a staple song of the Seattle Seahawks’ 2012 championship run and is still regularly played at Seattle sporting events. It is clear through his music and his active involvement in the local music scene that Macklemore has an abundance of love for the city of Seattle, something that the people of Seattle return back to him tenfold.

A night full of special guests (including Wanz, Mary Lambert, and Livingston), pyrotechnics, confetti, water guns, dance offs, and numerous costume changes, the energy, love, and passion in the air was palpable. The 2016 hit “Downtown” saw Macklemore flying over the arena on a motorcycle before meeting Eric Nally on the main stage to finish out the song. The show perfectly balanced the silly, chaotic, exciting moments with reflections on Macklemore’s career and his relationship with the city of Seattle. “I came a long way to be here tonight, so I’m gonna talk my shit,” the rapper stated with a grin before speaking to how empowered he feels by the resilience of the human spirit. Towards the end of the show, Macklemore continued his frenzy of costume changes, sporting the jerseys of many local Seattle teams, including the Storm, Seahawks, Mariners, and Sonics. He closed out the show expressing his love and gratitude for the crowd, and the city of Seattle as a whole, before launching into “Can’t Hold Us” to close out the night, “This right here is such an honor.”

There’s nothing like a hometown show, but there’s NOTHING like a Macklemore hometown show.