One of the nights off and just got to be a spectator. We saw Murder by Death on this night. The sound was really good. The place was rather small, but it wasn't a bad kind of cozy. i really don't have a lot to say about this place; i'm kind of indifferent about it. i guess it didn't really stick out in my head. Although parking was a bitch to find- there is just street parking. read more

Came here for a friend's cd release show and tour kick-off. I didn't try any food or drink but the atmosphere was very cool. The building is split into two parts, the music venue and the bar. If you're in the bar, you can still see the band and if you're enjoying the show, you can still see your friends at the bar. I'd like to go back and try the food and drink read more

We came here from out of town to see a childhood band. 3 songs in I saw my drink had been spilled on the stage........ no biggie. 6 songs in a man came an grabbed my friend who was standing next to me. She pushed him back and he grabbed harder so I pushed him at which time I realized his shirt said "security" he picked her up (she is 5'0) and carried her out. We followed. The guy at the front told me she got grabbed because she was drunk and spilled a drink. If someone is a little intoxicated, and dancing, maybe just cut her off instead of coming from behind her and wrapping your arms aggressively around her without any warning. You don't just go around grabbing women without consent. read more

The lineups are usually pretty great, but the sound guys here blow major donkey testes. It's always way too loud and terribly balanced. I leave with crazy tinnitus that lasts for his every time, I can never understand the singers, and there's never any emphasis on the musicians that are doing solos or anything unless it's already one of the louder mics/instruments anyway. Such a bummer when there's a kickass band playing and it's ruined by crummy sound engineering... I could probably do better after a five minute tutorial. Also, I had a bonding session with a bunch of strangers in the ladies' restroom because we all have to do yoga while we pee in the tiny stall whose door doesn't actually lock. It's horrible. I feel like I'd be better off getting one of those pee funnels so I could use a urinal in the men's room. read more

Went to see the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. I'd heard good things about the place but then again, I had also heard good things about the Showbox SoDo... Anyhow, the acoustics were great although just a tad loud. I left with my ears ringing! Probably my fault as we were literally right in front of the stage. How many places don't mind you setting your beer on the stage while the band performs? The staff were friendly and seemed laid back despite the large (almost capacity I would guess) crowd. Didn't have any issues with the patrons either... a nice mix of ages from young 20's to 50+, and again seemed really laid back and relaxed. I'll definitely be going back... hopefully for Zepparella in a couple of weeks! read more

What a great venue to catch a show! I saw Trampled by Turtles here and the stage is elevated enough to where any spot is a good spot. They have a cool theme going on inside and the drinks were fair priced. It is in the Ballard district so it adds to the fun. I liked how they had water jugs out so you could just get a shot of water if you needed with out taking away the bartender from the bar job. Smart idea right there! read more

You get FOUR STARS if you have Ian Tyson in the house. Pretty hard to rap on any other aspect of the place. I will tell ya this, you better have eaten before you come as the food is next to no where. An OKAY beer selection, but let's face it, that's not the point of the place either. It's probably best that it doesn't have great beer, or decent food. Hell, as long as they have acts like Tyson, WHO CARES?!?! read more

What a cool venue! Great location in Ballard next to amazing bars and restaurants. We saw Sean Hayes here and it was a great show! I love small venues that are more intimate. Had a decent bar and drink prices were good. Got to meet the musician after cause he came out for a drink and hung out. Great experience! read more

Tractor is fun, as long as you know this is a classic dive bar that you are going to. Can't beat the sound system so its great for live music. I was disappointed the beer prices went up at midnight from $7 a beer to $11. read more

Tractor Tavern - Zepparella performance 12/5/15 - Music Venues Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I can't one star this place because I love the small intimate venue but unfortunately I've never enjoyed a show here because of bad sound. I know it's a square room but it's the same thing every single time I'm there, the highs are incredibly piercing. 3 words... Real Time Analyzer. read more

Great Ballard local music venue. Drinks are strong and decent bar selection. Acoustics are good. Great space to get up close to the band. This is my favorite place to hear live music in Seattle. read more

Wish the shows on week nights didn't start so late, opener still playing after 10pm. Seems like a bar with bands more than a music venue.. Like the shows they book a lot. but traveling over to see any shows makes for to late of a night with work the next day. More seating would be nice. read more

So fun hit this place after going to the puzzle room. I had not been here in years but my girlfriend and I really wanted to go loved it. I forget how cool Ballard is great location out of downtown Seattle. I live in Bellevue so it's nice to get out of the suburbs read more

The Tractor hosts live shows 5-7 nights a week featuring a wide range of local and national acts. Check out all of your favorite Rock, Alternative Country, Rockabilly, Groove & Psychedelia, Celtic, Cajun & Zydeco, Folk, Blues, Jazz, and Bluegrass acts to name a few. And that's not all read more

Tractor Tavern - Music Venues Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I have been coming here on and off for years (I even remember when it was the New Melody Tavern) and was crazy enough to get married here. Sound is good, space is super fun, if the show it's too packed. It's a music venue, but it can still feel intimate. read more

Down home boogie! So this isnt a rock venue. Alt Country, Folk, Shake the Shack, Blues, total unknowns, cover bands, and famous bands with alternate names making a surprise visit. Ive seen 50+ shows, and am rarely dissapointed. One of the few live music venues I would recommend to just go and enjoy without knowing who is playing. Its going to be an affordable cover and a good growd. Two drawbacks that all Seattle live music venues deal with: Chatty chatty audience, and bartenders that clink glasses and throw bottles into the recycler.... Other than that, good sound, small room @300, good bar, and dive bar bathrooms..what more could you want...yee haw! read more

I have only ever been here one time but this place was absolutley amazing. My roommates band was playing here for a battle of the bands competition and the sound was amazing. Which is impressive because when you walk in you dont think the sound will be any good. The bar was alright I liked that the served a lot of drinks other than alcoholic beverages. The staff was really nice and this is a great place to see live music. And just looking at the show posters posted everywhere around the place, the bands they get in there are not unknown bands. Bathrooms could use some work though they are super small and not that well kept up. read more

This place is awesome. If Ballard was a part of Seattle, it would totally be one of the best venues in Seattle, but it's not, so it's just going to have to be the best place to see a show in Ballard. I've seen some very memorable shows here, and have played on that stage myself a few times too. The sound (on and off the stage), is impeccable. There are a lot of places to stand where you can see what's going on. The bar has relatively easy access. The drinks are on the cheap side (just order a PBR and stop trying to impress everybody). On the complainy side of things: The men's bathroom, kind of cramped, kind of smelly. They don't serve food. Some of the bouncers suck ass and they hate their lives. After all is said and done though, this place is totally great, and they bring in some AMAZING bands from all over the country to play here. read more

I've been to club shows all over the continent and I have to say that Tractor is in the top ten. They draw interesting acts, price tickets reasonably and have a great layout and sound system. The space is very inviting for mingling with friends in one area and seeing the band in another. You can even get a great vibe of ambiance from simply standing outside and people watching as you smoke (though I'm a non-smoker and wish you guys would just back it up a few more feet). I've seen dozens of great shows at TT and can't wait until my son is old enough to come see Dave Alvin playing at the Tractor with me. read more

How to Experience the Tractor Go with a former roomate for his birthday and his best gal who will also become your close friend (and his wife & babymama) and run into Curious, Intriguing Lad who friends know from shows and whose name you've heard mentioned--it sounds Japanese!--and who just got his hair cut into a swell curly mop and get introduced and get chatted up and chat up back and lean in and shut up and wiggle to the music and sip your IPA and shake what your mama gave you and giggle at the scrawl in the bathroom stall and say your goodnights and ask strings of questions about Lad in cab ride home while cultivating Nonchalance and think maybe you've been on an e-mail together? and get invited to his house for a BBQ and hop with glee and stay longer than your friends and perform mediocre card tricks and look at his map and listen to jazz and float home and "go around" with him and craft him some goods and step on his toes and eat fine foods and feel well wooed and toss out your dance card and have scores of madcap adventures and return with your overlapped crowd to Tractor for dozens more shows of multiple genres (!! Medeski Martin and Wood, Bill Frisell, John Scofield, SoundTribe, Garage a Trois, Greyboy Allstars, Kitchen Syncopaters, Robert Walter !!) and dance the dream with your body on and invite the Tractor into your inner circle and listen to Lad play a lovely song that he wrote just for you and fly to Pune, India for your zooming wedding and wear mehndi and a sari and Beam and just before the ceremony, nerves ajangle, have your cousin deliver him the Tractor Tavern t-shirt that you brought all the way from Seattle that turns out to be too big and you really need to buy him a new one that fits or make it into a pillow or something because he never wears it, damnit. read more

I have a little crush on the tractor with its amazing line-up of bands that draws in an artsy-fartsy 30s-40s crowd that are all so happy to be seeing their favorite local or out of town band that we are all smiling at each other and dancing with complete strangers b/c for a brief moment we all have a common bond...our love for the band onstage. Saw Awesome and We are Golden the other night for $10. I would have paid $25, but I happily spent that extra $15 on drinks. I am always impressed with the rhythm the bartenders have going on. Not missing a beat with getting drinks onto the bar rail and moving patrons along. I dig the coat check for $2 and that you can buy tickets in advance, online with a $2.25 service fee (maybe it was $2.50...can't remember). read more

The Tractor is quintessential Ballard. I really like this venue and I will undoubtedly miss it when I move away from Ballard. The bands booked here normally fall in the folk, americana, country and alt-country genres. This isn't to say that they don't sometimes break the mold, but generally that's what you can expect to see when you look through their calendar. I find myself here probably once a month. I most recently saw T-Model Ford play to a mostly crowded room. The 90 year old Mississippian, who had suffered a stroke just two weeks before, played Blues to an adoring audience. After his set ended, the audience applauded and he awarded them with an encore. And then another encore. And another attempt at an encore. Point is, The Tractor just let the music keep going and no one tried to rush or hurry T-Model Ford along. Tractor Tavern is a well run, easy going place where you feel like the music matters more than anything else. I like that. I do miss their photo booth, though. read more

I have a theory that women should practice going to bars alone and having a glass of wine without feeling like they've caused some kind of massive disorder in the Universe interrupting the time/space continuim. I do this now and then without any ill effects and some excellent conversations with harmless strangers. But let's face it. There are comfortable bars and there are uncomfortable bars, and the Tractor is a comfortable bar. The bartenders are friendly. Imagine that, *cough* Smith *cough* The coat check girl is friendly. The crowd is friendly. The drinks, if I drank drinks, appear strong. The stage is cool. The cowboy boots up on the ceiling are enough to make me want to spend more money on cowboy boots than I did when I lived in Arkansas and wore them to a wedding once. It's the kind of place I'd go alone to hear a band I liked and feel absolutely fine to be there alone and I like that in a bar. Also you can go into the photo booth and take pictures of yourself being alone in public without withering up and dying. The next step is going a bar and going to the bathroom without your friends coming along like you're glued at the ankles. But that's advanced. Don't try it the first time out. :) read more

Square dancing every other Monday nite, crazeee time!!!!!

Live music and an absolute CRUSH of people were here on Friday night! A group of locals took us here and they all knew exactly what to expect. Good luck finding and getting to the bathroom!!! This is a music venue I can't imagine coming here for anything else. read more

It is what it is. A live music venue with a pretty good selection of different styles of music. Sound is decent. View of the stage is very good. Probably about 300 capacity? Bartenders hustle, they swap around the beer selections on tap frequently for seasonal and it is a nice mature crowd. I've been going here for 15 years and I have yet to see an altercation. Parking can be tough in the Ballard area. Electronic newsletter for coming attractions is very nice. read more

Best music venue in Seattle! Excellent artist booking and the promotions exceed any other venue in the city. Best bar staff and door staff. I always feel at home there. xo read more

A typical Seattle venue to watch a show. I saw Matthew Good and some boring chic from NY for a cool $20 American dollars. A 'good' value. That was horrible. I cannot believe I just wrote that. The show was fine and the crowd was chill. The best part is there was never a line at the bar for booze. The worst part was the bathroom. I hope I never have to twinkle in there again. read more

I am a penny pincher, but I decided to indulge in local bands for a benefit show (at least I know that my money was going toward something good). The decor is interesting with the cowboy boots hanging from the walls. There are no seats but hey we were all there to listen to some great cover music. I stood at the back and moved to the front. It is a great place to listen to music. None of the acoustics changed for me. i could enjoy the music anywhere. Since I didn't want to drive home with alcohol in my system, i opted for a coke and know that I literally sipped on it at $2.00 for a cup. The prices for the beverages were not bad ($5.00 for a beer). The bathrooms are a bit scary with the strange scribble on the walls (not so PC if you ask me). I would return here though, but only if I don't have to drive. read more

Awesome, awesome, awesome place to see a show. Just saw the Pietasters here on Saturday night and had a great time. I had never experienced the Tractor before and I was definitely impressed by the place. Strong drinks, lots of room to boogie and in a great location. I would love to come back again :) read more

This venue is small, so you can see pretty well from most places, however, if you wind up towards the back when there's a large crowd you may not see more than the performers' heads. The sound is very good. They have a large bar from which you can hear the show and still see some of the stage. You can buy tickets on the premises or at Sonic Boom Records (for most shows) and avoid paying ticket vendors a huge service charge. read more

Celebrated the New Year with the Dusty 45's at the Tractor. It was my first time there and I thought the venue was pretty cool. They serve very stiff drinks here and I had the worst whiskey & gingerale ever. I actually think it was soda water mixed with some bitters, but my other drinks were pretty tasty. The band was really cool and everybody had a grand ole time. I'm going to check out the square dancing on Mondays this month! read more

I went to a show here last night, which was AMAZING. Such a blast! I would love to come again and watch another show. Ballard in general is alot of fun, I'm looking forward to heading back on the weekend and seeing what the busy night life looks like! Oh yes and nice strong drinks with a kick ;) read more

Doorman was so rude it gave us pleasure to walk in, spend not a cent and walk out. Thanks for the great honeymoon evening out. (Not so much)

Just a building with farm decorations, a low stage, a bar and bad restrooms. Almost nowhere to sit, with only two seats where you can see the band. read more

I am still catching up on my local reviews, therefore, this review was delayed for various reasons (still playing catch up on various reviews) however, better late than never. Came here to see 90's musical icon Juliana Hatfield. The show was good (review is on my music blog and print publication). The bar itself is.....a dumpster dive of a bar with character. Cheap beers. I don't drink, the bestie does and he can vouch for the cheap beer in taste and cost. We saw Juliana in both Portland and Seattle. Customer service was decent for the bar. Not a lot of room to watch bands but Juliana made us forget where we were. read more

While the staff can be indifferent, as in any place where pople serve the frequently ungrateful and rude public, I have always been treated right and had a marvellous time. It is one of the best and most intimate music venues in town; the only drawback is limited seating for those who cannot stand for long periods of time. read more

Intimate viewing area. Stage raised so people in back can see. Overall good set up. Fair prices for booze and soda. free self serve water. I skip drinking when i go there because bathrooms stink. I will go back to this venue. read more

great place to see a show. They have some great local and national touring bands. I love the boots hanging from the ceiling and the bartender that wears Teva Sandals all year round. read more

This is one of my favorite venues in Seattle for all kinds of music. My favorite night here is the twice-monthly square dancing gig for the local band The Tallboys and a guest caller. This may give you a flash-back to your junior high gym days if you grew up in Washington, but fear not! This is the most fun you can have for $5 on a Monday as far as I'm concerned! It attracts a great cross-section of people of all ages and ranks to dance themselves silly and drink PBR tallboys. Really, it is great fun, I highly recommend it. I try to get there every chance I get. read more