Bearaxe performing at Barboza for the Seattle Public Library’s PlayBack launch party. // Photo by Hilina Kidane

On Thursday, October 11th, the Seattle Public Library (SPL) hosted a free concert in celebration of the launch of the fourth installment of the library’s free, local music streaming service, PlayBack. All three bands at the show — All Star Opera, Bearaxe, and Guayaba — had albums added to PlayBack’s collection this year, and the show itself focused on bringing together a wide group of artists to attract the varying population of our city.

All Star Opera, a hip hop/funk group that’s been gaining a lot of traction recently, is comprised of co-frontmen Sam “Oz” Osborn and Carter Gyasi ‘Flow Carter’ Gilbert-Bass, keyboardist Seth McDonald, guitarist Will Greenburg, drummer Tylee Toyoda, and bassist Keith Gledhill. They stood on the stage seemingly in groups of two: Osborn and Gyasi were at the front, both giving off bohemian vibes; McDonald and Gledhill held down stage right with their bright, orange tees; and Toyoda and Greenburg, over on stage left, both had on some pretty solid ugly sweaters that paired well with the group’s slightly-off-center vibe.

A band that fully embraces the stoner aesthetic — from Gilbert-Bass’s dreads and tie-dye shirt to Osborn’s sparkly, psychedelic hoodie and untamed mane to the overall undeniable Rastafarian influence in their music — All Star Opera’s tunes are fun and uplifting while still delivering serious messages about the current state of our society and the human race as a whole. While Osborn and Gilbert-Bass’ singing voices definitely sound better on their recordings than live, Osborn especially is a wonderfully compelling frontman. With his waist-length hair flying free and his tendency to walk around stage in a crouched position, he’s like the earnest son of an evil troll who just wants to make the world a better place through song.

As an opener, All Star Opera worked well. The first two songs were slower numbers that were definitely sub par to the rest of the more energetic set, but they paced their set well and made the crowd incrementally more hype with each tune, closing with a powerful track about equality.

Next up was Bearaxe, which gave what might honestly be the best live set I have ever seen, only rivaled by fellow local artist Ayron Jones and his Hendrix-like guitar playing. I struggle to even call Bearaxe a band; it just feels like that word isn’t enough to describe them.

Frontwoman Shaina Shepherd is nothing short of a goddess — even just hearing her name, she sounds like a star, and she sings as though Aretha Franklin took voice lessons from Steven Tyler. It is truly incredible. Shepherd stormed on stage after the band started playing in a modest black wrap dress, only to rip it off a few songs in to reveal a backless, rose-patterned number that highlighted her movements. Confident and sultry, pragmatic yet witty, Shepherd is the ultimate.

A magical frontwoman is nothing without her band, though. Guitarist Matt Williams looks like your average five-foot-seven, skinny white dude but shreds like Slash. Bassist Jon Lemmon vacillated the whole set between holding his thin, mousey-brown hair back with a hat and letting it mop into his face while he headbanged. Drummer “Nukkles” Tuitama, who looks like your favorite Polynesian uncle, played with an ease and confidence uncharacteristic of typical rock drummers. As a whole, Bearaxe made me feel as though I was at CBGB in the 70s watching the next big thing. Their set, in and of itself, was alive.

When Guayaba came on stage with just her computer, her water bottle, and herself, it was in stark contrast to the previous acts. The rapper and hip hop artist, who started her set by saying she’s not normally one to talk on stage, may not have had as large a stage presence as Shepherd, but Guayaba certainly has a following. There were several people in the relatively small audience singing along to her tracks, and it’s not hard to see why: she mostly raps about issues most Americans have experienced at one time or another, like being overweight or the daily struggle of being a person of color in our current society.

Also a talented singer, Guayaba ended her set with a four-minute track called “Paloma,” a haunting ballad with only a Spanish-inspired guitar as accompaniment that held the audience at rapt attention in a very different way than her other under-two-minute rap tracks. Throughout her rapping, Guayaba had a wonderful way of combining her raps and her singing, using the pitch of her voice to convey different emotions while still flowing in rhythm.

SPL, overall, did an awesome job at creating a set list that was both versatile and vast, yet cohesive and exciting. To listen to All Star Opera, Bearaxe, Guayaba, and other local artists, visit playback.spl.org.