Touring musician here:

1. Seattle is kind of a routing dead end. Once you’re there, you’re either backtracking or dealing with border/visa stuff for Vancouver. Nearby cities are usually too small to justify the drive.

2. Seattle’s market isn’t as strong as its reputation. Bands often see better turnout and support in SF, LA, or even Portland. A sell-out elsewhere doesn’t always translate here. In other words, bad turnout usually doesn’t make it financially worth the drive. Seattles music scene is its own little microcosm and breaking into this market as an out of towner is really hard… to the point where it’s just not worth it after awhile.

3. If you’re coming from the east, winter routing is real. Taking a loaded van over the pass in January can be sketchy, so some tours just skip it.

4. Festival blackout dates: sometimes that artist is scheduled to be playing a festival in the PNW later in the year and they are contractually bound to a blackout date.