Backroads Tour to present final tour date in Seattle on July 4 at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard

The national Backroads Tour is coming to Seattle on July 4, 2026 at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard, 5213 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107, making a statement on the 250th birthday of our nation, that opposing fascism means standing up for shared freedoms and human dignity. 

While the government struggles to find artists for their 250th celebrations, the Backroads Tour has been rolling across the nation from Georgia to the midwest, amplifying rural and rural-adjacent voices for change. 

This final stop on the tour will celebrate the rural underdogs who have driven progress in rural America throughout our nation’s history. 

Artists performing include:

• Melissa Carper - grew up between Nebraska and Eureka Springs, AR, and is one of the pre-eminent voices of queer honky-tonk coming out of Texas today
• Jontavious Willis - grew up and still lives in deep rural Georgia, bringing acclaimed country blues that’s seen him collaborating with everyone from Taj Mahal to Keb’ Mo’.
• The Reverent Marigold - from the farmlands around Davis, California, The Reverent Marigold’s powerful trans folk punk touches on everything from religious faith to queer rage.

The Backroads Tour - Seattle
Tractor Tavern Matinee Show
July 4, 2026, doors at 3:30pm, Show at 4pm
5213 Ballard Avenue NW
Seattle, WA 98107

Tickets online here

Presented by Rural Progress, Backroads is a national music and culture campaign that brings artists, organizers, and local leaders to small towns across the country, turning overlooked spaces into vibrant community commons. 

Through concerts, storytelling, and shared joy, we’re reclaiming country music’s and rural America’s roots as a force for connection across race, class, and place. At a moment of deep division, Backroads shows what rural power and progress look like when people come together, one town at a time.

Seattle’s Tractor Tavern is a space known for welcoming a wide range of music, from roots rock to folk and alt-country, bringing together diverse audiences through shared cultural experiences. 

That spirit of inclusivity mirrors the night’s message: rural and urban people alike can build community based not on fear but on mutual respect, empathy, and common purpose.

“America was born in rebellion,” says Matt Hildreth, Executive Director of Rural Progress.

 “That revolutionary spirit didn’t live only in Philadelphia. It took root in small towns, labor halls, churches, community centers and on front porches where neighbors gathered to debate, organize and demand a say in their own future.”