The Elovaters
W/ Swayze, JARV
February 12th, 2026
ShowBox SoDo, Seattle, WA
Photos and Review by Travis Smith
On the 9th stop of the ‘Sunburn Tour’ [Tickets], The Elovaters made February feel like summertime in Seattle. The Progressive Roots Reggae band hit the stage at ShowBox SoDo in Seattle and made me forget it was 40 degrees outside.
The Elovaters, established in 2014 under their original name The Cornerstone, arrived to Seattle’s ShowBox SoDo with a line wrapped around the building. Doors opened at 6pm and as people power walked to get a spot close to the stage, the vibe of the room quickly began to buzz.
The first of two openers, JARV followed by Shwayze, appeared on stage to an uproarious applause. Jarv surprised the crowd with some humor throughout his set, while also getting personal by performing a song about his father which gave the 33 year old, Brooklyn based hip-hop artist more depth, connecting with the crowd. He followed that up with some impossibly fast lyrics and clever lyrics from his track “Rap 101”, which turned out to be my personal favorite. Shwayze, a long-established Rapper from California, was a perfect selection to get the crowd warmed up. Shwayze leaned into his sun-soaked hip-hop catalog with an easy confidence that felt tailor-made for this audience. Both left the stage with the momentum pointing squarely toward the headliner.
This was my first time seeing The Elovaters in person and if I wasn’t relaxed when I walked in the door (which I’m usually not since I have 2 or 3 songs to take photos), I certainly was when I left.
Some bands have a lot of hits but fall flat on stage, others can put on a great performance, The Elovators pulled off both. Playing in a venue known for its intensity, and sometimes criticize for the acoustics, The Elovaters seemed to use Showbox SoDo’s rawness to their advantage, leaning into the intimacy of the space, rather than fighting it.
For about 70 minutes, leader vocalist Jackson Wetherbee absolutely knocked it out of the park. For a city that just won the Superbowl and only 24 hours earlier had a 1 million person parade, somehow everyone still had their voices to belt back the lyrics to ‘Sunlight’ and my personal favorite ‘Staring at the sun’. I don’t think our lack of sunshine has anything to do with the sun theme.
When the final beat played and the reverb faded, people stayed planted in place, sweating and grinning, holding onto the feeling for a few seconds longer before heading for the exits.
I’m sure this will read like something scrawled on a bathroom stall, but, If you want to have a great time and go home feeling exhausted like you just had a great vacation, buy tickets to one of their upcoming shows.
The Elovaters | Website | Instagram
Set List:
Roll Up
Wind
AHFS
Endless
Red Wine
Shaking Off
Gimme Love
Bills to Pay
Good Ol’ Dey
Staring at the Sun
Gardenia
Sky High
Down Road
Moon
ENCORE
Meridian
Margs
Squeeze
Who is Travis Smith, the Photographer?
Travis Smith is a Seattle based Photographer and Videographer who takes pride in a diverse set of skills and over 20 years of experience behind a camera. Concerts, Sports, Motorsports, Aviation, Landscape, Architecture, and Travel photography all fit within his wheelhouse of interest.
You can see more of his work on his personal website or his Instagram.