ARTIST SASSYBLACK’S SEATTLE ITINERARY HITS ALL THE RIGHT NOTES

With new musical coming soon, Seattle artist is latest to be featured in Visit Seattle’s “I Know a Place” video series

SEATTLE – Multi-talented artist SassyBlack is the latest Seattleite to be featured in Visit Seattle’s I Know a Place campaign. SassyBlack, otherwise known as Catherine Harris-White, is a creative force with talents ranging from performing and visual arts, to acting and writing. Soon, she’ll be adding playwright to her list of abilities – she’s writing a musical commissioned by Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre titled “Emerald Jett,” described as a “sci-fi funk musical about the trials and tribulations of a 34-year-old Black woman based in Seattle.”

SassyBlack’s roots in the PNW go deep. To celebrate her ties and lift the voice of a local talent, Visit Seattle produced a personal video tour of Sassy’s favorite Seattle spots. The video is now live on the I Know a Place website and Visit Seattle’s social platforms (@visitseattle).

In the video, SassyBlack shows friend Tyrell Shaw around her favorite Seattle haunts while he is in town visiting from New Orleans. This is Tyrell’s first trip to Seattle. Together, they explore Sassy’s picks – including Easy Street Records, synthesizer boutique Patchwerks and Alki Beach. Visit Seattle was there to document the many special moments along the way.

“During the pandemic, like most people, I wasn’t able to get out and support my favorite local businesses as much as I would’ve liked,” said SassyBlack. “It was an honor to get back out there and show some love to them. Sharing my Seattle hidden gems with not just my friend Tyrell, but also with Visit Seattle and the viewers of I Know a Place was such a dream. As an artist, seeing the City you love from someone else’s eyes gives you a fresh perspective—and that’s magical.”

Sassy is a force in the Seattle performing arts community. For example, 5th Avenue Theater has commissioned Sassy to create a brand-new musical as part of its First Draft: Raise Your Voice program, which fosters new works from populations that have been left out of the musical theater canon and introduces the work of new, creative voices to theater professionals. Her musical, a collaboration with Anastacia-Reneé, an award-winning author, educator, and TEDX speaker, is on the way.

Her music, which she may be most well-known for, spans genres from hip-hop to jazz, has been featured on Adult Swim, and even landed on one of Michelle Obama’s Spotify playlists. On the literary side, she’s written for publications like CRACK Magazine, Okayplayer and Tom Tom Magazine. Her acting resume includes parts in Comedy Central’s Broad City and HBO’s Vinyl. Recently, she’s even started creating non-fungible tokens (NFTs) – or digital visual and musical art pieces.

I Know a Place aims to inspire others to explore the great city of Seattle by enlisting the help of notable local personalities, asking them to take viewers on their ideal itinerary. Others who have been featured in the video series thus far include restaurateur and Top Chef star Shota Nakajima and Seattle Kraken announcer Everett ‘Fitz’ Fitzhugh. The videos can be viewed on Visit Seattle’s I Know a Place page.

Check out I Know a Place on Visit Seattle’s social media channels, YouTube, digital display, and more. Follow IKnowAPlace.org and #IKnowSeattle for the latest.

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About Visit Seattle:
Visit Seattle has served as the official destination marketing organization (DMO) for Seattle and King County for more than 50 years. A 501(c)(6) organization, Visit Seattle enhances the economic prosperity of the region through global destination branding along with competitive programs and campaigns in leisure travel marketing, convention sales and overseas tourism development. Visit visitseattle.org.