Our Story

In 1991, Dave Green, a Seattle native, was in college in southern California and wanted to raise money for Mary’s Kitchen, a struggling soup kitchen run by Mary McAnena. Dave worked on a college radio station and booked bands part-time for Chapman University.

“I was inspired after working at a homeless kitchen in Hart park near my campus. Most of the students had no idea that there was this problem of homelessness right down the street, I wanted to get these students’ attention so I came up with the idea to put together a benefit concert that would draw attention to the problem of homelessness, give local bands some exposure and create a event that would draw students together,” Dave explains.

One year later, Dave, with support from his friends and the university, put together his first Noise for the Needy concert. Mary, in her eighties, had never received this type of support for her cause and was extremely grateful. Noise for the Needy was a major success and continued for more than a decade.

“I can remember by the third Noise for the Needy, I went to visit Mary’s Kitchen and saw this ‘complex’ with showers and a clothing distribution program. One of the staff took me aside and said, ’Your concerts built this.’ It was a pretty amazing moment.”

The shows began to draw a diverse set of performers. Bands participating in shows have included Black Eyed Peas, Ozomotli, Rancid, the Offspring, Vandals, Goldfinger, Voo Doo Glow Skulls, Save Ferris, and Long Beach Dub All Stars. Dave remained as an organizer and consultant until 2003, when he went on to get his Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California. He still holds a director’s position.

In 2004, Richard Green (Dave’s brother), with the help of Jeffrey Henry, started Noise for the Needy in Seattle. The first show included four local bands and took place at Nectar Lounge in Fremont. NFTN has since become a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and the festival has grown to a multi-day event spanning clubs all over the city of Seattle. Since 2004, we’ve raised over $100,000 for local charities and worked with over 350 artists, listed below:

“Awesome” | Aaron Wald | Abadawn | Abodox | Abraham | Adam Stephens (Two Gallants) and The Finite Plain | Akimbo | Ali Marcus | Amateur Radio Operator | An Invitation to Love | Andy Werth | Angelo Spencer et les Hauts Sommets | Animals at Night | Anomie Belle | Ape City R&B | Argo | Arkade | Art Brut | Assumption, Illinois | Baths | Battle Hymns | Big Sur | Billy Joe & the Dusty 45s | Black Angels | Black Eyes &  Neckties | BlackQueen | Black  Nite Crash | Black Whales | Blood Orange Paradise | Blue Light Curtain | Boat | Bonde do Role | Born Anchors | Brendan Perry | Brent Amaker & the Rodeo | Brian Ledford | Brite Futures | Bronze Fawn | Bryan Cook | Buffalo Death Beam | Bullet Club | Butts | Buzzyshyface | C’est La Mort | Cancer Rising | Capillary Action | Carrie Clark & Her Lonesome Lovers | Cascadia 10 | Cataldo | Chadwick | Charles Cross | Christy McWilson | Colt Kraft | Common Market | Corespondents | Cosmic Panther Land Band  | Coulter | Crystal Antlers | CSS | Curtains for You | D. Black | Dangerbird | Daniel G. Harmann | Das Llamas | Dateless | David Schmader | David TV | Delta Spirit | Department of Energy | Detroit Cobras | DJ Agent Double O-S.O.U.L | DJ Alligator Sweater | DJ Blazon Stone | DJ Blessone | DJ Blue Blue Day| DJ Chrispo | DJ Conquergood | DJ Cruddy | DJ Danger Nun | DJ Doo Right | DJ El Toro | DJ Floyd Beastie | DJ Girth | DJ Jodi Bon Jodi | DJ Justin Case | DJ lilliSD | DJ Nark | DJ Nice Mike | DJ  Nicki Danger | DJ Nik C. | DJ NoDak | DJ Self-Administered Beatdown | DJ Toast | DJ Up Above | DJ Veins | DJ Zwickepedia | DJs Gin & Tonic | Doublewide | Drew Grow & the Pastors’ Wives | Dyslexic | Earaches | Eighteen Individual Eyes | Elder Mason | Elephants | Emerald City Soul Club | Emeralds | Erik Blood | Exit Stories | Exohxo  | Ezra Furman and the Harpoons | Facts About Funerals | Fells Acres | Fences | Feral Children | Fey Rey | Final Spins | Fly Moon Royalty | Foscil | Fourth City DJ’s | Fox and the Law | Fresh Espresso | Friday Mile | Furniture Girls | Gabriel Teodros | Ganges River Band | Garth Stein | Ghost of Kyle Bradford | Ghost Stories | Giggles Galore | Girl in a Coma | Glitterbang | Golden Blondes | Goldfinch | Goldie Wilson | Grand Archives | Grand Hallway | Grant Olsen  | Gravelroad | Grayskul | Grenades | H is for Hellgate | Half Light | Hallways | He Whose Ox is Gored | Head Like a Kite | Hey Marseilles | Hobosexual | Honeybear | Horsefeathers | Hotels | Hurricane Chaser | Hypatia Lake | I Was a King | Infomatik | Ivan and Alyosha | Ivory in Ice World | Izabelle | Jack Wilson & the Wife Stealers | Jan Norberg | Jen Wood | Jennie Shortridge | Jeremy Burk | Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter | John Vanderslice | Josh Ottum | JulaVee | Junkie XL | Jupe Jupe | Karl Blau | Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden | Kelli Schaefer | Kilcid Band | Kinski | Kissing Potion | Kithkin | Koko and the Sweetmeats | Kyle Kinane | Lady Drama | Lady Krishna’s Peppermint Lounge | Land of Pines | Let’s Get Lost | Levi Fuller | Lillydale | Lisa Dank | Little Penguins | Lizzie Huffman | Loch Lomond | Lonesome Rhodes and the Good Company | Love Sick (feat. Alicia Amiri) | Loving Thunder | Lucy Bland | Mad Rad | Magic Mirrors | Mal de Mer | Mark Pickerel and his Praying Hands | Massy Ferguson | Math & Physics Club | Matt and Kim | Midday Veil | Mighty Tiger | Miike Snow | Modern Athletics | Mon Frere | Mon Marie | Mos Generator | Mostly Dimes | Ms. Led | Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band | Nalgas Bukkake (featuring members of Master Musicians of Bukkake and Skerik) | Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head | Neon Nights | New Faces | New Grey Area | NighTrain | No-Fi Soul Rebellion | North 19 | Nudity | Okkervil River | Omnia Mutantor | Ononos | Open Choir Fire | Operation ID | Optimus Rhyme | Origami Ghosts  | Oswald Effect | Partman Parthorse | Past Lives | Pelusa | Peter Hanks feat. Jordanger | Peter Parker | Pillow Army | Plan B | Pleasureboaters | Pleasurecraft | Portland Cello Project | Post Harbor | Princess | Purty Mouth | Ramona Falls | Ravenna Woods | Razrez | Red Sea Sharks | Reji Lefleur | Reptet | Rob Delaney | Rob Femur | Robin Guthrie | Rock and Roll Soldiers | Romance | Rosyvelt | Ruston Mire | Safer | Sage | Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside | Sam Marshall Trio | Sap’N | Seattle Kokon Taiko | See Me River | See Me River & the Dead Horse Creek | Sera Cahoone | Sev and the Sins | Shana Cleveland | Shane Tutmarc | Shelby Earl | Shim | Shorthand for Epic | silOHs  | SK | Skeletons With Flesh On Them | Slack Habit | Slender Means | Slow Skate | Smokey Brights | Smooth Sailing | Soft Hills | Soft Metals | Solomon Georgio | Soul Jelly | Soul Senate | Speaker Speaker | Spinning Whips | Sports | Spurm | Star Anna | Stickers | Strong Killings | Summer Babes | Sunday Night Blackout | Sushirobo | Surrealized | Talib Kweli | Tallbirds | Telepathic Liberation Army | The Album Leaf | The Beats, Man | The Beautiful Confusion | The Blakes | The Boss Martians | The Builders and the Butchers | The Constantines | The Cops | The Curious Mystery | The Elefaders | The Femurs | The First Times | The Foghorns | The Fucking Eagles | The Glasses | The Greatest Hits | The Hands | The Handsome Family | The Heavy Hearts | The Horde and the Harem | The Hungry Pines | The Keeper | The Kindness Kind | The Lashes | The Levitations | The Lights | The Maldives | The Marble Faun | The Pharmacy | The Pica Beats | The Purrs | The Quiet Ones | The Raggedy Anns | The Redwood Plan | The Romany Rye | The Sun The Sea | The Tempers | The Thoughts | The Turn-Ons | The Valley | The Warlocks | The Warm Hardies | The Whore Moans | Thee Emergency | This Blinding Light | This is a Process of a Still Life | Throw Me The Statue | Thunderheist | Tiny Vipers | Tomten | Tourist | Transmissionary 6 | Travis Vogt | Trentalange | Triumph of Lethargy Skinned Alive to Death | Truckasaurus  | Tulsi | TV Coahran | Two Gallants | USF | Velella Velella | Viper Creek Club | Virgin Islands | Visqueen | Vultures 2012 | Wallpaper | Watch it Sparkle | Wayfinders |  Whalebones | What What Now | Whiskey Tango | White Gold | Widildlife |  Widower | Wild Orchid Children | Yacht | Youth Rescue Mission | Yuni in Taxco