Northwest Passage traces the development of the Northwest music scene, from its beginnings as a small, isolated community to its status during the grunge years as the center of the rock universe. The gallery follows the early days of the region, from jazz and R&B to the "Louie Louie" phenomenon and the garage bands that spawned a national clamor. Traveling through the 1970s, when Northwest bands such as Heart and Queensr˙che were international success stories and underground hip hop and punk scenes were gathering strength, the gallery concludes in the 1990s, when the world came to Seattle to witness the worldwide triumph of grunge, and in its aftermath, a lively independent scene began to flourish.