As I wrote earlier this year in a post sizing up Seattle’s various summer music festival offerings, Bumbershoot is all about partnerships this year. One of those partnerships with local bastion of cool Sub Pop, which will be curating the festival’s Fountain Lawn stage this year.
Since Bumbershoot is right around the corner (it’s happening this weekend and you can buy your tickets here) I thought it would be a good time to take a look at what Sub Pop’s stage has to offer, so here are five artists I recommend putting on your Bumbershoot schedule this weekend:
Unnatural Helpers (1:45, Saturday)
Okay, so technically this isn’t a Sub Pop band but they do fall under the Sub Pop umbrella since UH are signed to SP imprint Hardly Art. The band’s new album, Land Grab, comes out Sept. 25 and it will be on the top of your must-buy list after hearing most of it performed live Saturday afternoon.
THEESatisfaction (5:15, Saturday)
These ladies represent some of the best hip-hop currently coming out of Seattle. As an added bonus, their latest record, awEnaturalE, is one of the best local albums of the year. Whatever you do, don’t funk with their groove.
The Helio Sequence (8:45, Saturday)
This Portland duo has been kicking around the Northwest music scene for more than a decade and its latest album, Negotiations, is one of the best in its catalog. Don’t miss their set and look for the album when it is released Sept. 11.
Mudhoney (6:45, Sunday)
Sure you’ve lived in Seattle all your life and seen Mudhoney countless times. So why bother with their Bumbershoot set? Well, has Mudhoney ever delivered a bad performance during those countless sets you’ve witnessed. I didn’t think so.
The Vaselines (8:30, Monday)
You might not know it, but chances are you already know a few Vaselines songs, namely “Molly’s Lips,” “Son of a Gun” and “Jesus Don’t Want Me For A Sunbeam.” I know what you’re thinking. “But Travis, those are all Nirvana songs.” That’s true-ish. Those three songs were done first — and arguably better — by The Vaselines.
