Bumbershoot, Seattle’s annual music and art festival, announced its complete 2024 lineup today and it features a mixture of music genres ranging from indie rock icons and hip-hop stars to pop singers and singer-songwriters, with plenty of local flavor thrown in too.
Indie rock stalwarts Pavement, British singer James Blake and rapper Freddie Gibbs top the bill, but as with most every festival the headliners don’t tell the entire tale. Other notable acts include hip-hop veterans Cypress Hill, alt rock icon Kim Gordon, CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry performing solo, modern indie folksters Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett, pop singers Aly & AJ, 1980s goth pioneer Lol Tolhurst and feisty pop-rapper k.flay.
Some of the local acts on the bill include psych rockers Acid Tongue, hip-hop chanteuse Parisalexa, rockers Linda from Work, early 2000s comeback kids The Divorce and Volvo king Grynch.
Unlike last year’s festival, which leaned heavily into Gen X nostalgia, this year’s festival looks to be leaning more into Millennial acts with a splash of Gen X acts added into the mix. Also missing are any signs of legacy acts or any major presence by jazz or country artists. It’s a noticeable sign of Bumbershoot changing to target a younger audience.
The complete Bumbershoot lineup inlcudes:
Acid Tongue, All Them Witches, Aly & AJ, Angélica Garcia, Automatic, BADBADNOTGOOD, Balthvs, Black Belt Eagle Scout, Carl Cox, Corridor, Courtney Barnett, Cunningham / Bird, Cypress Hill, Dean Johnson, Disq, Emi Pop, Flesh Produce, Freddie Gibbs, George Clanton, Gold Chisme, Grynch, Helado Negro, Hurray for the Riff Raff, I Dont Know How But They Found Me, James Blake, k.flay, Kassa Overall, Kim Gordon, King Buffalo, Kultur Shock, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Ladytron, Lauren Mayberry, Lee Fields, Lemon Boy, Linda from Work, Lol Tolhurst x Budgie, Marc Rebillet, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Mercury Rev, Moor Mother, NAVVI, Neal Francis, Oh, Rose, Parisalexa, Pavement, Pink Siifu, Pom Pom Squad, Psymon Spine, Pure Bathing Culture, R E P O S A D O, Rocket, Spoon Benders, Squirrel Flower, St Paul and the Broken Bones, Stephanie Anne Johnson, Sux, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, TEKE::TEKE, The Divorce, The Groovy Nobody, The Polyphonic Spree, Thee Sacred Souls, TK & The Holy Know-Nothings, Tres Leches, Warren Dunes.
Tickets for Bumbershoot are currently on sale and cost $70 for a single-day ticket or $125 for a two-day pass.
As with last year’s festival, there will be an emphasis on the local culinary arts scene with 29 different local restaurants and 26 different breweries represented at the festival. The various districts of Bumbershoot from last year’s festival will return as well, along with a few new additions. Full details on all of the districts, including the new animation district, are below as provided by a press release from event organizers.
- Animation District: The newly launched Animation District is part of the larger Arts Programming lineup but will host a wide array of exciting installments around the Seattle Center Campus. This year you can enjoy in-person presentations by the director of the Oscar®-nominated Nimona, the VFX supervisor and Production Designer on the Oscar®-nominated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the writer/director of Netflix’s highly anticipated Ultraman: Rising, and the VFX and Visualization Supervisors of Sony Entertainment’s upcoming Harold and the Purple Crayon. This year also marks the inaugural Bigfoot Deepfake Competition. This creative, international competition welcomes participants to submit their best deepfakes of Bigfoot as a comedic and harrowing portrait of current deepfake technology. Also in the Animation District, experimental animator and artist Stefan Gruber directs Rock, Paper, Scissors – a material-based group film program. Other programs in this district include augmented reality, gaming, contemporary art animations, a youth animation program curated by Orion Razat, and film screenings, all previewing a soon-to-be-announced 2025 Animation Festival.
- Century 21 District: The Century 21 District at the Pacific Science Center will bring a transcendent and awe-inspiring experience to Bumbershoot attendees. In the iconic mid-century designed courtyard, a “Sculpture Parking Lot” will populate the outdoor space with large-scale contemporary sculpture. “Songs for Space,” in partnership with NASA, will project James Webb Space Telescope images in the PACCAR IMAX theater alongside a range of different vocal groups, including gospel, opera and Gregorian chanting. Inspired by The Golden Record which NASA placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 launched in 1977 – “Songs for Space” creates the immersive environment of deep space paired with live vocalists meant to convey the depth and diversity of Earth’s many cultures and our relationship to the heavens.
- Recess District: The Recess District presents the art of performance, featuring roller-skating, gymnastics, breakdancing, double-dutch jump rope, and cheerleading. Seattle Skate Shop 35th North leads a skateboard competition on a newly commissioned half pipe by Dope Planet. Bumbermania! wrestling showcase returns to the festival under the curation of Grit City Wrestling School. The Recess District is also home to BumBEERshoot Craft Beer Garden, where festival-goers can enjoy the finest selections of local specialty and craft beers!
- Fashion District: Despite outdated stereotypes, our region is brimming with apparel designers and bold fashion talent. The Fashion District returns to Bumbershoot with a wide range of performances, vendors and runway shows. Expect vintage to the avant-garde, hair and nail art, jewelry and a slew of choices to inspire and transform you.
- Out Of Sight: Out Of Sight is a large-scale group exhibition of contemporary art in the Pacific Northwest. Located in the Fisher Pavilion and throughout the Seattle Center, the group show represents an annual survey of contemporary visual arts from throughout the Pacific Northwest that blends commercial and non-commercial art, installation and new media presented by a team of regional curators.
- Geodesic Domes: This constellation of micro-environments includes a new Comedy Dome curated by Seattle comedian, writer and disability rights activist Dan Hurwitz. Back by popular demand, the Cat Circus will return with new death-defying stunts and the Pole Pavilion celebrates the art of pole dancing throughout the region. Those seeking an immediate transformation can head to the surreal Wig Farm and pick a new head of hair from a garden of wigs.
- If You Know You Know: Art Not Terminal Gallery presents If You Know You Know – a group photography exhibit documenting three underground music communities from the Pacific Northwest.
- Exceptionally Underrated: Bumbershoot TV (BTV) invites regional musicians to submit original music videos as part of the Exceptionally Underrated film series at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). There is a $5,000 cash prize for best in show.
- Free-Range Artists: Artists will be roaming the grounds of Bumbershoot. From traditional Lion Dancing to contemporary performance, you’ll discover a variety of performances and installations woven into the fabric of the audience. “Kind of Important Seating” and a Kissing Booth round out this spontaneous and interactive program.
