Bumbershoot is all about a vibe and this year the vibe was very chill all thanks to small crowds, eclectic arts offerings and a diverse array of music acts to enjoy.
Here are my takeaways from the 51st edition of Seattle’s music and arts festival.
The locals really shined: Bumbershoot has always been a great showcase for local artists and this year’s festival continued that trend. Parisalexa delivered a soulful set of hip-hop out in the sunshine over on the Fountain Stage. Linda From Work (pictured above) started the festival off on the right note at the Vera Project with a rollicking set of catchy rock tunes and became my new favorite local band in the process. Also at the Vera Project, The Divorce continued their reuinon with a tight 30-minute set filled with bangers that sounds as fresh today as they did 20 years ago and make you question why they never broke out of Seattle. And that was just Saturday. The local goodness continued Sunday with Emi Pop, Acid Tongue, Lemon Boy and others.
The arts programming shined too: As mentioned up top, the arts were everywhere at Bumbershoot 2024. From breakdancing and amateur wrestling to poster screenprint art and fashion shows, the art part of Seattle’s music and arts festival was inescapable. At one point during Lauren Mayberry’s set the banging drums of a Chinese dragon competed for airtime over the sounds of her set. The bleeding of clanging cymbals into Mayberry’s set was more of a welcome blending of the arts and music than it was an annoyance, and for her part Mayberry took the interruption well.
Hearing unreleased music live is always a thrill: Speaking of Mayberry, her set was filled with material from her upcoming solo album. Her charisma and stage banter made her easy to like and as she thanked the crowd several times for coming out to see a set of songs they’ve never heard (except for Chvrches’ “How Not to Drown,” which made the set and was cut short by Mayberry midway). The Chvrches singer also delivered a remarkable cover of “Like A Prayer” that did the Material Girl proud.
Another act performing unreleased material was Cunningham/Bird. The duo of Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham performed the entire 1973 Lidsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks album “Buckingham Nicks.” The mid-day set out in the sun was one of those perfect Bumbershoot moments. Expect their version of the classic album to be released in October.
Saturday’s hip-hop programming was on point: It started at the Vera stage with Guerrilla Candy favorite Grynch, who brought a crew to rock along with him that included another Guerrilla Candy favorite Sol. From there K. Flay was on the Fisher Green stage followed by Freddie Gibbs and stage headliner Cypress Hill who played to a set with enough weed smoke in the air to give Snoop Dogg a contact high.
The little things were noticable: Between having a queit room for people with sensory issues, or those who just want to chill out, to having closed captions available on the two main stages, Bumbershoot 2024 was one of the most accessible festivals I’ve ever attended. The accessibility was great and another nice touch were the video screen tributes to pioneering local music journalist Charles R Cross who passed away last month.
The crowds weren’t big, and that’s okay (if you’re an attendee): Alright, so it might not be good for the festival’s bottom line, but reportedly only 30,000 people attended the two-day festival. That’s an unwanted decline compared to the 40,000 reported from last year’s event.
Several things could have contrirbuted to the small turnout such as the lack of big names or legacy artists on the bill, or the price point of $100 daily tickets. But the small crowd made the festival easy to navigate and made it feel more homey, sort of like a small town event compared to the big city celebration it tends to be.
Bumbershoot has been getting smaller since its return last year, but maybe next year there will be bigger names or something to give the lineup the wow factor this year’s seemed to be missing. However, for me Bumbershoot 2024 will be remembered as one of the most chill festival experiences I’ve had, which is not a bad thing at all.
Photos by Brittney Bush Bollay
