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The Full Lineup of Bumbershoot 2011

Here’s what you’ll be doing over Labor Day weekend.

Posted by: Julia Scherzinger on Jun 01, 2011 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

Save your sunscreen: The Bumbershoot mainstage is in KeyArena this year.

Bumbershoot has been releasing its schedule slowly, giving us a band a day throughout May. What a tease. Today, finally, they’ve revealed their full hand for the annual Labor Day weekend festival at Seattle Center.

Shabazz Palaces! Broken Social Scene! Hall and Oates! While the marquee isn’t packed to the gills with big names—last year’s acts included Weezer, Mary J. Blidge, and Bob Dylan—it’s still a solid group of artists.

Here’s the full lineup by day:

Saturday, September 3: Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs, Minus the Bear, Mavis Staples, Little Dragon, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, STRFKR, Shabazz Palaces, Warpaint, Vusi Mahlasela, MarchFourth Marching Band, Eyehategod, Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich + Fussible, Väsen, Champagne Champagne, Astronautalis, PS I Love You, Yuni in Taxco, Campfire Ok, Meklit Hadero, Craft Spells, Caleb Klauder Country Band, Valient Thorr, Jayme Stone: Room of Wonders, Pickwick, Red Fang, Scribes, Wagons, Shelby Earl, Free the Robots, Witchburn, Emancipator, Nice Nice, Kris Orlowski and the Passenger String Quartet, Tomten, Pezzner, LawnChair Generals, Natasha Kmeto, The Great Mundane, and DJ Nordic Soul

Sunday, September 4: Wiz Khalifa, Broken Social Scene, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, the Kills, Butthole Surfers, Carbon Leaf, Leon Russell, Toro y Moi, Anti-Flag, Das Racist, the Lonely Forest, Vetiver, Jessica Lea Mayfield, DåM-FunK + Master Blazter, NoMeansNo, Atari Teenage Riot, Tennis, Thee Oh Sees, Mad Rad, the Jim Jones Revue, School of Seven Bells, Joe Pug and the Hundred Mile Band, Davila 666, AgesandAges, Wayne Horvitz Cafe Paloma Band, Kore Ionz, Sol, Whalebones, Allen Stone, Massy Ferguson, Tycho, Thomas Marriott’s Human Spirit, Kaylee Cole, Com Truise, Lusine, HTRK, Gail Pettis Quartet, Kasey Anderson and the Honkies, Shigeto, the Sight Below, and DJ Justin Timbreline.

Monday, September 5: Daryl Hall and John Oates, The Presidents of the United States of America, The Reverend Horton Heat, Fitz and the Tantrums, Over the Rhine, Phantogram, Grant Lee Buffalo, Urge Overkill, Charles Bradley, Vendetta Red, Sharon Van Etten, Brite Futures, Dennis Coffey, Head Like a Kite, YACHT, Greensky Bluegrass, Quadron, Ian Moore & The Lossy Coils, Grand Hallway, You Am I, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, My Goodness, LAKE, Beat Connection, Purity Ring, Truckasauras, Ravenna Woods, Lemolo, SPLATINUM, Legendary Oaks, Mash Hall, the Horde and The Harem, Curtains For You, 214, WD4D, Ill Cosby, and DJ Introcut.

Bumbershoot Music Festival runs Sept 3–5. Tickets are $35 for single-day passes and $75 for a three-day pass, available at bumbershoot.strangertickets.com.

Watch for the full Capitol Hill Block Party lineup, also being released today.

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Tags: Bumbershoot, Music Fest, Seattle Center

Latest Lineup from Bumbershoot

Music fest announces a band a day in May.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 11, 2011 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs are set to play Bumbershoot 2011.

Have you been following Bumbershoot on Facebook? They’re rolling out this year’s music lineup one band a day in May, until the full lineup announcement on June 1. Here’s the latest:

Wiz Khalifa
Daryl Hall and John Oates
Minus the Bear
Little Dragon
Broken Social Scene
The Kills
The Lonely Forest
Mavis Staples
Fitz and the Tantrums
Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
Leon Russell

Which band are you the most excited about? Personally, I’ve been waiting for another Ray LaMontagne appearance since I missed his Marymoor Park set last year. Supergroup Broken Social Scene is always an incredible show, too. A lot of these acts are Seattle regulars, but Wiz Khalifa? He’s someone you don’t see at Chop Suey every weekend.

Early-bird tickets are on sale now; become a Bumbershoot member (it’s free) and get access to $75 three-day passes and $29 any-day tickets. That means you could buy one ticket and use it Saturday, Sunday, or Monday of the Labor Day weekend fest. Once those sell out, three-day passes go up to $90, and $35 single-day tickets go on sale when the lineup is announced. Check back next Wednesday for another Bumbershoot update.

Bumbershoot is a three-day music and arts festival that runs from Sept 3–5 at Seattle Center. For more info, visit bumbershoot.org.

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Tags: Concert, Ticket Alerts, Bumbershoot, Music Festival

Bumbershoot Announces a Band a Day in May

What a tease.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 02, 2011 at 11:30AM 0 Comments

Seems Bumbershoot is rolling out its 2011 music lineup in slow motion this year: a band a day in May on Facebook, until the full lineup is announced on June 1.

We already know that Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa will perform, which means you will now have “Black and Yellow” in your head for the rest of the day… or until the next big reveal at noon. (Seattle Weekly)

Bumbershoot is a three-day music and arts festival that runs from Sept 3–5 at Seattle Center. Single “any-day” tickets for $29 and $75 three-day passes are on sale now for members at bumbershoot.org.

UPDATED 12:04pm. Hall and Oates will also play Bumbershoot 2011.

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Tags: Bumbershoot, Music Fest

Early Bumbershoot Tickets On Sale Now

Plus: The Labor Day weekend festival moves the mainstage to KeyArena.

Posted by: Laura Dannen and Julia Scherzinger on Mar 17, 2011 at 09:00AM 2 Comments

Bumbershoot’s Mainstage moves from Memorial Stadium to KeyArena in 2011.

Since tickets to the Memorial Day music festival Sasquatch! sold out in February, we’re turning our attention to the close of the summer instead. A limited number of Bumbershoot (Sept 3-5) member tickets went on sale Tuesday, March 15, which sounds fairly nose-in-the-air exclusive until you learn that “membership” just requires an email address.

Sign up at bumbershoot.org for access to $75 three-day passes and $29 single “any-day” tickets. Once the Insider Deal sells out, three-day passes go up to $90, and $35 single-day tickets will go on sale when the lineup is announced later this spring.

A few things to note:

Nonprofit One Reel, which puts on the festival, says that Bumbershoot will return to its traditional sales structure (one ticket gets you into everything) after last year’s experiment with “economy” tickets (everything but the mainstage) didn’t go so well. Attendance dropped to an average of 35,000 per day from 50,000, which One Reel blamed on the bad weather and tiered ticketing.

Meanwhile, the mainstage—home to headliners Bob Dylan, Mary J. Blige, Weezer, and Hole in 2010—will move indoors (and out of the rain) to KeyArena. As much as we’ll miss the roomier outdoor Memorial Stadium (capacity 22,000 versus the arena’s 14,000), the triumvirate of having a seat, being able to buy beer, and not getting drenched is enticing. We’re looking into how seating works with a first-come, first-served ticket. Sounds chaotic.

Bumbershoot is also teaming up with Decibel Festival to bring local and national electronic acts to EMP’s Sky Church. Check back on Culture Fiend periodically for updates.

Bumbershoot is a three-day music and arts festival that runs from Sept 3-5 at Seattle Center.

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Tags: Bumbershoot, Seattle Center, Music Festival

The Best of Bumbershoot: Monday

Our top picks in music, arts, and culture for the Labor Day weekend fest.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Sep 02, 2010 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Circus Una Motorcycle Thrill Show

Most of these events have been going all weekend, but we decided to save them for last. Here’s your must-see list for the third and final day of Bumbershoot:

Visual Art: Counterculture Comix
Ever since the early ‘80s, when Lynda Barry first gave a voice to lonely, freckled preteen girls with her comic strip Girls and Boys, Seattle’s been a hotbed of alternative comics ("comix")—and this massive retrospective pays tribute to 30 years’ worth of the city’s angsty sketches. More than 250 artworks by everyone from Barry to Jim Woodring to David Lasky are on display, all curated by Fantagraphics’ Larry Reid. 11-8, Northwest Rooms, Seattle Center. Special Friday opening noon-7.

Dance and Performance: Squonk Opera
Best to call this “performance art,” because genres don’t really apply here. Originally conceived in a Pittsburgh junkyard, Squonk Opera features musicians playing a hypnotic soundtrack (minimalist and rock) among camera jibs and cranes, as acid trip-styled projections flash in the background. It may sound insane, but it’s won over The New York Times, and I have high hopes for their latest show Mayhem and Majesty. 1-2pm, Bagley Wright Theatre, Seattle Rep.

Music: Japandroids
This Vancouver duo is nothing more than Brian King on electric guitar and David Prowse on drums, but they made it out of their garage with their unpretentious, high-energy, hard-driving rock—the kind that makes you want to pick up a guitar yourself. 5:45-6:45pm, Broad Street Stage.

Spectacle: Circus Una Motorcycle Thrill Show
Like a slice of Cirque du Soleil, Circus Una is an all-female aerialist high-wire motorcycle act. All of those things. At once. They balance, hang, extend, and spin with their giant hunk of metal way above your head in a thrilling display of poise and insanity. We’re glad there are acts like this out there, and that we’re not in them. 1, 2:45, 4:30, 6:15, & 7:30pm, Center Square.

Comedy: Patton Oswalt and Friends
Patton Oswalt may be a nationally touring stand-up comedian, hilarious sidekick Neil on The United States of Tara and the voice of Remy in Ratatouille, but according to his Twitter page, he’s just a former wedding deejay from Northern Virginia. One of my favorite tweets: “The Muzak version of ‘Careless Whisper’ in this lobby has turned a bad song into a sonic hate crime.” Awesome. He’s joined here by Eddie Pepitone and Tig Notero. 8-9pm, Comedy Stage South, Charlotte Martin Theatre

Mainstage (always a safe bet): 6pm J. Cole, 7:30pm Drake, 9pm Mary J. Blige

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Tags: Bumbershoot, Best of Bumbershoot 2010

The Best of Bumbershoot: Sunday

Our top picks in music, arts, and culture for the Labor Day weekend fest.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Sep 01, 2010 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Hey Marseilles (standing). Photo: Courtesy Hayley Young Photography.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Hey Marseilles (standing). Photo: Courtesy Hayley Young Photography.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Ra Ra Riot

Back for more? Here’s our must-see list for Sunday of Bumbershoot:

Music: Hey Marseilles
Seattle Weekly recently called Hey Marseilles “the best local act deserving national attention,” and we have to agree. The septet’s orchestral pop is joyous and melancholic in turns; “Rio” soars on trumpet and violin solos, while “Cities” could be the lamentation of a carnival clown whose shoes are too small. It’s folkish and charming, layered and professional. See them before everyone else realizes how good they are. 2:15–3:15pm, Broad Street Stage.

Comedy Podcast Live! WTF with Marc Maron
For some reason, when I hear “comedy podcast” I think “bearded basement dweller telling bad jokes.” Not the case with Marc Maron, an acerbic stand-up pro whose twice-weekly iTunes podcast draws 200,000 listeners and guests like Judd Apatow and Robin Williams. Here he chats with comedians Patton Oswalt, Donald Glover (of NBC’s Community ), and Doug Benson. 2:45–3:45pm, Charlotte Martin Theatre/Comedy Stage South.

Film: SIFF Audience Award Winners
Since the typical audience at the Seattle International Film Festival is full of wannabe film critics and movie junkies, we take the SIFF Audience Awards pretty seriously. (Past Golden Space Needle recipients have included Oscar-winning documentary The Cove and Oscar golden girl Kathryn Bigelow as best director for The Hurt Locker.) This afternoon, SIFF screens the best short films: Ormie, about a pig on a mission to crack into the cookie jar; The Little Dragon, about a dragon spirit trapped inside a plastic toy; and The Crush, about an 8-year-old boy with a thing for his teacher. 4:30–5:30pm, 1 Reel Film Festival, SIFF Cinema, 321 Mercer St.

Music: Ra Ra Riot
These New York indie kids just released their sophomore album on August 24—lofty, strings-driven The Orchard—but don’t expect them to go all MGMT and forget that they also know how to play high-energy live shows. Orchestral pop is the name of the game this weekend. 5:45–6:45pm, Broad Street Stage.

Page and Screen: TV Writers and the Comic Novel
They should just call this “Living the Dream”: A panel of writers who pen literature and TV scripts discuss their latest work. The lineup speaks for itself: Simon Rich (Elliot Allagash: A Novel, writer for Saturday Night Live); Steve Hely (How I Became a Famous Novelist, contributing writer for 30 Rock, American Dad, and The Late Show with David Letterman); Seth Greenland (Shining City: A Novel, writer for The Office); Maria Semple (This One Is Mine, former Arrested Development writer). The Stranger books editor Paul Constant moderates the discussion. 7:15–8:15, Leo K Theatre, Seattle Rep.

Mainstage (always a safe bet): 5:45 Rise Against, 7:30 Hole, 9pm Weezer

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Tags: Bumbershoot, Best of Bumbershoot 2010

The Best of Bumbershoot: Saturday

Our top picks in music, arts, and culture for the Labor Day weekend fest.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Aug 31, 2010 at 09:20AM 0 Comments

Caspar Babypants welcomes you to Bumbershoot.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Caspar Babypants welcomes you to Bumbershoot.

View Slideshow » Illustration:

Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs play Saturday at Bumbershoot. Photo: Courtesy Conor Byrne.

Let’s face it: Navigating Bumbershoot without a map is like driving cross-country with a six-pack of Red Bull and a friend who “swears he knows where he’s going.” Things could get ugly, quickly. That’s why we’ve prepared a must-see list for every day of the festival. We start today with Saturday’s top five events, and continue through Thursday with a new list every day. We cover it all: music, film, comedy, “spectacles.” And since we all know that the main draw is the mainstage, where headliners Bob Dylan, Weezer, and Mary J. Blige will perform, we’ve strayed off the beaten path. Enjoy.

Visual Art: The Portrait Challenge
It started with one bored security guard at the Frye, who challenged his colleagues—also stationed at the so-called Siberia entrance to the museum—to sketch a picture of this “poor, goofy-looking fellow” he found in a copy of BusinessWeek. The Portrait Challenge has since morphed into an interactive exhibit at Bumbershoot, curated by Ryan Molenkamp, who recruits artists and passers-by alike to take their turn drawing. Ongoing, Friday preview noon–7, Sat—Mon 11–8. Shaw room, Northwest Rooms, Seattle Center.

Music/Youngershoot: Caspar Babypants
If Chris Ballew could make music videos about ninjas and peaches, it seems only natural he’d transition to singing about three blind mice and “Rocks and Flowers.” Bring the little ones to hear some of the best kindie rock in town by the former front man of the Presidents of the United States of America. 1–2pm. Northwest Court Stage.

Music: Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs
Ellensburg rock chick Star Anna counts Duff McKagan and Mike McCready as fans and friends, joining them for Thursday’s Hootenanny for a Healthy Gulf at the Moore Theatre. Here she lends her throaty vocals to alt-country with real soul, backed by the Laughing Dogs. 1:15–2:15pm. Starbucks Stage.

Film and Music: Wheedle’s Groove
With Wheedle’s Groove, Humpday coproducer Jennifer Maas has made an eye-opening, ear-teasing, irresistible documentary about Seattle soul in the ’60s and ’70s, says our own Eric Scigliano. She screens selections from the film here, plus outtakes and previously unreleased concert footage, before nearly 25 members of the soul/funk supergroup reunite for a concert at 3:45. “We’ve never had Wheedle’s show with this many original members,” Maas told me. "Black on White Affair vocalist Calvin Law is flying in from Salt Lake City, ‘Deep Soul’ vocalist Ural Thomas will be driving up from Portland. There’s Pastor Patrinell Staten Wright, Overton Berry, Ron Buford, Robbie Hill, Bernadette Bascom… All in all, it should be well over a 25-piece band—full horn section and all!” 2-3pm screening, 1 Reel Film Festival, SIFF Cinema. 3:45–4:45pm concert, State Farm Stage. Wheedle’s Groove runs at Northwest Film Forum Sept 3–9.

Words and Ideas: The Four Fingers of Death with Rick Moody
Fiction writer Rick Moody (The Ice Storm) is a transition player, helping Bumbershoot move gracefully from the more traditional, author-based “Literary Arts” program to its new, poppy, YouTube-friendly “Words and Ideas” genre. He straddles the line with his new darkly comic novel, The Four Fingers of Death, which he’s called ‘a 900-page comic novel about a disembodied arm set in the desert in 2026.’ Pacific Northwest author Mark Lindquist moderates the conversation. 5:30–6:30pm; Leo K Theatre, Seattle Rep.

Mainstage (always a safe bet): 5:30pm The Decemberists, 7:15pm Neko Case, 9pm BOB FREAKIN’ DYLAN

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Tags: Bumbershoot, Best of Bumbershoot 2010

Bob Dylan, Mary J. Blige, Weezer to Headline Bumbershoot

Tickets go on sale today.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jun 01, 2010 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

Bob Dylan, circa 1966.

Rolling Stone had it right all along. This year’s Bumbershoot headliners, which were “leaked” by the music mag last week, will be Bob Dylan, Mary J. Blige, Hole and Weezer. Yes, we know Dylan mumbles his way through most of his songs these days, but I say, respect the legend and admit that you never knew the words to “Subterranean Homesick Blues” anyway. Neko Case, the Decemberists, Ra Ra Riot, J. Cole, Rise Against, and the usual local suspects (Hey Marseilles, The Moondoggies, The Maldives, Fresh Espresso, THEESatisfaction) will also perform; find the full lineup here.

Plus, a day pass (mainstage included) only costs $40; to see one of those national acts on their own would easily cost $60, and you’d probably be stuck inside WaMu Theater. Also of note: Event organizers are offering an “economy pass” for $22 that allows access to all music and arts events at Seattle Center except those on the mainstage. If you want to upgrade your economy ticket while you’re there, you pay $30, which will probably only work on people who’ve had many, many beers that day. There aren’t any senior citizen discounts, but children 10 and under get in free (last year, freebies only went to children five and under). All in all, it’s pretty good value.

Bumbershoot (September 4-6) celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Tickets are on sale at bumbershoot.org.

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Tags: Concert, Bumbershoot, Music Fest,