Bumbershoot Reveals 2024 Lineup feat. Pavement, Kim Gordon, Freddie Gibbs, & Cypress Hill

Seattle‘s Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival began in 1971 as “The Mayor’s Festival,” taking on its official name 2 years later. I always knew it as a 4-day event held over Labor Day weekend, but it temporarily expanded to 5-days, at one point, and even to as many as 10 days, early on. Although best known for its musical offerings, the ever-evolving programming has included everything from clowning to a soapbox derby over the years. When I started attending in the early 90s, community and family-oriented aspects were prevalent, but they slowly eroded away to align more with the greater music festival boom that’s taken place over the last couple of decades. So much changed from the festival that I knew and loved in my youth that I eventually lost interest and began focusing my interests elsewhere. We haven’t covered Bumbershoot since 2014, but if anything can get us back, it’s this year’s upcoming lineup. Announced this morning, the roster of musicians they have on deck is nothing short of bananas.

Local non-profit, One Reel took over Bumbershoot in 1980 and ran the festival until 2014. Started as a free event, Bumbershoot began charging $2.50, but with that came an impressive array of national acts, along with some pretty great programming. Throughout the era that I was attending, I not only saw endless amazing musical performances but experienced additional offerings such as literally events and Q&As with artists like Maceo Parker. This was especially true for the first 10 years or so. They hosted the annual showcase for national poster artists, Flat Stock; the number and quality of comedy acts grew; and there were always families and children exploring the premises. The funding that they’d initially received from the city wasn’t coming in like that anymore and ticket fees increasingly made it less affordable for families or casual attendees. As a kid, we’d bus out from the suburbs and sneak in, but the lack of city funding, hike in admission, and pivoting away from community sent a message that this really wasn’t for the broke kids and families anymore.

AEG took over in 2015 expressing a desire to help “save” the historic festival, but, by then, something felt like it was lost and the admission prices didn’t warrant what was being presented for me anymore. By the time AEG declined to renew their contract in 2019, the lineups were clearly targeting a much younger demographic with a heavy focus on the EDM crowd. If you’ve noticed the local music clubs that you’ve always respected for their live bookings shifting towards vapid dance nights to keep the doors open, this was a similar vibe. Something about the heart was missing and you couldn’t even solely blame the producers of the festival. There are larger societal factors at play and without community support and community dollars, it’s difficult to sustain culturally significant, yet criminally underappreciated, productions of this scale.

The Covid pandemic killed any chances of Bumbershoot in 2020 and 2021. A 2022 date was announced only to be canceled later. Instead, plans were made to relaunch the festival in 2023 for its 50th anniversary. The producers were the recently formed New Rising Sun. Described as “a seasoned team of concert promoters and visual arts producers,” the organization was vocal about representing local talent and, somehow, returning the historic event back to its former glory. New Rising Sun‘s partners were a new non-profit called Third Stone which focuses on returning the community and arts aspects to the festival, while incorporating an education program for those interested in getting involved in the industry. With their inaugural run last year, Bumbershoot was reduced to only 2 days with a lineup that felt somewhat misdirected and confusing. I was happy to see the producers coming together with the mission to save the festival and I was happy for whoever else was excited about attending — I know numerous people who did — but I also felt like I was firmly outside of their target demographic. 

My goal isn’t to criticize the efforts of the organizers, but at the same time, I try to be as genuine as I can on this platform. I know at least one person who played a high-level role in Bumbershoot‘s resurrection last year and I could see how excited and passionate the team behind it was. The last thing that I want to do is take shots at what they accomplished, but it all felt somewhat confusing to me. The lineup seemed very insulated by bringing in the same small Seattle acts they’ve included in local events for years (Reignwolf, Thunderpussy); larger Northwest artists with varying levels of draw (Sleater Kinney, Band Of Horses, The Dandy Warhols, Sunny Day Real Estate); aging acts with punk roots (AFI, The Descendents, Jawbreaker); and names that had more traction a decade ago, but never resonated with me (Matt & Kim, Phantogram). In their attempt to reset Bumbershoot to its former greatness, they assembled a lineup that would have worked better in the distant past. Maybe A-Trak and Fatboy Slim were going to bring in the crowds, but I wasn’t seeing it. There were some real gems deeper in the bill (Domi & JD Beck, Benny The Butcher, Slift) but nothing striking enough to empty my pockets. But regardless of whether or not it was my cup of tea, what is undeniable is that they were actively trying to pump the blood back into a once-dying machine. They recognize Bumbershoot‘s importance as a local institution and they set forth on working to provide it with a heart transplant.

One big obstacle that Bumbershoot has faced is that its branding became inconsistent and its mission unclear. If the intention is to draw in a national crowd, I feel that there either needed to be some bigger national acts in the mix, or they needed to lean into packing the bill with more exciting up-and-coming talent from the area. Instead, they continue to recycle the same artists over the last decade that have only ever managed to speak to an incredibly local base. If the choice is to market it more as a local fest, then it needs to become more affordable for the locals, instead of pricing it like a major music festival. I’m only posting this take now because I didn’t want to undermine their efforts last year and, even if it wasn’t appealing to me personally, I was happy to see it alive and appealing to others. Bumbershoot‘s identity has been shaken over the years and it doesn’t help anyone for me to exert energy kicking their legs out from under them while it’s in the process of finding its footing. With that said, in only its second year under a whole new production team, the organizers already appear to be sticking the landing.

It’s fitting that Pavement is the first name listed on this year’s Bumbershoot flyer, since the indie rock titans were a major part of the 2010 Sasquatch lineup that finally prompted us to return to that festival, at the time. Cypress Hill and Kim Gordon are other major gets that I’m excited about, but it could be argued that I’m hypocritical for cheering for older “nostalgia acts.” I’m fine with that. As a solo artist, Kim Gordon is at the peak of her career creating some truly compelling work, right now, and, although it’s unlikely, I’d love to see her join Cypress Hill for “I Love You Mary Jane,” the rap trio’s collaboration with Sonic Youth from the Judgement Night Soundtrack. With Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile having made a record together in 2017, seeing them pop up in one another’s set feels much less far-fetched. Meanwhile, Freddie Gibbs joins Cypress Hill in providing a hip-hop element to the bill that was so glaringly absent last year. Legendary British DJ, Carl Cox and experimental, stream-of-consciousness electronic musician/social media sensation, Marc Rebbilett, cover two different ends of a similar spectrum. Badbadnotgood is a terrific young jazz crew with deep hip-hop influences, while (Madison) Cunningham / (Andrew) Bird is a folk-tinged collaboration that couldn’t seem more perfect. And while James Blake is great and that’s all very impressive, what’s really selling me on the lineup is seeing names like Moor Mother, Automatic, Pink Siifu, Mercury Rev, All Them Witches, Helado Negro, and Hurray For Riff Raff all hiding in the fine print.

According to the press release, the person responsible for assembling this roster of talent is “Bumbershoot veteran talent buyer Chris Porter, who helmed the festival’s lineup from 1997 to 2016.” Bumbershoot was always about balance; whether it was within the musical acts or the extensive alternate programming, there was historically something for everyone. Bringing Chris Porter back demonstrates that the folks running this thing really care about getting it right. Furthermore, it says a lot that they’re creating a foundation that would make someone like Porter comfortable enough to return, after vacating the role due to feeling compromised under AEG.

With these new revelations over the last couple years and an undeniably impressive lineup, we’re finally feeling comfortable enough to return ourselves. The only two downsides that we can see at this point is that there might be too much talent to pack into only 2 days without there being scheduling conflicts. Individual and single day tickets are available right now, but I’d imagine that, until we know who’s performing each day, the single days aren’t likely going anywhere. The other thing that I’m not particularly keen on is seeing Amazon and Starbucks listed as sponsors. On the flipside, it’s time that those corporate monsters finally contribute something of value to this city that they’ve done so dirty. They won’t be earning my respect, but I’m not throwing any hate at the organizers for taking their money, either. Bumbershoot means a lot to a lot of us. If we wanted to see it continue, someone was going to have to step up and, this year, they have definitely stepped it up HUGE. August is packed for us, but this feels like something that we are absolutely going to need to be there for.

Seattle‘s Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival began in 1971 as “The Mayor’s Festival,” taking on its official name 2 years later. I always knew it as a 4-day event held over Labor Day weekend, but it temporarily expanded to 5-days, at one point, and even to as many as 10 days, early on. Although best known for its musical offerings, the ever-evolving programming has included everything from clowning to a soapbox derby, over the years. When I started attending in the early 90s, community and family-oriented aspects were prevalent, but they slowly eroded away to align more with the greater music festival boom that’s taken place over the last couple of decades. So much changed from the festival that I knew and loved in my youth that I eventually lost interest and began focusing my interests elsewhere. We haven’t covered Bumbershoot since 2014, but if anything can get us back, it’s this year’s upcoming lineup. Announced this morning, the roster of musicians they have on deck is nothing short of bananas.

Local non-profit, One Reel took over Bumbershoot in 1980 and ran the festival until 2014. Started as a free event, Bumbershoot began charging $2.50 – and, eventually, much more – but with that came an impressive array of national acts, along with some pretty great programming. Throughout the era that I was attending, I not only saw endless amazing musical performances but experienced additional offerings such as literally events and Q&As with artists like Maceo Parker. This was especially true throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s. They hosted the annual showcase for national poster artists, Flat Stock; the number and quality of comedy acts grew; and there were always families and children exploring the premises. The funding that they’d initially received from the city wasn’t coming in like it had been anymore and ticket fees increasingly made it less affordable for families or casual attendees. As a kid, we’d bus out from the suburbs (and sneak in), but the lack of city funding, hike in admission, and pivoting away from community sent a message that this really wasn’t for the broke kids and families anymore.

AEG took over in 2015 expressing a desire to help “save” the historic festival, but, by then, something felt like it was already lost and the admission prices didn’t warrant what was being presented for me anymore. By the time AEG declined to renew their contract in 2019, the lineups were clearly targeting a much younger demographic with a heavy focus on the EDM crowd. The move wasn’t dissimilar to how so many local music clubs previously known for their live bookings have shifted towards vapid dance nights to keep the doors open. Something about the heart was missing and you couldn’t even put blame solely on the producers of the festival. There are larger societal factors at play and without community support and community dollars, it’s difficult to sustain culturally significant, yet criminally underappreciated, productions of this scale.

The Covid pandemic killed any chances of Bumbershoot in 2020 and 2021. A 2022 date was announced only to be canceled later. Instead, plans were made to relaunch the festival in 2023 for its 50th anniversary. The producers were the recently formed New Rising Sun. Described as “a seasoned team of concert promoters and visual arts producers,” the organization was vocal about representing local talent and returning the historic event back to its former glory, one way or another. New Rising Sun‘s partners were a new non-profit called Third Stone which focuses on returning the community and arts aspects to the festival, while incorporating an education program for those interested in getting involved in the industry. With their inaugural run last year, Bumbershoot was reduced to only 2 days with a lineup that felt somewhat misdirected and confusing. I was happy to see the producers coming together with the mission to save the festival and I was happy for whoever else was excited about attending — I know numerous people who did — but I also felt like I was firmly outside of their target demographic. 

My goal isn’t to criticize the efforts of the organizers, but at the same time, I try to be as genuine as possible on this platform. I know at least one person who played a high-level role in Bumbershoot‘s resurrection last year and I could see how excited and passionate the team behind it was. The last thing that I want to do is take shots at what they accomplished, but, from a distance, I wasn’t overwhelmed with what they presented. The lineup seemed very insulated by bringing in the same small Seattle acts they’ve included in local events for years (Reignwolf, Thunderpussy); larger Northwest artists with varying levels of draw (Sleater Kinney, Band Of Horses, The Dandy Warhols, Sunny Day Real Estate); aging acts with punk roots (AFI, The Descendents, Jawbreaker); and names that had more traction a decade ago, but never resonated with me (Matt & Kim, Phantogram). In their attempt to reset Bumbershoot to its former greatness, they assembled a lineup that would have worked better in the distant past. Maybe A-Trak and Fatboy Slim were going to bring in the crowds, but I wasn’t seeing the vision. There were some real gems deeper in the bill (Domi & JD Beck, Benny The Butcher, Slift) but nothing striking enough to empty my pockets. But regardless of whether or not it was my cup of tea, what is undeniable is that they were actively trying to pump the blood back into a once-dying machine. They recognize Bumbershoot‘s importance as a local institution and set forth on working to provide it with a heart transplant.

One big obstacle that Bumbershoot has faced is that its branding became inconsistent and its mission unclear. If the intention is to draw in a national crowd, I feel that there either needs to be some bigger national acts in the mix, or they need to lean into packing the bill with more exciting up-and-coming talent from the area. Instead, they continued to recycle the same artists over the last decade that have only ever managed to speak to an incredibly local base. If the choice is to market it more as a local fest, then it needs to become more affordable for the locals, instead of pricing it like a major music festival. I’m only posting this take now because I didn’t want to undermine their efforts last year and, even if it wasn’t appealing to me personally, I was happy to see it alive and appealing to others, which it clearly did. Bumbershoot‘s identity has been shaken over the years and it doesn’t help anyone for me to exert energy kicking their legs out from under them while it’s in the process of finding its footing. With that said, in only its second year under a whole new production team, the organizers already appear to be sticking the landing. 2024 looks amazing, already.

It’s fitting that Pavement is the first name listed on this year’s Bumbershoot flyer, since the indie rock titans were a major part of the 2010 Sasquatch lineup that finally prompted us to return to that festival, at the time. Cypress Hill and Kim Gordon are other major gets that I’m excited about, but it could be argued that I’m hypocritical for cheering for older “nostalgia acts.” I’m fine with that. As a solo artist, Kim Gordon is at the peak of her career creating some truly compelling work, right now, and, although it’s unlikely, I’d love to see her join Cypress Hill for “I Love You Mary Jane,” the rap trio’s collaboration with Sonic Youth from the Judgement Night Soundtrack. With Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile having made a record together in 2017, seeing them pop up in one another’s sets feels much less far-fetched. Meanwhile, Freddie Gibbs joins Cypress Hill in providing a hip-hop element to the bill that was so glaringly absent last year. Legendary British DJ, Carl Cox and experimental, stream-of-consciousness electronic musician/social media sensation, Marc Rebbilett, cover two different ends of a similar spectrum, while representing different eras. Badbadnotgood is a terrific young jazz crew with deep hip-hop influences, while (Madison) Cunningham / (Andrew) Bird is a folk-tinged collaboration that couldn’t seem more perfect. And while James Blake is great and these large font acts are all very impressive, what’s really selling me on the lineup is seeing names like Moor Mother, Automatic, Pink Siifu, Mercury Rev, All Them Witches, Helado Negro, and Hurray For Riff Raff all hiding in the fine print.

According to the press release, the person responsible for assembling this roster of talent is “Bumbershoot veteran talent buyer Chris Porter, who helmed the festival’s lineup from 1997 to 2016.” Bumbershoot was always about balance; whether it was within the musical acts or the extensive alternate programming, there was historically something for everyone. Bringing Chris Porter back demonstrates that the folks running this thing genuinely care about getting it right. Furthermore, it says a lot that they’re creating a foundation that would make someone like Porter comfortable enough to return, after vacating the role due to feeling compromised under AEG.

With these new changes and updates over the last couple of years and an undeniably impressive lineup, we’re finally feeling comfortable enough to return ourselves. Beyond that, we’re excited about it. As of now, the only two downsides we can see is that there might be too much talent to pack into only 2 days without facing scheduling conflicts. Individual and single day tickets are available right now, but I’d imagine that, until we know who’s performing each day, the single days aren’t likely going anywhere. The other thing that I’m not particularly keen on is seeing Amazon and Starbucks listed as sponsors. On the flipside, it’s time that those corporate goons finally contribute something of value to this city that they’ve done so dirty. Those dicks Bezos and Schultz won’t be earning my respect for it, but I’m not throwing any hate at the organizers for taking their money, either. Bumbershoot means a lot to a lot of us. If we wanted to see it continue, someone was going to have to step up and, this year, they have definitely stepped it up HUGE. August – Septmeber is packed time of year for us, but this feels like something we’re going to need to prioritize and make it out for.