BUMBERSHOOT
Die Antwoord
SATURDAY SEPT. 2
SUNDAY SEPT. 3
BUMBERSHOOT 2017
LOCAL PERFORMER PICKS
The Local Artists You’re Excited to See Are Excited to See These Artists
BY ANNA KAPLAN
Tacocat
Sat Sept 2, 6 pm, Fisher Green Stage
ACAPULCO LIPS
Fri Sept 1, 4:10-4:50 p.m., KEXP
Die Antwoord: Jordan: I think music is more than just aural. The thought and energy Die Antwoord put into their performance is reason enough to attend the festival on Friday. I can’t wait! Fri Sept 1, 10-11:15 p.m., KeyArena
Moon Duo: Christopher: Because it’s Moon Duo. Great music for late-night drives though the desert or conjuring up spirits. Fri Sept 1, 6:40-7:20 p.m., KEXP
Froth: Maria: I have heard really great things about Froth but have missed them when they’ve come through Seattle. Stoked to see them. Sun Sept 3, 3-3:40 p.m., KEXP
KESS, CRATER
Sun Sept 3, 4:10-4:50 p.m., KEXP
Solange: I don’t think an explanation is really needed here. Sun Sept 3, 7:50-8:50 p.m., Main Stage
Haim: They put on a great live show, and I’m looking forward to hearing their new songs. Sun Sept 3, 9:40-10:40 p.m., Fisher Green Stage
Gucci Mane: ’Cause why not? Sun Sept 3, 10:05-11:05 p.m., KeyArena
PETER RICHARDS, DUDE YORK
Fri Sept 1, 5:30-6:10 p.m., KEXP
Tacocat: Tacocat are so great; their live show is just like a big party onstage. If you’ve never seen them (you probably have and bought a shirt), don’t miss it! You’ll enjoy it so much, you’ll probably buy a shirt. Sat Sept 2, 6-6:40 p.m., Fisher Green Stage
Flo Rida: Flo Rida is the top of my list for Friday. He’s been on an impressive comeback, or a never-really-left. A friend of ours has been playing the song “My House” relentlessly, and I love it, I can’t lie! Fri Sept 1, 9:45-11 p.m., Fisher Green Stage
Haim: Haim are one of our absolute favorite bands from the last couple years. We love the new album and can’t even contain our excitement to see them shred. Sun Sept 3, 9:40-10:40 p.m., Fisher Green Stage
J GRGRY
Fri Sept 1, 3:45-4:15 p.m., Mural Amphitheatre
First of all, I’m incredibly excited to be performing this year! Being born and raised in Seattle, Bumbershoot 1996 was the first concert I ever attended in my entire life. There is such a huge significance for me to be performing this amazing festival for the first time.
MICHAEL LAVINE
WEDNESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Acapulco Lips: I’m also hoping to catch Acapulco Lips’ set this year. They are a great band that is on Killroom Records, which is one of my favorite local labels. The label has been putting out a lot of really cool shit lately, of which Acapulco Lips are definitely one! Fri Sept 1, 4:10-4:50 p.m., KEXP
Dude York: Dude York is another one I hope to see. They’ve had such a great year and have been working so hard in support of an awesome record. It’s so exciting to look at all these local bands who have put out such good records this year. Wow. Great year for local bands at Bumbershoot! Fri Sept 1, 5:30-6:10 p.m., KEXP
JASON MCCUE
Fri Sept 1, 3:15-3:45 p.m., Fisher Green Stage
Solange: I have a feeling that Solange is going to put on an honest-to-God performance at Bumbershoot. Between her incredible voice, the dancey beats, and her backup band’s stage presence, this is one set I don’t see myself missing. Sun Sept 3, 7:50-8:50 p.m., Main Stage
The Roots: Maybe it’s my hometown pride showing (yo, Phillaaaaaay), but I really couldn’t be more excited to see the Roots. Questlove is my third favorite drummer of all time, right behind my roommate Peter and Animal from The Muppets. I’m going to do everything within my power to meet Questlove and become his friend, after I watch the Roots’ fantastic set. Sat Sept 2, 9:45-11 p.m., Fisher Green Stage
Weezer: Of course, it’s Weezer! Their melodies have been stuck in my head since the fifth grade, and seeing their set might finally get them out. Sat Sept 2, 7:35-8:50 p.m., Main Stage
Also excited for Saint Claire, Smokey Brights, Bibi Bourelly, the Dip, and (Lorde, help me) Gucci Mane Sat Sept 2, 3:45-4:25 p.m., Mural Amphitheatre; Sun Sept 3, 6:40-7:20 p.m., KEXP; Sun Sept 3, 4:10-4:40 p.m., Main Stage; Sun Sept 3, 3:20-3:50 p.m., Fisher Green Stage; Sun Sept 3, 10:05-11:05 p.m., KeyArena ■
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Road
Gucci Mane Sun Sept 3, 10:05 pm, KeyArena
Die Antwoord Fri Sept 1, 10 pm, KeyArena
Show and Tell
Flatstock’s Eye-Popping Poster Art Is Another Way to See a Band at Bumbershoot
In the early 2000s, a group of artists who design and screen-print concert posters for bands decided to organize an exhibition of their work in San Francisco. It was so successful that they formed a nonprofit called the American Poster Institute to put on shows at future musicrelated events. Today, the API’s long-running Flatstock exhibition is synonymous with the celebration of the show poster as an art form.
BY EMILY POTHAST
2 was in Austin during SXSW, and Flatstock 3 was in Seattle at Bumbershoot in 2003.”
Flatstock Sept 1-4, Armory
“Bumbershoot has been hosting Flatstock since Flatstock started,” says Mike Klay, a local graphic artist who runs Powerslide Design Co. and serves on the board of the American Poster Institute. “Flatstock 1 was in San Francisco, Flatstock
For Klay, who has exhibited as an artist at every Bumbershoot since Flatstock began, it seems only natural that the show would have such strong ties to Seattle. He cites our “rich and vibrant music history”—a scene that has been home to Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Heart, and Sir Mix-A-Lot, in addition to being ground zero for grunge—as a reason so many Seattleites are drawn to gig posters as an art form.
For the uninitiated, screen-printing is a graphic process that involves creating an image that’s designed as a stencil,
allowing ink to pass through some areas of a screen and not others. By layering several of these stencils on top of each other, artists are able to achieve intricate, multicolored images. The process is prized by poster artists for its ability to create multiples that are both semi-mechanically precise and enticingly handmade.
Now in its 14th year, Flatstock 62 will be on view at Bumbershoot 2017 in the Armory food court area. And on Monday, September 4 (Labor Day), Flatstock is FREE and open to the public—no Bumbershoot pass required!
Here’s a sneak peek at some of the posters that will be featured at the show.
Currently based in Portland, Eric Nyffeler is known for a playful style that combines solid shapes with handdrawn elements to create bold yet folksy graphics for everyone from St. Vincent to the Decemberists. For this Andrew Bird poster, Nyffeler infuses some M.C. Escher–esque impossible architecture with a tasteful dash of twee. Put a cat on it!
I’m a complete sucker for both Willie Nelson and relief print processes like linocut and woodcut, where an artist removes material from the surface of a block to create a “stamp.” This poster, designed and printed by Portlandbased Gary Houston Design, looks like it was first created as a relief print and then exposed onto a screen so that it could be printed as a silk screen. I love the style, but I’m anxious about the fact that Trigger seems to be missing some strings. Hopefully Willie is in the middle of restringing it and all will be well by showtime.
This Flight of the Conchords poster looks like an airline safety card I hope I’m never high enough to come across in real life. It was designed by award-winning Seattle design firm Factory 43 and printed by Broken Press, a Fremont silk-screen shop owned by Andrew Crawshaw, who’s a graphic artist (and musician) in his own right.
The Best Places to Fill Your Belly at Bumbershoot
With B-EATS, Dan Bugge Is Reinventing the Festival-Food Formula
BY TOBIAS COUGHLIN-BOGUE
Historically, eating at Bumbershoot hasn’t exactly been the most premium experience. In the past, it was very much a cotton candy and cheap pizza affair. To be fair, there have always been plenty of more adventurous options, and I don’t mean to knock the noble vendors of cheap Thai food and barbecue, but there hasn’t been anything I would describe as noteworthy.
Last year, however, Dan Bugge, of Matt’s in the Market fame, launched the B-EATS project, a curated fancy food court of sorts.
options, he says, just reflect how massive Bumbershoot has become and how broad the crowd is.
B-EATS
Fisher Green Mezzanine, 2-10 pm
“Originally, I was approached by my friends at Bumbershoot to create an elevated culinary experience for guests,” he says. “So the program really found me. I, of course, agreed to the request. In part as a favor to them and in part because I am crazy and my brain never turns off. Getting the opportunity to bring a new experience to such a long-standing tradition as Bumbershoot got me super-excited.”
Indeed, the list of participants includes plenty of places worthy of the word “elevated.” Shota Nakajima’s Adana and Jonathan Sundstrom’s Southpaw Pizza, for example. While Bugge says the goal is absolutely to fancy up the festival-food experience, he isn’t trying to put any strawberry shortcake vendors out of business. Finer dining
ADANA
Adana is the slightly less fancy rebranding of erstwhile Iron Chef contender Shota Nakajima’s bastion of haute Japanese cuisine, Naka Kaiseki. Though his first venture proved to be a bit ahead of its time, the 27-year-old chef is definitely making waves with his food, and you are pretty much guaranteed to love Adana’s offerings here: a katsu pork sandwich and a sautéed shishito pepper dish.
BOK A BOK FRIED CHICKEN & BISCUITS
Bok A Bok makes Korean fried chicken so good that people go all the way to White Center for it. That doesn’t sound too outlandish to me, as I live just down the hill in South Park, but for the rest of the city, White Center might as well be Siberia. It’s good stuff. For Bumbershoot, they’re doing their chicken wings with ginger cabbage
“There is such an eclectic group of bands and people that attend the festival,” he says. “There are the bands that draw a crowd that absolutely wants to have something other than cotton candy and funnel cake. The way food has elevated over the last 10 to 15 years, people expect more and better options at just about every event they attend. But there are still the bands that draw the late-night corn dog craving and the $5 cheap eats. For now, it’s good to have them both.”
Bugge is, however, unabashed about his goal for the food.
“Other festivals around the country do food events, and Seattle needs to stay above the trend,” he posits, adding that he hopes people who visit B-EATS will remember the food as much as the music.
Also, he says, “I want to kick the shit out of other food events around the country.”
Given the lineup he’s compiled, he just might. Here’s the skinny on who’s cooking. Everything is available for preorder at bumbershoot.com/b-eats, by the way, so you can waltz right up with your ID when you’re ready to dine.
slaw and baby biscuits, as well as kimchi mac ’n’ cheese.
GRACIA
Gracia is Matt’s in the Market alum Chester Gerl’s homage to traditional Mexican food. Like, the kind with roots in actual Mexico, not the kind you eat for “fourthmeal.” To that end, he’s doing an octopus tostada with cucumber, avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro, as well as chicken mole with escabeche and a pork tamale with crema, cotija cheese, and smoked chili sauce.
JARRBAR
Chef Bryan Jarr opened his tiny Pike Place homage to preserved fish after getting stoked on the genre while traveling through Portugal and Northern Spain. His bar is one of the few places I don’t mind paying a lot for someone to open tins and arrange things on plates, because it’s all
so damnably tasty. This time, however, it sounds like he’s doing more than just popping boquerones out of jars for you—there’s a fried Pacific oyster roll with tzatziki, ras el hanout, and pickled red onion that sounds amazing. Also clam dip with chips and an albacore niçoise salad.
LITTLE UNCLE
Capitol Hill’s Thai food darling moved quickly from its hole-in-the-wall window on Madison Street to a brick and mortar in Pioneer Square to a stately, full-size space near its original spot, and for good reason. The chef couple who own it, Poncharee Kounpungchart and Wiley Frank, won over Seattleites with their lovely noodle and rice dishes. For B-EATS, you can snag khao mun gai—poached chicken over garlic and chicken fat rice—or beef jerky sticky rice in a banana leaf. There’s also dessert, in the form of black sticky rice pudding.
MATT’S IN THE MARKET
Matt’s is “quintessential Seattle seafood” from Mr. Bugge himself. The business is as old as dirt at this point—it recently turned 21, which is several lifetimes in restaurant years—but somehow still manages to stay current. Its B-EATS melon gazpacho with Dungeness crab is proof enough that Matt’s is on trend, as gazpacho is on pretty much every menu this summer. They’re also doing a smoked pimento cheese roll with shaved veggies and spicy greens.
PIKE PLACE FISH GUYS
The Fish Guys are perhaps the least fine dining of all the B-EATS vendors, but by no means one to be slept on. It’s one of Pike Place’s famous fish stalls, so it’s up close and personal with its fish and definitely has the freshest product on the block. Sustainably sourced, too! Fun fact: Bugge worked for them as a fishmonger before buying Matt’s in the Market. As a market stall, Pike Place Fish Guys’ offerings are things best served cold, which in this case is ahi poke and lox with capers.
RADIATOR WHISKEY
One of Bugge’s first side ventures, Radiator Whiskey is a classy bar in the upstairs of Pike Place’s Sanitary Market building—so named because it used to be the only place in the market where you couldn’t bring your horse—and is all about meat and, obviously, whiskey. Radiator Whiskey famously serves an entire pig head on a board, but for this event they’re offering Louisiana-style pulled pork sandwiches. Probably easier to eat at a festival, anyway.
SOUTHPAW PIZZA
Jonathan Sundstrom, who won a James Beard Award for his whimsical, wonderful Northwest Contemporary cuisine at Lark, has turned his attention to the eminently accessible realm of pizza. Everyone likes pizza, and you will definitely like Sundstrom’s pizza. In keeping with the pugilist theme, he’s offering the Uppercut—with pepperoni and Italian sausage—and the Featherweight, which is as light as its name, with mozzarella, basil, and squash blossom.
THE WHITE SWAN PUBLIC HOUSE
White Swan is Bugge’s recently opened ode to dockside dining, being perched among the piers where Eastlake meets South Lake Union. The food reflects that vibe, with oysters and a mix of upscale seafood stuff. I have to admit, I was very skeptical of White Swan’s edgy clam chowder poutine at first. However, the dish made a convert out of me, and I can now enthusiastically report that they’re serving it here.
THE 100 POUND CLAM
The 100 Pound Clam is a little shack right next to White Swan, and actually predates it. They serve humbler fare, which leans toward the type of things you would grab from an unfussy little shack on a pier: sandwiches, fish and chips, stuff like that. It’s all of the same quality, and I’ve been dying to try 100 Pound Clam’s fishwich BLT. For Bumbershoot, they’re doing oysters on the half shell and fried corn. ■
COURTESY OF BUMBERSHOOT
west sound ukulele festival
bremerton , washington october 21 and 22, 2017
WORKSHOPS & MUSIC MARKETPLACE
Saturday & Sunday 9am - 4:30pm 9am - 3:30pm
Kitsap Conference Center (next to the Bremerton Ferry Terminal)
SATURDAY EVENING CONCERT
The Admiral Theatre on 5th & Pacific in Bremerton at 6:30 pm
Featuring:
Del Rey Seattle, WA
Aaaron Crowell Oahu, HI
Victoria Vox Costa Mesa, CA
Neal Chin Seattle, WA
Milo Fultz Portland, OR
BUMBERSHOOT 2017 LINEUP
BY KIM SELLING AND JOULE ZELMAN
Sun Sept
Music
H ACAPULCO LIPS
Acapulco Lips hollow out the Shangri-Las and pour in some spiky surf chords, some Jesus and Mary Chain fuzz, a drummer going Keith Moon–crazy on the fills, and a vocalist (MariaElena Juarez) who sounds like she’s singing into a pay phone receiver dangling from its metal cord across the boardwalk from the beach while the sun goes down and the sinister stars wink in. Sometimes she makes sense and sometimes she doesn’t. But with all that going for them, who needs puny sense?
ANDREW HAMLIN Fri Sept 1, 4:10-4:50 pm, KEXP
H AMINÉ
Portland hiphop artist Aminé spits easy, with a slick but genuine R&B-style flow, dodging in between all of his possible name pronunciations. His locally lauded album Good for You just dropped, so look for him hitting a national tour circuit real soon. Sat Sept 2, 6:15-7 pm, KeyArena
H BIBI BOURELLY
Fearless R&B-infused pop singer Bibi Bourelly has been blowing down doors over the last few years with her fiery singles founded on the raw power of her bluesy voice. Sun Sept 3, 4:10-4:40 pm, Main Stage
BIG SEAN
Marquée headliner and Top 40 hitmaker Big Sean gets credit for laying down the current trends for mainstream hiphop, but what he
should really only be known for is providing the vehicle for Kendrick Lamar’s career cementer on his 2013 track “Control.” Fri Sept 1, 7:35-8:35 pm, Main Stage
H BIG WILD
Jackson Stell, the twentysomething who makes large-font-on-the-festival-poster EDM as Big Wild, is a member of the Odesza-founded Foreign Family Collective. It’s no surprise, then, that Stell’s music shares many of the Bumbershoot headliner’s hallmarks: “organic”sounding timbres via softsynths; features for anonymous, mononymic vocalists; beats that induce head-bobbing more than dancing. Fans of Cashmere Cat, Pretty Lights, and Zedd will be equally sated. ANDREW GOSPE Sat Sept 2, 8:25-9:25 pm, KeyArena
BROODS
It’s great to have a gimmick, especially if you’re a part of Broods. Already existing as a sister-brother duo, and then making snapcrackle-electro-pop together? What a world. With their first album, Evergreen, Broods throw nothing new into the void, yet they manage to squeak by with a generically enjoyable record of enough boom-claps to keep your whole post–Bumbershoot summer vibe going for a few days. Their latest effort, Conscious, begins triumphantly with tracks proclaiming the exhilaration of freedom, the age of innocence, the glow of youth—thereby cementing their status as a Nicholas Sparks novel set to a discarded Charli XCX backing track. KIM
SELLING Fri Sept 1, 7:05-7:50 pm, Fisher Green Stage
CASH CASH
Drums and bass-obsessed DJ three-piece Cash Cash are clear party-starters, thanks to the wide success of their Must Be The Money Tour. Sun Sept 3, 8:55-9:55 pm, KeyArena
CATALDO
Cataldo have been lying low for the past few years, but they’re back now, first with a new video (“Photograph”), then a new album (Keepers). Their latest is a breath of fresh indie, pulling skeins of folksy Arthur Russell–adjacent influences together to braid a relaxing summer sound that’s only a little bit fussy. Sat Sept 2, 5:30-6:10 pm, KEXP
H CHICANO BATMAN
Like a cuddlier, more radio-friendly Budos Band, LA’s Chicano Batman hybridize Latin soul, funk, and faint hints of psychedelia. They specialize in feel-good music that classily uplifts while flirting with schmaltziness. The band’s new album, Freedom Is Free, offers a showcase for vocalist Bardo Martinez’s Mayer Hawthorne–esque falsetto and suave loverman vibes to shine. Any day now, Chicano Batman’s amiable songs will soundtrack a sense of hard-won pleasure in a sweet rom-com film. DAVE SEGAL Fri Sept 1, 6:30-7:15 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
CHRIS MCCLENNEY
Chris McClenney blends soul, hiphop, and stumbling piano and lyric work into a musical character that is deeply unsure of its own ability to relate to listeners or express truthful emotion. This uncertainty is its real strength, and what makes McClenney an ul-
timately impactful artist. KIM SELLING Fri Sept 1, 5:25-6:10 pm, KeyArena
CODY JINKS
Honky-tonk country boy Cody Jinks has been climbing the ladder of popularity recently (and selling out every one of his Seattle shows) and will grace the Bumbershoot stage with his straight-talking, twang-heavy presence. Sun Sept 3, 8:50-9:50 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
CON BRIO
San Francisco seven-piece Con Brio formed with funk origin groups like Sly & the Family Stone in mind, yet their peace-seeking, otherworldy, big-band sound is all their own. Sat Sept 2, 5:45-6:40 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
H CONOR OBERST
As I was coming to worldly consciousness in the hick town of Belton, Missouri, a friend slipped me a copy of Fevers and Mirrors by Bright Eyes. I didn’t need much time to get used to the singer’s voice. Conor Oberst sounded the way I’d have sounded if I had tried to sing. And he was saying everything I didn’t know I knew: The suburbs suck, depression is real, religion is empty, we’re all going to die, everyone is fake (especially me), and love is our only hope. RICH SMITH Sat Sept 2, 8:15-9:15 pm, Fisher Green Stage
H CRATER
Crater’s Kess Gordon and Ceci Gomez have perfected industrial electro-pop. The two crafted their debut record from a folder of samples and torrents on Gomez’s computer, and Talk to
Odesza
3, 9:20 pm, Main Stage
H = Recommended by Stranger staff
DANI HANSON
Unique Custom Tattoo
LINEUP MUSIC
Me So I Can Fall Asleep emerged. The record is brooding with dark dance tracks that are full of synth and overdriven guitars, and feature the two’s ghastly vocals. ANNA KAPLAN Sun Sept 3, 4:10-4:50 pm, KEXP
★ DANIEL CAESAR
I’m inclined to root for any Toronto talent who isn’t Drake, but Daniel Caesar sets himself apart anyway, with rich soul rippling through his vocals and a predilection for instrumental accompaniment that pulls from blues and Americana traditions. KIM SELLING Sat Sept 2, 5:25-6 pm, KeyArena
★ DAVE DEPPER
Music to my ears: Rather than more Northwestinfused indie rock, a member of Death Cab for Cutie has struck out on his own to make a sort of modern disco (a genre that will never actually die, only morph into a form further and further away from its original genius, now known as festival EDM). The band member in question, Dave Depper, has served as the group’s touring guitarist for the last three years, additionally developing his own style as a session musician with Menomena, Laura Gibson, Fruit Bats, Ray LaMontagne, and many more. This year, however, he’s turned to cranking out the hard SoundCloud electro-pop, with glass brick synth and a pity-party-ready zazz perfect for a gray Miami morning. The singles he’s released in anticipation of his upcoming album, Emotional Freedom Technique, are propulsive, thoughtful, and angling down the path of mid-2000s Jens Lekman meets Oppenheimer Analysis. KIM SELLING Sun Sept 3, 5:30-6:10 pm, KEXP
★ DEAP VALLY
Dynamic LA duo Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards tear through a deep inventory of blues,
rock, and metal, and deliver it in exactly the guitar-driven, high-voltage, classic rock-androll style you’d expect and want. Deap Vally are fresh off releasing their new album, Femejism, and it’s marked by wry lyrics along with Troy’s whiskey-coated, scratchy vocals that would have given the Runaways a run for their money back in the day. AMBER CORTES Fri Sept 1, 4:05-4:35 pm, Fisher Green Stage
★ DIE ANTWOORD
South African rave-rappers Die Antwoord burst onto the scene in 2009 with their debut album, $O$, featuring the universal WTF?-inspiring video hit “Enter the Ninja.” Since then, the band that calls itself the Answer—composed of rappers Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek—have released three more records: 2012’s Ten$ion, 2014’s Donker Mag, and 2016’s Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid, with the body of work making three things abundantly clear: They prefer dollar signs to normal Ss, they live to shock and are exceptionally good at it (see the video for “Pitbull Terrier”), and their music is highly enjoyable if slightly poisonous candy.
DAVID SCHMADER Fri Sept 1, 10-11:15 pm, KeyArena
DILLON FRANCIS
DJ and producer Dillon Francis has hit platinum with a smattering of radio-friendly hits that fuse electronica, pop, and hiphop, with plenty of big name collaborators like G-Eazy and NGHTMRE. Sat Sept 2, 9:50-11:05 pm, KeyArena
★ THE DIP
Seattle septet the Dip revitalize ’60s soul with irrepressible joie de vivre. With compositions that are both tight and loose, the Dip find many ways to move bodies and lift spirits without resorting to tired mannerisms. They make
LINEUP MUSIC
high-quality, feel-good music that’s earned the approval of Emerald City Soul Club DJ extraordinaire Mike Nipper. DAVE SEGAL Sun Sept 3, 3:20-3:50 pm, Fisher Green Stage
DREAMERS
Brooklyn band Dreamers walk the line between chasing trends and harboring genre nostalgia, as they describe their sound as “’70s punk meets power pop.” Sat Sept 2, 4:15-4:45 pm, Main Stage
H DUDE YORK
Dude York have proclaimed themselves as America’s Band, and their love of Cheez-Its, LaCroix, and rock and roll only bolster that reputation. Released earlier this year on Hardly Art, their second record, Sincerely, navigates dark themes of love, depression, and anxiety under the guise of sing-song alt-pop. Guitarist Peter Richards and bassist Claire England switch off on vocals, and with Andrew Hall on drums, this trio’s live show gets loud. ANNA KAPLAN Fri Sept 1, 5:30-6:10 pm, KEXP
H E-40
Godfather of the bass-heavy hyphy subgenere of rap and Bay Area legend E-40 (né Earl Stevens) has been in the game for decades and still puts on a better show than 98 percent of other rappers, making it his blood-bound duty to tear the roof down. Despite starting in the late 1980s, E-40 didn’t see a genuine national hit until 2006, when “Tell Me When to Go” introduced America to hyphy’s harmonic low-end stylings. More than a decade since then, Stevens has yet to score another big hit, but he still enjoys living-icon status in the rap scene while continuing to release in-demand mixtapes and oversee his son Droop-E’s career, alongside business investments that include stock in Microsoft. If you’ve never seen Earl Stevens in the flesh and love rap music, then do yourself a massive favor and go do it already. NICK ZURKO Sat Sept 2, 7:20-8:05 pm, KeyArena
EKALI
Canadian instrumentalist and producer Ekali will return to Seattle for the first time since their expansive Autumn North American Tour of 2016 to bring fresh and futuristic electronic music to the Bumbershoot stage. Sun Sept 3, 6-6:40 pm, KeyArena
H FILTHY FRIENDS
Lotta star power in this seemingly ad-hoc band: Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker, R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, Full Toilets’ Kurt Bloch, Young Fresh Fellows’ Scott McCaughey, and King Crimson’s Bill Rieflin. Expect these vets to imbue their hard-rock shenanigans with a cleverness you
can’t learn in school. If you’re not singing along to Filthy Friends’ songs by the middle of their set, you’re probably too preoccupied with your elephant ear. DAVE SEGAL Fri Sept 1, 7:408:25 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
FLO RIDA
Feel-good-vibe hunter Flo Rida, equally catchy and affable in his output, has been soundtracking high school parties and pre-Coachella raves for years with his slick, soul-free club rap. Fri Sept 1, 9:45-11 pm, Fisher Green Stage
FLUME
Atmospheric Australian producer Flume is known more for his high profile collaborations with pop starlets like Kai and Tove Lo than for his own star power, but his glimmering party music has nonetheless made a name for itself on the Billboard charts. Fri Sept 1, 9:35-10:50 pm, Main Stage
H FOSTER THE PEOPLE
I caught Foster the People back on Cinco de Mayo of 2014, and was caught off guard by how charming and alluring Mark Foster is on stage. Although the band’s lineup has changed over the years, Foster’s exceptional lyricism and uncanny ability to craft perfect pop songs one after another will make this one of the most danceable sets of the weekend. ANNA KAPLAN Fri Sept 1, 6:05-6:50 pm, Main Stage
H FROTH
LA quartet Froth have spent the last four years making textbook shoegaze rock that skews toward the mellow adrenaline rush of Ride and the Boo Radleys, with sporadic tangents into the motorik glories of krautrock. Froth’s songs adhere to familiar tropes of dazed-boy vocals, liberally FX’d, radiant guitar spangles, and soaring melodies. Their music’s basic thrust is very satisfying if you’re into the ’gaze and krautrock revivals. DAVE SEGAL Sun Sept 3, 3-3:40 pm, KEXP
H GUCCI MANE
Free Gucci is here. He came out of prison with a head start—and a plan to win. He emerged a model of rehabilitation, determined not to go back. He repaired relationships with artists and his label Atlantic. He did more press than he’s ever done, going on a reconciliation tour through all of hiphop’s major media outlets. He got right back to his trademark prolific release schedule—since his parole, he’s dropped four albums—Everybody Looking, Woptober, The Return of East Atlanta Santa, and Mr. Davis—and two collaborative mixtapes: Free Bricks 2K16 (Zone 6 Edition) with Future, and 1017 vs. the World with Lil
Deap Vally Fri Sept 1, 4:05 pm, Fisher Green Stage
ELONORA C. COLLINI
LINEUP MUSIC
Uzi Vert. LARRY MIZELL JR. Sun Sept 3, 10:05-11:05 pm, KeyArena
H HAIM
Haim is the trio of Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim, or the coolest set of sisters in music right now. Fresh off of the release of their second record, Something to Tell You, Haim are masters of rhythm and seamlessly intertwining many genres. What other band gets personal advice from Stevie Nicks, has an A$AP Ferg feature on one of their tracks, and opens for Taylor Swift? ANNA KAPLAN Sun Sept 3, 9:40-10:40 pm, Fisher Green Stage
HARRISON BROME
Currently roadtripping on his Body High summer tour, emerging Vancouver talent and alternative R&B artist Harrison Brome incorporates a gravelly sensibility into a genre traditionally known for its overly saccharine nature. Sun Sept 3, 4:10-4:40 pm, Fisher Green Stage
HIGHLY SUSPECT
Steeped in the whirling influences of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll, the Cape Cod-born and Brooklyn-bred group Highly Suspect have been chipping away at their own hard rock sound, most recently showcased on their full-length debut album, Mister Asylum Sat Sept 2, 5:10-5:55 pm, Main Stage
HONNE
Reaping the benefits of disco traditions, English beatmaking duo Honne make bouncy, light-filled electro-pop that fit well on any festival docket. Sun Sept 3, 5:55-6:35 pm, Fisher Green Stage
HONORS
Toronto stadium rockers Honors warp electronica and heavy-handed reverb into their alternative rock sound, providing a Canadian update to a sound that’s known for leaning too heavily toward genre nostalgia. Sun Sept 3, 5-5:30 pm, Fisher Green Stage
Sun
I M U R
Taking on the genres of electronica, R&B, and soul, I M U R (“I Am You Are”) choose to paint with broad strokes, blending each genre into each other for a bright yet sultry party sound additionally influenced by the 1990s hiphop scene. Fri Sept 1, 4:05-4:40 pm, Main Stage
H J GRGRY
Joe Gregory, singer-songwriter of J GRGRY, wears his heart on his sleeve, delving into a deep personal history of depression and alcoholism, and growing up queer in Seattle. These struggles are then threaded through dark but danceable dream-pop textures worthy of Erasure or the Eurythmics, proving that it is in fact possible to embrace the contradiction of happy sad—or are they sad happy?—songs. AMBER CORTES Fri Sept 1, 3:45-4:15 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
J GRGRY
Fri Sept 1, 3:45 pm, Mural Ampitheatre
H JASON MCCUE
Fun fact: Jason McCue and I both used to write for Seattle U’s radio station blog, and when I met him in 2015 his music project was solely out of his dorm-room closet. Now he’s won Sound
Haim
Sept 3, 9:40 pm, Fisher Green Stage
MIKE NAGLIERI
8.30 Wednesday (Reggae) NEW KINGSTON Georgetown Orbits, Cosmic Serenity
8.31 & 9.1 Thursday & Friday (Grateful Dead Tribute)
JERRY GARCIA CELEBRATION
Andy Coe Band feat. Matt Butler (of Everyone Orchestra)
9.2 Saturday (NoLa Funk Soul) TUBALUBA REUNION FUNKFEST McTuff+Skerik
9.3 Sunday (Bollywood Dance Party) LATIN & INDIAN NIGHT Prashant
9.5 Tuesday (Nerdcore) REVENGE OF THE NERDS: POST PAX PARTY
Mega Ran, MC Lars, Sammus
9.6 Wednesday (Jazz/Eclectic) SKERIK BAND
feat. Skerik, Andy Coe, Tarik Abouzied, Damian Erskine, plus Banda Magda
9.7 Thursday (Classic Rock/Funk ‘n’ Soul)
CLASSIC SOUL, ROCK & ROLL
feat. High Cloud Cover, Baby Cakes
9.8 Friday (DJ/Dance Party)
TRL TOTAL REQUEST LIVE
feat. #All4Doras, DJ Pryme, DJ Lo Knows
9.9 Saturday (Reggae)
CLINTON FEARON
Boogie Brown Band, Valley Green, Selecta Raiford
9.15 Friday (Electronic) RANDOM RAB + BLOCKHEAD
Michael Manahan
9.20 Wednesday (Reggae) BLACK UHURU Cannon Lion of Judah
9.22 Friday (Jazz/Rock/World) BARRETT MARTIN GROUP + THE TRUE LOVES
Feat. Jeff Angell (The Walking Papers)
10.6 Friday (Instrumental Rock / Live Electronica) TAUK
Yak Attack
10.21 Saturday (Electronic) PHUTUREPRIMITIVE + PAPADOSIO
Mihkal
10.26 Thursday (Electronic) CLOZEE
Subaqueous, Pressha
LINEUP MUSIC
Off! and is playing Bumbershoot. All for good reason, though, as McCue’s storytelling within his songs is unlike anything else. It’s just McCue and an acoustic on stage, but his performances are totally mesmerizing. ANNA KAPLAN Fri Sept 1, 3:15-3:45 pm, Fisher Green Stage
JAUZ
Up-and-coming pop-electronica hybridist
JAUZ keeps climbing the ranks of EDM festival-crowders like Zedd and Skrillex. Fri Sept 1, 8:15-9:15 pm, KeyArena
H JOHNNYSWIM
Veterans of the Nashville scene, poppy folk duo Amanda Sudano and Abner Ramierez make waves as Johnnyswim. Their latest album, Georgica Pond, keeps the sweet melodies of hyped acts like the Lumineers, “millennial woo” and all, but never lose sight of the confessional songwriting core at the heart of the Americana tradition. JOSEPH SCHAFER Fri Sept 1, 5:256:10 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
H JORJA SMITH
Jorja Smith has proven herself more than just a collaborator (and possible paramour) of Drake, who featured her on several songs on his 2017 More Life album. And despite inevitable comparisons to Amy Winehouse due to the soulful range of her voice, Smith brings a graceful intimacy and a fresh sophistication to jazz-infused R&B that is all her own. AMBER CORTES Fri Sept 1, 4:55-5:40 pm, Main Stage
H JOSEPH
Once upon a time, a band of three sisters blessed the land with voices as sweet as am-
brosia. It sounds like a fairy tale, complete with dense, melodic ballads calling forth the spirit of the Pacific Northwest with lush, honeyed harmonies. Joseph are at their natural, earthy best when inclined to the folky side of the popfolk spectrum, so let’s hope that facet will shine through in their set. AMBER CORTES Sat Sept 2, 7:05-7:50 pm, Fisher Green Stage
JÚNÍUS MEYVANT
Eccentric Icelander Júníus Meyvant utilizes the traditions of his Westman Islands upbringing for a take on folk and pop music that showcases his inner freakiness. Sat Sept 2, 6:40-7:20 pm, KEXP
KALEO
Icelandic blues-rock foursome Kaleo have achieved such stateside acclaim in a releatively short amount of time that their rise could be considered meteoric. Sat Sept 2, 6:20-7:05 pm, Main Stage
KEVIN ABSTRACT
Kevin Abstract (aka Kevin Simpson) writes poetic, personal hiphop that has garnered praise from music blogs and magazines since his 2014 debut album, MTV1987 Sat Sept 2, 4:10-4:40 pm, Fisher Green Stage
H KID HOPS
Holding down the Saturday morning slot for several years on KEXP with his Positive Vibrations seminars on reggae and dub, as well as enlivening that station’s Sunday night Expansions rotation, Kid Hops is one of Seattle’s savviest selectors for club music that focuses on drums and bass frequencies. His
LINEUP MUSIC
Lany Fri Sept 1, 6 pm, Fisher Green Stage
knowledge and technical skills are phenomenal. DAVE SEGAL Sat Sept 2, 4-4:30 pm, KeyArena
KORE IONZ
Hawaii-born singer-songwriter and producer Daniel Pak performs as Kore Ionz, with heavy jazz and island style reggae influences from icons like The Wailers, Toots and the Maytals, and Steel Pulse. Fri Sept 1, 4:355:05 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
H LANY
Frontman Paul Klein has said that LANY just want to be “the biggest band in the world.” (That’s all.) And while they’ve struck an electro-pop chord with a growing fan base in Asia, they’ve yet to really explode stateside, so it’s worth checking out not just to see what all the hype is about, but also to take in their breezy, synth-y, dance-y tunes that herald the end of summer. AMBER CORTES Fri Sept 1, 6-6:40 pm, Fisher Green Stage
H LEIKELI47
Her mask gets much of the press, but Leikeli47 is more notable for her endlessly energetic live shows and machine-gun bars that somehow maintain a sense of radical positivity. Sun Sept 3, 5:20-5:50 pm, KeyArena
H LÉON
Swedish songstress Léon uses 1970s dance club vibes and layered personal narratives to empower pop tracks that would otherwise be bland with a less empassioned performer. Sun Sept 3, 5:25-6:10 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
THE LIBRARIAN
Andrea Graham has not only been tearing apart dance floors amidst the West Coast bass scene as her solo project the Librarian, but she is also the co-founder of and music curator for the Bass Coast Music Festival in British Columbia. Fri Sept 1, 4:45-5:20 pm, KeyArena
LILLIE MAE
Americana-pop singer Lillie Mae has already been styled as a “country maverick,” with a knack for broadening naiveté into something charming and relatable. Sun Sept 3, 6:30-7:15 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
H LIL YACHTY
Nineteen-year-old Lil Yachty’s fun-filled boat full of asymmetrical rhymes is charting a different sort of course in the sea of rap. Anchored by a silly, mischievous sense of humor, numerous pop influences (including Coldplay), and strong Instagram swagger, Lil Yachty completely owns his outsider persona on stage and in the studio. Teenage Emotions was an
absurdist roller-coaster dive into all the angst and exuberance of youth. AMBER CORTES Sun Sept 3, 5-5:50 pm, Main Stage
LOPHIILE
Local Lakewooder Ty Acord makes original beats and remixes under his pseudonym Lophiile, a project that puts an emphasis on blending the tenets of funk, future bass, hiphop, and R&B. Sat Sept 2, 4:35-5:10 pm, KeyArena
H LORDE
At age 16, Lorde broke onto the scene in 2013 when her single “Royals” hit the Billboard Hot 100. After an almost four-year break, the 20-year-old New Zealander released her sophomore album, Melodrama, in June. Her ultra-poppy singles “Green Light” and “Perfect Places” have been the soundtrack to millions of people’s summers, perfectly capturing the fleeting feeling of youth in three minutes. ANNA KAPLAN Sat Sept 2, 9:35-10:50 pm, Main Stage
LOUIS THE CHILD
Electronic duo and posi vibe seekers Louis The Child have been hitting the big time thanks to their single collaboration with K.Flay, “It’s Strange,” that has risen rapidly in the radio charts since its release. Sun Sept 3, 7:45-8:45 pm, KeyArena
LUCIE SILVAS
British singer-songwriter Lucie Silvas owes much of her tone to American blues traditions and far-from-the-fringe heartland tunes. Sun Sept 3, 7:40-8:25 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
MADELINE KENNEY
Madeline Kenney made the patented West Coast move from Seattle to Oakland, and brought with her the delicate strains of soft clear-hearted bedroom pop pulled straight from the scores of many different dreamworlds. Sat Sept 2, 3:20-3:50 pm, Fisher Green Stage
H THE MALDIVES
Most bands bear influences and draw inspiration from the past, obviously, but it’s what music you absorb and how you assimilate and combine your influences that sets the interesting, exciting artists apart from the wellmeaning but dull epigones. The Maldives fall into the latter category. DAVE SEGAL Sat Sept 2, 4:10-4:50 pm, KEXP
H MIDDLE KIDS
Middle Kids will be coming to the PNW from Sydney, Australia. They’re one of Domino Records’ newest signees, and despite their drummer being classically trained, they’ve retained all the DIY goodness of a garage-
rock band. Their songs range from nostalgic introspection to plain old feel-good pop, making them sure to have something for almost everyone. ANNA KAPLAN Sat Sept 2, 5-5:35 pm, Fisher Green Stage
H MOON DUO
Keyboardist Sanae Yamada and guitarist/ vocalist Ripley Johnson are masters of mesmerizing repetition. They’re trance-rock lifers who get fuzzy and linear like some hair combo of Hawkwind and Suicide, augmented by Johnson’s Iggy Pop-like deadpan drawl (ask your dad about these references). If you want to mainline pure rock-and-roll adrenaline at Bumbershoot, there’s no better place to do that than with Moon Duo. DAVE SEGAL Fri Sept 1, 6:40-7:20 pm, KEXP
THE NEW RESPECTS
Nashville quartet the New Respects have tightened their sound and their ranks in recent years, choosing to go with a melting pot style, informing their tracks with rock, pop, and soul touches that altogether wouldn’t be out of place blasting out of a silver Cadillac. Sun Sept 3, 4:35-5:05 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
H ODESZA
Just a few hours away in Bellingham, Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight teamed up to form Odesza just before graduating from Western Washington University. The duo’s
dreamy indie electronica led to quick success after the release of their debut album, and they’ve been continuing to make airy dance music since. Odesza have teased a couple of tracks from their upcoming record, and they’re catchier than ever. ANNA KAPLAN Sun Sept 3, 9:20-10:50 pm, Main Stage
PEACH PIT
Making music in accordance with the hazy youthfulness of their name, Peach Pit concoct nostalgia-supported and summer-ready “chewed bubblegum pop.” Fri Sept 1, 2:553:25 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
PLUTO
After a long summer of tripping the worldwide festival circuit, DJ and beatmaker Sam Martinsen will hit the Bumbershoot stage with his solo project Pluto, known for its expansive dance music influenced by Skrillex and Flume. Sun Sept 3, 4:40-5:10 pm, KeyArena
PRSN
Bryce Lowell’s enigmatically titled Portlandbased beatmaking project has shared the stage with other Bumbershoot artist the Librarian. Fri Sept 1, 4:05-4:40 pm, KeyArena
PVRIS
Electro-pop party rockers PVRIS are anchored by the sense of powerful urgency ushered in by singer Lynn Gunn, who was
facebook.com/wamsclinic instagram.com/wamsclinic twitter.com/wamsclinic
Middle Kids Sat Sept 2, 5 pm, Fisher Green Stage
Moon Duo Fri Sept 1, 6:40 pm,
HOLY SMOKE
recently awarded “Best Vocalist” by the 2017 Alternative Press Music Awards. Fri Sept 1, 4:55-5:35 pm, Fisher Green Stage
H RED FANG
We all have those beloved hometown bands that become mired in the sticky floors of local shithole clubs, never to make the leap into the national circuit, and never to garner a reputation outside of a small circle of friends. The first five years of Red Fang’s existence were a token example of that particular Northwest breed of dead-end sludge brilliance. The group’s tones were deliciously grimy. The energy was drunken and sweaty. The attitude was unaffected. And the prospects were dim. But in a rare fluke of music-biz justice, Red Fang blew up. BRIAN COOK Sun Sept 3, 7-7:45 pm, Fisher Green Stage
REO CRAGUN
From Vancouver to Los Angeles, MC and multi-instrumentalist Reo Cragun has managed to move on up at a rapid pace, with his alternative R&B anchored by somber, realityheavy lyrics. Sun Sept 3, 4-4:30 pm, KeyArena
H THE ROOTS
The Roots are late-night TV personality Jimmy Fallon’s favorite hiphop group, but don’t let that repel you. For the last 30 years, these Philadelphia mainstays have been bringing phenomenal live funk and jazz chops—led by super-versatile drummer ?uestlove—to an art form traditionally reliant on samples. As inventive lyrically (shout to Black Thought) as they are musically, the Roots continue, against the odds, to make hiphop an exciting live prospect. DAVE SEGAL Sat Sept 2, 9:45-11 pm, Fisher Green Stage
H RULER
I’m greatly anticipating the debut album of Ruler, a new project from the multi-faceted Matt Batey, who so far has only appeared as a behind-the-scenes contributor for Seattle musicians like Cataldo and Rocky Votolato. Until then, there are fewer than a handful of hidden treasures online with some seriously addictive, appealing hooks. Oh, and there’s also his performance at Bumbershoot, of course, which you should catch if you can. AMBER CORTES Sat Sept 2, 3:20-3:55 pm, Main Stage
SAINT CLAIRE
Seattleite John Sinclair creates violin-fronted alternative indie pop under the name Saint Claire. Sat Sept 2, 3:45-4:25 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
3:20
SHELBY EARL
Beloved local singer-songwriter Shelby Earl left her lucrative job at Amazon to jump-start her less lucrative journey as a musician. Each album she has released since crows with earnest vulnerability that teems with a dark side, all very much anchored in the bard-friendly lushness of our very own weird, wild world of the Pacific Northwest. KIM SELLING Sat Sept 2, 3-3:40 pm, KEXP
SHOOK TWINS
Sandpoint indie folk group Shook Twins are anchored by the identical twin duo of Laurie and Katelyn who began playing music together at a young age, and later added band members to flesh out their layered Americana-pop sound. Sat Sept 2, 7-8 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
THE SKINS
Brooklyn fusion junkies the Skins pull equally from pop, rock, soul, and hiphop for highenergy, heart-thumping tracks that somehow manage to make urgency seem stylish. Sat Sept 2, 4:45-5:25 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
SLUSHII
Born in New Jersey but hustling in Los Angeles, producer and DJ Julian Scanlan, going by his more summery stage name Slushii, leans heavy on the electronica touchstones of dubstep and future bass. Fri Sept 1, 7:20-8:05 pm, KeyArena
H SMOKEY BRIGHTS
Go to this set. Do it. Do it for Smokey Brights, who are the kind of crackly and warm guitardriven rock that you already know and love, even if you’ve never heard it. It’s that warm blanket that you throw over your head to avoid dealing with your uncle’s off-color rants about refugees. Do it for yourself. KATHLEEN TARRANT Sun Sept 3, 6:40-7:20 pm, KEXP
H
SOFI TUKKER
Sofi Tukker’s debut single “Drinkee” was nominated for a Grammy this year back when they didn’t even have an EP out yet. Since the Grammy nom, the New York duo of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern (hence Sofi Tukker) released the Soft Animals EP, which aptly redefined the dance scene with their deconstructed beats and Brazilian influence. Their live show is full of English and Portuguese, and a giant electronic tree that they use as an instrument. ANNA KAPLAN Sat Sept 2, 8:25-9:25 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
H SOLANGE
Solange basically owned the music world last year after the release of A Seat at the Table The stunning 21-track record explored what it means to be a black woman in America through Solange’s raw, honest, and beyondbeautiful lyrics. Delving into life’s joys as well as its frustrations, Solange’s repertoire of songs will culminate in one of the weekend’s most magnificent sets. ANNA KAPLAN Sun Sept 3, 7:50-8:50 pm, Main Stage
H THE SPIDER FERNS
Bow, Washington, duo the Spider Ferns (multiinstrumentalists Kelly and Alton Fleek) create sleek, ultra-modern pop with extremely punchy and bulbous drum-machine programming. Kelly’s alluring vocals curl around angular, downtempo, funky tunes that are accessible without resorting to sugary pandering. The Spider Ferns claim to “make music late at night in a converted barn at the base of a small mountain,” but the sounds they deftly craft scan as urban and are constructed with spare elegance.
DAVE SEGAL Fri Sept 1, 3-3:40 pm, KEXP
H SPOON
Texas-based Spoon have been around for more than 20 years, starting out on Austin’s indie underground scene before establishing themselves as one of alternative rock’s most prominent artists. Vocalist/guitarist Britt Daniel has one of the most recognizable voices in alt-rock, and Spoon’s precise blend of guitars and piano has led them to create nine albums of expertly crafted music. ANNA KAPLAN Sun Sept 3, 8:10-9:10 pm, Fisher Green Stage
H STAS THEE BOSS
Stas THEE Boss is one half of the now-defunct but forever important duo THEESatisfaction who’s been performing solo sets rife with whipsmart, razor-sharp summer bummers. KIM SELLING Sun Sept 3, 3:20-3:55 pm, Main Stage
H TACOCAT
If Tacocat’s 2014 album NVM found their songs catching up with their band-ness, their newer record, Lost Time, shows them taking the essential next step of allowing their grasp of the punky pop song form to get a little looser, weirder, more eccentric. The songs (“Dana Katherine Scully,” “FDP”) are mega catchy, of course, and funny (“Men Explain Things to Me,” “Horse Girls”), duh, but the eccentricity is most blazingly evident in the super-distinctive vocal melodies, which loopde-loop around Emily Nokes’s lower register like a stunt pilot. They work as hooks, but in the least obvious way. SEAN NELSON Sat Sept 2, 6-6:40 pm, Fisher Green Stage
H VINCE STAPLES
In the past year alone, Long Beach’s Vince Staples has released his second full-length record and collaborated with some of the biggest
names in music, from Gorillaz to Kendrick Lamar. No matter what album you find Staples’s verses on, his perspectives and critiques of the United States, pop culture, and rap music itself are sharp, quick-witted, and ferocious. ANNA KAPLAN Sun Sept 3, 6:50-7:35 pm, KeyArena
WATSKY
Not to say the dude Watsky has no talent—because clearly he can technically do the thing that rappers do with their mouths (ha, no, I mean rap)—it’s just that his whole flow (not his literal flow, I’m talking about his overall vibe) is so much more ha-ha-this-guy-can-actually-rap than it is “actual rap.” LARRY MIZELL JR. Fri Sept 1, 8:15-9:15 pm, Fisher Green Stage
H WEEZER
Twenty-three years after you destroyed their sweater, Weezer’s path as a band has unraveled (with a string of awkward, lackluster albums in the early-mid ’00s) and re-raveled (with a 2014 redemption for their album Everything Will Be Alright in the End). But you’ll probably just go to sing along to “My Name Is Jonas” and “Island in the Sun”—and that’s okay! We won’t judge you. AMBER CORTES Sat Sept 2, 7:35-8:50 pm, Main Stage
WHETHAN
Whethan is the solo electronica project of Chicago producer Ethan Snoreck, who has been busy providing the heavy bop for partyers across the country on this year’s Good Nights Tour. Fri Sept 1, 6:20-7:05 pm, KeyArena
H WHITE REAPER
Peppy garage rock will never die, as Louisville, Kentucky’s White Reaper prove. They’ve shifted into more of a power-pop unit on their new album, The World’s Best American Band, but the exuberance pouring out of this band’s music almost has the power to make you forget that the planet’s on the brink of destruction due to the overcompensating machismo of two manbabies. Almost. DAVE SEGAL Sun Sept 3, 3:45-4:15 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
X AMBASSADORS
Considering their Top 40 radio ubiquity, it’s been basically impossible to not recognize the Jeep commercial-ready stadium party rock sound of X Ambassadors. Sun Sept 3, 6:207:20 pm, Main Stage
H ZZ WARD
Guitarist and songwriter ZZ Ward packs a powerful set of pipes, but she manages to elude the miserable blue-eyed-soul morass that so often bogs down her peers. More inclined toward the grit of classic Delta blues than Muscle Shoals sheen, Ward isn’t afraid to bend a distorted guitar note, or collaborate with artists from other scenes, like Kendrick Lamar. JOSEPH SCHAFER Fri Sept 1, 8:509:50 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
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LINEUP COMEDY
Comedy
AHMED BHAROOCHA
A stand-up comedian and member of the sketch troupe Dead Kevin, Ahmed Bharoocha has appeared on Comedy Central, performed stand-up on Conan, been featured on Adam Devine’s House Party, and been showcased as a New Face Unrepresented at Montreal’s Just For Laughs Comedy Festival. Fri Sept 1, 2:353:35 pm & 4:20-5:20 pm and Sun Sept 3, 4:205:20 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage; Sat Sept 2, 5-5:45 pm & 6:25-7:25 pm and Sun Sept 3, 2:30-3:15 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre
BO JOHNSON
Seattle’s Bo Johnson gigs regularly around the PNW, but he’s been seen more widely (more than six million times) in the prank video “Bo and Matthew Sneak into a Movie Theatre,” which you can find pretty easily. Fri Sept 1, 2:30-3:15 pm, Sat Sept 2, 6:25-7:25 pm and Sun Sept 3, 2:30-3:15 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre; Sat Sept 2, 4:20-5:20 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage; Fri Sept 1, 5:35-6:20 pm, Vera Project
BRENT FLYBERG
www.kirklandviolins.com 425 822 0717
BRODY STEVENS
Brody Stevens boasts of his “positive energy” and has the huge, goofy smile to back it up. He produced his own series Brody Stevens: Enjoy It! on Comedy Central and has also appeared on Conan, Chelsea Lately, @midnight, Premium Blend, TMZ, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, Late World with Zach, The Best Damn Sports Show Period, Tosh.0 Fox NFL Sunday, Jesus is Magic, Due Date, and in two of the three Hangover movies. Fri Sept 1, 3:45-4:30 & 5-5:45 pm, Sat Sept 2, 3:45-4:30 pm and Sun Sept 3, 3:45-4:30 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre; Sat Sept 2, 6:50-7:35 pm and Sun Sept 3, 6:50-7:35 pm, Vera Project
DEBRA DIGIOVANNI
“Single Awkward Female” Debra DiGiovanni keeps sweeping the Canadian Comedy Award, has been called the “Best Comedian to See after a Messy Break Up,” and made it into the top eight in Last Comic Standing Fri Sept 1, 4:20-5:20 pm, Sat Sept 2, 2:35-3:35 pm and Sun Sept 3, 5:05-7:05 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage; Fri Sept 1, 6:25-7:25 pm, Sat Sept 2, 3:45-4:30 pm and Sun Sept 3, 2:303:15 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre
H EL SANCHEZ
The Stranger has called El Sanchez a “local comedic genius,” and their big-hearted, nerdy,
You may already know Brent Flyberg’s name from his frequent contributions to the Seattle stand-up scene. This is his fourth appearance at Bumbershoot, and he also co-hosts a show at Scratch Deli called Relationship Status. He’s been seen farther afield, too, at the Melbourne and Bridgetown comedy fests. Fri Sept 1, 5:05-7:05 pm and Sun Sept 3, 5:057:05 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage; Fri Sept 1, 2:30-3:15 pm and Sun Sept 3, 3:45-4:30 pm & 5-5:45 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre; Sat Sept 2, 5:35-6:20 pm, Vera Project
Margaret Cho Sat Sept 2, 5:20 pm, Bagley Wright Theater
ALBERT SANCHEZ
LINEUP COMEDY/PERFORMANCE
and sometimes bawdy comedy has been heard at Bumbershoot, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, Emerald City Comicon, and the LGBTQ event A-Camp. They’ve also appeared on NPR’s Latino USA and garnered praise from cultural celebrities like Lindy West and Hari Kondabolu. Their debut comedy album, Hard Femme/Soft Butch/Werewolf, is set to be released soon. Fri Sept 1, 2:30-3:15 & 6:25-7:25 pm, Sat Sept 2, 2:30-3:15 pm and Sun Sept 3, 6:25-7:25 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre; Sat Sept 2, 5:20-6:20 pm, Bagley Wright Theater; Sun Sept 3, 4:20-5:20 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage
FAHIM ANWAR
He was a Woodinville native and aerospace engineer at Boeing who decided to give it all up for comedy. He now lives in LA and has appeared on Chuck, Lie to Me, Late Night with Seth Meyers, MTV’s Guy Code, and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Fri Sept 1, 5:05-7:05 pm and Sun Sept 3, 2:35-3:35 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage; Fri Sept 1, 6:50-7:35 pm, Vera Project
GUY BRANUM
Writer/actor Guy Branum boasts of having served as “Staff Homosexual” on Chelsea Lately. He’s also appeared on E!, on MTV (for whom he also worked on Punk’d), and in the film No Strings Attached Sat Sept 2, 6:05-7:05 pm and Sun Sept 3, 5:05-7:05 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage; Sat Sept 2, 5:35-6:20 pm, Vera Project
IAN EDWARDS
You may have caught English-born Ian Edwards on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, P. Diddy Presents the Bad Boys of Comedy, or Showtime’s Live Nude Comedy. More, he has put out a comedy album called 100% Half Assed on Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco label and appeared on-screen in the well-received indie movie Tangerine Fri Sept 1, 2:35-3:35 & 5:05-7:05 pm and Sat Sept 2, 4:20-5:20 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage; Sat Sept 2, 6:25-7:25 pm and Sun Sept 3, 5-5:45 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre; Sun Sept 3, 6:50-7:35 pm, Vera Project
JACQUELINE NOVAK
Jacqueline Novak, the uplifting author of How to Weep in Public: Feeble Offerings on Depression from One Who Knows, was a 2015 Comedy Central Comic to Watch and 2016 Just for Laughs New Face in Montreal’s festival. She’s also acted in Animals and The Characters and created her own Refinery29 series, How to Weep in Public Fri Sept 1, 2:35-3:35 pm, Sat Sept 2, 6:05-7:05 pm and Sun Sept 3, 2:353:35 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage; Fri Sept 1, 5-5:45 pm, Sat Sept 2, 2:30-3:15 pm and Sun Sept 3, 5-5:45 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre
JAK KNIGHT
Jak Knight was born in Seattle and is now based in LA. He’s garnered several distinctions, being named a Comedy Central Comic to Watch and a 2015 New Face at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival. You may know him from The Meltdown, @midnight, and Adam Devine’s House Party, and he’s opened for Joel McHale, Eric Andre, Moshe Kasher, Dave Chappelle, and many others. Fri Sept 1, 6:507:35 pm and Sun Sept 3, 5:35-6:20 pm, Vera Project; Sat Sept 2, 2:30-3:15 & 5-5:45 pm and Sun Sept 3, 2:30-3:15 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre
JAMIE LEE
Nerve.com named Jamie Lee in its list of the “Top Five Comedians Who Should Be Movie Stars.” A cast member of GirlCode, she’s been invited on Conan, John Oliver’s New York Stand Up Show, and The Pete Holmes Show, and she made it to the semi-finals of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. She’s also written for Crashing, produced by Judd Apatow and star-
ring Pete Holmes. She’s the author of Weddiculous, a spoof wedding guide. Fri Sept 1, 3:454:30 & 6:25-7:25 pm and Sat Sept 2, 3:45-4:30 & 5-5:45 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre; Sun Sept 3, 6:50-7:35 pm, Vera Project
JERMAINE FOWLER
A “New Face” at the Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival, Jermaine Fowler has appeared in HBO’s Funny as Hell, College Humor, Comedy Central on Campus, MTV2’s Guy Code, @midnight, and Comedy Underground with Dave Attell. He also is part of the comedy duo BodegaCat Sanchez and had a Showtime special called Give ’Em Hell Kid Fri Sept 1, 2:35-3:35 pm and Sat Sept 2, 2:353:35 & 6:05-7:05 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage; Fri Sept 1, 3:45-4:30 pm and Sun Sept 3, 3:454:30 & 6:25-7:25 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre
JOEL KIM BOOSTER
Joel Kim Booster loves cats, comic books, and sex. He riffs on his evangelical upbringing and adoption from Korea (“I knew I was gay before I knew I was Asian!”), and he’s appeared on Conan, Comedy Central’s The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, @midnight, and a lot more, plus he’s been listed by Esquire as one of 10 comedians to watch in 2017. Fri Sept 1, 4:20-5:20 pm and Sun Sept 3, 4:20-5:20 & 5:05-7:05 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage; Fri Sept 1, 6:25-7:25 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre; Sat Sept 2, 5:20-6:20 pm, Bagley Wright Theater; Sat Sept 2, 6:50-7:35 pm, Vera Project
H JUDAH FRIEDLANDER
Gaining national recognition through his role on the already-a-classic show 30 Rock, Friedlander’s distinctive trucker hat has been joining him on stage since the early ’90s. He’s been making challenging and off-putting jokes that may have divided audiences, but they also have ingratiated him to much of the comic elite, recently reuniting with Rock creator Tina Fey on her show Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt NICK ZURKO Fri Sept 1, 5:35-6:20 pm, Vera Project; Sat Sept 2, 2:30-3:15 pm and Sun Sept 3, 6:25-7:25 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre; Sat Sept 2, 4:20-5:20 pm and Sun Sept 3, 2:35-3:35 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage
JUSTIN CLARK
Seattle native Justin Clark abandoned an Amazon job in favor of a comedian’s life in LA. Hear him spin funny material out of family drama, divorce, and more. Fri Sept 1, 5-5:45 pm, Sat Sept 2, 6:25-7:25 pm and Sun Sept 3, 5-5:45 & 6:25-7:25 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre; Fri Sept 1, 6:50-7:35 pm, Vera Project; Sat Sept 2, 4:20-5:20 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage
LANCE CANTSTOPOLIS
Lance Cantstopolis is the “dope-as-shit” douche-philosopher alter ego of Fahim Anwar, an LA stand-up comedian recently seen in Whisky Tango Foxtrot as well as MTV’s Guy Code. Sat Sept 2, 5:35-6:20 pm and Sun Sept 3, 5:35-6:20 pm, Vera Project
H MARGARET CHO
It’s safe to say Cho is a legend in the comedy world. A vocal supporter of Asian and LGBTQ+ rights, she won the American Comedy Award in 1994 and hasn’t stopped since, whether causing controversy with her impersonations, winning awards with her show and book I’m the One That I Want, or releasing musical albums, Cho is a singular comic voice who must be seen to be believed. NICK ZURKO Sat Sept 2, 5:20-6:20 pm, Bagley Wright Theater
MONICA NEVI
Renton-born Monica Nevi will return to Bumbershoot after her first appearance in 2015.
Aside from her appearances on the 206, FOX’s Laughs, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival and the Seattle International Comedy Competition, she also hosts the HugLife podcast and produces Mellowing Out with Monica for the web. Fri Sept 1, 2:30-3:15 pm, Eve Alvord Theatre; Fri Sept 1, 5:35-6:20 pm, Sat Sept 2, 6:50-7:35 pm and Sun Sept 3, 5:35-6:20 pm, Vera Project; Sat Sept 2, 2:35-3:35 pm and Sun Sept 3, 2:353:35 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage
H TODD BARRY
Casual comedy fans might know Todd Barry from his appearances on Louie, but this Bronxborn comedian has been slaying audiences with his deadpan stand-up since the mid-’80s. In addition to lending his voice to cult favorite shows like Bob’s Burgers and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Barry continues to tour the country
Bumbershoot Is Such a Drag by Arson Nicki + Friends Sat Sept 2, 6 pm, Center Theatre
making headlines with his improv-heavy shows that tend to involve the crowd, with hilarious results. NICK ZURKO Fri Sept 1, 5:05-7:05 pm, Sat Sept 2, 2:35-3:35 & 6:05-7:05 pm and Sun Sept 3, 4:20-5:20 pm, StubHub Comedy Stage
Performance
ABBEY ARTS PRESENTS THE ROUND
Three songwriters, visual artists, backing musicians, and a slam poet collaborate on one big performance in the Bumbershoot edition of the Fremont community event. Sun Sept 3, 2:35-3:35 pm, Vera Project
THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKETMAN AND BEANO BY TOM SPANGENBERG & CHRISTINE LONGE
Two superheroes fight fascism and evil. One of them is played by Christine Longé, who won the Seattle Fringe Festival’s Audience Choice Award in 2014. She and Tom Spangenberg will entertain you with original music and clowning adventures that bring to mind “Batman and Robin doing Lucy and Desi.” Fri Sept 1, 3-4 pm and Sat Sept 2, 4:30-5:30 pm, Center Theatre
H BUMBERSHOOT IS SUCH A DRAG BY ARSON NICKI + FRIENDS
Arson Nicki is what happens when you give a blowjob to a Studebaker and it backfires. That’s how a poet once described Nicki to me, and it’s the most accurate description I have for this aggressively transgressive drag artist who I guarantee never imagined they would be in the same lineup as Flo Rida. But Nicki has been perfecting their producing skills, and “Bumbershoot Is Such a Drag” is one of their recent efforts to bring alt-drag artists
THAI FOOD LIKE YOU’VE NEVER
HAD BEFORE
11am-11pm
Todd Barry
LINEUP PERFORMANCE/WORDS & IDEAS/ART
into str8 spaces. Expect comically overdrawn lips, loose nipples, and the siren-like ability to make disaster seem like perfection. CHASE BURNS Sat Sept 2, 6-7 pm, Center Theatre
CONTINUUM BY JERBOA DANCE
Jerboa Dance will explore the many configurations of human relationships through “acrobatic, energetic modern dance” choreography that draws in the audience. Fri Sept 1, 4:30-5:30 pm and Sun Sept 3, 6-7 pm, Center Theatre
THE DRUNKEN TENOR BY ROBERT MCPHERSON
A boorish man with a beautiful voice shows up to perform his heroic role, but can he hold it together for the length of the performance? Will he even remember his music? Billed as “Jack Black meets Pavarotti,” Robert McPherson, a real live Metropolitan Opera singer, will combine opera (the popular art of another era) with low comedy. Jennifer Bromagen and David McDade co-star. Fri Sept 1, 6-7 pm and Sat Sept 2, 3-4 pm, Center Theatre
H THE GAY UNCLE EXPLAINS IT ALL FOR YOU
This avuncular variety show starring Santaesque comedian Jeffrey Robert gives you a healthy dose of history, comedy, and song from the gay uncle you always wished you had. MATT BAUME Sun Sept 3, 4:30-5:30 pm, Center Theatre
ROADHEADZ: A NEW NARRATIVE BURLESQUE BY OK FINE COLLABORATIONS
Here to represent Seattle’s weird burlesque scene, ROADHEADZ! follow the sexy and satirical journey of Sweet Sherri Rose as she looks for love on a cross-country trip. Sun Sept 3, 3-4 pm, Center Theatre
VELOCITY PRESENTS: ALICE GOSTI
18 + | Info, programs, and schedule can be found at seattleeroticcinema.org
Tickets via Stranger Tickets: fspc.boldtypetickets.com/ events/46590479/secs-fest
Alice Gosti has racked up awards in her past decade of choreographical artistry, from the Intiman Theatre’s Emerging Artist Program to an Artist Trust GAP Grant. More recently, she was an artist-in-residence at Seattle University and University of Washington. Her durational performances in Seattle have included Bodies of Water, a tiny act of kindness, and Invisible Womxn Fri Sept 1, Seattle Center
Words & Ideas
H GHOSTS OF SEATTLE PAST
Jaimee Garbacik (editor, artist, and author of Gender & Sexuality for Beginners), Josh Powell, and illustrator Jon Horn have finally finished Ghosts of Seattle Past (Chin Music Press), a collaborative book featuring tons of art and stories based on the memories of Seattle mossbacks, transplants, and the dispossessed alike. You remember that punk house you used to go to in high school? Or that one coffee shop in the Melrose building? Or the 10,000 years of Duwamish life buried in the ground beneath the city? Those stories are all in there, as well as great comics by Eroyn Franklin and Jon Strongbow. Hear more about the project at this panel moderated by our own Sean Nelson and featuring Garbacik, Powell, and several of the book’s contributors. RICH SMITH Sat Sept 2, 4:05-5:05 pm, Vera Project
THE MAGIC HAT
“Brilliant humans(?),” ranging from seasoned stand-up comics to sketch performers to audience members, are selected (presumably out of the Magic Hat) throughout the show to perform at this comedy variety show, otherwise described as a “friendship machine that will make the world a better place.” Fri Sept 1, 2:35-3:35 pm, Vera Project
THE SEATTLE MUSIC PANEL
Curious about Seattle’s music scene as it is, as it used to be, and as it’s becoming? Representatives of local music institutions—Sub Pop (Megan Jasper), the Vera Project (Tim Lennon), KEXP (Sharlese Metcalf), and the Office of Film + Music (Kate Becker)—will enlighten you. Sun Sept 3, 4:05-5:05 pm, Vera Project
Art
ART/NOT TERMINAL GALLERY
The community-based Art/Not Terminal Gallery exhibits work by artists from every stratum of society, some of whom have no formal training. Sept 1-3, International Fountain Pavilion
CORNISH COLLEGE OF THE ARTS POSTER SHOW
Seattle Erotic Cinema Society presents
Seattle Erotic Cinema Society presents
International film festival celebrating the artistry of erotic cinema while inspiring diverse communities to engage in adult conversations about sex.
September 8-10
BATTLE OF THE WORD POETRY SLAM
Watch the winning poets of Seattle’s slam scene contests compete for the title of Seattle City Champions. Fri Sept 1, 4:05-5:05 pm, Vera Project
THE BUSHWICK BOOK CLUB
The unusual Bushwick Book Club writes original songs based on their reading selections. This time, they’ll base their performance on Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One Sat Sept 2, 2:35-3:35 pm, Vera Project
FUNNY OR DIE PRESENTS: CREATING COMEDY IN THE AGE OF TRUMP
Funny or Die’s senior writer, Nate Dern, will moderate a conversation with Bumbershoot comedians on Trump-joke burnout and the relevance of political humor. Sat Sept 2, 3:204:20 pm, Bagley Wright Theater
FUNNY OR DIE PRESENTS: POLITICAL SATIRE DURING A DIVISIVE ERA
Senior writer Nate Dern will show you the best political satire from Funny Or Die from the past year. Stay on for a Q&A session. Fri Sept 1, 6:30-7:30 pm, SIFF Film Center
See poster art from the acclaimed Cornish College of the Arts, the alma mater of many notable performers and artists such as Merce Cunningham, SassyBlack, Brendan Fraser, Aleah Chapin, and Mary Lambert. Sept 1-3, International Fountain Pavilion
H FLATSTOCK
Browse gig posters all weekend at this show by the American Poster Institute. They’re varied and colorful, and they’re for sale! Sept 1-4, Armory
MAYOR’S ARTS AWARDS 15TH ANNIVERSARY
The Mayor’s Arts Awards, now in their 15th year, recognize artists, community leaders, and organizations that are “committed to enriching their communities through the arts.” This exhibit will celebrate the laureates, who are commended for their work for equality. Fri Sept 1, International Fountain Pavilion
SEATTLE CENTER ARTWALK
Explore the art of Seattle Center: Kalina Chung’s Wake Up Call (which “incorporates American rooster weathervanes atop poles around the KeyArena, repurposed to display traditional Lunar New Year celebratory colors of red and gold”), Tara Tamaribuchi’s Camouflage Net Project (which incorporates kimono fabric and camouflage in order to “send pride of heritage back” to the Japanese Americans who
LINEUP ART/FILM/SPECTACLES
made camouflage nets for the US Army during WWII), Sofia Babaeva’s Rest to the Nest (which draws parallels “between human settlements and social structures and the colonies of barn swallows”), Hugo Moro’s Sitting Pretty (which “weaves recycled vinyl banners on benches on the Seattle Center campus to enliven the visitor experience”), April Soetarman’s chimeforest (“a series of suspended metal pieces” that play a certain tone on the Javanese gamelan musical scale), Henry Jackson Spieker’s Lattice (which “represents three main aspects of Seattle’s past, present, and future”), Randi Ganulin’s Lodestar (“based on the Hindu myth of the god Indra’s casting of a net over the Earth that is infinite in scale and hung with mirrored jewels at each juncture of the net, so that each infinitely reflects every other mirrored jewel”), and Erin Genia’s Resilience (featuring a hand-painted Morningstar banner to pay homage to “urban Native people’s resilience through vibrant cultural expression”). Sept 1-3, Seattle Center
Film
BEST
OF SIFF 2017 #1
Watch the best films from the 2017 film festival (as chosen by judges and audience members).
The first group of shorts includes Pussy, a Polish film about a young girl whose plans to spend time masturbating go awry; Refugee, a Senegalese film about a US immigrant from West Africa who left her children behind in order to give them a better future; and The Stunt Manual, a Spanish film about the LAPD and a 1968 Mustang. Sept 1-3, 4:30-5:30 pm, SIFF Film Center
BEST OF SIFF 2017 #2
Watch the best films from the 2017 film festival (as chosen by judges and audience members). The second group of shorts includes Defend the Sacred, about the indigenous people who stood in solidarity at Standing Rock; Women & Wine, a Norwegian film about drama at a 50th anniversary party; and Sleepover, a Spanish film about a young girl who invites her friends to a sleepover that turns complicated “when your home is not exactly what your friends may call a home.” Sept 1-3, 5:306:30 pm, SIFF Film Center
FILMS 4 ADULTS
These “thrilling, unsettling, and sometimes sweet” films are specifically not for children. The short film selections include topics ranging from an experience in a bar to a retired man who orders a spa to a fisherman who finds a prehistoric man frozen in ice to a closer look at drag icon Peaches Christ. Sun Sept 3, 6:30-7:30 pm, SIFF Film Center
FILMS 4 FAMILIES
It’s safe to bring the little ones to these short films from a variety of countries, which are mostly about animals (The Little Bird and The Caterpillar, DAM! - The Story of Kit the Beaver, and Spring Jam, about a young stag who has no antlers) and children (one who is late to school and one who uses a wheelchair to get around).
Sept 1-3, 2:30-3:30 pm, SIFF Film Center
NORTHWESTERN STORIES
The “history and spirit of Washington State” will take center stage in this short film series, which will include stories about the Northwest Tap Connection and dance, a part of the King County Library System where damaged books are repaired, the racism that Bruce Lee faced in Hollywood, a 90-year-old family accordion business, and “femme blackness from a non-exploitative analysis”—plus Wes Hurley’s excellent Little Potato, which won the prize for best
short documentary at the SXSW Film Festival. Sept 1-3, 3:30-4:30 pm, SIFF Film Center
SONIC SHORTS
Watch a variety of music videos that embody the “spirit of Bumbershoot,” including some featuring music by Chastity Belt, Big Wild, Dude York, SassyBlack, Cataldo, DoNormaal, and Mommy Long Legs. Sat Sept 2, 6:30-7:30 pm, SIFF Film Center
Spectacles
FILTHY FEMCORPS
This feminist organization, which creates music and movement, calls themselves a “sisterhood of musical warriors” and a “hot bag full of fierce badass women who aren’t afraid to be weird, genuine, raw, sweaty, confident, honest, loving, and real.” Sept 1-3, Seattle Center
FULL TILT PINBALL ARCADE + ICE
CREAM SHOP
Full Tilt’s collection of pinball machines will make a guest appearance at Bumbershoot this year. Sept 1-3, Next Fifty Annex
LASER SHOWS
To the delight of woozy psychedelia-lovers across the city, the Laser Dome will flash gorgeous patterns across the ceiling in time to music by a different artist during each show: MGMT, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Daft Punk, Gorillaz, Deadmau5, and Outkast. Sept 1-3, 6:30-10:30 pm, Laser Dome at Pacific Science Center
PIKE PLACE MARKET BUSKERS GUILD
Keep a lookout for Pike Place Market Buskers Guild’s roster of “jugglers, break dancers, human statues, cheerleaders, hula hoopers, musicians, and circus performers” stationed throughout the festival. Sept 1-3, Seattle Center
SENSEBELLUM PROJECTION
Sensebellum uses technology like projection mapping and augmented reality to cast the everyday world in a more beautiful light. Their projects have included Cubix, a modular stacking set of light-up cubes, and the Sensatorium installation, which features stuff to play on inside a geodesic dome. Sept 1-3, 8:30-11 pm, Seattle Center
SILENT DISCO
You and all the other partygoers will be dancing to the same jam, but no one out of the loop will hear anything but your shufflin’ feet. Get your pair of wireless headphones, tune into the DJ’s wavelength, and take it away. Sept 1-2, 7-11 pm and Sun Sept 3, 7-10:30 pm, Sky Church at MoPOP
SUB POP POP-UP STORE
Enjoy art, design, and shopping from the famous indie Sub Pop Records, which released the work of artists like Soundgarden, TAD, Mudhoney, Sleater-Kinney, and of course Nirvana. Nowadays, they represent some of the most critically acclaimed musicians and comedians around: Shabazz Palaces, Father John Misty, Heron Oblivion, Porter Ray, So Pitted, and many others. Sept 1-3, International Fountain Pavilion
YOGASHOOT
Do something healthy at Bumbershoot with CorePower yoga. Sept 2-3, 2:15-3:15 pm, Mural Amphitheatre
YOUNGERSHOOT
Accompanied kids aged 10 and younger can play, make art, and learn in this special family zone. Sept 1-3, Seattle Children’s Museum
