(Now Including Lizzo!)
The annual festival named after the absolute necessity in Seattle (the umbrella) returns Labor Day weekend to defend its title of one of the biggest international music and arts festivals in North America. For almost 50 years now, Bumbershoot has provided incredible musical acts and culture to the Emerald City, with acts of all shapes and sizes finding home in the Evergreen state for one weekend only. The promise music brings of creating a unifying experience for all is in the air as summer starts to wind down, and this year is NO exception.
The festival is known to draw around 80,000 people in attendance every year to Seattle Center (which was built for the 1962 World’s Fair, so you KNOW it’s in an incredible location) and has featured big names such as Lorde, Chance the Rapper, and Seattle native Macklemore, to name a few. With a minor delay in the release of this year’s lineup, it arrived promising new memories for the end of summer in the city. Aching to find out who’s going to be in town? Then let’s dive in.
Kicking off the festival on Friday originally included Tyler, the Creator and Hippie Sabotage as the headliners, with a mysterious five-star slot in between the two. It was just yesterday that this was revealed to be none other than America’s next bop star, LIZZO (also known as my one true love)! With the recent release of her top ten album, Cuz I Love You and the unbeatable success of her now two-year-old single, “Truth Hurts”, her incredible ability to perform live like no other make the perfect opening for the festive weekend.
Remember that old saying? Location, location, location; meaning the place something is at can make or break its performance. Seattle Center creates the perfect mini world (relatively, because the whole area is a whopping 74 acres) inside the literal heart of Seattle. Being formatted with indoor and outdoor stages right next to the Space Needle adds to the magic of having the festival right in the city. Bumbershoot’s roots as a festival for the area are the reason local landmarks and local vendors are able to shine.
As always, a great time can be expected from Bumbershoot, rain or shine. Big names to look out for include Tyler, the Creator, Hippie Sabotage, and one of the 21st century’s greatest performers, Lizzo (can you tell which one I’m excited about? Her set is going to be HUGE). Saturday holds a new mix, with the Lumineers, H.E.R., Jai Wolf, and LP holding down the fort. The festival closes with highly anticipated perfomances from REZZ, Louis the Child, and to finish off with the resurgence of pop punk, Taking Back Sunday.