Bumbershoot Arts and Music Festival returns for the 51st year this Labor Day Weekend (Aug 31 – September 1). Today, the festival revealed its dynamic 2024 programming, including an iconic music lineup featuring Pavement, James Blake, Courtney Barnett, Freddie Gibbs, and more. At the center of the festival is Bumbershoot’s Visual Arts program, which will feature a brand new Animation District. As always, Bumbershoot will spotlight exemplary Culinary Arts offerings from more than 50 different PNW-focused restaurants, wineries, and breweries.

MUSIC 

Bumbershoot has a storied history, unafraid to pair the lasting and loved with artists on the precipice of breakthrough, with a smattering of the best of the Northwest. 2024’s music lineup keeps to that unexpected eclecticism, including headliners like indie rock legends Pavement and esteemed U.K. songwriter and genre-bending producer James Blake, folk-rockers Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett, pop-rock duo Aly & AJ, rapper Freddie Gibbs, and Kim Gordon. 

Other nationally recognized acts on the bill include jazz upstarts BADBADNOTGOOD, CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry, rap veterans Cypress Hill, U.K. dance maven Carl Cox, soul vocalist Lee Fields, vintage underground rock acts Mercury Rev, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists and The Polyphonic Spree, a rare on-stage pairing of singer/songwriters Madison Cunningham and Andrew Bird and goth icons Lol Tolhurst x Budgie.

This year’s lineup will also feature performances from rising talents like Squirrel Flower, Moor Mother, Psymon Spine, Rocket, Automatic, Corridor and Disq.

CULINARY ARTS

Seattle’s esteemed restaurants will line the festival grounds to celebrate the abundance of the Pacific Northwest. The Culinary Arts Program keeps to Bumbershoot’s community-driven mission, with a regionally focused food offering aiming to celebrate, challenge, comfort, have fun, uplift, and indulge. Come to the festival hungry and leave with a belly full of delectables from your new favorite restaurant. Among the over 29 different local restaurants and 26 different wineries and breweries are Local Tide’s exquisite seafood dishes and Filipino food from Musang, both of which were recently featured in The New York Times list of Seattle’s Best Restaurants. Other highlights include the highly-rated Mamnoon Street Eats, serving classic Levantine cuisine, Eva’s Wild, known for its sustainable fishing and low carbon footprint, Gold Coast Ghal, serving West African Cuisine, MariPili Tapas Bar, whose head chef is a James Beard award semi-finalist, and more eats from Ballard Pizza Co., Big Max Burger, Co., and Indigo Cow, amongst others. Head to bumbershoot.com to see the full list of participating restaurants! 

VISUAL ARTS

Fueled by fresh ambition, optimism, and a mission to uplift and honor the diverse community of artists, creators, and performers who proudly call the Pacific Northwest home, Bumbershoot’s 2024 Visual Arts will showcase some of the region’s most talented artists. This year, Bumbershoot is reinforcing its commitment to the regional community with the return of fan favorites like the Fashion District, Out of Sight exhibit, and a film program, while also introducing new programming like a unique partnership with NASA, a Bigfoot deepfake animation competition, and more.

• NEW** Animation District: The newly launched Animation District is part of the larger Arts Programming lineup but will host a wide array of exciting installments around the Seattle Center Campus. This year you can enjoy in-person presentations by the director of the Oscar®-nominated Nimona, the VFX supervisor and Production Designer on the Oscar®-nominated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the writer/director of Netflix’s highly anticipated Ultraman: Rising, and the VFX and Visualization Supervisors of Sony Entertainment’s upcoming Harold and the Purple Crayon. This year also marks the inaugural Bigfoot Deepfake Competition. This creative, international competition welcomes participants to submit their best deepfakes of Bigfoot as a comedic and harrowing portrait of current deepfake technology. Also in the Animation District, experimental animator and artist Stefan Gruber directs Rock, Paper, Scissors – a material-based group film program. Other programs in this district include augmented reality, gaming, contemporary art animations, a youth animation program curated by Orion Razat, and film screenings, all previewing a soon-to-be-announced 2025 Animation Festival.
  
• Century 21 District: The Century 21 District at the Pacific Science Center will bring a transcendent and awe-inspiring experience to Bumbershoot attendees. In the iconic mid-century designed courtyard, a “Sculpture Parking Lot” will populate the outdoor space with large-scale contemporary sculpture. “Songs for Space,” in partnership with NASA, will project James Webb Space Telescope images in the PACCAR IMAX theater alongside a range of different vocal groups, including gospel, opera and Gregorian chanting. Inspired by The Golden Record which NASA placed on the Voyager 1 and 2 launched in 1977 – “Songs for Space” creates the immersive environment of deep space paired with live vocalists meant to convey the depth and diversity of Earth’s many cultures and our relationship to the heavens.
  
• Recess District: The Recess District presents the art of performance, featuring roller-skating, gymnastics, breakdancing, double-dutch jump rope, and cheerleading. Seattle Skate Shop 35^th North leads a skateboard competition on a newly commissioned half pipe by Dope Planet. Bumbermania! wrestling showcase returns to the festival under the curation of Grit City Wrestling School. The Recess District is also home to BumBEERshoot Craft Beer Garden, where festival-goers can enjoy the finest selections of local specialty and craft beers!
  
• Fashion District: Despite outdated stereotypes, our region is brimming with apparel designers and bold fashion talent. The Fashion District returns to Bumbershoot with a wide range of performances, vendors and runway shows. Expect vintage to the avant-garde, hair and nail art, jewelry and a slew of choices to inspire and transform you.
  
• Out Of Sight: Out Of Sight is a large-scale group exhibition of contemporary art in the Pacific Northwest. Located in the Fisher Pavilion and throughout the Seattle Center, the group show represents an annual survey of contemporary visual arts from throughout the Pacific Northwest that blends commercial and non-commercial art, installation and new media presented by a team of regional curators.
  
• Geodesic Domes: This constellation of micro-environments includes a new Comedy Dome curated by Seattle comedian, writer and disability rights activist Dan Hurwitz. Back by popular demand, the Cat Circus will return with new death-defying stunts and the Pole Pavilion celebrates the art of pole dancing throughout the region. Those seeking an immediate transformation can head to the surreal Wig Farm and pick a new head of hair from a garden of wigs.
  
• If You Know You Know: Art Not Terminal Gallery presents If You Know You Know – a group photography exhibit documenting three underground music communities from the Pacific Northwest.
  
• Exceptionally Underrated: Bumbershoot TV (BTV) invites regional musicians to submit original music videos as part of the Exceptionally Underrated film series at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). There is a $5,000 cash prize for best in show.
  
• Free-Range Artists: Artists will be roaming the grounds of Bumbershoot. From traditional Lion Dancing to contemporary performance, you’ll discover a variety of performances and installations woven into the fabric of the audience. “Kind of Important Seating” and a Kissing Booth round out this spontaneous and interactive program.

TICKETING INFORMATION

$70 Single Day Pass and $125 Two Day Pass available at www.bumbershoot.com