Seattle’s long-running Bumbershoot Arts and Music Festival, which returned in 2023 after a four-year hiatus, will be anchored by Pavement, James Blake, Kim Gordon, Kurt Vile, Courtney Barnett, Aly & AJ and Freddie Gibbs when it takes over the Queen City on Aug. 31-Sept. 1.
Also performing across the Seattle Center’s 74-acre grounds are BADBADNOTGOOD, Cypress Hill, CHVRCHES’ Lauren Mayberry, Madison Cunningham and Andrew Bird, Carl Cox, Thee Sacred Souls, Marc Rebillet, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Neil Francis, Lee Fields, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Lol Tolhurst x Budgie, the Polyphonic Spree, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Pure Bathing Culture, k.flay, Helado Negro and Mercury Rev.
For Pavement, whose frontman Stephen Malkmus has long been based in nearby Portland, Or., Bumbershoot is the band’s only announced concert through the end of the year. Pavement reunited in 2022 after a 12-year break and has played more than 80 shows since.
As always, Bumbershoot will shine a light on the Pacific Northwest’s robust food and drink scene through its Culinary Arts programming, with more than 55 local restaurants and wineries represented. In addition, the festival’s Visual Arts and adjunct programming slate includes a new Animation District, the Century 21 District at the Pacific Science Center, the Recess District with roller-skating, gymnastics, breakdancing, double-dutch jump rope and cheerleading, and the large-scale contemporary art exhibition Out of Sight at the Fisher Pavilion.
Last year, Bumbershoot’s first incarnation since 2018 was headlined by a number of beloved artists reared in the Pacific Northwest, including Sleater-Kinney, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Band of Horses.
