This morning, Bumbershoot dropped their highly anticipated music lineup for the 53rd annual music and arts festival, taking place at the Seattle Center over Labor Day Weekend (September 5 and 6). The scheduled programming has something for every music fan, so I’d better not hear any complaints! (Though I know I will.) Headliners include homegrown indie-rock staple Death Cab for Cutie (who recently announced their new album, I Built You a Tower, is coming June 5), Michelle Zauner’s dreamy indie-pop project Japanese Breakfast, Grammy-winning punk band Turnstile*, R&B synth wizard Blood Orange, and beloved East Coast hip-hop group De La Soul.
Other highlights include riot grrrl originators (and holders of the key to Olympia) Bikini Kill, electropop performance artist Peaches, masked cowboy Orville Peck, experimental electronic artist Yves Tumor, and R&B singer/violinist Sudan Archives.
Personally, I’m most excited to see Chicago-based rapper Noname, who is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her jazz-infused debut mixtape, Telefone. (If you are in shock that this was released a decade ago, you are not alone!) I am also looking forward to seeing the Zamrock band W.I.T.C.H, whose 1974 album In the Past kind of sounds like if the Kinks played with untuned instruments (in the best way)—free-flowing, joyful, and completely one of a kind.
New this year: Bumbershoot is implementing several “fan-driven improvements,” including the option of reentry tickets for an additional fee ($20 for single-day tickets and $30 for weekend passes). They are also introducing a new “Sip & Stroll open-container experience,” allowing guests to enjoy beverages beyond beer gardens. Plus, this year, children 12 and under are admitted free with a ticketed adult.
Here’s the full day-by-day breakdown of the lineup:
Saturday, September 5
Turnstile
Japanese Breakfast
Blood Orange
Chase & Status
Bikini Kill
Molchat Doma
Joey Valence & Brae
Peaches
Die Spitz
Silvana Estrada
Pixel Grip
Cain Culto
Travis Thompson
Oblé Reed
XCOMM
Anthers
Juliet Daniel
Aryana León
Bexley
Sunday, September 6
Death Cab for Cutie
Orville Peck
De La Soul
Yves Tumor
ATARASHII GAKKO!
Sudan Archives
Tokimonsta
Goldie Boutilier
Noname – 10th Anniversary of “Telefone”
54 Ultra
Sextile
PawPaw Rod
W.I.T.C.H.
Takuya Nakamura
Daughters of Venus
Lucha Luna
Hannah Duckworth
Morgan Paris Lanza
American Flats
*Fun fact: Turnstile wrote the song “Listening” for the I Think You Should Leave shirt brothers skit! Think they’ll play it at Bumbershoot?
