If you care about Bumbershoot arts festivalâheld at Seattle Center this year September 2-4âyou may have noticed a shift in content in 2015. That was the first, transitional year that Bumbershoot operated under the primary control of AEGLive, and sales figures increased, thanks to a lineup that skewed heavier toward a more youthful demographic and mainstream sensibilities. To gain more insight into how Bumbershoot functions in the brave new festival-glutted world of 2016, I spoke to AEGLive's vice president of Pacific Northwest operations Rob Thomas. (Publicist Matthew Ashworth of Porter Novelli, the firm promoting Bumbershoot, accompanied us. Both men said that they don't know who leaked the festival lineup online ahead of the official announcement, but they're definitely searching for the culprit.)
The Stranger: Who books Bumbershoot now?
Rob Thomas; We have two talent buyers: Chad Queirolo and Katie Brogan. Chadâs been booking the Showbox for 18 years. Katieâs been doing it there for nearly six years. They lead the charge on that, but they ask for input and support all the way around, but theyâre the lead buyers. Robin Kim books the comedy stages.
Whatâs your role?
Thomas: Iâm more in charge of oversight of the whole event. I wouldnât say I have any particular department, but I pretty touch every aspect of it and manage all of those aspects. I get everyone the tools that they need to do their job. Weâve got an amazing team with lots of people who put in tons of hours. Itâs endless the amount of time and energy that goes into it. Iâm trying to empower everyone to do the best job they can.
What are the guiding principles for Bumbershootâs content? Can you articulate any general philosophies behind the booking decisions?
Thomas: Our mantra is "discovery and exploration." Our intent is for people to go out there and leave their problems of the day behind and explore and discover stuff. Whether thatâs a band or a comedian or a piece of art at the Flatstock poster show, the theater...
Matthew Ashworth: Puddles Pity Party was my highlight last year. Heâs a classically trained opera singer and sad clown who doesnât speak; he only sings. Iâm sure Iâll find something like that this year. Iâve been going to Bumbershoot since I was 11. I always ask: What do I not know that I want to see? And then I walk into something and see it.
Thomas: Hopefully, everyone has a discovery like that. There are so many different art forms and cultural elements there.
Ashworth: Last year at the Reign Supreme Breakdance thing, the lines to get in were huge.
Thomas: Itâs probably going to be even bigger this year.
Do you feel like you needed to start over with your booking philosophy from One Reel? Chris Porter had booked Bumbershoot for 18 years. Do you think there was a radical shift after he was replaced?
Thomas: Not really. Thereâs a 46-year history that lends itself to that same philosophy. A lot of that inspiration and the model is the legacy. We spent a lot of time with Norm Langill, who was the original One Reel guy. He runs Teatro Zinzanni now and heâs been an amazing advisor and inspiration to us. He offers infinite wisdom. We meet with him every couple of months to get his feedback and stamp of approval. Some of the other people who were around at day one, Karen Gates Hildt, a local attorney, was part of the mayorâs request to do the festival in 1971. It was her crew who made the plea to the city in 1971 when the city needed that morale boost. We spend a lot of time getting their input.
Is Bumbershoot consciously trying to attract a younger crowd than in past years?
Thomas: I think itâs a beast of its own and has a personality of its own. The festival is bigger than any individuals who are lucky enough to work on it. There are thousands of people who work on the weekend of the event, and hundreds who work up on the lead-up to it. Itâs been so many different things for 46 years. Every person you ask has a different vision of what it is. So itâs hard to put it in a box and say that itâs this. Itâs different things to so many different people. Itâs been an inspiration to festivals worldwide and nationwide. It was a forerunner to this whole modern-day movement of what a festival has become. It really has a life source of its own. Feeding that beast is what we try to do.
Weâve made a conscious effort this year to incorporate local chefs, because we consider them artists. Weâre empowering them to show their art. Weâre obviously going to have food booths and that element, but thereâs also the performance element of the chefs, as well.
Another thing weâre desperately trying to incorporate is some tech elements, some virtual reality stuff. Weâre talking to a bunch of people. Whether that comes to fruition this year⌠Itâs a goal. I donât know if weâre going to cross that bridge this year, but if not this year, definitely next year. Virtual reality is something thatâs happening locally and itâs changing the world in so many ways. [AEG is talking to several companies but wouldnât name any until theyâve confirmed their commitments.]
Did Bumbershoot take any inspiration from other festivals in planning this yearâs lineup?
Thomas: It takes inspiration from itself more than anyone else, because we look at it as Seattleâs festival. There are so many festivals happening in the US now that what we can do is our local thing and thatâs what weâve tried to pursue. We have it downtown because we want it to be a part of our city. Be a reason for people to visit here. Be a reason for the people who do live here to partake.
Ashworth: You donât often see festivals have such a broad scope and include all the arts and think about food.
Thomas: More than anything, we see other festivals taking inspiration from what Bumbershoot has done for all these years. A lot of them are incorporating the comedy element. Theyâre ramping up those food pieces and the other disciplines, whether itâs dance or theater.
Ashworth: One year I decided to do mostly comedy and I ended up seeing Fred Armisen, Aziz Ansari, and Zach Galifianakis. I think about those guys now and how cool is that?
Thomas: Itâs nice to have the comedy sets spread out over three different stages and the different vibe of the comedians. A lot of them, itâs not something you can put on the main stage and do a standup in that environment. It needs to be in a tight, smaller space in a room.
Ashworth: I grew up in Yakima, but my parents cared enough about the arts so weâd drive to Bumbershoot. So I saw Poison Idea, with my mom sitting in the stands, so I could go down in the pit. Last year I took my daughterâI have an 11-year-old. Thatâs unique in a festival; I went with my mom and now Iâm excited to go with my kids.
Thomas: Most modern festivals donât have that type of legacy to have had a generational overlap.
Have you received much feedback about the lineup yet?
Thomas: The stuff on Twitterâs been really positive. Itâs hard to tell until we go on sale with it. People vote with their dollars at that point.
Is there a make-or-break figure you need to hit with ticket sales?
Thomas: More than anything, we want all those venues to be filled for the performers. Even with the smaller stages, we donât want anyone to play to empty rooms. Thatâs the biggest concern. With so many choices, hopefully people can move around and get to experience a little bit of everything.
Is there pressure to achieve a certain sales figure?
Thomas: Not necessarily. Itâs more about people having a great experience. Itâs bigger than one band or one comedian or whatever: Itâs the cumulative effect of all of that. Itâs hard to break it down into silos like that when it become this beast when it all comes together.
Ashworth: This is my first year working for Bumbershoot, and the change in organization and leadership, people have talked a lot about that over the last few years. Weâre an agency thatâs been hired to help. Everybody weâve worked with is united for the same goal. Itâs not like this personâs from AEG, this personâs from One Reel, etc. Which is cool. Itâs one team.
On the musical front, the Bumbershoot team before AEG seemed to be striving for an 8-80 appeal. Now it seems like some of the older legacy acts have been ignored and a stronger contingent of youth-oriented acts. I donât know if that was a conscious decision or if itâs down to whoâs available whenâthe typical whims of booking festivals.
Thomas: I think itâs more the state of the music industry. Since the introduction of the internet, not only have record companies been turned upside-down, but every aspect of the business. Itâs a different place than it was when we were all excited about buying CDs. Music is basically free now. Hopefully some progress will be made in the streaming world for the artistsâ sake, because itâs pretty brutal.
Ashworth: Itâs a complex issue. I want the artists to get what they deserve, but as a consumer you say, "I can pick up this phone and listen to more free music than I can possibly hear in a lifetime." Where do we balance that? In between? I donât envy the people who are trying to hammer that out.
Thomas: Weâre in the middle of the change.
Ashworth: Thereâs gotta be new revenue opportunities that come with new technologies.
Thomas: Scoring for movies and games is one of the few places where musicians can make a living. Itâs super-competitive.
Ashworth: It feels like weâre not that far away from I can buy my first virtual reality concert with Drive Like Jehu circa 1990, right? [laughs]
Thomas: Have you seen the Portlandia sketch where they go to the music festival, but they donât leave their couch. Literally, they go to Pickathon, they sit on their couch with these big head things on, and they fly drones around the festival. I laughed out loud the entire time.
The big, glaring example of a discovery from last year that people didnât know was Chris Stapleton. He played and nobody knew who he was. The people who were there got a treat. And then this year he became one of the biggest performers of today. I think we have a couple of those [artists]. Barns Courtney has potential to really skyrocket. Bishop Briggs is another one. Thatâs the most exciting part of the music stuff for me: seeing which of these people are going to take off. Just wait and see, because wonât have them next year. They will be entirely too big.
Were there any artists you were trying to get this year whom you somehow couldnât?
Thomas: Oh, we go through hundreds and hundreds. And the hard part is, we kind of have to wait for them to say no before you can move on to the next one. Otherwise if they all say yes, then youâre stuck. Itâs a nine-month process of hurry up and wait or pass or no thank you or letâs go on to the next one. The options on that change dailyâeven up till the last minute here. A lot of this stuff got solidified in the last week or two. Itâs frightening and no way to live, but thatâs the life we live. [laughs]
Were there any headliner-level people you were upset about not getting?
Thomas: With a lot of those, we hope to get âem all next year. We go through so many names before we land on it.
Were Macklemore and Ryan Lewis easy to get, or did it take a lot of negotiating?
Thomas: Once we laid it out to them, they really clicked and everyone was on the same page. Itâs a great thing for them to come back in that fashion. It made a lot of sense, locally, with their roots. They made a phenomenal video touting hometown pride and the fact that theyâre on this. It encapsulates his journey in a minute-long clip. He said it brings everything full circle for him. Itâs just a whole lot of love for the city. We couldnât have asked for anything better.
Anything else you want to discuss?
Thomas: CIDR stuff is really important. The Center for Infectious Disease Research, their labs and offices are on Westlake. Theyâre doing amazing research. Theyâre researching cures and tests for HIV, AIDS, malaria, and TB. All of those diseases kill millions of people throughout the world. The fact that theyâre part of our community, the fact that theyâre our official non-profit partner, is a whole other element of our local community. To potentially help and save people around the world to the tune of millions of people, it makes us all proud to be part of that. And to educate people and promote their message. Thatâs the biggest goal. Apparently itâs a lot harder to breed a mosquito than I thought. The breed em, they dissect them, and itâs all happening right here. A portion of ticket sales goes to CIDR to do further research and to fund their cause. My brother-in-law works for a pharmaceutical company and he said, âThose arenât very profitable diseases.â Itâs truly for helping humanity. Itâs not research to make a drug that theyâll make a bunch of money off. Itâs about saving lives.
Kamasi Washington is the Bumbershoot 2016 artist I'm most excited about.