Seattle’s biggest music, comedy, and arts festival, Bumbershoot, will return over Labor Day weekend for the 48th year, and its lineup of musical acts is stacked as can be. In case you’re still frantically trying to map out which shows to see, our music critics have recommended the artists they think are worth checking out, from the enchantingly hypnotic Seattle rapper DoNormaal to sweet and sulfuric Sub Pop rockers Jo Passed to new wave punk legends Blondie. Follow the links below for all of their recommendations, and find the full schedule on our complete Bumbershoot calendar. Plus, check our arts critics’ picks for the festival’s top 28 comedy, conversation, film & arts events.
FRIDAY
BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLK
Noah Gundersen
In the 10 years since his 2008 debut, Brand New World, Noah Gundersen has evolved from his Olympia beginnings in stripped-down indie folk to a fuller, more emotionally complicated sound that brings an unabashed sentimentality to each song—even the one about porn stars (check out the track “Bad Actors” on 2017’s WHITE NOISE). Gundersen’s committed, melancholy vocal power has a raw honesty that beckons comparisons to Thom Yorke, the Lonely Forest, and Johnny Cash. SOPHIA STEPHENS
Mural Amphitheater, 7:40 pm
