Bumbershoot is returning to Seattle this year from August 31 to September 2 at Seattle Center. This year's lineup was just announced, and it includes Death Cab for Cutie performing Transatlanticism (in case The Postal Service reuniting wasn't enough Ben Gibbard nostalgia for you), Kendrick Lamar, MGMT, The Breeders, The Zombies, Alt-J, Deerhunter, Baroness, Crystal Castles, Gary Numan, Joey Bada$$, Eric Burdon, Bob Mould, David Bazan, Charli XCX, Redd Kross, The Men and more.

Tickets (3-day passes, 2-day passes, and single day tickets) for the festival are on sale now.

Full lineup below...

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2013 lineup & tix (Death Cab for Cutie, MGMT, Kendrick Lamar, Breeders, Zombies, Alt-J, Deerhunter & more)"

Slow Club

A couple shows at Glasslands in August we should point out. On their way to Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival, Fujiya & Miyagi will stop by on August 31 for a show at the Williamsburg venue with Hess is More and Wishes. Tickets for that show are on sale now. It's their only other U.S. date scheduled at the moment. Did you go see them at Glasslands back in January?

And then the next night (8/31) Glasslands hosts Slow Club for what is their only current American date we can find. The show is with Secret Cities and tickets for that show are on sale now. Something must be brewing. Slow Club were here back in February. The band just released a video for new single "Beginners" (you may recognize it's star, even without the lightning bolt scar, watch it below) and are currently wrapping up recording for a new EP.

Continue reading "Slow Club and Fujiya & Miyagi playing shows (separately) at Glasslands in August"

The 2012 music lineup was announced today for Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival, which is produced by non-profit arts organization One Reel and takes place over Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-3, at Seattle Center. The 42-year-old urban festival stands on top nationally in its variety as it showcases both familiar and up-and-coming regional and national talent in many musical genres, as well as in comedy, theater, literary and visual arts, dance, film and children's programming.

Bumbershoot's Mainstage in KeyArena will feature two multi-act performances each day. Artists scheduled to perform there include groundbreaking alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, jazz legend Tony Bennett, electronic phenom Skrillex, a hip hop double bill with Mac Miller and Big Sean, M83, and AWOLNATION among others. Additional Mainstage acts will be announced in coming weeks.

Tickets are all-inclusive. All festival offerings, including Mainstage admission on a first-come, first-served basis (no separate pass required), and late-night electronic music curated by Decibel Festival for Bumbershoot After Dark, are included in the price of a single-day or 3-day ticket

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2012 lineup (Jane's Addiction, Tony Bennett & Skrillex are the headliners)"

DOWNLOAD: The Vaselines - Sex with an Ex (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Vaselines - I Hate the '80s (MP3)

The Vaselines return to America this summer for a few shows, including an August 30 stop at The Bell House in Brooklyn (on sale Friday at noon). They'll also play San Francisco and Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival.

After breaking up in 1989, the influential Glaswegian indie band reformed in 2008 and released Sex with an Ex on Sub Pop in 2010. You can download two tracks from it at the top of this post. Tour dates, all three of them, are below, along with the video for "Sex with an Ex."

Continue reading "The Vaselines playing the Bell House, Bumbershoot"

a Sasquatch 2011 patron (more by Josh Darr)

The new year is approaching, and while you're making last minute plans and thinking up your resolutions, you can also start thinking about what festivals to attend in 2012. Here are some updates on next year's US festivals (not in any particular order).

SXSW, which is taking place from March 9-18 in Austin, with the music portion form March 13-18, has already announced a bunch of bands. If you register before January 13, you'll be able to save a bit.

New Orleans Jazz Fest is taking place from April 27 - May 6. The lineup includes The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Reunion, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Foo Fighters, Bon IverMy Morning Jacket, Feist, Janelle Monae, and others. The full lineup is below. Tickets are on sale now.

Sasquatch is taking place this year from May 25-28 in Gorge, Washington. 4-Day passes will be on presale through New Year's Eve, and general sale starts February 11. New for 2012, "Patrons who purchase a 4-day festival ticket will be allowed re-entry from the Festival grounds! This will not apply to any other ticket, only the 4-day pass."

Bonnaroo will be taking place from June 7-10 this year in Manchester, TN. Presale tickets have sold out but tickets will go on sale to the general public in the coming months. Also check out a Spotify playlist of the Bonnaroo staff's favorite songs of 2011.

Coachella, will take place over the course of two weekends this year (April 13-15 and 20-22). Other than a fake lineup poster that has been floating around, no artists have been officially announced yet.

Noise Pop will be celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2012 from February 21-26 in San Francisco. So far the lineup includes Archers of Loaf, Built to Spill, Big Freedia, Surfer Blood, Grimes, Bleached, John Vanderslice, Ume, and others. Check out the full list below.

Austin City Limits is taking place from October 12-14 in Zilker Park in Austin. Souvenir 3-day passes and early bird 3-day passes have sold out but regular 3-day passes are on sale now.

Lollapalooza will take place in 2012 from August 3-5 in Grant Park in Chicago. Tickets will go on sale this spring. As BVChicago mentioned, Lollapalooza is also taking place in Chile and Brazil this year.

Bamboozle, now in a new location, is taking place from May 18-20 in Asbury Park in New Jersey this year. So far the scary lineup includes Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters, Skrillex, Blink 182, Incubus, and Mac Miller. 3-Day wristbands are on sale now.

Bumbershoot is taking place from September 1-3 at Seattle Center in Seattle, WA. Tickets are available and Bumbershoot are currently having a holiday sale where single day tickets are half off (originally $150, now $75).

NYC's own Governors Ball, which took place at Governors Island in 2011, has been moved to the bigger Randall's Island and will take place over the course of two days, June 23 and 24. Like last year, there will be no overlapping sets. Compared to the others listed here, this is not quite a big "festival", but unlike anything else listed above, it does happen in NYC. Artist announcements and tickets are coming soon.

Current NoisePop and Jazz Fest lineups below...

Continue reading "2012 Music Festival Roundup (Jazz Fest, Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, Noise Pop, ACL, Coachella, Bamboozle, SXSW, Bumbershoot & more)"

After revealing a band a day in May, the full initial lineup has been announced for Bumbershoot 2011. The festival, which is taking place September 3-5 at Seattle Center in Seattle, WA, will be headlined by Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dogs (9/3), Wiz Khalifa (9/4), and Daryl Hall & John Oates (9/5). Hmm...

When the producers of Seattle's annual Bumbershoot festival released the lineup for this year's Labor Day weekend run, there was widespread disappointment among many music fans. The biggest complaint, no big names as in years past, like Bob Dylan or the Black Eyed Peas.

"There's not a single band I want to see, and I haven't heard of most them," said Sarah Espinoza, a 19-year-old Penn State University student and intern at KIRO Radio.

But Bumbershoot Programming Director Chris Porter says that reaction is par for the course. "Every year it's the same," Porter says. "Half the people tell me it's the best lineup ever, the other half tell me it's the worst."

It's certainly not for lack of effort. Porter has been working tirelessly to put together a lineup that this year features over 120 bands on over a dozen different stages. He says the goal is to come up with a little something for everyone. [MYNorthwest]

More lineup announcements, including musical artists and Literary, Comedy, Visual Arts, Film, Dance, and Theater programming, will be made in the coming weeks. Check out the currently announced lineup below.

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2011 lineup"

Broken Social Scene @ Coachella 2011 (more by David Andrako)

Broken Social Scene have a few live dates scheduled this summer, and it's just been revealed to us that one of those shows will be at Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn on Thursday, September 8th. That is in fact the same date TV On the Radio is playing the outdoor venue. BSS are opening the show. Tickets go on sale Friday at noon.

Broken Social Scene were also announced on the lineup of Austin City Limits early this morning, and they'll also be making an appearance at Bumbershoot in Seattle on September 4th. The latter hasn't actually announced its full lineup yet, but so far they've also revealed:

Wiz Khalifa, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Minus the Bear, Little Dragon, Broken Social Scene, The Kills, The Lonely Forest, Mavis Staples, Fitz and the Tantrums, Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs, Leon Russell, The Presidents of the United States of America, Urge Overkill, Over The Rhine, Toro Y Moi, Atari Teenage Riot, NoMeansNo....

All BSS dates below...

Continue reading "Broken Social Scene opening for TVOTR on Sept 8, playing ACL, the partially-announced Bumbershoot (and other dates)"

Memorial Day Weekend officially opened the summer, and for those in the Pacific Northwest it also brought Sasquatch Music Festival (pictures from all three days are coming soon). Now the lineup for its Labor Day cousin, Bumbershoot 2010, has been announced. That fest, happening at Seattle, WA's Seattle Center September 4th-6th, will include headliners Bob Dylan, Mary J. Blige, Weezer, Hole, Rise Against, Neko Case, The Decemberists, J. Cole and "one more very special guest to be announced soon."

Tickets (including non-Mainstage 'economy' passes) are on sale now. The rest of the lineup (by day) for the seven-stage festival is posted below...

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2010 lineup (Bob Dylan... Hole... Mary J Blige)"

The Long Winters @ Castle Clinton in 2008 (more by Elizabeth Weinberg)

"A couple of months ago, the Long Winters got some mixed news: Our drummer, Nabil Ayers, was taking a full-time job in New York that would preclude his touring, and our band was invited to play Bumbershoot. We cried, we laughed. Happy as we were for our friend, his new direction meant we would have to start searching for a new drummer, a grueling process under the best of circumstances.

Since then, we've been auditioning drummers from all walks of drummer life, playing with a dozen different characters in search of a good fit. ....

....In our case we ended up with something I never expected: three drummers who made the grade. I've been agonizing over the decision for a couple of weeks, setting up increasingly difficult initiations to try to wear them down, but all three are stalwart. Meantime, Nabil will fly out to play one last show with us at Bumbershoot, and we'll choose a new drummer after the break." [John Roderick for Seattle Weekly]

The Long Winters played a new song at Bumbershoot. Before Bumbershoot they played the Doe Bay Festival with Mike Musburger (formerly of the Fastbacks and Posies) on drums. Videos of/from both of those and more below...

Continue reading "the Long Winters played Bumbershoot with their drummer for the last time +++ John Roderick is here..."

David Cross @ ATP NY on Friday (more by Ryan Muir)

Hi, I'm hated comedian David Cross. I've been asked to go to London to perform a three week run of my offensive stand-up routines at the Soho Theater.

And since it's London and those folks have no idea who I am or what my act is like, I thought that rather than try to whip up a brand new tight hour and a half, that I would instead just brush off some old chestnuts and be on my way. But I dont' remember half of the shit I used to do. Good thing I recorded cd's!

Won't you come watch me "get ready" for London with some Klassic Komedy Bitz? It's priced accordingly and there will be beer.

Thanks,
david

David performed at ATP NY this past Friday. One weekend earlier he and some friends were at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle. That show can be watched in the video below...

Continue reading "David Cross played Bumbershoot (video) -- @ UCB TONIGHT"

Maximo Park's hand written note below...

Continue reading "Maximo Park cancel North American Tour"

Mutek banner in Montreal - May 27, 2009 (bneely)

Mutek, the electronic music festival celebrating its tenth year, is currently underway in Montreal. The five-day fest runs to Sunday, May 31st, and it's streaming online. Moderat, the Modeselektor & Apparat supergroup, performed at Mutek on Thursday, May 28th; the group plays NYC's Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday, May 30th (the show was originally planned for Webster Hall). Tickets are still on sale.

Speaking of parties up North this summer... three other biggies are Ottawa Bluesfest (July 8th-19th), Vancouver Folk Music Festival (July 17-19th) and Calgary Folk Music Festival (July 23rd-26th). Each of those suitably transcend the "blues" and "folk" labels, hosting bands like The Dead Weather and Yeah Yeah Yeahs (in Ottawa), The Weakerthans and Rock Plaza Central (in Vancouver), and The Decemberists, Apostle of Hustle, Kid Koala and Akron/Family (in Calgary). Full lineup for the Calgary Fest (Ottawa in particular is much too massive to post) and ticket info below.

And don't forget about the previously reported Breeders-headlined Sled Island Fest in Calgary on June 24th-27th, Montreal's Osheaga, NXNE, and Toronto's Olympic Island Fest on July 11th, which will host Broken Social Scene and its Arts & Crafts cohorts.

Across the pond, UK's Glastonbury Festival, which runs from June 24th to 28th, has been sold out since February even though the full lineup wasn't announced until this week. Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and Blur will be joined by The Specials, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Spinal Tap, Jarvis Cocker, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Madness, Tom Jones, Animal Collective and many others.

And finally in the States, Monolith Festival, which runs from September 12th to 13th at Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Colorado, has announced its intial lineup, Girl Talk, Passion Pit, and The Walkmen included. The whole thing is posted below.

The weekend before Monolith, Bumbershoot will take place in Seattle (September 5th-7th). That fest's lineup has been updated too. New additions include Vivian Girls, Akron/Family, and Elvis Perkins. All new additions, with previously announced acts, are below. Tickets are still on sale.

In Michigan, the Rothbury Festival over July 4th weekend will feature the only summer fest performance by The Dead, as well as sets by Bob Dylan, String Cheese Incident, Broken Social Scene and more. A few more jam-friendly acts were also just added to the bill. Full lineup below. Tickets are on sale.

Info on all the above fests, with ticket info, below...

Continue reading "Mutek underway, Monolith & Glastonbury lineups, Rothbury, Bumbershoot, Calgary Folk & other festival updates"

The 39th annual Bumbershoot: Seattle's Music & Arts Festival, Presented by Samsung Mobile announces a small portion of the 2009 lineup. The 3-day urban event takes place Labor Day Weekend (September 5 - 7). The Festival stretches across the 74-acre Seattle Center, located beneath the city's iconic Space Needle, and programs 20 indoor and unique outdoor venues. This progressive Festival features a diverse array of arts including live music, comedy, theatre, dance, film, urban crafts, and literary and visual arts.

Continue reading "Bumbershoot announces partial 2009 lineup & ticket info"

photos by Chris Graham

Bumbershoot has evolved over the years, and no one knows that better than Norm Langill, president and CEO of One Reel, the not-for-profit company that produces the event. He's been involved with Bumbershoot since its beginning in the 1970s and is the one who ultimately takes the bouquets and brickbats, the praise and complaints.

As the 2008 festival drew to a close last Monday night, he looked out a picture window in the press room at the still-bustling crowd below and said, "I see people really engaged out there. A mixed crowd."

He turned to me, smiling.

"It was smooth. It was really smooth this year. I feel comfortable enough to not even ask about attendance." [The Seattle Times]

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2008 - more pix, less Monotonix & republicans"

photos by Chris Graham

Dan Deacon: The tour I do in 2009 for "Bromst" [Forthcoming album] will be a large scale production with a full ensemble and a large visual aspect to it. Now that the show has grown in size and I'm playing facilities that have really nice PA systems, lighting rigs and lots of open space it's fun to experiment with those aspects. It's still fun to play a house show or a warehouse, but it's also a lot of fun to have technology at my disposal and also to do performances in large, open rooms. That's more of the direction I want to go in. Fancy, ritzy-ditsy places, but still push it to the limits. [Variety]

Continue reading "Dan Deacon - new album & show for 2009 ++ Seattle pics "

photos by Chris Graham

Booking hometown heroes Death Cab for Cutie to headline the final day of Bumbershoot was a wise and appropriate choice, considering the band and festival are rising rapidly from local to national prominence.

Touring behind the album "Narrow Stairs" and playing in front of a backdrop displaying the record's cover art, Death Cab delivered big during its largest Seattle performance to date.

Hearing the band's sublime songs under a dark, cloudy sky with the Space Needle overlooking Memorial Stadium during the last night of Bumbershoot created the perfect Emerald City scenario. It doesn't get much more Seattle than that.

Throughout the group's 90-minute set it was clear the band has completed its transformation from that group of indie kids only trendy scenesters knew about to a full-blown, stadium-packing rock band. The set included material from "Narrow Stairs" as well as older records, giving both new and old fans something to enjoy. [Seattle PI]

More Bumbershoot pics and all St. Vincent dates, below...

Continue reading "DCFC @ Bumbershoot (pics), St Vincent tour dates (DCFC) "

photos by Chris Graham

JV, sportin a new haircut @ Bumbershoot - Sept 1, 2008

John Vanderslice has three shows coming up. The last is October 18th in NYC. The second-to last is September 21st at the Treasure Island Music Festival in his hometown of San Francisco. The first is this Saturday September 13th at the Monolith Festival in Denver, CO. The two day Colorado music fest will also feature sets by Devotchka, Vampire Weekend, The Fratellis, Cut Copy, Superdrag, Foals, The Muslims, Justice, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Tokyo Police Club, CSS, Akron/Family and many more.

One of John Vanderslice's most recent gigs was the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle. He played exactly a week ago (same day as Superchunk). More pics from that below...

Continue reading "John Vanderslice playing NYC & the MONOLITH FESTIVAL in CO THIS WEEKEND ++ Bumbershoot pics"

photos by Chris Graham

DOWNLOAD: Portastatic - Some Small History (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Julian Koster - Jingle Bells (MP3)

Superchunk @ Bumbershoot - Sept 1, 2008

Saturday 10/25/2008
Merge Records CMJ Showcase @ Mercury Lounge, NYC w/
* The Music Tapes
* Wye Oak
* Portastatic
* The Broken West
* The Rosebuds
* Oakley Hall

The Music Tapes (Julian Koster)'s new album is out on Merge this week. The Singing Saw At Christmastime (from whence the above Chrismas MP3 came) is out October 7th. He/they'll also be touring before CMJ as part of Elephant 6's Holiday Surprise Tour. One day Elephant 6, the next Merge - lots of sleeping around, kind of like...

...Conor Oberst whose new self-titled album is out now on Merge (and not on Saddle Creek or Team Love- two labels he founded). Conor's tour dates are HERE.

Wye Oak, another band that recently came out with an album on Merge (and is playing the showcase) are on tour as we speak. They're next Brooklyn show happens before September is over.

The Rosebuds will be playing at least one more show during CMJ, probably with the Ladybug Transistor who aren't on the Merge showcase, but could be. The Rosebuds' new album Life Like is out October 7th and some of the new songs are streaming at MySpace.

The Broken West, in addition to October 25th, are also playing Mercury Lounge on September 21st. That earlier show has them opening for Bobby Bare Jr. Tickets are on sale. Their new album Now or Heaven is out this week. All tour dates below.

The Broken West will also bid a fond farewell to drummer, Rob McCorkindale. A new baby and other family commitments have made Rob's departure necessary, but everyone will miss him! Sean McDonald will take over the skins and join Dan, Brian, Ross and Jeff on the road this fall.

Though not playing the CMJ show, Lambchop shares that MErge affiliation. Kurt Wagner (Mr Lambchop) plays Joe's Pub on October 8th. OH (Ohio) is out October 10th.

You can now subsribe to SCORE! Merge Records: The First 20 Years.

And last but not least you'll notice that one of Mac (Mr. Merge himself)'s bands is on this Mercury Lounge CMJ bill too. Portastatic has a 2-CD compilation of singles (covers included) coming out this week. The entire "Some Small History" tracklist is below.... right under the rest of the pictures (and a rough setlist) from Superchunk's set at the Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle on Labor Day.....

Continue reading "Merge's CMJ Showcase, Broken West tour dates, new Portastatic, Superchunk Bumbershoot pics & more"

photos by Chris Graham

The Weakerthans

Continue reading "Weakerthans, Black Keys, other Bumbershoot day two pics"

photos by Chris Graham

Continue reading "These Arms Are Snakes - 2008 tour dates. Bumbershoot pics "

photos by Chris Graham

Human Giant vs Jesse Thorn

Don't shoot video clips of bands on your phone to post on YouTube. They are always shaky and sound like crap. No one cares that you saw Beck from 300 yards away. It won't make you cool and you might piss Beck off.

Leave the devil sticks, hula hoops, and glow balls at home. It's too crowded for dumb displays of your "individualism." And why give people a reason to make fun of you as they walk by? You know they do that, right? Because we do. All of us.
[from Human Giant's guide to Bumbershoot]

Continue reading "The Sound of Young America Live! & other comedy live @ Bumbershoot - pics (Human Giant, Rhett Miller included)"

photos by Chris Graham

Lee Perry's new album 'Repentance' - out since Aug 19, 2008 on Narnack

Lee Perry @ the Bumbershoot Festival - Aug 31, 2008

Lee's only upcoming scheduled gig is September 8th at Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA, BUT he is listed as one of the artists playing CMJ this year, so stay tuned for exact details of an October live show in NYC (which may or may not be at Santos Party House on October 25th where Narnack band Restaurant is listing a show). Yes, that is smoke coming out of Lee's head. More pics from Bumbershoot below....

Continue reading "Lee 'Scratch' Perry - new album, Bumbershoot pics, CMJ"

photos by Chris Graham

Darondo--wiry and hyperkinetic in a flashy suit, gold sneakers, and white hat--hit the stage while Moschella and company backed him. The sexagenarian busted astonishing James Brown-cum-Michael Jackson moves, and belted out songs with a weathered tenor that suggested a cross between Al Green and The Spinners' Bobby Smith. He flat-out commanded the stage, delivering everything from moral indignation on "Let My People Go" to deliciously libidinous boudoir funk on "Legs". Dear God in a velour tuxedo, he was nothin' short of a revelation. [Pop Culture Petri Dish]

The Bumbershoot Festival took place in Seattle over Labor Day weekend. Beck headlined the first of three days. Everyone in this post also played that day (Saturday). More pictures below...

Continue reading "Bumbershoot 2008, Day 1 - Daronda, M Ward, !!! & other pics"

photos by Chris Graham

The headliner for the [first Bumbershoot] night, the musical chameleon known as Beck Hansen, did not disappoint. His set was filled with almost all of his alt rock hits, many of which were given different arrangements than on record. Beck live had more raw sound compared to the more polished sound you hear on his records, which gave the set somewhat of a garage rock feel.

The set started with "Loser," which was given a country blues arrangement. From there the hits kept coming with "Hell Yes," "Devil's Haircut," "Black Tambourine" and others following.

The big surprise of the set was a funky, plugged in cover of Bob Dylan's "Leopardskin Pillbox Hat." I would've though given Beck's folk rock success with his "Sea Change" record that a Dylan cover by Beck would have been delivered acoustically, but that was not the case. [Kitsap Sun]

Continue reading "Beck - Bumbershoot pics, setlist & 2008 Tour Dates"

Bumbershoot is about music, of course, but it's also about every other kind of performance you can imagine, from dance and comedy to film and literary and visual arts. And, if you're a kid, it's also about face painting, arts and crafts, learning about clay animation, science and doing the limbo.

"Overall, there's so much to do that would satisfy people of almost every age," senior programming manager Bob Redmond said. "We tend not to say, 'This is appropriate for 10-year-olds or for 15-year-olds.' It's just such a grand spectacle. There are only a couple of things that are actually adult specific." [SeattlePi]

Continue reading "the Bumbershoot Festival is this weekend in Seattle "