Seattle is one of those cities we love to visit for the music, arts, and cultural scene. Bumbershoot is the amazing international music and arts festival that takes place on the Seattle Center grounds, with the iconic Space Needle towering over it as a backdrop.
This year, there were three stages: the Fisher (Main Stage), Mural (Second Stage), and Upper Courtyard. This is my recap of the two-day festival.
Day One
On the first day, I managed to go back and forth between the Fisher and Mural stages. Los Angeles’s XCOMM was the first band to perform, bringing their loud punk and hardcore rock music to the stage. Los Angeles-based musician Cain Culto came out with an impressive performance of Latin art pop and hip-hop. Mexican singer-songwriter Silvana Estrada performed beautiful contemporary Latin indie-folk, jazz, and traditional Latin American folk music. It was my first time seeing Peaches, and it was quite a theatrical performance, to say the least, with the costumes and provocative dancers during her 5 p.m. slot. Bikini Kill was another one of my favourite sets to see. They didn’t disappoint with their punk and riot grrrl music. Minsk’s Molchat Doma was another first-time experience for me, delivering an intense blend of new wave, post-punk, and electro-synthpop music. Chase & Status ended the night with electronic dubstep and dance music.
Over on the Fisher Stage Seattle’s Hard Maybe was the first band to perform, bringing their neo-soul, funk, and pop music to the stage. Seattle’s Travis Thompson followed with some rap and hip-hop music. Chicago’s Pixel Grip entertained the audience with electropop and industrial darkwave music from their two albums, ARENA and Percepticide: The Death of Reality. Austin, Texas’s DIE SPITZ energized the crowd with their loud punk rock and grunge music from their 2025 album, Something To Consume. State College’s Joey Valence & Brae, who I have seen three times, never disappoint with their electro-punk-rap music. Lucy Dacus, who happened to be a last-minute fill-in after Japanese Breakfast cancelled her slot, performed a great indie rock set, including a cover of Japanese Breakfast’s “Paprika.” Blood Orange was a big highlight on the first night. This was my first time seeing the NYC-based musician, who performed a beautiful, dreamy, moody electro-R&B set featuring music from the current album Essex Honey and past albums like Cupid Deluxe, Negro Swan, and others. Turnstile headlined the stage, while the photographers were stuck on one side of the photo pit just to be safe from crowdsurfers. Before they got on stage, the intro song was Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s “Islands in the Stream.” It was because of the passing of Dolly, and it was a beautiful tribute that really hit me hard. The band kicked things off literally with the loud, rocking “BIRDS” from Never Enough. The rest was history on the first day of the festival.
Day Two
On the Mural stage Tokyo-born, now New York City-based musician Takuya Nakamura was my favourite on this stage, performing a live set of electronic music and jazz trumpet that added to a hypnotic dance set during the 2 p.m. slot. W.I.T.C.H. got things going with some Zamrock (Zambian rock). Goldie Boutilier was one of the Canadian artists playing this festival whom I had never gotten to see until now. Goldie put on a wonderful and stunning pop-rock and country set that had the Seattle audience enthralled. NONAME celebrated the 10th anniversary of Telefone, performing most of the tracks from the album, along with songs from Sundial and Room 25. Sudan Archives, who extended her set after Yves Tumor bowed out, put on a cool show where she dressed in a Robin Hood-inspired costume. TOKiMONSTA ended the night on this stage with some EDM music.
Over on the Fisher stage Noire Svlon (formerly Hotels) was the first act to perform, bringing some pop and rock music to the stage. PawPaw Rod followed with contemporary R&B and neo-soul music. Los Angeles’s Sextile brought some electronic punk dance music. Michigan’s Racing Mount Pleasant performed some indie folk-rock and chamber pop music. Japan’s Atarashii Gakko! was a big surprise to see at this festival. They put on an insane theatrical set on stage, with all four members singing and dancing to their J-pop, punk, and hip-hop music. De La Soul drew one of the biggest crowds at the festival, performing tracks from their classic and influential debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising. Orville Peck was the second-last act at the festival and put on a captivating and entertaining set featuring music from Bronco, Pony, and a preview of his upcoming album Mule. Death Cab for Cutie ended the night with the final day of their North American I Built You A Tower tour before heading to the rest of the world. They didn’t disappoint the audience, performing material from I Built You A Tower along with favourites from Plans, Narrow Stairs, Transatlanticism, and others. It was a great way to end my night at the festival.
Overall, I always have a great time in Seattle for Bumbershoot, especially with the diverse music acts performing on the big and small stages. Despite the Fisher Stage being very high and complicated to photograph, I still had a fantastic time capturing the performances. I hope to keep attending Bumbershoot every year.
