This year's Bumbershoot had a stacked lineup, including but not limited to: Peaches, Chase &…read moreStatus, Blood Orange, Death Cab for Cutie, Atarashi Gakko, De La Soul, TOKiMONSTA, Sextile, Pixel Grip and plenty others. For this year there were also mermaids, magic shows, puppet shows, wrestling, an ant mobile and stands of merch in the Armory. Even better, nearly all food vendors this year were local and included Chicken Supply, Indigo Cow, Spice Walaa, Kottu, Communion and many others. Whether you went one day or both this year, there was always something to do and enjoy, and that's looking past the scorching Seattle sun which we obviously have no control over.
Entrance to the venue is near the Armory just after you pass MoPoP. Tickets - whether you got ones with re-entry or not - were strictly enforced by security at the front, as were the security lines, bag checks and the lines for those who want 21+ wristbands to enter any beer gardens and/or purchase alcohol. There aren't many places for shade besides going inside the Armory, and I only saw one water refill station before reaching the Fisher stage; others were in buildings like the Armory. Those buildings are also the same areas where restrooms are located for the duration of the event.
The events other than the music made up a huge bulk of this visit for me, with all of them operating at set times over different intervals:
- Wrestling was my foodie friend's favorite event outside the music, as we came back here at most three times per day to see performers slam each other and eventually take the fight over to the fountain.
- This year was probably the first to feature a mermaid who showed up at set times throughout the day. Concertgoers lined up and got to have photo ops with the performer.
- Magic shows by both Taylor Kyle and Travis Kim kept me and my foodie friend thoroughly entertained while we were taking a break from all the concert cacophony. I saw magic performances from both on different days.
- I caught an improv puppet show during one of my breaks and had a blast hearing an improv musical on tuxedos and Transformers... wonder how those two got lumped together in one performance.
- Unfortunately, I was unable to catch the cat carnival booth as lines for that attraction were too long throughout all of Bumbershoot this year.
Events like these aren't complete without food! And the booths this year were lined up around the fountain and Armory, covering a wide variety of cultures:
- The Chicken Supply's chicken was one of my favorites, as their "bites" come in huge portions... I could not finish it all in one sitting and had to bring the rest home!
- Indigo Cow is a solid choice for their Hokkaido-based soft serve, both in milk and matcha forms which I got as a combo.
- I got garlic lamb curry from Kottu, a Sri Lankan cuisine popup and it was one of the best things I've had in a long while! Tons of rich flavor, and a deceptively small portion that actually keeps you more than full! Great spice levels and flavoring, along with tender lamb meat.
- I need to give the mango lassi at Spice Walaa's actual location a try since I got the one at their booth here; it's refreshing and too good to pass up!
- Jojos from Communion R&B was the awesome kind of spicy.
- Thai tea from Thai Street Food was sold out when I got there but their lemonade drinks still satisfied my sweet tooth and general thirst.
Of course, this is a music event so the music lineup makes up the largest and most important portion. Crowds were generally benign for the most part except for the highly anticipated ones, and acts take place in any of three stages at set times depending on the schedule. Speakers on each stage blasted crystal-clear sound, though I wish more close-up footage of the musicians would show up on the big screens on the sides of the Fisher stage more often, especially for Blood Orange and Death Cab for Cutie. There's also a fashion area for merch and some fashion shows near Climate Pledge Arena and the KEXP building, where one of the stages is located near.
This year's lineup in particular covered a lot of ground in terms of generational relativity; there is something for everyone to listen to regardless of age. I will try coming back for next year's lineup!
