6 Must-Attend West Coast Music Festivals, Part Two
Each and every Labor Day for the past four decades, people from all over the world have been drawn to Seattle to experience Bumbershoot. Premiering in 1971 under the name “Mayor’s Arts Festival,” the Emerald City funded this unique Arts and Music gathering in Seattle with a relatively low budget of $25,000.00. It drew over 125,000 visitors its first year, proving to the organizers that planning for the next year’s offering should take place immediately. In fact, it was the largest event held at the Seattle Center since the 1962 World’s Fair. And the festival has experienced massive growth in attendance ever since. In 1972, it changed its name to a casual but clever title meaning umbrella: Bumbershoot.
Past line-ups have included a diverse offering of artists such as Jimmy Buffet and Chuck Berry; Jazz Legends Pat Metheny, Etta James, and Oscar Peterson; Blues brilliants BB King, Jon Lee Hooker and Robert Cray; and Rock Icons Joan Jet & The Blackhearts, The Animals and Fleetwood Mac.
The festival includes more than just an incredible line-up of musical performances, however. You can also soak in spoken word sessions, poetry performances, comedy performances, breakin’ competitions and more. Titanic is the only descriptive word I can muster for this #2 pick in our series! The 2016 musical line-up includes a good range of genres as well.
Highlights from the Line-Up
Alternative Bands
Death Cab for Cutie
Third Eye Blind
Andrew Bird
Rock
Billy Idol
Rap
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Tyler the Creator
World Music
Michael Franti & Spearhead
EDM
Pretty Lights
Marshmello
Indie
The Front Bottoms
The Pink Slips
The Lauren Ignited Team won’t be able to attend the festival this year, but are making plans for next year. So stay tuned to LaurenIgnited.com for full and in-depth coverage of Bumbershoot 2017. But you, friends, should absolutely attend. Pack your festival rucksacks, and your kids (if you have them, but don’t pack them inside the rucksacks please), and head over to the Pacific Northwest for this amazing experience.
The festival takes place September 2–4th. We invite you to be Lauren Ignited’s eyes and ears for 2016 by sharing your travel, party, and crowd experiences with us! Tweet us your snapshots of your favorite food, artists, and/or fashionable festival goers with a few words to @LaurenIgnited and we will post some of your photos and comments on the site! Until then, travel safe and enjoy this one! You deserve it!
For ticket and lineup information visit Bumbershoot.com.
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