7 Bumbershoot Acts You Won’t Want to Miss

Bumbershoot returns to Seattle this Labor Day weekend for its 52nd iteration, closing out the summer with a killer lineup. With two days stacked with plenty of exciting names, we’ve created a guide to maximize your time at the festival. If you’d like to check out our recap from last year, click here.

Weezer

Scoff all you want about how bad new Weezer is, but don’t skip their set! Last year, Weezer embarked on their Voyage to the Blue Planet tour, which, as you might have guessed, honored the anniversary of its iconic Blue Album. The band is continuing it through this year’s festival sets, where, besides playing their debut 1994 album in full, they also add classics from Pinkerton, the Green Album, and Make Believe (which also just turned 20 this year). It’s the best possible set from Weezer!

Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monáe always pulls out the stops for her sets, with elaborate costuming, dancers, and more. Regardless of whether you’re a fan or not, you’ll be enthralled by her performance. The last time I saw her was during the Dirty Computer era, so it’ll be interesting to see how much her set has evolved since then. Plus, she appears to be teasing on social media a follow-up to 2023’s The Age of Pleasure, so here’s hoping she’ll give us a preview.

Car Seat Headrest

We caught Car Seat Headrest at Kilby Block Party, which was one of our favorite sets at the festival, with surprise appearances by some of Will Toledo’s furry friends. It’s heavy on their excellent new album The Scholars, so if you’re a fan of the latest LP, it’ll be worth watching.

Bright Eyes

I’ve been a Bright Eyes fan since high school, when Tumblr introduced me to I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. Somehow, over 10 years later, I have not had the chance to see them yet. Now that Conor Oberst has cleaned up his act following his infamous 2022 tour and Bright Eyes has a new EP on the way, I can’t wait to see them.

Indigo De Souza

I had the chance to catch a preview of what Indigo De Souza‘s songs off her new album, Precipice, sound like live while attending her fan event this summer. It was a short set of only a few songs performed acoustically, but it only made me more curious to hear the full-band versions. With Precipice being De Souza’s first true foray into pop, I can see the songs translating better to a festival setting than her previous work.

Quasi

I’ve been lucky enough to catch Janet Weiss playing in Sleater-Kinney a couple of times before her devastating exit, but I have never caught a performance of hers in Quasi. Getting the chance to see Weiss play again is one of the most exciting parts of heading to Bumbershoot.

Tennis

Back in April, Tennis announced that after 15 years, the duo is calling it quits. Thankfully, before going on an indefinite hiatus, Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley are doing the festival rounds, with their final tour ending on Sept. 4. If you haven’t seen Tennis yet, this might be your last chance.