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Bumbershoot is two weeks away, so we have just 14 days to prepare ourselves (read: buy new insoles) for Seattle’s recently resurrected end-of-summer tradition and two-day onslaught of comedy, art, wrestling, skateboarding, runway shows, and music, which, at least this year, includes some of the shiniest stars from my teenage CD collection—Weezer, Digable Planets, Bright Eyes, the Murder City Devils, and Quasi. Honestly, I’m stoked.
Since the festival’s return in 2023, Bumbershoot has rehabilitated its reputation for being an overly crowded Labor Day cash grab run by megaproducers. (Well, mostly.) Now, mercifully, it’s only two days—which is much appreciated as someone who is old enough to have seen Bright Eyes at the Paradox on the Ave when Conor Oberst was touring Fevers and Mirrors—and while the lineup does include some impressive national names (hello, Janelle Monáe!), there has also been a mindful shift to spotlight the artists and musicians who are doing their part to keep Seattle just a little bit strange.
There’s a whole temple dedicated to witchery, and another to cats. Beloved local historian Vanishing Seattle is curating an installation that will celebrate Seattle landmarks, both new and old. The pole dancing pavilion will return, as will the comedy stage (and this time around it’s in the SIFF theater, so it will be bigger, more accessible, and actually air-conditioned). And there will also be performances throughout the weekend from organizations like Cheer Seattle and Levity Arts, and a whole heap of food booths featuring local vendors and restaurants. (I will say, last year’s food options were impressive, but many were really expensive—$30 for a cheese plate? Yikes!!)
For the next two weeks, we’re going to feature a different Bumbershoot highlight every day, to hopefully help you pin down your must-see list ahead of the busy weekend. We’ve done a countdown of holiday cookies, and another of scary movies—why not count down to the summer’s biggest music and arts festival, too? Plus, with festival tickets costing as much as they do these days, you’ll want to make sure you get your money’s worth.
Up first is the one band you need to see, even if you go for only one band: Pretty Girls Make Graves. Pretty Girls Make Graves were only around for about five years at the turn of the century (this century), and the band was a mash-up of musicians from some of the Northwest’s most innovative and experimental hardcore and punk bands from the ’90s. Though short-lived, their music inspired Hayley Williams, the Blood Brothers, and Steve Aoki (who actually put out their first EP).
I already wrote the definitive oral history of PGMG in September ahead of their first batch of reunion shows (dreams do come true), so if I may quote myself:
Their critically acclaimed debut full-length, Good Health, was a conglomeration of those past lives. Opening track “Speakers Push the Air” is a high-octane, confident celebration of the power of music à la Operation Ivy’s “Sound System.” On tracks like “More Sweet Soul,” “Sad Girls Por Vida,” and “By the Throat,” the band leans into their heavier tendencies. Wiry, sharp guitars pierce through throbbing bass and incisive drumming while Andrea Zollo’s sing-scream vocals tear through the speakers to shout down any motherfucker who dared cross her.
They lit that same fire back in September when they reunited to play their first shows in 17 years at the Showbox. I might’ve cried a little; it’s a blur. And what a gift to have the chance to see them again, with music that’s still as furious and pertinent today as it was then.
I still feel every note of “Speakers Push the Air” in my bones.
Bumbershoot is Saturday, August 30 & Sunday, August 31 at the Seattle Center. Tickets are available at bumbershoot.com.
