Seattle – The city’s renowned music and arts festival is finally here, kicking off on what started out as a beautiful, sunny, almost-autumn day, before the pouring rain, thunder, and lightning took over. Regardless, music lovers from around the region – and the nation – came out in droves to see the festival’s diverse range of acts, representing genres from bluegrass and R&B to rap and punk rock.
Saturday’s big name acts included Cake, Fitz & the Tantrums, The Weeknd, and Chance the Rapper, all of whom delivered solid performances, while many artists earned their stripes as new bands to watch.
Phoebe Bridgers
Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers opened the Starbucks Stage, with songs that would feel perfectly at home in any coffee shop. Her vocals, at once intimately introspective and hauntingly powerful, conveyed emotion through each phrase and lyric. Taking the stage, she began to strum – before the stagehand alerted her that her guitar was not, in fact, plugged in to the amp. “This is my first festival,” she charmingly informed the crowd. Delicate acoustic guitar accompanied her gentle words on “Steamroller,” her voice heartfelt on the chorus, “I won’t fall unless you ask me to.” Next, she played the title song off her three-track 7” release Killer, produced by Ryan Adams. A gentle song, the early afternoon crowd easily swayed back and forth with her pure vocals. On one of the set’s standout tracks, “Georgia,” Bridgers’ voice soared, holding nothing back and briefly cracking with emotion when needed: “If I fix you, will you hate me?/ Let us fall.” Inviting drummer Marshall Vore, another L.A.-based musician, onto the stage, Bridgers performed several unreleased tracks she plans on putting on her full-length album. Vore’s understated drum fills and strong harmonies nicely filled out the singer’s sound, promising a solid LP from Bridgers.
Elle King
“What’s up Seattle!” hollered the vocalist as she took the stage, putting everyone on the Starbucks lawn under her spell as she crafted captivating songs and delivered quippy one-liners. Backed by a kinetic band, the energy onstage during Elle King’s set never ceased; from the rollicking, raucous “Good For Nothin’ Woman” to the sassy, bluegrass-y “Good to Be a Man,” King and her men kept the momentum going through the afternoon, spurred on by the horde of audience members standing body-to-body across the lawn. Halfway through the set, after performing songs off her recent album Love Stuff, she said, “I’m gonna sing one of my favorite songs right now. Can I have an E please?” And her powerhouse voice burst into a torrential cover of The Beatles’ “Oh Darling,” simply stunning the crowd. “If that ain’t fun, I don’t know what is!” she giggled over the massive applause. King’s rousing delivery of her breakthrough single “Ex’s & Oh’s” also earned hearty appreciation from the crowd, which danced and sang along with abandon, proving that the Starbucks Stage was the place to be Saturday afternoon.
Jamestown Revival
As the skies ominously turned grayer through the afternoon, they finally released their downpour right before Jamestown Revival’s set. Luckily, Seattleites are used to precipitation every now and then, so that didn’t stop a crowd from forming around the Starbucks Stage – although there were plenty of viewers standing under trees and awnings in the area. Texas-bred duo Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance led a stirring set of rockin’ Americana, kicking off with “Fur Coat Blues.” As their drummer was unavailable due to family circumstances, Jamestown Revival brought on Marshall Vore, who performed earlier in the day with Phoebe Bridgers and solidly carried each rhythm with vigor and ease. After playing songs off their debut 2014 LP Utah, including “Revival,” “Wandering Man,” and “Golden Age,” the band performed several new songs, titled “Company Man” and “Midnight Hour.” Unfortunately, the performance was put to an early halt, as Bumbershoot temporarily suspended the outdoor stages due to thunder and lightning. But judging from their set Saturday evening, Jamestown Revival may be getting songs ready for a long-overdue follow-up to Utah. In the meantime, catch them on tour this fall.
Smokey Brights
After the hiatus on outdoor performances, local band Smokey Brights – which one audience member decided to rename “Soggy Brights,” much to the hilarity of the band – took the Rhapsody Stage with great energy. Seeming delightfully looser than at Capitol Hill Block Party, the group – Ryan Devlin (vocals, guitar), Kim West (vocals, keys), James Weston Vermillion (bass, vocals), Michael Kalnoky (lead guitar, vocals), and Nicholas Krivchenia (drums) – upped the banter and seemed to thrive post-rain. “We made it!” Devlin jokingly screamed about “surviving” the storm. “This is the most ‘Seattle’ Bumbershoot I’ve been to,” added West…just as tourist attraction Ride the Ducks drove past, with riders quacking at the stage. “Sup, Ducks,” she laughed at the perfect timing. Smokey Brights’ moody, atmospheric pop-rock was a perfect juxtaposition to the fresh skies, as songs like “Taste for Blood” and “Put Our Guns Away” were catchy and powerful, while “If I Can’t Change Your Mind” brought a sexy, bluesy feel.
Motopony
Seattle’s Motopony, led by the enchanting, wild shaman of a frontman, Daniel Blue, also delivered a strong performance at the Rhapsody Stage. Opening with their instant classic “Get Down (Come Up),” the group got the house dancing. Through songs off their new LP Welcome You, like “Daylights Gone,” as well as older songs like “King of Diamonds,” Blue sang with distinctive, pure emotion and performed his characteristic hypnotizing prance between guitarists Mike Notter and Nate Daley. Along with Forrest Mauvais on drums and Andrew Butler on keyboard, Motopony delivered their solid, captivating amalgam of blues, psych, folk, and prog-rock. The singalong “1971” was a crowd favorite, as was closer “Seer,” during which Daley channeled another Seattle guitarist and played his instrument with his teeth, adding to the incendiary rock and roll vibe.
Check back tomorrow for a recap of Day 2 at Bumbershoot.
Caitlin Peterkin
With degrees in journalism and music, Caitlin’s written for Paste Magazine, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and MajoringinMusic.com. She loves cheese, laughing at GIFs of corgis, road trip sing-alongs, and connecting with people over good beer and good music.
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