Nicole Viz
Music and art festivals have the potential to bring the entirety of a community together to discover and celebrate all forms of art. Unlike anything else, festivals cultivate a magical care-free atmosphere that provides an escape from everyday life in order explore and interact with art of all shapes and sizes. Festivals held in a city can be interpreted by residents as a healthy reminder to take the time to experience artistic expression, no matter who that resident is or what art form he or she enjoys.
It is only fitting that in Seattle, a place historically known for its abundance of art, hosts the largest annual entertainment festival in the world in the heart of the city right underneath the Space Needle. This festival known as Bumbershoot took over the Seattle Center for the 45th time to unite all types of individuals through art.
However, this year Bumbershoot heavily focused on the music performances in every way imaginable due to a new partnership between AEG Live and One Reel; resulting in Bumbershoot having its biggest year Seattle has yet to see.
Despite Seattle’s bipolar weather, determined attendees from all over the country came to experience this musical journey — and rightfully so.
Each stage was completely unique with a beautiful setup of different lighting, LED screens, layouts and overall energy. Regardless of size or type, it seemed that every stage received an equal amount of attention to make both the audience and performer immerse themselves into their love of music. It was immediately apparent both listener and musician were at Bumbershoot to express and appreciate art, uniting every single body attending.
Perhaps due to this, every show I managed to squeeze in felt like it was an interaction between the artist and crowd. No matter if I was at the EMP’s Sky Church getting funky with Dr. Fresch during the Silent Disco, at the Starbucks Stage almost getting brought to tears by Gallant’s voice, at the Memorial Stadium body rolling to The Weeknd, or even thrashing to Bassnectar in the back seats of the KeyArena for the last act, I felt like everyone, artists included, were vibing off of one another’s energies.
An interactive and personable performance is the ideal way of experiencing live music; and One Reel partnered with AEG Live managed to provide just that.
Although Bumbershoot is a continually growing musical festival, this transitional year settled my worries of it losing that Seattle charm. The diverse music, people, art and traditions of Seattle will always be preserved through this iconic festival.
So thank you and keep powering on Bumbershoot! Because, like many Seattleites, I am sure someday I will want to take my kids to the hub of my hometown to explore their creative side, just like my parents use to do for me.
