BUMBERSHOOT '23: IT'S RAINING BANDS

Seattle's Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival has unveiled the lineup for this year’s event, taking place at the Seattle Center 9/2-3. Sleater-Kinney, Fatboy Slim, Sunny Day Real Estate, Band of Horses, Brittany Howard, AFI, The Revivalists and Jawbreaker are among the many acts booked for the 50th annual installment.

Festival producers New Rising Sun and arts and education organization Third Stone, the nonprofit arm of Bumbershoot, have also announced the launch of the tuition-free Bumbershoot Workforce Development Program supporting the next generation of music-industry professionals while laying the groundwork for a more equitable and inclusive music scene. A portion of Bumbershoot ticket proceeds will go toward the program, which is open to people aged 17-25. As part of the initiative, Climate Pledge Arena will host students on a production tour of the Seattle Center, giving future production and tour managers a live look at one of the busiest music venues in the world.

The Bumbershoot Workforce Development Program is partnering with the Concert Career Pathways program at Berkeley's UC Theatre. Beginning next month, the six-month, tuition-free, hands-on education experience and paid internship will give students the chance to work on the Bumbershoot festival grounds.

“We are thrilled to partner with The UC Theatre’s Concert Career Pathways to guide our workforce development program,” said Third Stone Executive Director James Miles. “Together, we will expand the pipeline and close the gap that addresses the barriers of entry into a career in the live-music industry here in Seattle. When you buy a ticket to Bumbershoot or make a donation to Third Stone, you are supporting more than just the music and arts festival on Labor Day weekend; we believe that in 10 years, Bumbershoot will be staffed and run by program graduates. This is how we and other institutions activate social change and how Bumbershoot becomes much more than a music festival.”

Weekend passes and single-day tickets are available on the Bumbershoot website. In celebration of its 50th anniversary, Bumbershoot and Amazon are offering prices 50% lower than when the event was last held, in 2019. Furthermore, Amazon and Third Stone are supporting the distribution of 5,000 free tickets directly to nonprofits and underserved communities.