One of the highlights of the Bumbershoot Festival the last couple of years has been the KEXP Bumbershoot Music Lounge. For those uninitiated, KEXP books a number of Bumbershoot artists to play live on-air sets throughout the 3 day festival-- these performances take place in a secluded unmarked auditorium on the Seattle Center grounds-- entrance is granted to those who reserved spots when the lineup was made available on KEXP.org prior to the event. Don’t worry this is isn’t a secret club or anything, it’s just an opportunity to see some of the Bumbershoot artists play in a much more intimate setting that requires a little foresight a few weeks prior to the festival. No one has ever said it doesn’t pay to listen to the only radio station worth damn in Seattle.
Throughout the weekend the SRG crew and I took in quite a few of these live on the radio sessions, and each one seemed to be better than the next. Whether it was the breathtaking beauty of Rachel Flotard and Cristina Bautista’s harmonies during a stripped down Visqueen set, The Moondoggies playing a moving last minute acoustic set after bassist Bobby Terreberry fell ill, The Thermals previewing material off their brand new record, Danish band The Raveonettes' hypnotising psychedelia, or Columbia natives Bomba Estereo’s smokin’ hot fusion, that sent chills down my spine-- KEXP’s Bumbershoot Music Lounge was a sure highlight of the entire 3 days of music.
If you missed out this year, do yourself a favor and keep an ear to KEXP, really at all times but certainly next year when Bumbershoot nears again to get yourself signed up for some of this on-air magic.
Visqueen:
The Moondoggies:
The Thermals:
Words, Photos, Videos by Nik Christofferson
Video by Palmer Sather (The Thermals)
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