There are Seattle music festivals, and then there is the one-and-only Bumbershoot.
Washington State’s legacy arts and music festival is coming up very soon this Labor Day weekend, Saturday September 5 and Sunday September 6 at the Seattle Center.
Heralded as the largest celebration of the Northwest’s unique culture, Bumbershoot is billed as a “full-spectrum” arts and music experience.
Be prepared for high-energy performances by world-class musicians at four stages across the 74-acre Seattle Center campus. On top of the ticket this year is hardcore superstars Turnstile on Saturday Sep. 5th, and Washington’s indie heroes (Bellingham represent!) Death Cab for Cutie on Sunday Sep. 6th. Find your catharsis with local alt-rock Suzzallo, stomp and dance to wildly left-field J-pop group Atarashii Gakko!, and fall into the magnetic aura of Pop R&B powerhouse Aryana León. With 40+ musical acts there’s something for everyone at Bumbershoot.
But Bumbershoot is much more than a music fest. Since it was first produced in 1971, its been about uplifting every facet of Pacific Northwest creativity.
Explore “arts districts” with comedy shows, contemporary art, magic, short films, an expansive recess districts for those adrenaline-loving skateboarding and wrestling fans, and not to be missed, much beloved, often copied but never replicated Cat Circus hosted by Motley Zoo Animal Rescue (the real ones know to line up early).
“Weird and wonderful” is how Bumbershoot has called itself. And that sounds just like the Pacific Northwest we know and love.
Three Asian American artists and performers you won’t want to miss at this year’s Bumbershoot!
TOKiMONSTA
Korean American record producer and DJ TOKiMONSTA will be taking over the stage on Sunday, August 6 at 9:30pm at the MURAL stage.
She creates genre-defying music, combining stylings of house, soul and hip-hop. TOKiMONSTA made history as the first Asian American producer and first female producer ever nominated for a ‘Best Dance/Electronic Album of the Year’ GRAMMY award.
California born, TOKiMONSTA’s stage name borrows from the Korean word for rabbit (tokki). FlyLo fans will know that she was also the first woman to sign onto Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label.
As a world-class performer, she ranks as one of DJ Mag’s ‘Top 100 DJs’ worldwide and has been performed at nearly every major festival worldwide.
The Maritess Zurbano Magical Experience
Moving over to the ‘Magic Dome’, Filipina American playwright, author, and master magician, Maritess Zurbano takes over the Geodesic Domes Arts District on Saturday, Sep. 5 at 5:00pm.
Bringing decades of experience in divination, hypnotism, and magic, Zurbano has astounded crowds worldwide with her mind-bending performances.
She is a former Las Vegas croupier, competed at the World Championship of Magic, and had her own illusion show in Japan. Her unique status as a prominent female magician informs her writing. As an accomplished writer, her op-eds concerning women and the magic world are published at Ms. Magazine, and The Seattle Times. She uses the theme of magic and mentalism to invite a wide audience into polarizing conversations about race, gender, and colonization.
Seattle Asian American Film Festival Shorts
The SIFF Film Center on the Seattle Center campus opens its doors for a celebration of Pacific Northwest filmmaking at Bumbershoot. Kicking off the VIDEORAMA stage of the weekend on Saturday Sep. 5. right at 12:45pm is the Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF).
Sit down and enjoy short films from Asian American and diasporic Asian filmmakers, and films about the Asian American or diasporic experience. Consider it a warm-up to the 15th Seattle Asian American Film Festival returning to Seattle May 21 to 23, 2027.
SAAFF is the only film festival in Seattle dedicated to showcasing pan-Asian American voices, perspectives, and histories through multimedia arts.
Be sure to stick around for filmmaker Q&As, creator conversations, and a chance to experience local cinema on the big screen.
Just three recommendations?
There’s much, much more to explore! Check out the 2026 Music and Arts lineup at: https://bumbershoot.com/
Theodore Kenzo Dante Bickel is a Seattle-based photographer who has contributed to the International Examiner since 2024. He uses visual storytelling to showcase the vitality of the Chinatown-International District and contemporary Asian American communities in Seattle. He is Shin-Nikkei Japanese American. Born in Portland, Oregon, he grew up in the wilds of southwest Washington state. Theo, or “Tay-o” as his friends call him, found himself putting down roots in the C-ID shortly after arriving in Seattle in 2013. He has spent over a decade working in C-ID community non-profits in development, community engagement, civil rights advocacy, and communications. Theo was one of seven Seattle-based Asian American photographers that published the photography exhibit “Through the Eyes of a Tiger” in May 2023. The photo exhibit blended holistic, not homogenous, views of the C-ID in a critical time of regrowth and development.
