[divider]THE GOOD[/divider]
Having spent the weekend traipsing around Seattle Center, we can say we definitely say the festival housed some genuine talent. If OneReel’s goal was to unearth some diamonds from the rough, they did succeed on some counts.
The electronic music showcase was well-balanced, overall. Earlier in the day, the Pavilion Stage showcased the more mellow side of EDM. As the day progressed into night, the music got heavier and the lines got longer. USC Events partnered with OneReel to produce Conscious Nights, which filled the evening with a smattering of talent, primarily local. We loved seeing the local support and familiar faces of guys like PowerUp, Johnny Monsoon, RION, First Class, Gravity Lift, and Dig-Dug. Hook & Sling, Savant and Myon & Shane 54 were the headliner acts at the Pavilion Stage, and they packed out. The DMNW crew was able to sit down and have conversations with both Hook N Sling and Savant; look for separate pieces on what we learned from each of those artists in the next couple of days.
“I think the largest thing we’ve learned this time around is that since the interest for the EDM scene is growing, we will want to go into a larger room next year. On all three nights we hit our room capacity about 30 minutes into the show and had a line throughout the night at the door.” – Max Goessing, USC Events
Saturday afternoon saw a few acts that flew in from Iceland to visit (on exchange with Iceland Airwaves Festival). Hermigervill brought with him a hip-hop influenced set of beats that the crowd was really feeling. He moved all over the stage and let his long hair (unlike in press pics) flow like a metal head from the 80s. Stopping between songs and telling us the title and influences behind each song, he gave everything a more personal touch.
Young Karin, also from Iceland, is a beautiful vocalist, drummer, and bass player/vocalist. Playing down tempo, lyrical pop, she really packed a crowd; even though there was a big break in between H and YK.
By far the best thing about Bumbershoot for us dance music fans was being around people of all ages who were getting into the Electronic genre. We watched baby boomers dancing to Hermigervill and kids under 8 jumping up and down to Dig Dug (watched by Mom in the back of the room, where they wouldn’t run into anyone). Max, representing USC’s take on the weekend, shared the same sentiment with us after the fact.
“Obviously the EDM industry is growing at an exponential rate and we are seeing more and more EDM stages pop up in major rock/indie festivals around the world, which is exposing people who aren’t regularly going to EDM events to the scene. I get a lot of enjoyment being at Bumbershoot because when you look around the room you see such a diverse demographic of people having an amazing time.”
These are our positive notes from Bumbershoot 2014, but we wouldn’t be giving you full disclosure without touching on some of the less-impressive parts.
-
- Packed walkways at Bumbershoot
-
- Music, Comedy, Art
-
- The line for the 5:15 Negativland show on Saturday.
-
- Gabriel and Harmony from c89.5 were holding down the fort, representing the radio station, who sponsored the Pavilion Stage.
-
- Young Karin
[button color=”white” size=”normal” alignment=”center” rel=”follow” openin=”samewindow” url=”https://www.dancemusicnw.com/looking-back-bumbershoot-2014/3″]NEXT: THE BAD[/button]
Important things happen in Pacific Northwest nightlife, and DMNW will send you alerts!
