Bumbershoot 2025: Come for the music, stay for the food

Bumbershoot is back this Labor Day weekend on Aug. 30 and 31, featuring major music acts like Weezer, Janelle Monae, Digable Planets, Bright Eyes and tons more. The two-day festival also features a stacked lineup of visual arts, dance, fashion, comedy, Witches Temple, and the crowd-pleasing Cat Circus.

Another major draw is the tantalizing roster of local food and drinks to explore around Seattle Center. The fest just dropped its Culinary Arts lineup, and there are plenty of heavy-hitters returning, alongside a slate of new talent making their festival debut.

Let's dig into this year's Bumbershoot bites:

Leading the new additions is Beacon Hill's Homer, the celebrated Mediterranean-inspired spot from chef Logan Cox. Also joining the fest for the first time: Japanese-style soft serve from Wallingford's pint-sized Indigo Cow, cult-favorite fusion tacos from Mexican Seoul, and Puerto Rican comfort food from Jhonny Reyes' Belltown charmer Lenox, all sure to rack up long lines.

Popular joints making their return to the Seattle Center campus include Local Tide, with some of the best vibes and bites from the sea, the collab between Melissa Miranda's Musangtino’s and Musang, and The Chicken Supply, whose crispy fried chicken has earned a loyal following. Also on deck: Eva’s Wild (sustainable seafood), Big Max Burger (Queen Anne smashburger perfection), tasty Gold Coast! (West African cuisine), and Jack’s BBQ (smoked meats done right).

Of course, it's a music fest, but Bumbershoot keeps upping its food game, and that carries over to the drinks side of things, too. Summer music festivals are synonymous with beer gardens, so Bumbershoot makes sure you can enjoy your brew, while still taking in all of the action. The BumBEERshoot Beer Garden takes over the top of Fisher Pavilion, where you can belly up with views of the Fountain Stage and Recess District.

But the view is not just for the 21+ crowd—at least during the day. It's an all-ages hangout until 9 p.m., so there's plenty of time to catch the buzzy Cat Circus—if that's your thing. For those of drinking age, the beer garden has pours from 13 stellar local breweries, including Burke-Gilman, Fast Fashion, Bizarre Brewing, and Obec. NA drinkers can sip on Three Magnets' Bumberbrew, a crisp PNW-style non-alcoholic IPA that sold out last year.

If you hang with the "wine o'clock" crowd, your time has come at the VineShoot Wine Garden, with natural and organic bottles from PNW producers and beyond. France's Domaine Montrose will be bringing the zero-alcohol sparkling rosé for some NA fun. Oregon's one-woman outfit, Little Crow Vineyards will grace the scene, while returning favorites like Orcas Project, La Dive x Chateau Deluxe, and Grape Ink (the poetry-meets-winemaking collective) will be popping corks all weekend.

Cocktail Corner was so popular last year that it's back for year two in the Kobe Bell Garden. Some of Seattle's best bartenders from Rob Roy, Bar Bayonne, Montana, and OG Chris Elford, from Here Today Brewery, will be shaking it up with live music as their soundtrack.

Food, drink, music, and art—it's all here. Come hungry. Stay hydrated. Leave happy!

Full Culinary Arts Lineup

EAT

American Donut Makers, Big Max Burger Co, DDs, Eva's Wild, Gold Coast!, Good Dog Hot Dogs, Indigo Cow, Jack's BBQ, Kottu, Lenox, Local Tide, Ma & Pops, Mexican Seoul, MUSANGTINO’S X MUSANG, Restaurant Homer, Shug's Soda Fountain & Ice Cream, The Chicken Supply, + more to be announced

DRINK

Batch 206 Vodka, Montucky, Mark Ryan Winery, Old Log Cabin, Open Water, Pacifico, Seattle Cider, Stoup Brewing, Sueno Azul Blanco, Waterbird, White Claw, Yerba Madre / bumBEERshoot: Bizarre Brewing, Burke Gilman Brewing Company, El Suenito Brewing, Fast Fashion, Flying Lion Brewing, Here Today Brewery & Kitchen, Métier Brewing Co, Obec Brewing, Project 9, Ravenna Brewing Co, Seapine Brewing Company, Three Magnets Self Care / Cocktail Corner: Bar Bayonne, Montana Badlands, Rob Roy, Here Today Brewery & Kitchen / VineShoot: Constant Crush, Limited Addition, Domaine des Cognettes, Domaine Montrose, Dorcha, Grape Ink, La Dive x Chateau Deluxe Pet Nat Rosé, Little Crow Vineyards, Mont de Marie, Orcas Project, RAM Cellars, Troon Vineyard and Farm, Solis Lumen, Vignale di Cecilia

Jenise Silva is a freelance contributor for Seattle Refined.

READ MORE:

• Bumbershoot 2025 features Weezer, Bright Eyes, Janelle Monáe and tons more
• Belltown gem Lenox brings Afro-Latin soul food to Seattle
• Fried chicken fans flock to The Chicken Supply on Phinney Ridge