Overview
Bumbershoot '90
Official Poster Artwork by Joellyn Rock & Kate Thompson
As the 1990s began, Bumbershoot stepped into a new cultural moment for Seattle.
Nearly two decades after its beginnings as Festival ’71, the event had matured into a major Labor Day tradition — a campus-wide celebration of music, film, theater, dance, literary arts, and visual art that drew audiences from across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Produced by One Reel, the festival continued refining the model that had defined its success through the 1980s: large national performers paired with local artists, experimental work, and community participation.
The early 1990s also marked a period when Seattle’s creative scene was gaining increasing national attention. Independent music, visual art, and performance were flourishing across the city, and Bumbershoot provided one of the largest public stages for that emerging energy.
What made Bumbershoot distinctive at the start of the decade was its openness. Audiences could wander from stage to stage, building their own path through a dense landscape of cultural experiences, a format that had been evolving since the festival’s earliest years.
By 1990, Bumbershoot had firmly entered its third decade as one of the country’s most expansive multidisciplinary arts festivals and as one of Seattle’s most recognizable cultural traditions.\
Bumbershoot 1990's line up included: Abdullah Ibrahim, Albert King, Alla Rakha, Anson Funderburgh & the Rocket 88′s, Boukman Eksperyans, Bryan Bowers, Cheb Tati, Dr. John & David “Fathead” Newman, Emmylou Harris, Ernie Isley, Fats Domino, Flaco Jimenez, Gladys Knight, Irma Thomas, Joe Walsh, John Barth, Jr. Walker & The Allstars, Koko Taylor & Her Blues Machine, L. Sharkar & Zakir Hussain, Ladysmith Black Mabazo, Leon Redbone, Marcia Ball, Michelle Shocked, N. Scott Momaday, Nanci Griffith, Nick Lowe, Ofra Haza, Pato Banton, Queen Ida & Bon Temps Zydeco, Rebirth Brass Band, Richard Thompson, Richie Havens, Ruben Blades, Ry Cooder & David Lindley, Sid Ceasar & Imogene Coca, Soundgarden, Taj Mahal, The Innocence Mission, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, The O’Kanes, The Oyster Band, The Psychedelic Furs, The U-Krew, Tom Robbins, Tracy Nelson, Yomo Toro, Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers
