Bumbershoot features Kygo, Death Cab for Cutie, Macklemore

Published 1:30 am Friday, September 2, 2016

Bumbershoot’s back. Seattle’s annual arts festival will again draw tens of thousands for a weekend stacked with some of music’s biggest names.

Among the dozens of bands set to play are electronica wunderkid Kygo tonight, then Seattle superstars Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on Sept. 3, and indie rock favorites Death Cab for Cutie on Sept. 4.

Granted, those are just the tent pole acts. Other names heading to Seattle Center include Father John Misty, Run the Jewels, Zeds Dead, Tame Impala, Billy Idol and Third Eye Blind.

But that’s not all. Also worth checking out are Andrew Bird, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Atlas Genius, Black Joe Lewis, Joywave and Reggie Watts.

Three-day passes for the festival, which also features plenty of comedy and art, start at $180. To see all the festival has to offer, visit www.bumbershoot.com.

However, Bumbershoot is just one event that will keep concertgoers crazily busy in the week ahead.

Carrie Underwood, the country pop star, will return to the Northwest for a show at KeyArena at 7 p.m. Sept. 8. She’s on the road now behind her latest album, “Storyteller.”

Underwood got her start when she won “American Idol” in 2005 but has long since shaken off the associations with that TV show. An unbroken string of successful albums has turned her into one of the most recognizable musicians going.

Unlike contemporaries like Taylor Swift, who have moved into pure pop, Underwood’s sound is still distinctly country. Her recent hits like “Smoke Break” and “Church Bells” have the soaring choruses that allow for mass appeal without shrugging off the trappings of her Oklahoma roots.

Tickets are $45.50 to $75.50 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745- 3000.

Wilco also is heading to Seattle for a pair of shows, as the famed Chicago rock band plays the Moore Theatre at 7:30 tonight and Sept. 3.

The group, led by singer Jeff Tweedy, has earned massive praise for its poetic lyrics and shape-shifting styles, placing them a cut above their alt-country and indie rock peers. The group, sometimes derisively referred to as “dad-rock,” is touring now behind its new album, “Schmilco,” due in stores next week.

Tickets are $35 to $69.50 at stgpresents.org or 877-784- 4849.

Dave Matthews Band also will stage its annual LaborDay weekend takeover of the Gorge Amphitheatre, where the group will headline from today through Sept. 4.

The band, which has slowly been putting together a new album, earned its stripes in the 1990s as the college kids’ jam band of choice, with hits like “Ants Marching” and “So Much to Say.”

Critical acclaim and chart-topping albums followed, although the group’s core fans still feel the best way to hear the band’s sprawling hits is in a live venue.

Tickets are $48.50 to $130 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745- 3000.

Closer to home, the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn will welcome Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa at 7 tonight.

The rap stars, known for their shared love of weed, are on tour for the not-so- slyly named “High Road” tour.

Snoop’s long list of hits started stacking up back in the 1990s with singles like “Gin and Juice” and “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” He’s touring behind his latest disc, “Coolaid,” which saw release earlier this year.

Wiz Khalifa isn’t as iconic as Snoop, but is no slouch. The 41st most popular artist in the world on Spotify, the smartly dressed stoner has had hit singles with “Dem Boyz,” “Sucker for Pain,” and “Young, Wild &Free,” the latter which featured Bruno Mars and Snoop Dogg.

Tickets are $26 to $70.75 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745- 3000.

Hard rock act Volbeat will hit Seattle proper as the group headlines the WaMu Theatre alongside likeminded acts Killswitch Engage and Black Wizard at 7 p.m. Sept. 5.

The group’s best-loved hit may be “Still Counting,” off its 2008 album, the descriptively titled “Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood.” That song served as an able showcase for the group’s love of both metal and old-school, Elvis-tinged rock and roll.

The productive act has kept churning out hit albums since then, though — it’s touring now behind this year’s “Seal the Deal and Let’s Boogie.”

Tickets are $42 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745- 3000.

All those shows aside, concertgoers could do a lot worse than just grabbing a picnic blanket camping out at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery’s amphitheater for the next four days, as the venue brings in several acts over the holiday weekend.

First up is a visit from the falsetto-voiced pop star Frankie Valli. He plays at 7 tonight.

Valli first found fame as the front man for the Four Seasons. Their time together resulted in hits including “Sherry,” “Walk Like a Man” and “December, 1963 (Oh What a Night).” His successful solo career may be best remembered for the hit “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”

Tickets are $49.50 to $79.50 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745- 3000.

Then, Counting Crows and Rob Thomas will join up for a bill heavy on 1990s nostalgia at 6 p.m. Sept. 3.

Counting Crows hit it big in the mid-1990s with their lyrical and jangly take on rock, resulting in enduring hits including “Round Here,” “Mr. Jones,” “Colorblind,” and “Angels of the Silences.”

Rob Thomas had some of his biggest hits during that same stretch as the leader of Matchbox Twenty. That group’s catchy rock singles include “3AM,” “Push” and “If You’re Gone,” but Thomas may be best known solo work, including “Lonely No More” and his collaboration with Santana, “Smooth.”

Tickets are $70.50 to $126 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745- 3000.

Next up is Chris Isaak, whose able voice and rockabilly-leaning hits have earned him warm comparisons to Roy Orbison. He plays the winery at 7 p.m. Sept. 4.

Isaak is touring now behind “First Comes the Night,” another well-received album of Tennessee-flavored rock. The disc saw release in 2015, and was his first new set in six years.

Tickets are $45 to $69.50 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745- 3000.

Finally, Ray LaMontagne will play the winery at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 as he tours behind his new album, the psychedelic-tinged song cycle “Ouroboros.”

The husky-voiced crooner has earned wide acclaim for his blend of hushed folk and more straightforward pop.

Tickets are $49.50 to $75 at ticketmaster.com or 800-745- 3000.