Bumbershoot Expands Workforce Development Program, Announces 2024 Cohort
Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival today unveils the 2024 cohort of its Workforce Development Program. The six-month, tuition-free program for 19 young adults residing in Seattle provides mentorship and teaches the technical, creative and business aspects of the live entertainment industry to prepare participants for future work in the field of live entertainment.
Launched in 2023, the Bumbershoot Workforce Program was developed to build capacity for underserved communities – laying the groundwork for a more equitable and inclusive arts and music scene.
“Bumbershoot is more than just a festival,” said Christina Holding, Marketing Director at New Rising Sun. “We're celebrating and shining a spotlight on what it means to be an artist defying conventional categorization. We are also activating social change and removing barriers of entry into the live-event industry for young adults. Ten years from now, our dream is that Bumbershoot will be completely staffed and run by talented young leaders like the graduates from our Workforce Development Program.”
With over 50 years in Seattle, Bumbershoot has a commitment to support and educate young adults who are interested in entering the music industry, but might not have the means or skills to do so. In 2023, 75% of the cohort identified as BIPOC; 75% identified as LGBTQIA+; 50% identified as women; 19% identified as a person with a disability; 25% identified as nonbinary; and 88% had a household income under $70k annually. 80% of cohort participants gained either part-time or regular gig work in local event production and creative industries.
“The most surprising thing to me was how open and honest people were throughout the experience,” said 2023 Cohort Participant and Third Stone employee Larenzo Floyd. “What sets this program apart from others is the access and agency it provides. It really allowed me to ask questions to the people who are actually doing the work.”
Bumbershoot partners with The UC Theatre’s Concert Career Pathways youth education program to create a six-month program focused on teaching the ins and outs of concert promotion and production. The program features four phases:
Phase 1 kicks off in early May with an introductory workshop series that introduces the cohort to the basics of the live-event business. This helps them learn any and everything that goes into producing a show, from selling tickets to running electronics.
Phase 2 involves the cohort doing shadow shifts within various departments at host venues. This allows them to get hands-on experience and observe and engage with professionals in various roles within the live music industry. After getting the chance to view all of these options, participants will get to select which is most interesting to them.
Phase 3, which begins in early July, will place the participants in predetermined roles with Bumbershoot as it prepares for its annual festival. This allows the cohort to get more familiar with the role they chose, which they will stay in up until, and throughout, the music festival in August.
Phase 4 is brand-new this year. For the first time, Bumbershoot is working to place the cohort in positions in the live-event industry, even after the festival is over. Once they’re done helping with the festival, cohort participants will return to the venue where they completed their introductory workshop. They will stay there until October, at which point they work together to produce their own live event. After that, they will graduate in early November and go through training courses and job placement.
“The students who did the program last year were amazing, and I’m so happy to see them landing jobs in the industry through the connections they made here. I think all of us who work for Bumbershoot could tell you a story about the person or experience that opened the door for us to get into this work,” said Aaron Semer, Third Stone Development Director. “Now, through our workforce program, we get to be the people opening those doors, but on a larger scale. The live concert industry, and the arts in general, really need reliable, skilled workers right now, and they need to diversify their workforce. We’re proud to be creating that path for the young folks in our program.”
Of this year’s cohort of 17-to-25-year-olds, 42% identify as women, 58% identify as BIPOC and 37% identify as LGBTQIA+.
“This program lets me learn about real world jobs that I can see myself in and gives me a chance to find a path that works for me as I’m figuring out my next steps,” said 2024 Cohort Participant, Mia. “I am excited to be able to do what I’m passionate about. It’s a dream to have my career path and work be about music.“
Bumbershoot 2024 takes place at Seattle Center on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 and offers a Deluxe Package ticket that allows festival-goers to support the Workforce Development Program with a portion of their purchase. To learn more about the Workforce Development Program or to purchase tickets, visit https://bumbershoot.com/.
About Bumbershoot:
A celebration of the Pacific Northwest’s unique culture, Bumbershoot is a full-spectrum arts and music experience—from punk to performance art, ballet to wrestling, pole dancing to roller skating, food to fashion, and all manner of ingenuity in between. Celebrating creators and innovators of all kinds, Bumbershoot breaks stereotypes, champions a more inclusive art community, and bets on the dreamers, makers, and performers who call the Pacific Northwest home. It is Seattle’s moss-covered Mardi Gras, daring everyone to join in the spectacle. First produced at Seattle Center in 1971, Bumbershoot is Washington’s legacy arts and music festival, made for community by community. We believe everyone in the region—from individuals to corporations—has a role to play in supporting the power and vitality of the arts. That’s why we amplify the Pacific Northwest creative community, cultivating professional opportunities for artists, welcoming diverse crowds by the hundreds of thousands, and training the next generation of event producers. We strive to be as accessible as possible—whether in our programming, our physical footprint, our subsidized ticket prices, or otherwise. Today, Bumbershoot is produced by New Rising Sun, a seasoned team of concert promoters and visual arts producers dedicated to supercharging the iconic Bumbershoot brand. New Rising Sun manages and operates Bumbershoot on behalf of Third Stone, a nonprofit that houses the annual Bumbershoot Festival and its workforce development program for underserved young people. Third Stone’s mission is to foster an inclusive and sustainable Pacific Northwest arts economy through youth education and community-driven programming.
About Third Stone:
Third Stone’s mission is to help foster an inclusive, energized, and sustainable arts economy in the Pacific Northwest through festival, artistic spectacle, and community driven programming. Their primary purpose is to support the Bumbershoot brand by producing a main campus event on Labor Day that is equitably programmed, affordably priced, and accessible to all. Third Stone houses Bumbershoot’s workforce and education program, providing critical business skills to youths aged 17-25 using a “festival as classroom” philosophy. Inspired by, and collaborating with, the wildly successful Concert Career Pathways Education Program (CCP) from UC Theatre in Berkeley, CA, Third Stone’s program focuses on serving youth from communities that have been marginalized. Third Stone also has a goal that at least 80% of the graduates will find employment after completing the Bumbershoot Workforce Development Program. By partnering with the UC Theatre and other local non- profits like The Vera Project, Friends of the Waterfront, Teen Tix, and more, Third Stone works collectively to build a more equitable and sustainable creative arts ecosystem. If you or someone you know is interested in joining Bumbershoot’s Workforce Development Program, you can sign up here.
