Bumblefest 5 celebrating 10 Years of PureHoney will take place Friday, September 17 beginning at 6 p.m. on the 500 block of Clematis Street in Downtown West Palm Beach.
This years headlining acts include hometown heroes Surfer Blood plus Unwed Sailor, Spirit & The Cosmic Heart and Room Thirteen. The rest of the lineup is rounded out by American Sigh, Ben Katzman’s Degreaser, Cog Nomen, Death by Holiday, The Dewars, Dirtbike, The Dreambows, Glass Body, Jakob Takos & the Connection, Jezgajams, Mouthtape, Soul Particles and Stucco. 2021 poster design by the incredible James H. Eddy. Tickets costing $20 are available here. Below is info about some of the acts playing.
Surfer Blood
Surfer Blood’s 5th album, Carefree Theatre, was released on 9/25/20 on Kanine Records, Also released in 2020 was 10th anniversary deluxe 2-LP vinyl reissue of their debut album Astro Coast, and the Hard-Boiled 10” ep with special guest vocalists. Founding Surfer Blood members John Paul Pitts and Tyler Schwarz are joined by guitarist Michael McCleary and bassist Lindsey Mills, all alumni of the same high school in West Palm Beach, Florida. Surfer Blood are the cleanest and nicest band in existence.
Unwed Sailor
The journey of Unwed Sailor began in Seattle, WA in 1998, shortly after Johnathon Ford departed critically praised bands Roadside Monument and Pedro the Lion. While working within those projects, Ford began writing instrumental music after listening to Tortoise, Pullman, and seeing bands like Physics perform live. After recruiting Dave Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Casey Wescott (Fleet Foxes), and Melissa Palladino (Danielson Famile) to play on the now classic Firecracker EP, Unwed Sailor was born. Two decades and seventeen releases later, Ford has continued to rely on the band as a device for personal exploration and emotive narration. Unwed Sailor now joins forces with Spartan Records for the release of their latest moody and cinematic journey, Truth or Consequences, a sonic examination of particular memories or moments in Johnathon Ford’s life, with each song serving as a unique snapshot of an overarching narrative. Truth or Consequences is shaped around familiar musical DNA. Heavily present, driving, and stacked bass lines; wandering and evolving song structures; soaring crescendos and moody diminuendos; and, of course, a gripping sense of sonic storytelling.
Spirit & The Cosmic Heart
“Spirit and the Cosmic Heart offer a warm shoegaze pop sound founded on good production, lush instrumentals and soft vocals, and show a tendency for memorable and tuneful writing. Subtly reminiscent of sixties pop, ‘MOMENTS’ EP (2021) is an accurate representation of the band’s songful character, bringing forth symmetric levels of dream pop melancholy and twee smoothness. Spirits music comes with a strong sense of openness and familiarity, hence it’s easy to appreciate instantly” – Destroy / Exist
Room Thirteen
Room Thirteen is a collaboration between audio/visual artists Courtney Asztalos, Abigail Clark & Danny Clifton. “Room Thirteen is Clifton’s melting Martin Denny exotica with ghostly, doo-wop harmonies.” –Alex Woodward (The Gambit) “The sound of Room Thirteen . . . is inspired by solid gold oldies, swimming holes, lounge music, and tropical martinis” – Elizabeth Schneider (IMPOSE Magazine)
