Death Cab for Cutie to headline Bumbershoot

The former Bellingham indie-rock band everyone used to see for $5 is now a high-profile, major-label Bumbershoot guest.

Death Cab for Cutie still sounds like what people call "indie," but the group has found great success in the corporate music system, and in the process, won fans around the world. Its album "Narrow Stairs" debuted in May at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, a first for the group that is presently far and away the Northwest's biggest band. With legendary Chapel Hill, N.C., indie-rock band Superchunk, purveyors of the genre since 1989, they'll close the Aug. 30-Sept. 1 arts festival at Seattle Center.

Also new to the lineup: Tapes 'n Tapes, Two Gallants, Sweet Water, Black Eyes and Neckties, Tiptons Sax Quartet, Mono in VCF, Thee Emergency, Grieves, Choklate, The Valley, Velella Velella, The Maldives and The Round (featuring Damien Jurado, Jen Wood, Buddy Wakefield and others).

The above acts will join these previously announced: Beck, Stone Temple Pilots, T.I., The Offspring, Keyshia Cole, Lucinda Williams, Neko Case, Paramore, Band of Horses, The Black Keys, Nada Surf, Ingrid Michaelson, Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Jakob Dylan, !!!, Mike Doughty, Old 97's, Xavier Rudd, Anti-Flag, Minus the Bear, M. Ward, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Man Man, Joe Bonamassa, Saul Williams, Brother Ali, Battles, Aiden, Kid Sister, The Walkmen, Sons and Daughters, Asylum Street Spankers, Unearth, Estelle, Dan Deacon, Blitzen Trapper, Sondre Lerche, Bedouin Soundclash, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Tim Finn, The Whigs, Dale Watson, John Vanderslice, Flobots, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, Final Fantasy, Adele, The Fall of Troy, Orgone, Langhorne Slim & The War Eagles, Forro in the Dark, These Arms Are Snakes, The Blakes, Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby, Pacifika, Arthur & Yu, Darondo & Nino Moschella, Ian Moore, Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands, Throw Me the Statue, Barcelona, Kinski, J-Boogie's Dubtronic Science, Tyrone Wells, Howlin Rain, Monotonix, The Shackeltons, West Indian Girl, Star Anna, Hadley Caliman Quintet featuring Thomas Marriott, Ravens & Chimes, Grynch, The Hands, Joshua Morrison, Matt Jorgensen +451, PWRFL Power, Chester French, The Girls, Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden, Beehive, Ashleigh Flynn.

Also at Bumbershoot:

Comedy

Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Buteau, Greg Behrendt, Tig Notaro, Doug Benson, Karen Kilgariff, Hannibal Burress, Jessi Klein, TJ Miller, Nick Thune, a taping of the public-radio show "The Sound of Young America," Janeane Garofalo, the cast of MTV's "Human Giant" and lots more.

Visual arts

Gage Academy of Art's "Drawing Jam" (guests try their hand in a fine-arts drawing studio complete with figure models, celebrity appearances, professional artist demonstrations and free art supplies), the Seattle-Tehran Poster Show, and a food/art/conversation-based One Pot investigation into the year 1968, among much else.

Literary arts

Many readers/presenters including William Gibson, Saul Williams, Daniel Clowes, Edmund White, Kevin Sessums, Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, Joshua Furst, Nathan McCall, Chip Kidd, Sherman Alexie, Christa Bell, Marya Sea Kaminski, Rebecca Hoogs, Eben Eldridge, Karen Finneyfrock and Bret Fetzer.

Dance and performance

Apocalypse in Coney Island: A Bumberlesque Cabaret, On the Boards and Pacific Northwest Ballet showcases, RECESSION!, the J-pop band, featuring choreography, visual effects and lip-syncing loaded with "anime flava" presented by Seattle School, and lots else.

Theatre

Performances of "Reefer Madness: The Musical!," "Unicycle Collective: Monolodge 5," "The Snow Queen: Gerda's Journey," "Yoga Bitch," "Memory War Theatre Project," productions by Richard Hugo House's Resident Theatres Next Stage ("The Nexus Project") and more.

Film

Seattle International Film Festival has assembled 27 themed programs of short films for this year's 1 Reel Film Festival. Included: "Films4Families," films about food, films from Iran, student films, documentaries, sociopolitical shorts, favorites from SIFF 2008 and much more.

Andrew Matson: 206-464-2153 or amatson@seattletimes.com