“Smaller, newer festivals have always been a heck of a lot more interesting to me,” Rullman tells New Times. “[They’re] more personal, more authentic, less Disney.”
That’s why seven years ago, Rullman created Bumblefest, a daylong festival highlighting emerging indie artists until 4 the following morning.
This year’s Bumblefest is set for Saturday, September 8 and will feature 34 acts on six stages across downtown West Palm Beach. This year’s headliners include Seattle indie artist Scott Yoder, surf-rock group Santoros, and California space-rock band Lumerians, a personal favorite of Rullman’s.
“I have been wanting to book Lumerians since 2012,” he says. “[I] saw some videos of them at that time and they blew my mind.”
Bumblefest was originally produced in 2011 as an anniversary party for Purehoney. It’s since blossomed into a homage to young and promising acts, both local and national. Rullman describes it as a way to thank the South Florida music and arts community.
Rullman says he’s been prepping for the festival for the last three or four months. And, now, with two more stage locations this year — Kismet Vintage and Hullabaloo gastropub — he had space on the lineup for ten additional bands.
Asked to describe the $10 festival in a few words, Rullman responds: “Weird magic.”
“When fests get too big, sometimes the magic gets lost,” he explains. “A block party fest like this — with multiple stages so close to one another — you can easily catch a few minutes of every single band if you really want to. It's a great way to sample sounds you've never tried before.”
Here's the complete Bumblefest 2018 lineup:
- Lumerians
- Scott Yoder
- Santoros
- Gustaf
- Pleasures
- Hurricane Party
- Boston Marriage
- Citizen Badger
- Cog Nomen
Donzii - Ella Herrera
- Glass Body
- Haute Tension
- Heller Floor
- Humbert
- In His Head
- Indigo Dreamers
- JM & the Sweets
- King Complex
- Lion Country Ferrari
- Man Made Weather
- Matchstick Johnny
- Mona Lisa Tribe
- Monster Teeth
- Mood Swing
- Nervous Monks
- Pocket of Lollipops
- Poparazzi
- Raised by Wolves
- Seafoam Walls
- Sonic Shaman
- The Brand
- Toledo
- Turtle Grenade
