The Stargazer Lilies
Photo by the Stargazer Lilies
Area music promoter and magazine publisher Steev Rullman knows how to distinguish himself. Just look at his first name’s purposely uncommon spelling.
For decades, the Boynton Beach native and Lake Clarke Shores resident has stood out in a variety of entertainment settings: lead singer of the band Unseelie Court, host of live performances at the Wormhole in West Palm Beach and proprietor of the South Florida music listings site The Honeycomb.
For the past decade-plus, Rullman’s focus has been on his online and print publication PureHoney, plus its large anniversary event, Bumblefest. Its sixth installment, in honor of PureHoney’s 11th anniversary, takes place along the 500 block of Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach on Sept. 2 and 3.
As always, multiple stages will feature independent performers from South Florida to New York, California and elsewhere. Two stages, one indoors and one outdoors, will be at Respectable Street, one of the longest-standing alternative rock nightclubs in the Southeast. Attendees can expect younger, independent acts with rising profiles on streaming sites such as Spotify.
“If there is an indie music scene in West Palm Beach, it’s thanks to Steev Rullman,” says Kim Field, vocalist/bassist for the Stargazer Lilies, one of a handful of headliners. The group was the lone headliner at the first Bumblefest.
“We played in 2016 at Respectable Street,” she says, “with bands playing everywhere along the strip, nonstop.”
With members based in Tampa and Austin, Texas, the Stargazer Lilies also include guitarist John Ceparano, keyboardist Jake Stuart and drummer Cari Giard. Self-described as “shoegaze, psych, heavy ambient and dream pop,” the quartet has a wealth of material between its 2013 debut CD, “We Are the Dreamers,” and forthcoming “Cosmic Tidal Wave.”
The night before their local Saturday slot, they’ll share a double bill with another Bumblefest headliner, Spaceface, in Tampa.
Spaceface is likewise from two cities — Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee — and features the psychedelic pop compositions of vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Jake Ingalls. The singing multi-instrumentalist, making his Bumblefest debut, is best-known for becoming a stagehand, guitar technician and finally studio musician with Oklahoma psychedelic rockers the Flaming Lips.
That profile helps make Spaceface the band other festival headliners most want to see.
Along with guitarist/vocalist Eric Martin, bassist/vocalist Marina Aguerre and drummer Garet Powell, Ingalls will present renditions from the group’s new release, “Anemoia.”
Georgia-based band Immaterial Possession also makes its Bumblefest debut Saturday. Formed in Atlanta by singer/guitarist Madeline Polites and bassist/vocalist Cooper Holmes while the two were living in an artist commune, the group has added multi-instrumentalist Kiran Fernandes and drummer John Spiegel.
Now based in Athens, the theatrical quartet’s self-titled 2020 debut album featured danceable elements of practically every musical style from punk to opera.
“We’ve only played in West Palm Beach once before,” Holmes says. “Seems like a town that dances. Some towns dance; some don’t. Dancing is much preferred.”
Gal Musette, who headlines Friday and Saturday as a solo vocalist/keyboardist, travels east from California. A San Clemente native whose actual name is Grace Freeman, she has opened shows for Macy Gray and Suzanne Vega, and she sang a duet with Rufus Wainwright on her 2021 debut album, “Backwards Lullaby.”
Musette will also perform material from her forthcoming sophomore release, “Pendulum,” as she continues to adjust to her new West Coast surroundings.
“I actually just moved to Los Angeles,” she says. “I’m excited to announce I can call myself an L.A.-based musician.”
Friday headliners also include acts from Brooklyn (Lumberob & Kramer, CumGirl8) to Deerfield Beach (Postface), Liquid Pennies, Sagittarius Aquarius, Do Not Air, Monster Teeth, Leah Wellbaum, Dirtbike, Emily Blaylock, Mila Degray, Nick County, Thank God It’s Drag and Kenny 5.
Saturday performers include Kenny 5, Chlorinefields, The Dreambows, Violet Silhouette, Brett Staska, Daddy, Rude Television, Mold!, Paper Carcass, Babe Honey, MrENC, Machine Gun Girl featuring Eden, Sandman Sleeps and World Renowned Elvis.
Bumblefest runs 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. each day at Respectable Street, 518 Clematis St. (561-832-9999); Subculture Alley, 509 Clematis St. (561-318-5142); Hullabaloo, 517 Clematis St. (561-833-1033); Lost Weekend, 526 Clematis St. (561-293-2786); and Alchemy, 527 Clematis St. (561-814-2800).
Tickets cost $20 to $30 at Bumblefest6.eventbrite.com. For further information, visit www.Bumblefest.com.
