For decades, the 500 block of Clematis Street has been the center of live music in downtown West Palm Beach. In the past In the past
For several years, a September event has taken this block fest even further. Bumblefest is a two-day, multi-stage Clematis Street party celebrating the anniversary of PureHoney magazine. It is the brainchild of regional music promoter, PureHoney Publishing and the Boynton Beach
born Steev Rullman.
Distributed between Miami and Stuart, PureHoney is celebrating its 13th anniversary this summer with its Soundcloud playlist, monthly previews of local artists and touring concerts, color graphics and fold-out posters in the center.
This year’s eighth annual Bumblefest will feature 21 main acts on two stages, one indoors and one outdoors, on Respectable Street. Since 1987, the venue has been one of the Southeast’s premier live alternative rock establishments.
Headliners include New York-based singer/guitarist Dion Lunadon, the New Zealand native known for his work with Big Apple rockers A Place To Bury Strangers.
Lunadon, who has been touring and recording as a solo artist for several years, will perform his own garage-style post-punk material at Bumblefest with guitarist/vocalist Jake Pflum, bassist Craig Bonich and drummer Dylan Cascante.
Lunadon says he appreciates Rullman’s tireless efforts. “Without people like him, there would be no scene,” Lunadon says. “Every city needs a doer who makes exciting and creative things happen. I know a few of these people and I appreciate what they do and enjoy spending time with them.”
The story of Bumblefest is not unlike the flight of the bumblebee, both literally and musically. Anniversary celebrations have taken place before 2016, but the name Bumblefest only came about this year to celebrate the fifth anniversary of its release.
In 2019, the festival expanded from one to two nights. Post-Covid in 2021, the event picked up again, with 18 acts in one night, and subsequent two-day events in 2022 and 2023 saw the number of artists performing increase to 40 last year.
These last two Bumblefests were sprawling events with bands spread out across five nightclubs along the block. This year’s downsizing simplifies things for both the audience and those attending the two rotating stages, which include remaining headliners Starcleaner Reunion (also from New York City), World Destroyer’s Pleasure Club and Dream Phases (both from Los Angeles), Seattle’s Fiona Moonchild and Atlanta’s Psychic Death.
Rullman specializes in attracting independent acts to Bumblefest that are still under the radar and don’t often get the spotlight.
“This will be our band’s first festival out of state,” says Neight Trion of World Destroyers Pleasure Club, whose atmospheric vocals and keyboards are backed by guitarist/vocalist Jay Eraser, bassist/vocalist Rocky and drummer/vocalist Oh Ra. “We are delighted to have been invited. The southernmost part of Florida
I played in Orlando years ago. But I’ve known Dion Lunadon for years and haven’t had the chance to see his current outfit, which we’re looking forward to. We also want to see Starcleaner Reunion and Fiona Moonchild.”
Seeing other Bumblefest attendees is a common theme for the artists. “I’ve performed in South Florida before,” Lunadon says, “but never at Bumblefest. This band has only played in Miami once. We’re looking forward to seeing as much of the fest as possible, and we’ll be playing selections from all of our records.”
“We did a short Florida tour earlier this year, but didn’t get any further south than St. Petersburg,” says Psychic Death drummer James Vincent, whose post-punk quartet includes singer/guitarist Blake Lumry, keyboardist Ryan Stark and bassist Zach Estess. “So this will be a new milestone for us. Steev saw us play in Jacksonville in February. After that show, we were contacted by PureHoney magazine via Instagram. He also saw us in Atlanta recently, so we chatted. We played with (St. Augustine-based band) ISYA in Jacksonville and are super excited to see them again. But we plan to see as many bands as we can.”
Other out-of-state acts include Philadelphia’s Lo Fives and Georgia artists forceghost and SheHeHe. Florida musicians are well represented with Rude Television, Siichaq, Severed & Said and Bebe Deluxe, all from Jacksonville. Akasha System and Justin Depth hail from Tampa and American Dream Survivors call Gainesville home. Closer to Palm Beach County, there’s Night Foundation, Kenny Moe and Zippur from Fort Lauderdale and Mr. Entertainment + the Pookiesmackers from Hollywood.