Bumbershoot's Big Bash -- Arts Festival Turns 25 With A Starry Lineup

----------------------------------------------------------------- Festival preview

Bumbershoot '95, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. tomorrow through Monday at Seattle Center; $10 a day, $1 a day for kids 12 and younger and seniors 65 and older; kids and seniors free tomorrow; $25 4-day and $16 2-day passes; advance tickets at PayLess Drug Stores or TicketMaster; Bumbershoot hotline: 682-4-FUN. ----------------------------------------------------------------- One day at a time.

That's one way to handle Bumbershoot, which this year is bigger than ever, thanks to a stellar 25th anniversary lineup, and the added attraction of the Jimi Hendrix Tribute Concert.

Tickets cost more this year, so it takes even more planning to make sure you get the most out of your Bumbershooting. For our money, it looks like Sunday is the best day. But the nine-and-a-half-hour Hendrix concert Monday will probably be the festival highlight, especially if some of the rumored big names (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck) show up.

Here's our select, day-by-day breakdown of top Bumbershoot '95 attractions.

Tomorrow

Noon to 6:30 p.m., Mainstage - The Warped Tour, a punk "summer camp on wheels," with 13 bands, including Civ, Quicksand, L7, Sublime and Orange 9mm, and a dozen "extreme athletes" on skate ramps, street courses and a climbing wall.

6:45 p.m., Rhythm Stage - Los Lobos, one of the great American rock bands, with a unique Tex-Mex style.

8 p.m., Bumbrella Stage - Joan Osborne, a potent, bluesy, soulful singer-songwriter whose "Relish" is one of the strongest major-label debut albums of the year.

8 p.m., Intiman Playhouse - Intiman Theatre's "Nine Armenians," a play by Leslie Ayvazian that Seattle Times theater critic Misha Berson calls "first class . . . engrossing . . . warmly affecting."

Saturday

Noon, Mural Stage - Northwest Gospel Celebration; jumping, rhythmic, uplifting songs of praise from the Pacific Northwest Mass Choir, the Electrifying Mighty Warriors, the Mount Zion Brotherhood Chorus and others.

12:30 p.m., Opera House - Jimmie Dale Gilmore, a gifted singer-songwriter whose style intersects country and folk. Talented singer-songwriter Iris Dement opens.

3 p.m., Arena - The Presidents of the United States of America, the latest sizzling hot rock band from Seattle.

3 p.m., Mural Stage - Harmonica Blowout, with Seattle's best harmonica players, including Steve Bailey, Mark Dufresne, Jay Mabin and Dick Powell.

4:30 p.m., Opera House - Obo Addy and the Kronos Quartet, in what should be a fascinating pairing of traditional African drumming and avant garde string quartet music.

7:30 p.m., Mainstage - The Robert Cray Band; the great young bluesman's songs ache with betrayal, revenge and paranoia. Rory Block, perhaps the finest female blues singer-guitarist, opens.

8 p.m., Intiman Playhouse - "Nine Armenians" (see above).

Sunday

Noon, Intiman Playhouse - "Nine Armenians" (see above).

12:30 p.m., Opera House - Donovan, the hurdy-gurdy man and unreconstructed hippie, singing gentle songs of love and peace.

2 p.m., Mainstage - Richard Thompson and Roger McGuinn; an inspired double-bill with the quirky English singer-songwriter and the heart of the Byrds.

4:45 p.m., Mainstage - Mel Torme, still crooning, still scatting, still cool.

7 p.m., Mainstage - The Ramones and Mudhoney; the beloved punk rockers, on their farewell tour, along with Seattle's grungiest grunge rockers.

7:45 p.m., Mural Stage - Marcia Ball, the queen of boogie-woogie piano and a true living legend.,

8 p.m., Opera House - Jim Carroll and Patti Smith, writers influenced by rock, read from their works. Carroll is known for "The Basketball Diaries" and Smith was once a punk-rock star.

Monday

1 p.m., Mainstage - The Jimi Hendrix Tribute Concert, an incredibly star-studded blowout featuring Jimi's former band mates and such guitar progeny as Mike McCready, Jerry Cantrell, Chris Duarte and Randy Hansen.

1:45 p.m., Rhythm Stage - Bela Fleck & the Flecktones; Fleck is an amazing banjo virtuoso with a wide range of expression, with an outstanding band.

2:30 p.m., Opera House - Maceo Parker, the saxman associated for many years with James Brown, in a tribute to Charles Mingus.

5:30 p.m., Mural Stage - Dr. John; the gris-gris gumbo shaman of New Orleans piano funk.

7 p.m., Bumbrella Stage - Bumberdrum VIII, the beating heart of Bumbershoot, featuring Abraxas, Obo Addy, Boukman Eksperyans and Northwest Taiko.