Deep in the heart of Texas……in case you missed it at 12 a.m. CST/10 p.m. this morning/last night, Austin City Limits dropped their 2013 lineup. Expanding to two weekends this fall, October 4-6 and 11-13, Festival goers should have plenty of debating of who to see when the schedule comes out.
The lineup: The Cure, Depeche Mode, Thom Yorke’s Atoms For Peace, Kings of Leon, Muse, Phoenix, Wilco, Lionel Richie, Kaskade, The National, Queens of the Stone Age, Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys, Kendrick Lamar, D’Angelo, Passion Pit, Franz Ferdinand, Tame Impala, Local Natives, Portugal. the Man, Neko Case, Grimes, Jimmy Eat World, Dawes, The Joy Formidable, Purity Ring, Divine Fits, Toro Y Moi, The Shouting Matches, Haim, Smith Westerns, Savages, FIDLAR, Parquet Courts, Autre Ne Veut, Phosphorescent, Wild Belle, Hundred Waters, Silversun Pickups, Grouplove, The Black Angels, Okkervil River, Shuggie Otis, Wild Nothing, Pinback, Foxygen, Reignwolf, Deap Vally, Bright Light Social Hour, Lissie, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, White Denim, The True Believers, Mona, Roadkill Ghost Choir, JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound, Typhoon, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Dan Croll, Shovels & Rope, Electric Guest, Valerie June, The Band of Heathens, Red Baraat, Jacuzzi Boys, Widowspeak.
Wow this year is FLYING by, I can’t believe it’s already May! With that we get that hot hot heat in Vegas and what better than some new tunes to listen to. This month it’s a mix of some well known groups (so much great music release recently) as well as time to introduce you to some more new acts. I hope you enjoy and find some new favorites along the way.
The first full week of summer is here and to help celebrate I give you the DoYouHearTheMusic.com Summer Playlist Vol.I. To make this playlist available via Spotify I had had to kick out a few tracks (for now) but I hope you enjoy this little soundtrack to begin summer with.
Click HERE to access the playlist.
Baywood – “I Can Breathe Again”
Jukebox The Ghost – “Somebody”
White Arrows – “I Can Go”
Theme Park – “Wax”
San Cisco – “Awkward”
Electric Guest – “This Head I Hold”
Jump Jump Dance Dance – “Do It For Love”
Passion Pit – “Take A Walk”
Between Borders – “Free”
Satchel Grande – “Put Up A Fuss”
Gentlemen Hall – “All Our Love”
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds – “Untie My Shoelaces”
King Charles ft. Mumford & Sons – “The Brightest Lights”
Vintage Trouble – “You Better Believe It”
John Mayer – “Queen of California”
The Lumineers – “Big Parade”
Dawes – “If I Wanted Someone”
Bag of Toys – “Eternal Optimist”
The Dirty Heads – “Spread To Thin”
Donavon Frankenreiter – “Shine”
Bonnaroo is a lot like camp, you hang out with friends, create memories and have the greatest summer alive and when it’s time to say goodbye you don’t want to accept it and it can be sad. But those frowns get turned upside down when you realize it’s less than a year away from returning to the friendly confines and get the chance to rekindle friendships and make new memories.
Now that the sappy stuff is out of the way, let’s get to the meat and potatoes that was Bonnaroo 2012. First off flying in Wednesday night was the best move of the festival which besides getting to roll in to the grounds during daylight, I got the opportunity to enjoy a full Thursday and what a first day it was.
Over the course of the four days I exhausted myself trying to squeeze in as much music as possible. And at the end of the day, that was a tough task and personally I feel I fell short and should have squeezed in more but ultimately my body didn’t agree. I did however stay true to my top three to see: Dispatch, Alabama Shakes and Black Star and those were three shows I got so much joy out of. Dispatch was over a decade in the making for me and the fellas were enthusiastic, having fun and straight up rocking the way I imagined. Alabama Shakes reconfirmed to me what I have been preaching; amazingly talented, rock and roll has a new voice and Brittany Howard may be one of the most charismatic musicians in the business. And Black Star, a true honor to see some of hip-hop’s finest share the stage and just own the night.
As for the rest of my thoughts on Bonnaroo 2012, here we go:
A Breakdown of who I saw each day
Thursday:
Feist (did an impromptu set on Which Stage to prepare for her regular gig), Fort Atlantic, The Dirty Guv’nahs, Rubblebucket, Mariachi El Bronx, Danny Brown, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Kendrick Lamar, Marina Orchestra, SOJA and Phantogram (just tidbits walking by), Alabama Shakes, Big Gigantic, CHERUB
Friday:
Shahidah Omar, Electric Guest, Michael Kiwanuka (he ended 15 minutes early so only heard one song), Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Two Door Cinema Club, Caitlin Rose, Afrocubism, The Avett Brothers, Foster The People, Radiohead, Black Star, Major Lazer, Umphrey’s McGee
Saturday:
Charles Bradley, DAWES, The Temper Trap, Flogging Molly (one song), Oberhofer, Santigold, Childish Gambino, The Roots, Dispatch, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Superjam, (gulp) Skrillex
Sunday:
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, ALO, The Black Lips, Honey Island Swamp Band, GROUPLOVE, Mac Miller (Beach Boys was too crazy had to watch from a TV!), Kenny Rogers, Bon Iver, Machines Are People Too, Phish
My First Show: Feist (impromptu set)
My Final Show: Phish
My Moment of Joy: Seeing a throng of people overflow This Tent for the Alabama Shakes and watching them in amazement as they owned opening night at Bonnaroo. Want to try and capture the energy? Click HERE to download their set from Bonnaroo!
Best What Stage Show: Phish – are you kidding me, besides having Kenny Rogers come out to sing “The Gambler,” the jam band legends did their legacy well.
I did also love The Avett Brothers show, those fellas are so damn good live.
Best Which Stage Show(s): Dispatch and Childish Gambino. Dispatch were on fire and had an aura of happiness that was contagious with the crowd. Gambino didn’t allow technology malfunctions to derail his time in the spotlight and a major upgrade from the tent last year.
Best Tent Show: GROUPLOVE (see below)
Best Side Stage Show: DAWES at Sonic Stage – after thinking it was going just be a “30 minute set and play some songs,” Taylor Goldsmith wasn’t shy about letting the packed legion of fans know “ you made this like a second performance at Bonnaroo” which in turn granted fans an encore after the show was well over! Wild stuff.
Best Overall Show: GROUPLOVE – there is something about this band that I feel and it gets me to the bone every time I see them live. I love their story, their music, the way they approach shows, how sincere they are and yeah, they are damn good musicians. The crowd was lively; the band was energized and together formed a beautiful hour of music euphoria.
Biggest Surprise: Marina Orchestra – no idea going in and left loving this band craving more.
Best Legend Show: Kenny Rogers (even if I did miss Lionel Richie coming out to sing with him).
Random Moment(s) Of Awesomeness: Seeing Kenny Rogers come out on stage to sing “The Gambler” with Phish; Flea taking a moment during RHCP set to reel off all the bands he had the chance to see and how awesome Bonnaroo is.
Overall Stage With The Best Performances: Got to go with the main one, What Stage, this year was packed with supreme talent that did not disappoint.
Most Entertaining Show: Rubblebucket – this show had it all, sick horn section, rocking lead singer, robots (yes really) dancing in the crowd courtesy of the band and all this happening on the Solar Stage!
2nd place – Mariachi El Bronx which was not only amazing but I love this hardcore punk turned mariachi band. Best part was lead singer Matt Caughthran finding a way to dedicate every song to someone and to see the sheer joy about performing at Bonnaroo.
Most Disappointing Moment: Missing a plethora of bands I wanted to see just based on schedule conflicts – Alice Cooper, Hey Rosetta!, The Civil Wars, St. Vincent, Kurt Vile, Trampled By Turtles, to name some
Next Big Thing: Electric Guest and GROUPLOVE (Alabama Shakes have already arrived)
Giving it a shot: I did two things I said I wouldn’t, caught some of Skrillex’s set and took in Bon Iver (actually found a song I like, “Skinny Love”)
Top Party: Superjam, c’mon were talking about ?uestlove bringing D’Angelo out! First show in the US in 12 years and man did he sound good.
Oddest Show That Was A Blast: Danny Brown
Funky Good Time Show: Charles Bradley
Band I Was Sad To Miss: The Civil Wars
Best Intro: Do my intros to friends going to see a band they never heard of count?
What Would Have Been Great: a fifth day to see some more of the acts
Top Roo Rookie: Dispatch, yeah the seasoned veterans played their first Roo and boy was it special
Top Moment: The entire crowd at What Stage singing “Under The Bridge” during the Red Hot Chili Peppers show.
Best Festival Eats: Amish Bakery Doughnuts
Best Broo’ers Beer: Starr Hill Brewery Amber
Best Place To Cool Off: the RV
Biggest Waste of Time: anything that involved a line (again)
Shocker Of The Festival: Not too many surprise guests as expected
Worst Part: Scheduling conflicts
Clutch Move: Native Rain Boots, comfy and convenient to deal with the mud on Day 4
Tip For Next Year: Walmart is so close to the campground, don’t buy more than you really need, you can always go back for more, we did this year and it saved us close to $1,000.00.
More Tips: drink water, more water, sunscreen is your second best friend after water, if you see someone struggling give them a hand or find someone, Ben & Jerry’s is still my favorite thing to eat at Bonnaroo.
Photos coming soon, stay tuned!
I swear Mumford & Sons are geniuses. Last time out it was the Railroad Revival Tour and this year it’s Gentlemen of the Road. Straight from the fellas:
Join us this summer for a series of Gentlemen of the Road Stopovers at handpicked locations around the world. Each Stopover is a day-long event, celebrating the music, food and people of the places we’re visiting. We’ll be bringing a full lineup of some of our favorite bands from around the world, and curating events that combine a music festival and local gathering into one epic party. We plan to start early, and go late, taking the party from the stage to the town.
Please come join us if you can. It’ll be a whole lot of fun.
Mumford & Sons
Excited? I know I am so here we go, and yeah let your jaw drop……now
Huddersfield, UK Stopover, 2nd June, 2012 – Greenhead Park
Mumford & Sons, Michael Kiwanuka, Nathaniel Rateliff, Moulettes, The Correspondents, Slow Club, Willy Mason, The Rag Tags
Galway, Ireland Stopover, 9th June, 2012 – Salthill Park
Mumford & Sons, The Vaccines, Zulu Winter, Nathaniel Rateliff, The Correspondents, Willy Mason, Moulettes, King Charles
Portland, Maine, Saturday August 4, 2012, Eastern Promenade
Mumford & Sons, St. Vincent, DAWES, The Maccabees, Apache Relay, Simone Felice, Haim
Bristol, Virginia/Tennessee, Saturday August 11, 2012, Downtown Bristol
Mumford & Sons, DAWES, Justin Townes Earle, JEFF The Brotherhood, The Very Best, Apache Relay, Simone Felice, Haim
Dixon, Illinois (A Camping Stopover), Saturday August 18, 2012, Page Park
Mumford & Sons, Gogol Bordello, DAWES, Abigail Washburn, The Very Best, Apache Relay, Haim
Monterey, California, Saturday August 25, 2012, Monterey County Fairgrounds
Mumford & Sons, Gogol Bordello, Two Gallants, GROUPLOVE, The Very Best, Apache Relay, Haim
It should be one hot, fun weekend in Chicago for Lollapalooza. Late last night the much-anticipated lineup for Lollapalooza 2012 was released and C3 Presents and Perry Farrell definitely did not disappoint. The headliners were pretty much shoe-ins with the exception of Black Sabbath and At The Drive-In (talk about reunion acts) two bands I can’t say anyone really expected. RHCP, The Black Keys, Jack White, Florence + The Machine are all doing their fair share of festival headlining this summer. Add Justice and Avicii to that list and it is going to be a heck of a good time.
I was really excited to see Sigur Ros, Miike Snow, Die Antwoord, Alabama Shakes, The Weeknd, Passion Pit, Franz Ferdinand, Of Monsters And Men, The Temper Trap, Aloe Blacc, Trampled by Turtles, Toro y Moi, The Head & The Heart, The Big Pink, JJ Grey & Mofro, Gary Clark Jr. , The Gaslight Anthem, Dawes, Bloc Party, Passion Pit, Madeon all getting great billing for the festival.
But even more thrilling was seeing some really awesome smaller acts tabbed to play; like First Aid Kit, Bombay Bicycle Club, GIVERS, Michael Kiwanuka, The Growlers, Hey Rossetta!, JEFF The Brotherhood, The Jezabels, Moon Taxi, Chancellor Warhol, The War On Drugs.
Also I have to say I love the logo used on the lineup poster, YEAR OF THE DRAGON.
See you August 3-5 at Grant Park in Chicago.
The Official 2012 Lollapalooza Line-up Video from Lollapalooza on Vimeo.
As everyone knows, the Bonnaroo lineup was released earlier this week and all I can keep thinking about is, will June 7 just get here already?!
So in anticipation, I put some of my thoughts together on the lineup. I’m also amazed at how many of the bands I’ve actually seen live before.
So there you have it, some quick thoughts on the initial Bonnaroo 2012 lineup. The best part is we still have more acts to be announced!
Can’t wait to be in Tennessee again! A little over 100 days away, I’m not counting or anything.
Holy Bonnaroo! Are you kidding me? What a line-up SuperFly put together this year. Looks like The Farm is going to be a rocking for four amazing days. Sweet headliners! Tons of legendary acts! A stellar list of the rising stars of tomorrow! Bonnaroo favorites! I mean this is going to be B A N A N A S.
Do You Hear The Music? 