Tag Archives: Mavis Staples

It’s the 4 most wonderful days of the year!! The 2016 Bonnaroo lineup is officially here!

20 Jan

Bonnaroo 15! Let the countdown begin! IMOO the best four days of the year are happening June 9-12 in Manchester, Tennessee and while the lineup leaked last week it was officially released last night on Conan.

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Pearl Jam
Dead & Company
LCD Soundsystem
J. Cole
Ellie Goulding
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Tame Impala
Death Cab for Cutie
M83
HAIM
Halsey
Ween
Jason Isbell
CHVRCHES
Miguel
Chris Stapleton
Judd Apatow & Friends
The Chainsmokers
SuperJam
Big Grams (Big Boi + Phantogram)
Band of Horses
Leon Bridges
Grace Potter
Father John Misty
Adam Devine
Purity Ring
The Claypool Lennon Delirium
Two Door Cinema Club
Sam Hunt
Flosstradamus
Zeds Dead
Tyler The Creator
Bridget Everett
Griz
Mavis Staples
Touchpants
Lamb Of God
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Kurt Vile & The Violators
Blood Orange
Adventure Club
Lord Huron
RL Grime
The Bluegrass Situation Superjam (Featuring Ed Helms and Friends)
X Ambassadors
Piff the Magic Dragon
Lucius
Vince Staples
Third Eye Blind
Cymande
Misterwives
Clutch
GoldLink
Lettuce
St. Lucia
Cashmere Cat
Goddamn Comedy Jam
FIDLER
Ibeyi
Keys N Krates
Sam Bush Band
The Wood Brothers
Saint Motel
Daughter
The Floozies
Marian Hill
Kamasi Washington
BØRNS
Post Malone
Shamir
Allen Stone
Brett Dennen
Oh Wonder
Boy & Bear
Dungen
Judah & The Lion
Steve Gunn
Steep Canyon Rangers
The Oh Hellos
The Internet
John Moreland
Andra Day
Anderson East
Twin Peaks
Bully
Natalie Prass
Chicano Batman
Givers
Hermitude
Jarryd James
Lizzo
Papadosio
Rayland Baxter
Vulfpeck
Sara Watkins
The Knocks
Waxahatchee
Beach Fossils
Whilk and Misky
Hundred Waters
The London Souls
Lolawolf
Civil Twilight
Roman Gianarthur
LANY
Con Brio
Flux Capacitor

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Coachella 2016 lineup is here

5 Jan

Late Monday night Coachella dropped its 2016 lineup. With Guns n’ Roses and LCD Soundsystem as headliners (and both reuniting) leaked early on, the anticipation was only building for the remainder of the lineup. My hats off to the Goldenvoice team for putting together yet another massive lineup for music fans to salivate at. This year is clearly very dance heavy (as expected) and obviously there is going to be more electro(nic) incorporated into the Coachella Stage and Outdoor Theater stage. Also with Calvin Harris drawing the largest crowd in Coachella Stage history in 2014 it’s no surprise to see him headlining as well this year. I’ll get to may favorite small line artists below but I think the most interesting part of the lineup is at the bottom which states “DESPACIO All Weekend Long;” and should get every LCD Soundsystem (and music) fan excited because if you aren’t familiar, DESPACIO is a side project of James Murphy and 2manydjs! It’s so rad, see for yourself, HERE.

The top line artists speak for themselves but let’s get into the fun stuff, discovery. Here are my quick hits to the artists you may not know but should by April. If I had to name just one of the below for your to really get lost in, Gallant.  Oh baby!

Friday: Ibeyi, Black Coffee, Years & Years, HEALTH, Mavis Staples, Goldroom, Gallant, HAELOS, Miami Horror

Saturday: Chronixx, AlunaGeorge (who dazzled in 2014), Shamir, Moon Taxi, Ex Hex, Mr. Carmack, Alvvays, Algiers, Cloves, Phases

Sunday: HudMo, Kamasi Washington, Melody’s Echo Chamber, Anderson .Paak, Nosaj Thing, Epik High, Tensnake, Alessia Cara, Crystal Fighters, PRAYERS, Young Fathers, the Heavy, Girlpool, AC Slater

 

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BottleRock Here I Come

9 May

I’m missing the first day of BottleRock Napa Valley today but stoked to be heading up to Napa tomorrow morning with my brother to catch a couple days of the first year, four-day festival. A stacked lineup, plenty of great food and wine in addition to plenty of friends making the trek should make for a fun weekend.

Tomorrow it’s all about The Black Keys, The Shins, Alabama Shakes, Vintage Trouble, The Flaming Lips, Dirty Projectors, Andrew Bird, Matt Nathanson, Blues Traveler and more.  Saturday is definitely a power packed day/night of music with Kings of Leon, Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Iron & Wine, Jackson Browne, Jane’s Addiction, Donavon Frankenreiter, Allen Stone, Dwight Yoakam, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Sharon Van Etten and more!  Sunday brings it with Zac Brown Band, Michael Franti, Grouplove, Cake, Mavis Staples, Train, The Wallflowers, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Brandi Carlile and more.

My initial thoughts on the 2013 GRAMMY Awards

11 Feb

Another year of GRAMMY Awards have come and gone.  So much great music highlighted from the past year and of course a ton of great performances.  I’m also a fan of LL Cool J as the host, hopefully they bring him back for a third year.  So how about some ramblings from the show.

  • If you’ve ever seen Bruno Mars live you know what to expect from him and his band but their performance was just sick.  Sting singing a verse to “Locked Out of Heaven,” finally a tip of the hat to the Police influenced track and Rihanna joining the party with Ziggy and Damian Marley for a great tribute to Bob Marley. My favorite performance of the night.
  • Wow, what a great way to pay tribute to the late, great Levon Helm.  Elton John, Mumford & Sons, Mavis Staples, Zac Brown, Alabama Shakes singer Brittany Howard and T Bone Burnett, wonderful performance.
  • Justin Timberlake with the band and orchestra, a tip of the hat and that I have to say overshadowed Jay-Z guesting for me.
  • How cool was the rain during the fun. performance? So stoked to see those guys jump to stardom but every time I see Nate Ruess I am reminded of The Format, man do I miss that band.
  • Mumford & Sons, well at least the escalated from that rickety little stage from a couple years ago.
  • The Lumineers I sure hope they are the Mumford of two years ago and just reach new heights after the GRAMMY Awards. Let’s see how many units they move in the next week.
  • The Black Keys with Dr. John and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band was just simply rocking. Seen Dan Auerbach and Dr. John together but that collection of musicians, whoa.
  • Ed Sheeran getting to share the stage with Elton John, well done young man.
  • Jack White, a tip of the hat to you!
  • Frank Ocean, wish they would have had him perform earlier in the show.
  • LL Cool J, Chuck D, Z-Trip and Travis Barker – I’d love to see an entire concert with these four.
  • Was there an over/under on how many times they would show Taylor Swift?  And is there one song she didn’t sing along to?
  • Is it odd that I thought of The Hunger Games when they showed Carrie Underwood’s dress?  All it needed to do was catch fire!
  • Anyone else think John Mayer in the purple tux belonged in Alice in Wonderland and could have fit in the Taylor Swift performance?
  • I guess people know who Miguel is now.  A tip of the hat to @TonyDasco who’s been all about Miguel for two plus years.
  • Prince, he’s got to be up to something if he made an appearance.  I just wonder what.  I remember when he had his residency in Vegas, he would show up to one of the nightclubs I worked with an then have the curtains closed around him.  Odd then, odd now but still one of the greatest musicians/performers ever.
  • Did Kimbra and her ‘I’m not sure what she was wearing’ rival Bjork and her swan dress?
  • The other performances, meh. Or did I miss a great one?

Oh and the awards.  Here you go.

My Thoughts on the Hangout Music Festival Line-up

10 Feb

Pretty powerful line-up at the Hangout Music Festival, May 18-20, on Alabama’s Gulf Shores.

Jack White, Dave Matthews Band and Red Hot Chili Peppers are a solid trio of headliners that highlight three days of solid music.

A look at some of the other initial acts announced:

Wilco – will be rocking in support of their new album

String Cheese Incident – never met a SCI show I didn’t like

The Flaming Lips – performing Pink Flyod’s Dark Side of the Moon

Chris Cornell – solid choice

Dispatch – ah a year back together and in comes the festivals again! So exciting!

Steve Winwood – now this will be a fun performance

Allen Stone – everybody needs a little Allen Stone in their lives

Alabama Shakes – what more can I say, they are on FIRE!

Gary Clark Jr. – if you haven’t listened to this man, best do so now

G. Love – c’mon y’all know this is a must see

Michael Franti & Spearhead – YES!!

Young The Giant – energetic live performances

Cage the Elephant – look online for video from Lollapalooza 2011

Dawes – amazing live show

M.Ward – another not to miss

Also included in the first announcement of artists Skrillex, Randy Newman, STS9, Coheed and Cambria, Flogging Molly, Dr. Dog, Gogol Bordello, Mavis Staples, Big Freedia, Shpongle, Zeds Dead, Paul Oakenfold, Yelawolf, Mac Miller, Hey Rosetta!, Paper Diamond, and Sleeper Agent.

More artists are expected to be announced soon.

Austin City Limits Line-Up Released and Single Day Tickets Now On Sale

17 May

Not only did Austin City Limits practically sell out today (probably will by EOD) but the line-up was released and WOW, Zilker Park is going to be music mania September 16-18.  I know the line-up every year is packed with big time talent but this year already screams epic time to be had.  Amazing job by C3 Presents to put together what can easily be considered the best festival line-up of the year.  Click HERE to purchase tickets.  Full line-up below.


Friday, Sep 16

  • Kanye West, Coldplay, Nas & Damian “Jr Gong” Marley , Bright Eyes , Santigold , Pretty Lights , Big Boi , Ray LaMontagne , Old Crow Medicine Show , Cold War Kids , Delta Spirit , Foster The People, Smith Westerns, Mavis Staples , Jack Ingram , James Blake , Sara Bareilles , Wild Beasts , Brandi Carlile, Gary Clark Jr. , The Secret Sisters , Phosphorescent , Charles Bradley , Reptar , Beardyman , An Horse , Asleep at the Wheel , Futurebirds , Theophilus London , The Cave Singers , Ha Ha Tonka , Francisca Valenzuela , Miniature Tigers , Hudson Moore , Bobby Long , The Bells Of Joy , Disciples Of Christ , Sara Hickman , The School of Rock , Heidi Swedburg , Mariana Iranzi , Brady Rymer

Saturday, Sep 17

  • Stevie Wonder , My Morning Jacket , Alison Krauss & Union Station , Cee Lo , Cut Copy , TV On The Radio , Skrillex , Iron & Wine , Chromeo , Gillian Welch , Fitz and the Tantrums , Court Yard Hounds , Young The Giant , Alexander , J. Roddy Walston & the Business , Preservation Hall Jazz Band and The Del McCoury , City and Colour , Twin Shadow , The Antlers , Wanda Jackson , Abigail Washburn & The Village , The Belle Brigade , Aloe Blacc & The Grand Scheme , Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub , Fool’s Gold , Patrice Pike , The Moondoggies , Cowboy and Indian , Jon Pardi , The Warrior Gospel Band , Endurance , Tyree Morris & The Hearts of Worship , Recess Monkey , Fresh Millions , Tyler Bryant , The Kingston Springs , Chancellor Warhol

Sunday, Sep 18

  • Arcade Fire , Fleet Foxes , Social Distortion , Empire Of The Sun , Randy Newman , Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses, , Broken Social Scene , Death From Above 1979 , The Airborne Toxic Event , Elbow , The Walkmen , Chiddy Bang , Gomez , AWOLNATION , Hayes Carll , North Mississippi Allstars , Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. , The Head and the Heart , Mariachi El Bronx , Joseph Arthur , Bomba Estereo , MONA , The Vaccines ,  The Greencards , Nick 13 , Ruby Jane , Little Hurricane , MilkDrive , The Lee Boys , The Durdens , Peter DiStefano & Tor , The Q Brothers , Quinn Sullivan , The Barton Hills Choir , Seth Walker , Courtney Jaye , Leroy Powell

Bonnaroo X Schedule Released Today

13 May


Finally the Bonnaroo schedule has been released! Click HERE to take a look. As expected when the schedule came out, there are  many many conflicts and overlaps with artists and set times. Of course for me there are the staple artists that are marked as must sees (Widespread Panic, String Cheese Incident, Buffalo Springfield, Mumford & Sons, Gregg Allman, Robert Plant, G. Love, The Black Keys, Warren Haynes, etc.) and after that, time to figure out the rest. Who knows, my ideal schedule today may end up being completely different when I arrive. All I know is there is a ton of great music and I can’t wait to be surrounded by 90,000 of my new closest friends.


Bonnaroo Artist Additions

7 Apr

Today Bonnaroo announced artist additions and the comedy line-up for this summer.  I know some people were hoping for bigger names but really, you couldn’t expect more headlining acts to be announced.  Could it have been better, sure but either way I for one am stoked as two of my favorite artists we added, G. Love and Black Joe Lewis.  Add in Galactic, Black Uhuru and Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub and Superfly definitely added some great talent.  DJ line-up should be coming soon too.

Artists Additions

NOFX
Galactic
G. Love & Special Sauce
Black Uhuru
Shpongle Presents Shpongletron Experience
Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub
Allen Toussaint (w Dr. John and The Original Meters)
Anthony B
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
Ben Sollee
Graveyard
Dennis Coffey
Forro in the Dark
The Knux
Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens
Futurebirds
Hangaii

Comedy Lineup!

Lewis Black
420 Comedy Blaze hosted by Cheech Marin featuring Ralphie May, the stars of Workaholics and more
John Waters
Henry Rollins
Henson Alternative’s Stuffed & Unstrung
The League (Paul Scheer, Nick Kroll, Jon Lajoie, Stephen Rannazzisi)
Donald Glover
The Gregory Brothers
Kathleen Madigan
Eugene Mirman
Ted Alexandro
Tim Minchin
Tig Notaro
Hannibal Buress
Craig Baldo
Nate Bergatze

My Thoughts On Some Of The GRAMMY Performances

14 Feb

The Grammy’s were well the Grammy’s, filled as usual with a ton of fantastic performances but I have to say that Mumford & Sons v. The Avett Brothers v. Bob Dylan was the highlight of the night for me.  Not only did M&S rock out on that tiny little rectangle of a stage that somehow didn’t break to perform “The Cave,” they cemented themselves as the next great band from the UK.  If 2010 was a huge step for the folk rock foursome in terms of crossing the pond and selling out small concert venues, 2011 is going to be one hell of a wild ride.  The Avett Brothers continue to amaze me and I dug their performance which gained steam midway through and probably netted them a ton more fans following.  And no matter how old Bob Dylan gets and how mumbled he may sound, I can never get enough of the musician who made me love music.

Also did Mick Jagger rock the Grammy’s or what?  His cover of Solomon Burke’s “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love” with Raphael Saadiq was sensational.  What a tribute it was, filled with energy and spunk that no doubt must have had Burke smiling down from up above.

Eminem, Rihanna, Dre I’d say was as you’d expect, a great, energetic performance but the real winner seems to be Skylar Grey who practically stole the show with her vocals on “I Need A Doctor.”  And you know what, I’m sure the Eminem, Dre and Alex da Kid are grinning from ear-to-ear knowing they just hit the jackpot yet again.

B.o.B, Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae – three of todays most talented definitely didn’t disappoint and 2011 should continue to be huge for all three.

Arcade Fire, wow!  The Suburbs propelled them to another level in 2010 and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the Canadians after their performances brought rock back to the Grammy’s.  My only question is did they know they were going to win that they were set to play a second song?  I hope not but just curious….

Cee Lo dressed as a ginormous parrot was a bit scary.  Was he trying to be Koko B. Ware?  The Gwyneth Paltrow part, did I miss something?  And The Muppets, loved them!

Drake and Rihanna was just ok.  Anyone else think it wasn’t that great?  I just wonder if Chris Brown was watching and what he must have been thinking about RiRi’s outfit.

Some other notes:

Trombone Shorty!  Let’s hope he gets his due eventually

The Aretha Franklin tribute was a nice touch

Props to Esperanza Spalding and her big win!

John Mayer, Norah Jones and Keith Urban paying tribute to Dolly Parton was pretty cool

How many times do we have to see Lady GaGa and Katy Perry perform at awards shows?  Talented they may be but again?

Barbra Streisand, would have been cool if Duck Sauce was a special guest during the performance.  Hey we can all dream, right?

Do J. Lo and Marc Anthony tell award producers we’ll only present if we appear together?

Can Lady Antebellum officially be considered not country since their crossover to mainstream is now cemented?

And one more note because I just can’t leave it out, what the heck was up with Puffy and his gold teef?

Why No Electronic Music In Rolling Stone’s Top 50 Singles Of 2010?

14 Dec

For as much as Rolling Stone has given electronic/electro music credit this year, I’m pretty disappointed that their Top 50 Singles of 2010 didn’t include any of the below:

Swedish House Mafia – “One” – arguably the song of the summer and anyone who’s been to a pool party or a nightclub has heard this.  The song took off like a wild fire and didn’t get put out.

Afrojack – “Take Over Control” ft. Eva Simons – a late bloomer but still one of the hottest dance tracks of the year.  Play this song for anyone and I’d be shocked if they don’t start dancing.

Deadmau5 – “Sofi Needs A Ladder” – for as much as Rolling Stone has a crush on Deadmau5 and for this song not to be included is a shame.

David Guetta – any song off of One Love since it came out in the second half of 2009 and got MAJOR play in 2010

Steve Angello – “KNAS” – another club banger in the summer of 2010

Edward Maya – “Stereo Love” – from late 2009 and undoubtedly blew up in 2010

Steve Aoki – “I’m In The House” ft. will.i.am – for as much electro as the music industry has gone in 2010 and how big the Black Eyed Peas are, this would be borderline consideration at least.

Those are just a handful of songs that deserve their due but we could go on forever with this and artists who are not being recognized (Yolanda Be Cool & DCup, Roger Sanchez, Alex Gaudino, etc.) for their influence on pop culture. Just because they may not have a song full of lyrics or one incredible line that makes you laugh shouldn’t take away from the sheer talent and popularity.  I know not everyone is into electronic music and that’s fine but don’t just dance (no pun intended) with the music throughout the year and then throw it to the curb when it’s time to hand out awards and accolades.