Festival Preview - Rock

Ultra's Phase 2 adds 150 more acts

fpadmin2 — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:08:06 +0000

Notables: Annie Mac, ATB, Benny Benassi, Dash Berlin, DJ Shadow, Erick Morillo, Gossip, Gui Boratto, Madeon, Martin Solveig, Pendulum DJ Set, Richie Hawtin, Wolfgang Gartner

Comment: That's 240 total acts so far with a Phase 3 to come. The festival opens March 23 at its new/old location in Miami's Bayfront Park.

Complete lineup and festival details

Stellar Bonnaroo list headed by Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Phish

fpadmin2 — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:22:24 +0000

Headliners: Phish, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers

Notables: AfroCubism, Alabama Shakes, Alice Cooper, Aziz Ansari, Bad Brains, Battles, Ben Folds Five, Black Star, Bon Iver, Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires, Childish Gambino, City and Colour, Danny Brown, Das Racist, Dawes, Delta Spirit, Dispatch, Feist, Fitz & The Tantrums, Flogging Molly, Flying Lotus, Foster The People, Gary Clark Jr., Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, Kathleen Edwards, Kendrick Lamar, Kurt Vile & the Violators, Laura Marling, Little Dragon, Ludacris, Major Lazer, MiMosa, Needtobreathe, Phantogram, Punch Brothers, SBTRKT, Skrillex, Spectrum RoadMac Miller, St. Vincent, Superjam, The Antlers, The Avett Brothers, The Beach Boys, The Black Lips, The Civil Wars, The Joy Formidable, The Kooks, The Roots, The Shins, The Word, Trampled by Turtles, TUnE-yArDs, Two Door Cinema Club, Umphrey’s McGee, YelaWolf, Young The Giant

Furthur and Primus in prime slots as All Good maps out its 51 hours of continuous music

fpadmin2 — Thu, 26 May 2011 18:35:46 +0000

All Good Music Festival & Campout announced its four-day, three-stage schedule, allowing fans to start planning for the upcoming festival, such as when to get any sleep. As usual at All Good, which runs July 14-17 at Marvin's Mountaintop in Masontown WV, there are no overlapping sets at the festival, so attendees don't face the same kind of schedule conflicts that confound them at many similar events.

Primetime acts on the main Dragon Stage Thursday through Sunday are John Butler Trio, Furthur, Primus and Dark Star Orchestra. The late-night schedule has STS9 (Thursday), Big Gigantic and Umphrey's McGee (Friday) and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe and Pretty Lights (Saturday).

Other featured Dragon Stage acts are Beats Antique and Hot Buttered Rum (Thursday), Galactic, Keller Williams and Warren Haynes Band (Friday), Rebelution, Yonder Mountain String Band and moe. (Saturday) and Greensky Bluegrass and Toots and the Maytals (Sunday).

Map out your schedule for four-day, five-stage Summer Camp

fpadmin2 — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:45:33 +0000

Daily schedules are out for Summer Camp Festival, presented in a cool interactive display with individual scheduling capability for registered users. Host band .moe plays six sets (two each on Friday, Saturday and Sunday) on the Moonshine Stage, while Umphrey's McGee holds forth for five sets on the Sunshine Stage. Other prime-time acts on the two main stages include Bassnectar, Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers, Girl Talk, Keller Williams, Lotus, STS9, The Avett Brothers, Widspread Panic. Of course, that just scratches the surface of the four-day, five-stage extravaganza.

Look for lots of variety in Gathering of the Vibes lineup reveal next week

fpadmin2 — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:51:28 +0000

With just days to go before announcing the 2011 Gathering of the Vibes performer lineup, festival director Ken Hays was not giving anything away to this interviewer. “I will say that in the 16 years of producing this festival, I have never been so excited to announce a lineup than I am this year.”

That history goes back to the festival’s first year in 1996 under the name Deadhead Heaven: A Gathering of the Tribe, designed as a memorial to Jerry Garcia. So it will be no surprise when the lineup named on Monday includes various bands either directly or indirectly descended from the Grateful Dead.

Furthur with Bob Weir and Phil Lesh headlined last year and are touring again this summer, so it is not unlikely they will be back at the top of the Vibes bill.

But Vibes has become much more than a Dead tribute festival. Covering genres from indie alternative to American roots to world music in addition to its sweet spot in jam rock and roll, the Vibes lineup is constructed to attract a broader audience than its base of long time attendees.

The alligator is back at Langerado

fpadmin2 — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 02:38:54 +0000

Happy days are here again in the south Florida festival market as the late lamented Langerado Music Festival is coming back under new management. Langerado had been one of the first big American indie rock of the 2000s, running for six years outside Miami. A move in 2008 to an Indian reservation did not go smoothly and another planned move never materialized.

Now C3 Presents, the Austin TX based production company behind Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits, has come in to revive the Langerado brand, with plans for a two-day festival October 8-9 at Langerado's original location in Markham Park in Sunrise FL.

No acts have been named, but C3's announcement said the festival will "serve up a diverse collection of artists from indie rock to electronica to modern roots." A lineup of 22 artists will be named on June 1.

An allotment of half-price early bird tickets will go on sale March 9 at the festival website. Regular advance price tickets will be available beginning in June.

Earthdance set to close out eight-year run at Black Oak Ranch

fpadmin2 — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:42:05 +0000

Members of Earthdance's International Elders Council at the 2009 festival

Earthdance will take place this weekend for the eighth and final time at the renowned Black Oak Ranch in Laytonville CA, before decamping for a larger facility next year. An A-level talent lineup of world, hip-hop and electronica artists, led by Michael Franti & Spearhead, Matisyahu, Zap Mama and Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk, will help to fulfill the festival's promise of a "grand farewell."

As always, the northern California festival is only the largest of dozens of simultaneous Earthdance events occuring around the world, connected in the airm to bring global communities together in a synchronized global event that supports humanitarian causes around the world.

This year, the festival's defining moment, a synchronized global link up, will take place on Saturday, September 18, at 4 pm Pacific time. At this time, the same song that is Earthdance's "prayer for peace" will be played in every participating location around the world.

Young acts bring new energy to Newport Folk Festival, but old-timers keep the flame

fpadmin2 — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 04:31:22 +0000

Last year’s Newport Folk Festival was an occasion of high drama, sweet nostalgia and deep emotion. This year’s was mostly just a lot of really good music.

Things were extraordinary last year for two reasons. The first is that it was the 50th anniversary of the first Newport Folk Festival, an occasion that George Wein and his staff marked by bringing back as many big-name veterans as possible, most notably Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. The second is that the festival almost didn’t happen: first the company that had taken over Wein’s Festival Productions lost its license to use Fort Adams State Park, then it (apparently) went belly-up. The festival was saved only when Wein, the man who made it happen in the first place back in 1959, stepped into the breach to secure the license and, on relatively short notice, put a remarkable all-star bash together.

Michael Franti fuses music and message to close perfect Day 3 at Targhee Fest

fpadmin2 — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:19:14 +0000

Michael Franti delivers on Day 3 at Targhee Fest

After Kimmock and Seals evoke Garcia memories, .moe rocks the Tetons (Targhee Fest Day 1)

fpadmin2 — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:08:02 +0000

.moe closes Day 1 at Targhee Music Festival

6th Targhee Fest delivers quality Americana rock to northern mountain region

fpadmin2 — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:51:45 +0000

Last weekend’s Targhee Music Festival was the sixth annual occurrence of this “big little music [festival],” as performer David Lindley called it, but it was our first time attending—and, hoo-whee, did we have a grand time.

This Teton County festival at Grand Targhee Resort might be the the quintessential three-day summer camping music festival in the mountains. At 8,000 feet with sunlight shimmering off the quaking aspen and majestic Mt. Teton as a backdrop, it is the perfect setting for a lineup of Americana-style rock performers and thousands of their fans to share their enjoyment of music and dance.

First Gaia Festival will run August 5-7, 2011 in Laytonville CA

fpadmin2 — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 04:58:59 +0000

The first details have come out about the new environmentally themed Gaia Festival, which will debut August 5-7, 2011, at Black Oak Ranch near Laytonville CA in northern Mendocino County. The festival announcement lists world-class music as one of its facets, but it is also about sustainable living, social and environmental activism, alternative energy, healing arts, theater and more.

The event is being organized by Back Roads Productions, the outfit that produces the Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival on the same site every June. Another festival with an environmental theme, Earthdance, has also run on the site each September but will be moving after this year's event September 17-19.

It had been said that Earthdance was relocating because it had outgrown the site. However, Gaia has the potential to draw as many or more attendees as Earthdance, especially once it becomes well established after a couple of years.

Mile High and Outside Lands share a weekend

fpadmin2 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:26:38 +0000

For two big city rock festivals entering their third year in business and still seeking a sustainable business model, 2010 was a time to tinker with the formula. Outside Lands in San Francisco cut back from three days to two. Mile High outside Denver programmed for a slightly older audience.

And they both moved their dates, Mile High pushing back by a month and Outside Lands moving ahead by two weeks —and both landing on the same weekend of August 14-15.

The festivals also share a fairly similar musical formula, mixing jam and alternative rock with a sprinkling of folk, blues, and world genres. Six acts—Amos Lee, Bassnectar, Damian Marley & Nas, Mayer Hawthorne & The Country, My Morning Jacket, and Phoenix— are booked at both festivals, playing Saturday in one city and Sunday in the other.

High times in store at laid back Targhee Fest

fpadmin2 — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:56:34 +0000

Photo: Wade McKoy

By Pia Valeriana and Lorraine Arone

Nestled high in the Grand Teton Mountains, in a natural grassy amphitheater surrounded by fields of wildflowers and towering Douglas fir and aspen trees, the Targhee Music Festival, running July 16-18 in Alta WY, certainly boasts one of the most spectacular settings for a summer music festival.

The festival also offers a sensational lineup—including moe., Los Lobos, Grace Potter, and Michael Franti this year—but because of its isolated location, 15 very mountainous miles from Jackson Hole, there are smaller crowds and an informal, friendly vibe.

Buzz is building for this weekend's Hangout festival; proceeds will benefit Gulf cleanup

fpadmin2 — Tue, 11 May 2010 05:02:10 +0000

By Samantha Spector

A great music festival should have a great name, one that conveys the essence of the festival's vibe. In a word, Bonnaroo evokes adventure and organized chaos while All Good says chill out and groove. The Hangout Beach, Music and Arts Festival needs no furthers explanation: Beach. Music. Art.

The Hangout gets its name from the historic bar on the beach at the festival site along the so-called Redneck Riviera in Gulf Shores AL. The festival is a first-time event in 2010, but its epic lineup has generated an huge level of buzz among fans throughout the region.

The line-up caters to tastes across the spectrum—from country (Zac Brown Band) to hip-hop (The Roots, John Legend), from electronica (Girl Talk) to good ol' rock 'n' roll (The Black Crowes, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, The Whigs); and everything in between.

There was concern about the impact of the Gulf oil spill, but the site has not been affected and the show will go on. Proceeds from the festival will be donated to the environmental cleanup. And now we are counting down the hours until the clock clicks from "work" to "fun."

2010 Electric Daisy Carnival announces lineup

jamestaylor2324 — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:35:12 +0000

Packed with mainstream stars such as Moby and Deadmau5, the Electric Daisy Carnival will return to LA on June 25th and 26th. With EDC having started in the Los Angeles suburb of Tulare, in 2000, the 11-set show will be the flagship date of a festival series that has expanded to Denver (on June 12th) and unspecified locations in Texas (June 19th) and Puerto Rico (August 28th).

Tickets for the Texas and Puerto Rico shows have not gone on sale yet, but those for the Denver show (which will feature ATB and Benny Benassi, among other artists) can be bought here.

Summer Camp's must-see sets from bloggers Pia and Lorraine

fpadmin2 — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:06:08 +0000

By Pia Valeriana and Lorraine Arone

This coming Memorial Day weekend, the 10th annual Summer Camp music festival is the place to be. Beginning with the not-to-be-missed Thursday Pre-Party with Cornmeal and more, the festival presents more than 50 bands on five stages over the following three days and nights.

See Related Story

More acts and late night choices for Summer Camp

fpadmin2 — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:59:56 +0000

Midwest jam festival Summer Camp had a spate of news for its Memorial Day Weekend event, including a final phase of artist announcements, more late-night programming, a Thursday pre party and a ticketing option for Sunday-only.

The notable new adds are G. Love & Special Sauce, Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa, Rebelution, and Split-Lip Rayfield, who join an impressive list of jam and funk acts headed by moe., Umphrey’s McGee and Yonder Mountain String Band.

The marquee late night events at Summer Camp take place in the Red Barn and are separately ticketed. The already announced lineup for the Red Barn shows has moe. on Friday, STS9 and Pretty Lights on Saturday, and Umphrey’ McGee and Eoto on Sunday.

Newly announced are lineups for Late Night Campfire Jams and Late Night Vibe Tent. The jams go on at the Campfire Stage and will feature Split Lip Rayfield (Friday), Hot Buttered Rum (Saturday) and The Ragbirds and Chicago Farmer (Sunday).
For those who like a heavier beat and dancing, The Vibe Tent offers a full program of DJs and electronic style acts. Campfire Jams and Vibe Tent are included in cost of a festival ticket.

Festival Spring season gets underway a week earlier than usual

fpadmin2 — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:32:40 +0000

Frequent festival-goers, start your engines.

In years past, we have always considered the fourth weekend in April as the unofficial kickoff of the Spring music festival season, considering the number of important festivals that took place on those dates. Now, with Coachella sticking to its week-earlier schedule and the growing importance of other third-weekend festivals, it seems safe to say that the season kicks off today.

True, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the traditional harbinger of Springtime music, stays on its familiar two-week schedule of the fourth weekend in April and first weekend in May. But Coachella has the music world buzzing this week and it is joined by a number of other major fests, including Wanee, Old Settler's, Country Thunder, and Houston International.

Final tour schedule set for Lilith 2010

fpadmin2 — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:11:17 +0000

Lilith Tour announced its final list of cities and dates (shown below), and it added R&B superstar Rihanna to its Salt Lake City stop. Each date will feature 11 of the acts on the full artist list, one of which will be Sarah McLachlan and another the winner of the local talent search competition. Visit Lilith's Tour page for the lineup for each date.

Pitchfork rounds out lineup with 20 more acts

fpadmin2 — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:14:01 +0000

Festival: Pitchfork Music Festival
Announced: April 8
Status: Lineup is complete (we think)
Notable adds: Beach House, Big Boi, Liars, Major Lazer, Robyn, Wolf Parade
The rest: Best Coast, Delorean, Free Energy, JJ, Kurt Vile, Local Natives. Neon Indian, Netherfriends, Real Estate, Sharon Van Etten, Surfer Blood, The Tallest Man On Earth, Washed Out, Why?

Six more for All Good

fpadmin2 — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:49:24 +0000

All Good Music Festival seems to operate by a law of sixes—every few weeks there are six more acts added to the lineup. The latest batch is headed by Old Crow Medicine Show and Tea Leaf Green and also includes Donna Jean Godchaux Band with Jeff Mattson, The Heavy Pets and The Pimps Of Joytime.

That's 33 acts so far, and the site still says there are more to be announced. Presumably at some point it will run out of sixes.

Lollapalooza headliner exclusives include off-template Lady Gaga

fpadmin2 — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:44:47 +0000

Most of the buzz about Lollapalooza’s just-released lineup is over the inclusion of pop goddess Lady Gaga, which I guess is controversial since she isn’t seen as a typical festival performer. But that misses the point that she appeared three years ago as an unknown act at the same festival. Or that there isn’t a typical festival act anymore, now that festivals are overtaking concert tours for a larger and larger share of the live music audience.

So I don’t knock Lollapalooza for extending its formula to include the much maligned pop star. Especially since the full scope and range of the show is so rich.

The other two marquee headliners certainly fit the bill considering Lolla’s grunge and punk heritage. Green Day and Soundgarden are top-selling bands that grew out of the same scene that spawned festival host Perry Farrell and his former band Jane’s Addiction. Plus, neither of those bands—or Lady Gaga for that matter—is appearing at any other festival this summer, so Lolla gets to claim an exclusive headline tier, which is not easy to do this late in the announcement season.

Jimmy Cliff in 2010—you can get it if you really want

fpadmin2 — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:17:22 +0000

When I got the announcement this morning that Winnipeg Folk Festival had added reggae pioneer Jimmy Cliff to its outstanding lineup, it made me realize I'd been seeing his name a great deal in the last two weeks.

Sure enough, Cliff has been announced at no fewer than six major festivals, beginning with Bonnaroo in early June and ending with Mile HIgh in mid August. In between is the date at Winnipeg plus appearances at Osheaga, Gathering of the Vibes and Lollapalooza.

That's an busy schedule for an artist who has not be active on the festival circuit in recent years. But it hasn't been an ordinary year for the man whose soundtrack for the movie The Harder They Fall is credited with bringing reggae music to an international audience.

In January, the 62-year-old Cliff released "Existence," his first new studio album since 2003. Last month, he was one of five new inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His official website does not provide tour information, so we don't know if he is playing concert dates as well as festival gigs this summer.

High Sierra finishes lineup with 20 more acts

fpadmin2 — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:30:06 +0000

High Sierra Music Festival closed out its 2010 lineup by adding a handful of notables in local favorite Jackie Greene, New Orleans retro Preservation Hall Jazz Band, African-American string band Carolina Chocolate Drops and tongue-in-cheek songwriter Dan Bern.

Another 16 new adds are Banana Slug String Band, Cahn & Yang, Eric McFadden, Heavyweight Dub Champion, Josh Clark, Kate Gaffney Band, Lebo, Loyd Family Players, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Poor Mans Whiskey, Rubblebucket, Scott Amendola and Wil Blades, Skerdio, Skerik, The Black Seeds, and The Heavy Guilt.

Visit FP's High Sierra Music Festival Page and the festival website.

Lineup added: Mile High Music Festival

fpadmin2 — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 00:38:34 +0000

Festival: Mile High Music Festival
Lineup announced: April 5
Status: More artists TBA

Headliners: Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson
Notables: Atmosphere, Bassnectar, Cypress Hill, Damian Marley & Nas, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, Drive-By Truckers, Jimmy Cliff, Keane, Keller Williams, My Morning Jacket, Ozomatli, Phoenix, Punch Brothers, Railroad Earth, Rusted Root, Slightly Stoopid, Steve Miller Band, The Samples, Train, Weezer, Z-Trip

Comment: The major change for year three is the date—three weekends later than in previous years. The lineup is more than solid with first-year crowd pleaser Dave Matthews Band and soft rocker Jack Johnson anchoring the two days. But it skews towards slightly older and better heeled Colorado music fans, possibly risking the edginess favored by the youth segment it also needs. One thing Mile High does well is to highlight local acts that have made good. This year's attraction is a reunion of The Samples with all the original members.

Slash to be the honoree for next year's Sunset Strip festival

jamestaylor2324 — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:09:50 +0000

Former Guns'n'Roses lead guitarist Slash will join Ozzy Osbourne and the founders of music joints The Roxy Theater, The Rainbow and The Whiskey A Go-Go on the list of those honored by the Sunset Strip Music Festival for their contribution to the musical culture of the famous boulevard. Born Saul Hudson, Slash will also be honored by the City of West Hollywood in conjunction with the celebration, which takes place on August 26, 2010, with Mayor Abbe Land planning to declare the same day "Slash Day" in her city.

The 2010 Sunset Strip Music Festival will take place on Friday, August 27th and Saturday, the 28th, and will feature performances at six music venues, including the Roxy and the Whiskey, on the Strip. Like last year's festival, the club performances will be supplemented by performances on the Strip itself throughout the afternoon and evening of the 28th.

Ticket information and programming have not been announced, so stay tuned for more updates on the 2010 Sunset Strip Music Festival.

Slash the honoree for next year's Sunset Strip festival

jamestaylor2324 — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:08:21 +0000

Ticket information and programming have not been announced, so stay tuned for more updates on the 2010 Sunset Strip Music Festival.

Lineup added: Harmony Festival

fpadmin2 — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 22:39:56 +0000

Festival: Harmony Festival
Dates: June 11-13
Announced: March 25, 2010
Status: Complete lineup

Headliners: Lauryn Hill, Slightly Stoopid, Steel Pulse
Notables: 7 Walkers, Chali 2na, Delhi 2 Dublin, Fishbone, Galactic, Jai Uttal & The Pagan Love Orchestra, Lyrics Born, Ott, Rebelution, The Expendables, Tipper, Zappa Plays Zappa

Comment: Socially conscious Lauryn Hill is a perfect fit for Harmony, which is as much about saving the Earth as it is about enjoying the music. The reluctant hip-hop performer is making her only 2010 festival appearance here. Two sets each by surf punkers Slightly Stoopid and British reggae act Steel Pulse will provide plenty of groove, as will another California beach band Rebulution. Bill Kreutzmann and Papa Mali of 7 Walkers and Dwezil Zappa will appeal to older rockers. Rappers Chali 2na and Lyrics Born are part of an elaborate hip-hop symphony with a 40-piece orchestra.

Lineup added: Osheaga Music & Arts Festival

fpadmin2 — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:20:25 +0000

Festival: Osheaga Music & Arts Festival
Dates: July 28-August 1
Announced: March 22, 2010
Status: Preliminary lineup

Headliners: Arcade Fire, Weezer, Pavement
Notables: Metric, The National, Chromeo, Deadmau5, The Cat Empire, Keane, The Black Keys, Stars, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Jimmy Cliff

Comment: Eastern Canada's largest alternative rock festival will delight fans in Montreal with hometown favorites Arcade Fire at the top of the bill in its only 2010 festival booking so far, plus coveted gets of Weezer and Pavement. Most of the acts named play Saturday and Sunday at the main festival venue in Parc Jean Drapeau, but Chromeo and more acts to be named appear at Osheaga in the City in a series of club gigs beginning earlier in the week.