Bonnaroo 2019 — if you couldn’t tell already, from every post we’ve had or every gushy memory we’ve shared — was one for the books. Between sets from some incredible artists — Childish Gambino, The Lonely Island, PRINCESS, Bishop Briggs, Juice Wrld, Gucci Mane, Post Malone, Phish, and more — were sun kissed memories made of magic. High fives, glitter all around, and self love the topic of the event, there wasn’t an aspect of Bonnaroo that went unappreciated. See the people of Bonnaroo below!
When you get to climb trees with bands at a music festival, you might say that life has gotten a little out of hand. While we didn’t find ourselves IN the tree with Jared & The Mill during our portrait session with the Phoenix-based five piece at Bonnaroo, we did find ourselves laughing while we found a fun place to photograph them amongst the trees. That, coupled with their set on Sunday and a smattering of times we ran into them around the festival, made us acutely aware of their talent.
In 2017, I was out in the most phenomenal weather, covering Bonnaroo as Editor of another publication. It was an integral year for me as a photographer and reviewer, and a whirlwind experience during which I happened to be dubbed “Mayor of Bonnaroo” by one of its creators. As Bonnaroo 2019 approaches this week, we are presenting some flashback beauts of that festival. Below, find some fun portraits of Nashville’s Creature Comfort in the artist lounge.
BillHomans has been a truck driver, petty criminal and a watermelon farmer. He’s also a member of Mensa, made the only Vietnam War protest album to be written by a veteran during the war, and plays a mean slide guitar. The critically acclaimed Watermelon Slim, who has collected a record-setting number of blues award nominations, thrilled a crowd of fans at the Winter Blues Fest in Des Moines on February 1st.
Pickathon returns to the woods outside Portland, Oregon from August 2-4, 2019, with an initial lineup to be released January 21. Pickathon has built a reputation over the last twenty years as the best festival experience, combing groundbreaking programming focused on discovery, sustainable ethics, and a lineup that pushes the boundaries of genre. This vision is clear in Pickathon’s initial lineup, which brings together key headliners like Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (Rateliff’s first time playing Pickathon and he’ll be bringing two different bands), Khruangbin, Mandolin Orange, Tyler Childers, Lucius, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Fruit Bats, and Mountain Man with a voraciously broad cast of other performers like well-loved Americana outsiders Caamp, Lambchop, and H.C. McEntire, doom metal band YOB, North African desert blues artist Mdou Moctar, new supergroup Bonny Light Horseman, Northwest indie royalty Damien Jurado, Laura Veirs, and Courtney Marie Andrews, returning favorite Julia Jacklin, psych soul outfit The Marías, Polaris prize winner Lido Pimienta, Congolese experimentalists Jupiter & Okwess, and word-of-mouth newer artists like Sudan Archives, Miya Folick, B Boys, The Beths, and Black Belt Eagle Scout, among many others.
The initial lineup shows the kind of deep curation and wide-ranging musical interests that have made Pickathona key tastemaker event in the American music scene. It’s a lineup based on discovery, not draw, a diverse lineup intended to represent the best contemporary snapshot of music across more than a dozen genres. With many artists requesting to return each year, Pickathon has become a kind of pilgrimage for artists looking to renew themselves at a well of creative inspiration. Walking onto the festival grounds at Pendarvis Farm in the small town of Happy Valley, OR, you can see what draws artists back year after year. Pickathon is a riot for the eyes, a festival that takes a holistic view to the music. Each stage is visually spectacular, from the woven branches that make a towering shell of the Woods stage to award-worthy architecture of the Treeline stage, using renewable resources in a different array each year. The Mt. Hood Stage, the mainstage of Pickathon, was ringed with living gardens in 2018, and the festival makes use of rustic, picturesque existing buildings like the late-night-raging Galaxy Barn, or the interview-focused Lucky Barn. Each artist’s sets are curated specifically to each stage and the timing of the festival meticulously planned, all to inspire the artists to new heights and historic performances. An army of over 600 videographers and audio specialists record Pickathon, pushing for a spread of nearly 200 videos that will be released between festivals. It’s a wildly ambitious project that involves so many people because each person has come to realize that Pickathon represents our best vision for how music and community come together.
LINEUP
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Khruangbin
Mandolin Orange
Nathaniel Rateliff
Tyler Childers
Lucius
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Fruit Bats
Mountain Man
Caamp
YOB
Damien Jurado
Lambchop
Laura Veirs
Julia Jacklin
The Marías
Miya Folick
Sudan Archives
Bonny Light Horseman
Mdou Moctar
Courtney Marie Andrews
Lido Pimienta
Cedric Burnside
Town Mountain
Jupiter & Okwess
The Beths
B Boys
Our Girl
JJUUJJUU
Sneaks
Young Jesus
Sam Evian
Black Belt Eagle Scout
Flasher
Mike and The Moonpies
Nap Eyes
Soft Kill
H.C. McEntire
Helena Deland
The Cordovas
Lauren Morrow
Bodega
David Nance Group
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
Virginia Wing
Garrett T Capps
Martha Scanlan
Gold Star
Colton Turner
&more (Chill Moody & Donn T)
David Bragger & Susan Platz
On October 20th, Kansas City’s 96.5 The Buzz hosted Brew at The Zoo & Wine Too at The Kansas City Zoo. This year, thousands from across the metropolitan area gathered to taste test wine new brews, enjoy full pours from more than 45 breweries, try out a mixed drink or two, enjoy live music and a night of frivolity, all in the name of the giraffes. Kitten headlined, with Fitness supporting while onlookers enjoyed a spirited, enigmatic performance from each.
There are more than a few reasons to partake in Lawrence Field Day Festival this coming weekend. Now in its seventh installment, the 3-day annual event in Lawrence, Kansas continues to feature great live music from dozens of bands at a very affordable ticket price. The festival runs Thursday through Saturday.
Started by Cameron Hawk and Quinton Cheney in 2012, LFDF was envisioned as a live music showcase for Lawrence residents while University of Kansas was on summer break. Of course, students are welcome at LFDF, but the environment on Mass Avenue is different, in a good way, when there are about twenty-thousand fewer people clogging up the joint.
And, fewer students is the first reason you should attend. If you’ve had prior experiences in downtown Lawrence in which it took you five minutes to drive one block, or you’ve ended up parking 4 streets over, or you’ve had your shoes puked on by a drunken frat boy celebrating his 21st, then you really need to come to LFDF. You will finally be able to devote your attention to music.
Another perfect reason to attend is the cost. It sounds almost unbelievable, but you can get a wristband with 3-day access to five venues and sixty bands for only $15. So far this summer, I’ve heard of no festival offering so much music for such a low price. And the great music is the other best reason to attend.
Lawrence Field Day Fest has featured several genres of music, but there is an undeniable focus on rock, and secondarily on hip-hop. Although Lawrence and Kansas City are well-represented, this year’s fest is pulling in talent from Denver, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and other cities. Let’s do a look and listen on some of this year’s bands.
Truck Stop Love will make a visit from the past. The early-90s rockers are back after a 25-year hiatus and a couple of personnel changes. Known for their county fuzz rock, the Manhattan, KS band hits the Bottleneck for the Black Site Records Showcase on Saturday at 11 pm.
If you missed Bruiser Queen when they played the Riot Room in Kansas City back in March, you’ll have an opportunity to take in some good indie garage pop from the St. Louis two-piece. Just show up at Jackpot Music Hall at 9:15 pm on Friday.
The Ghoulies want to show you punk rock with a bluesy, garage feel. Adding an organ to the mix only amps up the excitement for this Denver band that’s been busy touring all summer. See them at the Replay Lounge on Saturday at 11:45 pm.
The Bottleneck has been involved in LFDF since the inception, and will have about 20 acts during the Fest. Don’t miss metal rockers Hyborian of Kansas City at 12:15 am Friday night. Bringing a mystical and sci-fi vibe to metal, Hyborian built their own studio in the West Bottoms.
The immutable laws of physics will prevent you from seeing the complete sets of all 60+ bands at LFDF, but some of the other acts that I’ll make a point to see this weekend are The Uncouth, Westerners, Momma’s Boy, Headlight Rivals, The Sluts, The Goodbye Sort, Vigil and Thieves, and Stiff Middle Fingers.
June 15th and 16th, 2018 marked the fifth annual Boulevardia Beer, Music, and Food Festival. Though it always feels like it falls on the hottest days of the year – it is consistently held on Father’s Day weekend in a an old but picturesque area that is basically all blacktop concrete – Boulevardia is a consistent adventure for midwesterners and travelers alike. This year featured forty bands across three stages, old and new taps alike, food selections from all over the metropolitan area, and additional installations like a wider variety of vendors and the fest’s very on outdoor Silent Disco.
This year, Saturday’s headliner was Bleachers. So of course we ran into the pit to get a few action shots for you!
