Though we didn’t think much about it during the announcement of the Bonnaroo 2018 lineup, Day 2 of the festival brought us our biggest surprise of the weekend. Our excitement to photograph T-Pain made it so we ran past Adam Devine and Chance The Rapper to get a good spot in the front.
Do not regret.
Keep up with T-Pain here.
When you get the opportunity to photograph the little ball of energy that is Hayley Williams along with her incredible band Paramore, you take that opportunity and you run with it. Considering Bonnaroo took place over Los Angeles’ Gay Pride weekend, we were all about her style choices as well. Peep it all here!
Keep up with Paramore here.
We don’t care what you have to say about the incredibly diverse lineup at Bonnaroo 2018, because Manchester Orchestra was on that lineup and we never miss a chance to see them. Check out some highlights from their energetic set below!
Keep up with Manchester Orchestra here.
We started our Bonnaroo 2018 experience a day late to the festivities – the music and arts festival, now in its seventeenth year, took place on June 7th – June 10th, 2018 – finding ourselves joining in with the positive energy with a set by fellow Missourian Sheryl Crow. She took time to pay tribute to Tom Petty (before her phenomenal appearance at Superjam), and to point out that her music is older than some of the people in the crowd. She’s not wrong, but that just proves her lasting hold on generations and demographics to come.
Keep up with Sheryl Crow here.
Self-proclaimed “electroexotica” duo Stronger Sex – comprised of Johnny Fantastic and Leah Gage – is bringing their vivid personalities to the world in an exciting new visual for single “Dead Women”, Directed and Edited by Mark Williams Hoelscher. At the center of the experience is a stuffed monkey, and other versions of what look to be childhood toys. But it’s what happens with those toys that will really put you into a tailspin. (Could they come alive, a la Toy Story? Is it OK to think they’re still cute and not creepy?) The main focus, however, is the protagonist, who is depicted experiencing the emotional turmoil that aligns with the lyrics in the song. Confirms Leah Gage of the track:
“Dead Women” is a song about feeling the weight of a legacy of important matriarchs, and the pressure to live up to their expectations. My mom and my grandmother were both extremely smart (and troubled) women who placed a lot of emphasis on prestige and renown, and expected me to achieve both, almost on their behalf. Since they’ve both died, I struggle a lot with knowing whether I’ll ever live up to their expectations. I used to keep their photos all over my room, as a kind of inspiration, but after a while I realized it was just making me anxious and sad, and I needed to figure things out for myself. So, this video is inspired by that idea. There’s a girl, who lives in a fantasy world with her “friends” who are clearly all toys, and she lives with an overbearing woman who wants her to get rid of her friends and join reality. Eventually, the woman goes behind the girl’s back, throws the friends in the trash, and goes back to her life. The girl is utterly distraught, but eventually uses her anger and frustration to channel herself out of the house, and she runs away, with her friends. Both the woman and the girl are flawed – these aren’t of course her friends, they’re toys. And the woman, well, she probably has her reasons for wanting the girl to join reality, even if she’s going about it in a mean way.
This video brings light to a struggle many women face, and we are pleased to host the exclusive premiere.
With a slight pixelated – yet ethereal – feel to it all, Los Angeles-based alternative act XYLØ released her latest music video for “Heaven Only Knows” this month. With cat eyes and a mysterious glow, she sings seductively over simple, gorgeous instrumentals that will have you wanting to waft into a summertime haze for hours. We’re completely jazzed about the ambiance created by this track, and now it’s time for you to feel that way too.
Keep up with XYLØ here.
Portland-based art-folk musician Michael Charles Smith is hitting a high note with the soundscape provided by his often ambient melodies and soft – yet assertive – vocals in his new 12-track release, In The Shadow. Bathed in a raspiness that is both emphatic and ethereal, Smith’s lyrics are apt to tug at the heartstrings of many, as they paint him as a vulnerable, masterful lyricist.
Beginning with the upbeat track “Hello Hello”, the album establishes a true journey for the listener, pace changing with each no track, and mindsets shifting from one end of the spectrum to the other, as he repeats, “I’ll die alone” in third track “Angel, and then softly croons, “I must have fallen in love” immediately following, in fourth track “One Word”.
The variety in the soundscape of In The Shadow makes sense, when the album is put into context. Inspired by his past struggles with addiction, Smith has come to terms with his circumstances, transforming that energy into a beautifully well-rounded body of work that you might never turn off. We’ve got the exclusive streaming premiere below.
Keep up with Michael Charles Smith here.
Day 3 of Sasquatch! Music Festival 2018 brought many surprises with it, including an unforgettable set from Big Thief of the Yeti stage. Check out our photos below
Keep up with Big Thief here.
As though Perfume Genius hadn’t already been phenomenal at, um, every show they’ve ever played, at Sasquatch! they had to have a gorge as a backdrop. Hello, amazing.
Keep up with Perfume Genius here.
