This past weekend was absolute insanity at the heat-fueled annual Boulevardia Beer, Food & Music Festival in Kansas City, Missouri. Though the latter part of Day 2 did, unfortunately, get rained out — gotta love that unpredictable midwest weather — what did transpire on the blacktop outside HyVee Arena (Kemper Arena) was absolute magic. Photographer Ashleigh Lee brings us highlights, including sets from Fitz & The Tantrums, Young The Giant, Lovelytheband, and more.
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.
Bill Homans 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 Pickathon a 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
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This last weekend was absolutely gorgeous at the inaugural Grandoozy music festival, which took place in Overland Park in Denver, Colorado. Besides the incredible music lineup, there were fun games and activities across the lawn that drew thousands of attendees. Photos of the attendees this weekend and the shenanigans that ensued can be found below!
The food selection was incredible, the atmosphere made it feel like you were wandering around in the park, light years from noise pollution and the city. An 80s themed ski lodge and beer tent drew the audience in between acts, as the stages filled to the brim later in the night.
**Photos by Nikki A Rae Photography
Day 3 at Grandoozy 2018 was a helluva time, chock full of insanely talented artists and fun games in the park. Nikki nabbed some highlights from some of the later shows, including Kelela, Mavis Staples, Stevie Wonder, The Chainsmokers, and St. Vincent. Take a peek below!
**Photos by Nikki A. Rae Photography
Day 3 at Grandoozy Music Festival was one for the books. We had so many amazing photos submitted by Nikki that we have to break them up for you! Nab some glances at sets by Dragondeer, DJ Big Styles, De La Soul, Black Pumas, and Daniel Caesar below!
**Photos by Nikki A. Rae Photography
This year, the Denver metropolitan area introduced Grandoozy Music Festival to its citizens. The show was produced by the co-creators of Bonnaroo and Outside Lands, and its lineup mirrored that tenacity, bringing some insanely talented acts to Overland Park. We had a photographer on the ground for the weekend, and she captured some fun shots of Friday and Sunday at the fest! Here are our Day 1 gems, featuring Miguel, Bishop Briggs, Phoenix, and more!
**Photos by Nikki A. Rae Photography
Middle of The Map Fest 2018 brought insane amounts of talent from all corners of the U.S., though none as impressive as our Kansas City-based lineup. (That is, if we do say so ourselves.) Check out some photos of Wonderfuzz, Pageant Boys, Fullbloods, The Beholders, and Other Americans below!
