Levitation 2019 1st Wave Lineup Announced

My absolute favorite festival, Levitation fka Austin Psych Fest (I know, I know, I just can’t let go of the old name. It makes explaining it to coworkers a lot easier) dropped their lineup for 2019. Honestly, I hate the current format of various shows happening at different clubs instead of being at one spot at Carson Creek Ranch, which was actually really fun and super convenient.

Either way, the lineup actually kicks some serious ass with acts such as Kikagaku Moyo, Holy Wave, Deafheaven, Black Mountain, Russian Circles, Death Valley Girls, The Black Angels, Chelsea Wolfe, Allah Lahs, Kurt Vile, Dinosaur Jr., Black Mother Super Rainbow, and A Place To Bury Strangers amongst a whole bunch of other amazing bands. I’m giving some serious thought to going because I really miss Austin and Levitation.

Tickets for Levitation 2019 are on sale now at various price points for individual shows, or $395 for a 4 day pass that gets you into select venues, or $175 for shows only at Stubbs.

Ride Release New Song “Future Love” and Announce New Album “This Is Not a Safe Place”

That Youtube link up there? Yeah, that’s a brand spanking new Ride song called “Future Love” from their new album This Is Not a Safe Place, which comes out on 8/16/19! Full of layered guitar and harmonized vocals, I’m really liking this first single. Even though I couldn’t get into their last album, 2017’s Weather Diaries, Ride have always been one of my favorite bands…like, ever! I can’t wait to hear the whole album!

This Is Not a Safe Place can be ordered through Wichita Recordings.

This Is Not a Safe Place tracklist:
1 R.I.D.E.
2 Future Love
3 Repetition
4 Kill Switch
5 Clouds of Saint Marie
6 Eternal Recurrence
7 15 Minutes
8 Jump Jet
9 Dial Up
10 End Game
11 Shadows Behind the Sun
12 In This Room

Check out Ride on the socials, etc:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RideOX4/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rideox4official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rideox4/
Website: https://www.thebandride.com/

The 2019 Lollapalooza lineup is out!

The 2019 Lollapalooza lineup came out today and I kind of like it, but then again, Lollapalooza weekend is one of my favorite things despite the lineup because there is always someone to see or something to do. The festival is an almost overwhelming 4 days again an some stand outs for me are Ariana Grande (probably the only way I’d ever see her live), Childish Gambino, Tenacious D, and the pretty cool Tame Impala.

As for the undercard, some interesting bands are Mitski, Slash, San Holo, Japanese Breakfast, Diesel…which is Shaquille O’Neal doing a DJ set, the very fun Boy Pablo, Men I Trust, Shaed, and lots more to be discovered! After skipping the last couple of years, I’m really missing the whole Lolla weekend experience including the fun, free after parties as well as Chicago in general (I could seriously write a ton of things that are great about this weekend…the music, the food, the beer, etc). As of right now, I don’t think it’s possible, but who knows?

Lollapalooza takes place at Grant Park in downtown Chicago from 8/1-8/4 and 4 day passes are currently on sale here.

The Woodstock 50 lineup is here!

The much hyped Woodstock 50 lineup is finally out and overall, it’s not too bad. There are actually a few bands that I would love to see including Miley Cyrus (yes, really!), Santana, Portugal the Man, Soccer Mommy, Jay Z, Courtney Barnett, Earl Sweatshirt, Cherry Glazerr, and The Zombies, who absolutely killed it when I saw them at Austin Psych Fest in 2014!! But uhh…eff Imagine Dragons and their giant drum.

I’m really giving some serious thought to going, but it’s suddenly becoming tough to decide on which festivals to go to this year.

Woodstock 50 takes place at Watkins Glen, NY on August 16, 17, and 18th. Tickets go on sale on 4/22/19.

Brian Jonestown Massacre: Cannot Be Saved

Ahhhhhhh!!!! New Brian Jonestown Massacre!! The new self titled album comes out on March 15th and can be pre-ordered from A Recordings

The Lollapalooza 2017 lineup has been announced!

The 2017 Lollapalooza lineup is out and it’s not bad at all. For some reason, I was expecting a very subpar lineup, and to be honest, I had considered skipping this year in favor of trying out a festival that I have never been to (FYFEST? ACL? perhaps Liverpool Psych Fest? any of these are still possible if I can scrape up the funds), but in the end, I still ended going through the adrenaline rush of trying to snag and succeeding in getting a 4 day wristband. So, when the bands were announced yesterday, I was actually pretty excited.

Thursday gives us Muse, Lorde, Cage the Elephant, and Wiz Khalifa (?) as headliners with Porter Robinson, Liam Gallagher, Kaytranada, Temples, and Atlas Genius playing during the day.

Friday is stacked with goodness from The Killers, Blink 182, DJ Snake, and Run The Jewels, with Crystal Castles, Little Dragon, Cloud Nothings, and Saint Jhn. This is probably my favorite lineup of the weekend.

Saturday has Chicago’s own Chance the Rapper, The xx, Alt-J, and The Head and The Heart along with Kaskade, Warpaint (I’d love to be on that side stage thing during their set!), Highly Suspect, and Boston representing with 2 acts…indie poppers Lady Pills and rapper Michael Christmas.

Sunday wraps up the festival weekend with Arcade Fire, Justice, Big Sean, and The Shins, with Rae Sremmurd, Tove Lo, Joey Bada$$, Charli XCX, and one of my guilty pleasures, Grace Mitchell.

Of course, Lollapalooza weekend wouldn’t be complete without hitting up some daytime parties (which there was a lack of last year) as well as the nighttime parties such as Culture Collide and Floodfest, or DJ sets at the Virgin Hotels (where I’m staying at again this year because that place was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!) which are always my favorite part of Lolla weekend. It’s going to be a long 4 1/2 month wait until I’m in Chicago. Did anyone else score tickets? Going solo as I am? Let’s meet up and hang for a set or two!

Ride release their new song called “Charm Assault”

There is nothing quite like randomly checking Twitter and seeing that one of my favorite bands ever, like top 5 favorite, Ride, have released their first new song in 20 years! “Charm Assault“, which will be on the band’s new album due out this summer, is a very catchy song that I’m sure will have lots of people singing along when they play it live. I for one, cannot wait until they tour the U.S. again (unless I can somehow get to some of their shows in Europe).

Ride 2017 tour dates:

March 21, 2017 – Limelight, Belfast, UK
March 22, 2017 – Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Ireland
March 24, 2017 – BBC6 Music Festival, Glasgow
Jul 13–16, 2017 – Festival Internacional de Benicàssim

Lollapalooza announces 25th Anniversary lineup!

Lollapalooza 2016 also happens to be the festival’s 25th anniversary and it has expanded to 4 days this year in honor of that achievement. The Lolla 2016 lineup came out this morning and with something like 170 bands, there’s a lot to go through. Headlining bands include Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers (again…ugh!), and LCD Soundsystem, who I’m really looking forward to finally seeing. There is a pretty good undercard with a lot of bands I’ve wanted to see but for some reason, never have or wouldn’t mind seeing again. These include Wavves, Alessia Cara, Foals, Saint Motel, Wolf Alice, Grimes, St. Lucia, Chairlift, Haim, Zhu, and Third Eye Blind…yes, that band. The Sunday lineup seems to be the best day, at least for me. I have already booked a room at the Virgin Hotel, which is supposed to be pretty cool, plus I needed a change from the Hard Rock after last year’s not-so-great experience. One thing to consider is the after parties, which, if you can get in, are my favorite thing about Lollapalooza weekend and I’m looking forward to hitting some of those up as well.

4 day passes went on sale yesterday and are sold out, but single day tickets are on sale now for $120 per day.

First bands announced for Desert Stars Festival 2016

The Desert Stars Festival, now in it’s 9th year, has announced their initial 2016 lineup and so far, it’s a good one with Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh headlining. The festival takes place at Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown, located near Joshua Tree National Park. Other bands announced are Magic Wands, Tennis System, Winter, and one of my personal favorites…Ancient River. I’m giving some serious thought to going this year, but I’ll have to wait until the date is a little closer to make that decision.

The festival takes place from 9/23/16 – 9/24/16 and early bird weekend passes are on sale now for $100 and single days are $65.

The Desert Stars Festival 2016 lineup so far:

Dinosaur Jr.
Sebadoh
Moon Duo
Kurt Heasley of Lilys
Magic Wands
Tennis System
Highlands
Cellar Doors
Ancient River
Blood Candy
Band Aparte
Annie Girl and The Flight
Down Dirty Shake
Winter

At The Drive In to tour and release new music in 2016!

What a way to start 2016! One of my favorite bands, At The Drive In, will release new music and go out on a world tour this year. I had the chance to see them at Lollapalooza in 2012 and they played one the best sets of the weekend, despite a few technical problems. The tour kicks off in Los Angeles on March 23rd and I’m planning to be at the House of Blues Boston show on June 18th (if I’m still living here at that time).

2016 tour dates:

03/23 Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda
03/26 Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street
03/27 London, United Kingdom – Roundhouse
03/29 Paris, France – Trianon
03/30 Cologne, Germany – Palladium
03/31 Amsterdam, Germany – Melkweg
04/01 Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique
04/02 Luxembourg, Luxembourg – Den Atelier
04/04 Berlin, Germany – Columbiahalle
04/05 Vienna, Austria – Arena Vienna
04/07 Milan, Italy – Fabrique
04/08 Lausanne, Switzerland – Impetus Festival (Les Docks)
04/10 Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz
05/15 Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees Festival
05/17 Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
05/19 Chicago, IL – Riviera Theater
05/22 Columbus, OH – Rock on the Range Festival
06/03 San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
06/06 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
06/07 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
06/08 Seattle, WA – Showbox Sodo
06/13 Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore
06/14 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
06/17 New York, NY – Terminal 5
06/18 Boston, MA – House of Blues
06/21 Detroit, MI – St. Andrews
06/23 Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Hall