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You mention that jam bands do this, rock bands do this, edm does this, and so on but you are just painting artist with this broad brush like artist within the same genre play the same way. There are bad rock bands and good ones, there are band jam bands and good ones, there are horrible EDM acts and good ones. It is very unfair and inaccruate to just say that a band is going to be one way simply because of the genre of music they play. I dont particularly like jam bands for the most part but I find Phish and WSP to be relatively boring while I find MMJ to be more tolerable and I actually enjoy Umphreys and STS9 because all those bands are different.
Indie rock is a form of rock music and it is pretty broad. To make an assumption that they dont put on a good live show indicates that you havent seen many, if any of the bands you think are indie. No way could you have seen Portugal. the Man and think they just gently strum their instruments.
I guess my main complaint with your post is grouping all these bands together that have different sounds and automatically assuming they put on a lame live show. Some bands are live lame and some arent. It has nothing to do with genre. Funny you would mention Black Crowes because I saw them in 2006 open for Petty and they came out, played every song verbatim to the album version, didnt talk to the crowd one time and left the stage. It was very much like listening to a CD. Bonnaroo didnt foresake those bands because either they never tried to book them or they are unavailable like Muse being in Europe.
I think many of these indie bands are lacking musical depth and originality. they play GCD and start every song with "heeeeeey ooooooohhhhooo". I can understand WSP and DMB getting headliner spots.... I don't particularly like their music or their shows, but they can rock a line array system. But i'm going to stop there. I don't want to get into a my music is better than yours kind of argument. I am aware that I am in the minority (and that is my whole point) of people who aren't pumped about these indie bands and I think it is great that you have so much to look forward to like I did in 2006/7. PLUR and all that. Just can't help but feel like there is a world of bacon out there and you are like "nah dude, this kale is totes mcgotes".
I dont view this as a my music is better than your argument because while I enjoy the bands you are referring too, they arent among my favorites except for Portugal the Man. I just didnt understand how you were classifying all these bands you call indie as sounding similar or having boring performances simply because they are indie? You still havent explained why you think that or how you paint all these bands that have different sounds and perform different shows are boring and why you have an expectation of a poor performance. They all have different sounds and while they may share some characteristics, you cannot use the same broad description for them and you definitely cannot expect boring performances out of all of them when they are entirely different bands. You basically implying that because they are indie, they are incapable of putting on a good show which is illogical because putting on a good show doesnt have anything to do with the genre of music a band plays. I have seen great shows and bad shows of nearly every genre of music including genres of music I dont like at all.
If you go with the original definition of indie bands, they are those bands that choose not to pursue commercial success. Being that most of the bands you list are near the top of the line-up, it is safe to say they are experiencing some commercial success. M&S is one of the top bands in the world right now, the Lumineers were nominated for 2 Grammys, and Of Monster's and Men are being played on the radio all over the country. There are bands near the bottom of the bill that could definitely fit that indie label. The three previously mentioned bands are probably classified as folk rock and maybe that is the genre you are talking about. Portugal. The Man doesnt fit anywhere close to those bands. They are more like MGMT but better or even in someways like Mars Volta. I actually think they have some similarities to Tame Impala which you mentioned liking.
Turtles are, actually quite sexy, if you think about it. I’m getting an erection just thinking about turtles. No, not a stripper named turtles, that’s not funny. Actual turtles.
—?Thom Yorke
Oh, one more thing: if a band uses only say, 3 chords, to form a song (Ho, Hey by the Lumineers is actually 2 chords if you don't count the break), it doesn't make their music simple, lacking in depth, or bereft of good musicianship. Put another way, the number of chords used per song or album is not directly proportional to quality of music therein.
Absolutely true. And if someone says different, time to stop listening to any opinion they have regarding music.
3 chords & the truth...that's all you need...speaking of, I hope they book Rodney Crowell & EmmyLou Harris....doesn't quite fit into their schedule but EmmyLou needs to be back on the farm & Rodney needs to be there in the first place...Rodney is amazing.....
Jason Isbell is awesomeness! So happy he's on the lineup. Alabama girl here proud of my fellow Alabama fella. Loved him when he was with Drive By Truckers. Love him even more now that he's solo
I think many of these indie bands are lacking musical depth and originality. they play GCD and start every song with "heeeeeey ooooooohhhhooo". I can understand WSP and DMB getting headliner spots.... I don't particularly like their music or their shows, but they can rock a line array system. But i'm going to stop there. I don't want to get into a my music is better than yours kind of argument. I am aware that I am in the minority (and that is my whole point) of people who aren't pumped about these indie bands and I think it is great that you have so much to look forward to like I did in 2006/7. PLUR and all that. Just can't help but feel like there is a world of bacon out there and you are like "nah dude, this kale is totes mcgotes".
I dont view this as a my music is better than your argument because while I enjoy the bands you are referring too, they arent among my favorites except for Portugal the Man. I just didnt understand how you were classifying all these bands you call indie as sounding similar or having boring performances simply because they are indie? You still havent explained why you think that or how you paint all these bands that have different sounds and perform different shows are boring and why you have an expectation of a poor performance. They all have different sounds and while they may share some characteristics, you cannot use the same broad description for them and you definitely cannot expect boring performances out of all of them when they are entirely different bands. You basically implying that because they are indie, they are incapable of putting on a good show which is illogical because putting on a good show doesnt have anything to do with the genre of music a band plays. I have seen great shows and bad shows of nearly every genre of music including genres of music I dont like at all.
If you go with the original definition of indie bands, they are those bands that choose not to pursue commercial success. Being that most of the bands you list are near the top of the line-up, it is safe to say they are experiencing some commercial success. M&S is one of the top bands in the world right now, the Lumineers were nominated for 2 Grammys, and Of Monster's and Men are being played on the radio all over the country. There are bands near the bottom of the bill that could definitely fit that indie label. The three previously mentioned bands are probably classified as folk rock and maybe that is the genre you are talking about. Portugal. The Man doesnt fit anywhere close to those bands. They are more like MGMT but better or even in someways like Mars Volta. I actually think they have some similarities to Tame Impala which you mentioned liking.
The countless indie music arguments are so funny to me. Cash, nirvana, clash, pistols, DK, they never gave a f$ck, why do you?
Post by postreznorjack on Feb 23, 2013 0:26:42 GMT -5
My contribution to this indie bands live argument:
First off, The National and The Lumineers don't sound the same to me. What does kind of sound the same to me is, say, DIIV and Real Estate. By which I mean they have this same chillish lo-fi reverby vibe that can immediately be recognized in seconds as that SiriusXMU kind of indie. I can hear Jake Fogelnest introducing either of them now.
Second, in terms of a live indie type show, painting with a broad brush, they can be kind of a shock to someone who came up on jamband shows like me. The sets are short, and they just get up there and kind of play their songs. It can come across as uninspiring to a fan used to wildly different live versions compared to the album, and looooong sets. Of course this does not apply to ALL "indie" bands, just speaking in general in terms of my limited live indie experience.
Doesn't make it any worse or better than a live jamband/rock type show, just different.
I also think I might just be getting older. When I hear about this awesome new indie act that is amazing and whatever, and I listen to it and most of the time it sounds like Guided By Voices meets Pet Sounds. Its nice for chilling out to, but I don't get emotionally connected. There are definitely exceptions to this, Tame Impala comes to mind. They definitely have that soft lo-fi Pet Soundsish psychedelic vibe, but it also happens to be dope as hell.
To be honest I am a huge Jam band fan and I am 100% ok with this lineup. While it doesn't have all the jam bands I would like to see I am still a music lover and I can not wait for learning about all the new music, which by the way I have already found out is pretty awesome. I am also looking forward to the late night sun up set from Conspirator and hopefully an add from STS9 or SCI. So for my fingers crossed and cheers to my 5 Roo in a row!
I dont view this as a my music is better than your argument because while I enjoy the bands you are referring too, they arent among my favorites except for Portugal the Man. I just didnt understand how you were classifying all these bands you call indie as sounding similar or having boring performances simply because they are indie? You still havent explained why you think that or how you paint all these bands that have different sounds and perform different shows are boring and why you have an expectation of a poor performance. They all have different sounds and while they may share some characteristics, you cannot use the same broad description for them and you definitely cannot expect boring performances out of all of them when they are entirely different bands. You basically implying that because they are indie, they are incapable of putting on a good show which is illogical because putting on a good show doesnt have anything to do with the genre of music a band plays. I have seen great shows and bad shows of nearly every genre of music including genres of music I dont like at all.
If you go with the original definition of indie bands, they are those bands that choose not to pursue commercial success. Being that most of the bands you list are near the top of the line-up, it is safe to say they are experiencing some commercial success. M&S is one of the top bands in the world right now, the Lumineers were nominated for 2 Grammys, and Of Monster's and Men are being played on the radio all over the country. There are bands near the bottom of the bill that could definitely fit that indie label. The three previously mentioned bands are probably classified as folk rock and maybe that is the genre you are talking about. Portugal. The Man doesnt fit anywhere close to those bands. They are more like MGMT but better or even in someways like Mars Volta. I actually think they have some similarities to Tame Impala which you mentioned liking.
The countless indie music arguments are so funny to me. Cash, nirvana, clash, pistols, DK, they never gave a f$ck, why do you?
I dont. I wasnt arguing about indie music but how someone can just say these type of bands all sound the same and their shows are boring. One of my pet peeves is when people just paint a broad brush like that. Nothing is that simple. I dont care if he does or doesnt like certain bands but if you are going to claim something, you should at least be accurate.
Turtles are, actually quite sexy, if you think about it. I’m getting an erection just thinking about turtles. No, not a stripper named turtles, that’s not funny. Actual turtles.
—?Thom Yorke
I've never heard of any these acts prior to the lineup drop. Any of these good?
Zigaboo Modeliste Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Glen Hansard Sam Bush & Del McCoury Porter Robinson Noam Pikelny Walk the Moon Paper Diamond Mike Birbiglia Frank Turner Allen Stone Fotoumata Diawara John Full bright Clockwork Milo Greene Drew Holcomb JD McPherson Trixie Whitley Deap Vally Patrick Watson Nicki Bluhm Aoife O'Donovan Bernhoft
You may be unknowingly familiar with Glen Hansard from The Frames or The Swell Season or from the movie Once which he starred in (with his Swell Season partner).
This is one of my favorite performances at Bonnaroo:
Post by memphis1979 on Feb 23, 2013 9:53:15 GMT -5
I'm just curious on who is going to come out to play with McCartney. That's a dream for a lot of musicians, and I have no doubt he won't be alone on stage the entire time. He isn't even my favorite artist there, but for me concerts are about the one off experience of, "did you see when x jammed with McCartney?" Because you don't hear that on a record, and you just had to be there.
Post by postreznorjack on Feb 23, 2013 10:15:07 GMT -5
I read somewhere on here that when it comes to sitins, it's best to expect nothing, then maybe have a pleasant surprise. I'd be thrilled with some sitins, and Paul is a pretty chill cat considering he's a Beatles, but still, I'd just expect a strong Macca set and nothing else.
Jerry Douglas sitting in with Mumford in '11 was extremely quality. That said, I wouldn't expect too much from McCartney as far as collaboration. I say that because every time I've gone into a show really wanting collaboration with a particular artist, or some group of artists, it never happens and I'm (wrongfully) disappointed.
Every year people speculate about collaborations and they almost never happen.
This. But there are always collaborations that happen that I didn't expect which can be fun. But there's always a few things that seem like a lock and don't end up happening for one reason or another.
I don't think it'd be crazy to see a guest or two come out with any of the 3 headliners but I'm certainly not expecting it. Maybe for Mumford & Sons like their last show.
I think a whole company performance of "The Weight" or something similar is a mortal lock for the end of the Mumford show.
Yea, the second I read that on their recent setlist I felt the same way.
If they have the Bluegrass tent and Superjam on Saturday (wasn't sure if this day was confirmed for the bluegrass stuff yet) we could see a few guests come out for Mumford.
I think a whole company performance of "The Weight" or something similar is a mortal lock for the end of the Mumford show.
Yea, the second I read that on their recent setlist I felt the same way.
If they have the Bluegrass tent and Superjam on Saturday (wasn't sure if this day was confirmed for the bluegrass stuff yet) we could see a few guests come out for Mumford.
I'm a huge bluegrass fan, really hoping for good stuff from this bluegrass-themed tent and a Superjam would be, in my view, the best I could expect.
There are quite a few world-class string musicians booked this year.
I'm just curious on who is going to come out to play with McCartney. That's a dream for a lot of musicians, and I have no doubt he won't be alone on stage the entire time. He isn't even my favorite artist there, but for me concerts are about the one off experience of, "did you see when x jammed with McCartney?" Because you don't hear that on a record, and you just had to be there.
Every Gov't Mule show I've ever seen included some Beatles covers. I know Warren is a Beatles nut and he has done collaborations in the past (Dave Matthews comes to mind in 2005). I wouldn't be surprised if he came out for a heavier number, maybe Yer Blues, or one of the those 50s rock and roll tunes McCartney loves to play.
When it comes to expected collaborations its best to throw logic out the window. Last year everyone felt an Atoms for Peace show was logical bc both Thom and Flea were there, and it obviously didnt happen. But what did happen was the unexpected collaborations of Lionel Ritchie showing up at Kenny Rogers set and then again when the Gambler returned the favor and came out during Phish.
Post by mhardcore1 on Feb 23, 2013 12:58:58 GMT -5
A. It doesn't matter if Bjork is listed above Pretty Lights, Wilco, Nas or whoever. she will play a bigger stage & so will they. They will both b there whether u like them or not, u don't have to watch. B. There r 7 jam bands in the world, so we wouldn't even have an Bonnaroo @ this level, it just wouldn't exist. So all of u fig eatin nit wits should go to a different board. Must b a Phish fest going on somewhere? C. Mumford & Sons r a headliner (& I can't stand them)!They r Huge!Paul McCartney is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I would never pay $200 to c him separately, but in this setting, we r blessed. Tom Petty isn't too bad either. There will b other bands playing @ the same time if u disagree. How pissed would u all b if Stone Rose, Blur, (&to a lesser extent) Phoenix were the headliners,hahaha? Soak it Coachella! D. Indie isn't a sound. E. This is the best Bonnaroo line up ever!
Post by itrainmonkeys on Feb 23, 2013 13:36:22 GMT -5
Sorry if this was already posted. Pretty good article about the lineup from Billboard calling it one of the most diverse lineups there are..
Bonnaroo 2013, set for June 13-16 on a 700-acre pasture in Manchester, Tenn., will host 125 bands and 20 comedians on 13 stages. With Sir Paul McCartney headlining along with hot acts like Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers, classic crowd-pleasers like Wilco and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and many more stars in country, alt-country, R&B, EDM, hip-hop, bluegrass, jam, and other genres, the 12th Bonnaroo is not only one of the most diverse lineups the festival has ever hosted, it is also in all likelihood the most expensive.
The 2013 lineup for Bonnaroo, produced by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment, was announced Tuesday on Bonnaroo365, the fest’s YouTube festival, with the Bonnaroo Lineup Announcement Megathon (BLAM), hosted by “Weird” Al Yankovic. Regarding the hour-long live announcement, Superfly president Jonathan Mayer tells Billboard.biz, “We continue to find creative ways to express Bonnaroo’s personality beyond what happens over the festival weekend.”
Bonnaroo365 seeks to engage fans year-round, and this year fans even played a role in programming the festival by submitting videos promoting bands they’d like to see. That fan input led directly to Bonnaroo booking Norwegian artist Bernhoft, whom Mayers calls, “a great artist we actually didn’t know. That’s an example of how we engage with the audience, listen to the audience, how we want them to be part of the brand.”
Bringing in Weird Al Yankovic, who will also perform at Bonnaroo this year, was “about having fun,” which extends to the festival grounds and includes “peppering in a couple of oddball artists,” says Mayer. “We believe we have enough diversity to satisfy a diverse audience, but again still have that sense of discovery, allowing fans to go out there and stumble across something great. That’s our goal and that’s the fun thing about Bonnaroo.”
To call Bonnaroo’s musical offerings diverse is an understatement. One would be hard pressed to find such artists as Wu-Tang Clan, R. Kelly, Bjork, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Cat Power, ZZ Top, Billy Idol, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and Hall & Oates’ John Oates, Billy Idol, Dwight Yoakam, Sam Bush & Del McCoury, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band sharing a bill in any other scenario.
As usual, the Bonnaroo lineup also features a wealth of developing artists. To Mayer’s point, festivals’ popularity in general and Bonnaroo in particular are largely driven by fans’ desire for music discovery but, given the high costs of staging multi-act, multi-day events,must also include enough well-known names to drive ticket sales. The key is to strike that balance, which Bonnaroo seems to have achieved (the full lineup is here).
While all festivals desire exclusivity among its headliners, Mayers says the Bonnaroo talent buyers don’t worry much about which bands the other fests are booking. “Each one of these great festivals have their own unique identity, from the venue, the setting, the location, the mix of artists, just the personality. We really don’t think about what everyone else is doing, we’re focused on what does Bonnaroo look like, what’s our voice, what’s our personality?,” Mayer says. “There are lots of great festivals out there, but we’re focused on building our identity. We are constantly talking about artist ideas, and we continually want to raise the stakes for ourselves and keep doing interesting things without worrying about what everyone else is doing.”
Festivals play a significant role in artist development today, and at Bonnaroo that development is evidenced by bands moving from the tents to the main headlining stage. This year, Mumford & Sons joins the ranks of previous “graduates” like My Morning Jacket and Kings Of Leon, both bands that first impressed Bonnaroovians on the smallest stages of the festival grounds.
While some festivals might book a hot act just because they are hot, Mumford & Sons, in terms of musicality, sits perfectly in the wheelhouse of Bonnaroo, where acoustic music has been a staple from the beginning. Mayer calls Mumford & Sons “a bulls-eye in terms of the Bonnaroo aesthetic, what they represent. I think they are a true Bonnaroo band, and we’re excited to have them be part of it.”
Tickets to Bonnaroo ’13 go on sale tomorrow, several days later than previous years. While competition for the festival ticket buyer is exponentially tougher than when Bonnaroo began, Mayer feels the strength of the lineup will offset any lost sales days. “We definitely like to put out the information as soon as possible and go up on sale, but we feel pretty confident about our lineup and that the sales will be there,” he says. “We’re 12 years in, but it feels like there continues to be great momentum. Just having the level artists we have participating is exciting.”
When it comes to expected collaborations its best to throw logic out the window. Last year everyone felt an Atoms for Peace show was logical bc both Thom and Flea were there, and it obviously didnt happen.
The people who expected Atoms For Peace last year were delusional.