Although the weather may be less-than-stellar and the sun seems to be missing from most places, there's still hope for festival-goers hoping to catch some live music before the year is up.
Warren Hayes returns for the twentieth time for the anniversary of his annual Christmas Jam Festival. Read more »
The seven-year-old Savannah Music Festival has established a reputation for interesting programming crossing diverse musical boundaries, but their just-announced 2009 program may be the event's most interesting and most diverse yet. With top artists in various genres of jazz, roots, blues, world music, and classical, the upcoming festival, set for March 19 to April 5, 2009, puts a feather in the historic city's cultural cap.
The event's more than 100 performances are programmed in themes, series and special events. Some of the highlights are as follows:
In roots categories, Long Time Travelin' is a celebration of American folk song traditions featuring Rayna Gellert of Uncle Earl, gospel bluegrasser Doyle Lawson and hosted by Americana singer-songwriter Jim Lauderback, while Roots & Twang is a concert serieis featuring Neko Case and Crooked Fingers, Punch Brothers with Chris Thile, The Infamous Stringdusters, The Lovell Sisters and more. Read more »
We exited my apartment in downtown Chicago last night and made our way toward the Barack Obama rally in Grant Park. As Hutchinson Field had long since reached its capacity, my friends and I went to the opposite end of the park, the better part of a mile from where Obama was to give his victory speech (the stage was set up where the main AT&T Stage was at Lollapalooza). After weaving our way through the rapidly expanding mass of Obama supporters (of which there were supposedly more than a million), we spent a few minutes joining the masses in cheering and jeering at the current poll numbers being broadcast on a Jumbotron. Read more »
We here at Festival Preview have always striven to be a non-partisan publication. I think I speak for everyone when I say that personal bias has never gotten in the way of our mission to bring festival news to the masses. It is certainly not our place to shed negative light upon any subject on which we are reporting. So with that in mind, let's discuss the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix, which started on October 10 and runs through November 2nd. The aspect of this event that's of interest to us is the concert series, which features nothing less than a wonderful...no, divine lineup of artists.
This evening will feature alternative rock band Weezer, who within the last decade have become rock superstars thanks to their Blue, Green, and most recent Red album. It's true that groups like Metallica and The Beatles have done the color concept albums at some point during their careers, but keep in mind that they only bothered to do it once. Weezer, on the other hand, went above and beyond and dared to do it not once, not twice, but three times. Not to mention, songs like "Island in the Sun", "Pork and Beans", and of course, "Undone (The Sweater Song)" are consider by many to be some of the most influential lyrical gems produced since Dylan's heyday. The band's intrigue is magnfied by their geek image (specifically shrimpy vocalist Rivers Cuomo's thick-rimmed spectacles), ironically giving them leverage to shoot a music video at the Playboy mansion. Be sure not to miss the chance to experience these alternative rock classics, made even sweeter by Cuomo's newly-sprouted upper lip fur. Hef would agree. Read more »
Like the the culture that inspires it, Creole music is a gumbo of spicy styles and influences simmered to perfection. The music is as sensuous and sassy as it's down south origins in New Orleans and the Delta and from October 30 to November 2, these Cajun sounds meet Caribbean sizzle at the 12th annual World Creole Music Festival in Dominica. Say it with me: Hot time in the City.
Held annually around the time of the Dominca's Independence Day Celebration, the festival has developed a reputation as one of the few indigenous music events in the Caribbean.
The 3 day lineup emphasizes genres rooted in the creole speaking world and include bands versed in Cadence-lypso, Kompas, Zouk, Soukous, Bouyon, Zydeco. Past performers have included Kassav, Tabou Combo, Exile One, Gramacks/New Generation.
This years headliners are a blend of the old and new styles as Grammacks, one of Dominicas most well known Cadence-Lypso bands, who headlined the inaugural festival in 1996 share top billing with current dancehall superstar Sean Paul, who headlines the Saturday night set. Read more »
As the bus I took to the 10th annual Power To The Peaceful Festival rolled toward the western end of San Francisco's Haight Street (where it famously crosses Ashbury Street), the plain white stucco front of the apartment buildings on either sides of the street were transformed into three-dimensional facades coated in zebra stripes and rainbows. I stepped off the bus to grab a large latté, and some free wi-fi, in a coffee shop named Coffee To The People. As I sipped my cup and reviewed the acts for Michael Franti's impending celebration of pacificism to the extreme, I looked around the inside of the café and saw a collage of bumper stickers covering the walls, featuring quotes by everyone from Abbie Hoffman to Aung San Suu Kyi. Read more »
I’m not exactly sure whose idea it was, my daughter’s or mine. She had recently gone to a Radiohead concert in Charlotte and had proceeded to go out and buy all their music and I had noticed that Wilco, one of my favorites, was scheduled to appear at Lollapalooza this year. We were definitely going to the Midwest to visit family in Michigan and Chicagoland and one of us suggested taking in Lollapalooza while in Chicago.
My wife and other daughter had little interest but did not object to Dad and daughter attending the festival together. We went online and bought two three- day passes and then convinced a couple other friends with daughters to meet up with us. The result was three Dads in their mid-fifties with their teenage daughters spending three great days visiting and listening to music in one of the world’s great cities. I wasn’t a stranger to music festivals but had never been to anything on the scale on this year’s Lollapalooza. Read more »
Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, held this time June 20-22 at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds in Boonville CA, has become well-known for presenting high-quality reggae and world music at an affordable price with a more low-key vibe than other similar outfits. But with Humboldt County reggae festivals in the ascendence and star-studded Reggae Rising set to take place a few weeks later, could humble Sierra Nevada still deliver?
Musically, the weekend was solid, satisfying, and, at times, extraordinary. My own musical highlight came from St. Croix's reggae heavyweights, Midnite. Slotted in early Saturday evening, Midnite gave the performance of the weekend. The new band, still trying to find its groove since changing personnel in 2005 and now with an additional guitar player, sounded the best I'd ever heard them, and on par with the high standards set by Midnite's original touring lineup. Their ever-inspiring lead singer Vaughn Benjamin chanted his way through five extended songs, taking me from where I was to another, more poignant realm and then back again. The front rows had the distinct feeling of being in church, almost the trademark of a Midnite performance, the audience focused on the stage, swaying and standing but not quite dancing, for this would be far too much of a distraction.
Sunday night on the festival's small "village" stage saw three old stars of reggae reclaim the spotlight. Both classy Pat Kelly and wild Stranger Cole gave fine performances but it was Roy Shirley who stole the show this time, his last ever performance. Mr. Shirley, who died days after the festival, put on a characteristically strange show, at one point rolling around the stage, microphone in hand. The enthused crowd gave him (and the two others) the reception of royalty and it was touching to see Mr. Shirley basking in the stage lights one final time. Read more »
