Bonnaroo 2016 Acts to Have on Your Radar
By Saraya Brewer
The biggest farm party of the year is just around the corner. The 15th annual Bonnaroo festival kicks off Thursday, June 10 in Manchester, Tennessee, and we’re prepping to brave four days of camping, dancing, sweating, soaking it all in and reporting back from the front lines of one of America’s most iconic music festivals.
If you’ve been before, you know that Bonnaroo is an indescribable experience – it’s a 700-acre field party of 80,000 like-minded souls convening for a soul-enriching, mind-expanding, physically demanding four-day pop-up commune.
With 10 stages and an always-diverse line-up – headlined this year by alt-rock stalwarts Pearl Jam, the recently reunited New York electronic dance band LCD Soundsystem, and two sets from Dead & Co., featuring original members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir – music is at the heart of the festival for many. It’s an experience centering on “discovery” and “breakout” for artists and attendees alike, and with that in mind, we typically like to gear our coverage toward bands who tend to hover a bit under the radar.
Here’s Part 1 of our “Bonnaroo Artists to Have on your Radar” preview coverage – look for Part 2, highlighting a handful of additional artists from the ‘roo roster, in the next week or so!
Thursday, June 9, 10:30 p.m.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upEX2JMp3c0
The Philadelphia-based duo Marian Hill creates sleek, sparse-yet-bumpin’ jazz and R&B-influenced electronic music, highlighting beats from producer/songwriter Jeremy Lloyd, soul-laden vocals from songwriter Samantha Gongol, and oftentimes the funky energy of saxophonist Steve Gavit. Drawing from the duo’s academic background in music theatre and the music business, the sonic result is distinct, refreshing and – as Gongol has aptly described it – quite “sax-ual.”
Recommended If You Like: Sylvan Esso, Phantogram, Purity Ring, James Blake
Friday, June 10 at 2:15 p.m.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOa89DTLrwE
Lauded for their live performances, Swedish psychedelic rock stalwarts Dungen have been crafting sprawling, complex and atmospheric music since 1999, layering influences of ‘60s psychedelic pop, free jazz and prog rock with delicate Swedish vocals and melodic and textured soundscapes.
RIYL: Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Spacemen 3
Friday, June 11 at 5:30 p.m.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DDP-aHmEcc
With an ability to adopt a wide range of styles, from free jazz to hip hop to avant garde, saxophonist Kamasi Washington has recorded with a variety of artists ranging from Flying Lotus to Herbie Hancock to Snoop Dogg (he also played sax on Kendrick Lamar’s lauded 2015 album “To Pimp a Butterfly”). In addition to his Friday evening set at this year’s ‘Roo, he’ll lead Saturday night’s always-popular, always surprising “SuperJam”, which this year will follow a “Tribute to Tennessee” theme and feature a slew of guests that include Miguel, The Internet, Blood Orange, Allen Stone and more.
RIYL: Thundercat, BadBadNotGood, Robert Glasper
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Saturday, June 11 at 7 p.m.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iAYhQsQhSY#t=54
This Missouri-based 8-piece creates a high energy brand of retro soul rock that blends gospel sensibilities, a 1940’s factory worker aesthetic with the ardor of a N’awlins funk band. Fronted by “honky tonk soul man” Nathaniel Rateliff, the band is riding on the coattails of a recent resurgence of Americana music, to a certain degree, but they bring a decidedly raw energy that makes it feel like a new page has been turned.
RIYL: Houndmouth, Shakey Graves, Otis Redding
Saraya Brewer
Managing Editor, tadoo.com and Chevy Chaser and Southsider Magazines
859.266.6537 ext. 25 2016
For the full line-up, tickets and more info on the festival, visit www.bonnaroo.com
