[Review] Lollapalooza celebrates 25 anniversary in a big way
The Chicago staple of music festival excellence brought forth yet another unforgettable weekend of music and stellar performances. Lollapalooza celebrating it’s 25th anniversary in the biggest way possible. Extending the festival to four days created a marathon of incredible musical moments.
Lollapalooza had many highlights that came from inside and outside the music festival. Chicago transformed from the city with broad shoulders into, during for the four-day festival, music mecca.
The first two days had rain showers that spanned over a few hours. The temporary muggy start didn’t effect the mega celebration of the 25th anniversary. In fact, the only set backs to the festival were the uncontrollable rain and that the festival is already over.
Over the years Lolla grew not only in size but it also grew in multiple genres. It first started as an alternative rock festival in 1991 as a farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction. Now with over 170 acts and an extended four-day festival, Lollapalooza provided many history making moments.
It was announced by Lollapalooza that next year’s music festival will also be a 4 day festival.
Thursday, July 28 (Day 1)
Lollapalooza fixed up this problem from past years. The clear winner to the first night was hip-hop. Hip-hop actually had a deeper impact throughout the festival but it made a bold statement the first night with performances from Chicago’s own Towkio, G-Eazy, and J. Cole. Danny Brown also gained many fans with his energetic performance. Towkio brought out Chicago’s Joey Purp and Vic Mensa in a complete Chicago music takeover. Towkio from sneaking into Lollapalooza before his musical break to now setting the stage definitely was a crowd pleasure.
Another Chicago artist made headlines closing off the Perry’s stage this time from the electronic music duo Flosstradamus. They didn’t disappoint bringing their signature non-stop thrill ride of electric beats. They also brought out surprise guest Chance The Rapper, Michelle Williams, and Dwyane Wade.
From “Wet Dreamz” to “Work Out”, J. Cole stole the show with non-stop performance of hit after hit. With no back track, fans matched Cole jumping and rapping along with the Dreamville rapper. It’s important to note that Cole was the only rapper to close off the Samsung stage throughout the weekend. The others were Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and LCD Soundsystem. The biggest stage at Lollapalooza was the perfect fit for J. Cole’s unforgettable set.
Lollapalooza 25 Year Anniversary Lineup Announced
Celebrating 25 years as a world-renowned festival, Lollapalooza 25 Year Anniversary delivers an all-star lineup with Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, LCD Soundsystem, J. Cole, Lana Del Rey, Future, Ellie Goulding, Major Lazer and Disclosure topping the bill. The diverse lineup also features performances from G-Eazy, Chris Stapleton, Leon Bridges, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Miike Snow, Kurt Vile & The Violators and much more. To commemorate this milestone anniversary, Lollapalooza will bring four full days of music and over 170 performances to Chicago's beautiful Grant Park, July 28- 31. View the full lineup and lineup-by-day here.
Legacy acts from the early days of Lollapalooza will be front and center with the return of Jane's Addiction, fronted by Lollapalooza creator and founder Perry Farrell - with a set full of surprises, as well as Red Hot Chili Peppers, who headlined the festival in 1991 and 1992 respectively.
"I've immersed myself in this experience for 25 years now, but it's in a constant state of evolution, living and breathing. As long as we always try to find the eye of the hurricane, the epicenter of the music that is truly connecting right now, I think we can go for another 25 years! And we'll do it by always making sure to keep it fresh. Four days this year, over 170 of the best bands, including acts from all over the world as the music community connects globally more than ever; the best sound, staging and lights. We promise the festival will always strive to be the 'lifeblood' of the music scene," says Perry Farrell.
This year's collection of fresh faces include ZHU, Aurora, Bryson Tiller, Oh Wonder and Låpsley as well as heavy-hitting female artists including HAIM, Grimes, Alessia Cara, Lindsey Stirling, Kehlani, Melanie Martinez, and a highly anticipated return from Halsey following last year's breakthrough performance.
Flosstradamus, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Duke Dumont, GRiZ, Big Gigantic, Marshmello and more will bring the beats for Lollapalooza's beloved dance music fans.
4-Day General Admission Tickets sold out on March 22. A limited number of 1-Day General Admission Tickets ($120) and 1-Day VIP Tickets ($650) will be available for purchase today,March 23 at 10am CT. 4-Day VIP Tickets ($2,200), 4-Day Platinum Tickets ($4,200) and Official Hotel Packages are also available now at here.
Lollapalooza welcomes music fans of all ages, including kids. Children 10-years-old and younger will be admitted free of charge with a ticket-holding adult.
Fans worldwide who can't make it to Grant Park can watch The Official 2016 Lollapalooza Live Broadcast exclusively on Red Bull TV, which is distributed digitally for free on the web, connected TV platforms, smartphones and tablets as well as Lollapalooza.com. A full schedule of performances will be announced this July on Lollapalooza.com.
Lollapalooza 2016 is generously sponsored by: Samsung, Red Bull Sound Select, Bud Light, Pepsi, Toyota, BMI, Tito's Handmade Vodka, Citi and Cupcake Vineyards.
[Video] Disclosure Lets The Fire Burn At Coachella 2014
Photo by Chris Garmon
Unless you've been living under a rock, you're very aware of last weekend's mega festival in the desert, Coachella. This year seemed to be the year of the special guest appearances. For example, Nas brought out Jay and Puffy, Queen Bey danced around supporting her sister Solange, Gwen Stefani and Snoop Dogg joined Pharrell on stage, Chance The Rapper brought out Justin Bieber, and we finally got to see Outkast back together, who themselves were joined by Janelle Monae and Future. RH favorites Disclosure was not going to be left behind as they also brought out some of their special friends to one of the best sets from the festival, bringing out Sam Smith, Mary J.Blige, and Aluna Francis (of Aluna George) to the stage during their featured songs. The UK brothers have been killing it since they dropped their debut album Settle last year and haven't looked back as they've been performing non-stop and appearing on talks shows and award shows all over the world.
Settle was pretty much on everyone's top albums list of 2013 (including ours), and with good reason. I pretty much had it on repeat for six months, and like many others, I couldn't get enough of their infectious production. I was lucky to be able to catch them during their tour stop in Austin this past January (check out the photos). I've seen a lot of DJ/producer sets, and Disclosure is definitely on the top of my list after seeing them live. If you are a fan or have yet to see them, check out their full set at Coachella below and don't be afraid when you end up dancing around your desk.
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2014 MTV Woodie Award Nominees Announced
The MTV Woodies, the cable channel's reaction to indie music, announced the nominees for this year's award show, chosen by voters online yesterday. The nominees included a who's who of artists and acts that dominated the up and coming charts in 2013. In the hunt for the coveted "Woodie of the Year" are familiar names in Kanye West, Drake and Pharrell, as well as some more eclectic choices in Disclosure, Imagine Dragons, Lorde and Zedd. Chance The Rapper and director Austin Vesely are nominated for the "Best Video Woodie" for the "Everybody's Something" video. They will be up against some stiff competition from Disclosure ("Grab Her"), Passion Pit ("Carried Away"), Iggy Azalea ("Bounce") and Arcade Fire ("Afterlife"). Chance pops up again for his collaboration on "Life Round Here" with James Blake and Jhene Aiko and Mack Wilds round out a fairly solid list for "Breaking Woodie". Honestly, it's odd to find names like Beyonce and Jay Z on this list of nominees, which seem more tailored to Macklemore than the Grammys did a few weeks ago. Bob Dylan is nominated for a "Did It My Way Woodie". What's more 'My Way' than releasing an album (The Heist, Acid Rap) independently only to see it beat out the big guys? The line between independent and mainstream is being increasingly scrubbed away, and the 2014 edition of the Woodie Awards may be the best implication of that.
The MTV Woodies take place March 13 in Austin, TX, and will air March 16 on MTVU. Check out the full list of nominees below.
2014 mtvU Woodie Awards Nominees
Woodie of the Year:
Imagine Dragons
Lorde
Pharrell
Drake
Zedd
Disclosure
Breaking Woodie:
Bastille
Martin Garrix
The 1975
Jhene Aiko
Sam Smith
Mack Wilds
Best Video Woodie:
Disclosure, "Grab Her"
Passion Pit, "Carried Away"
Chance the Rapper, "Everybody's Something"
Iggy Azalea, "Bounce"
Arcade Fire, "Afterlife"
Did It My Way Woodie:
Beyoncé — Released her new, self-titled album without any prior promotion.
Kanye West — Created an interactive music video experience for Yeezus
Arcade Fire — Creatively utilized social media, street art and pop-up performances to launch the Reflektor album.
Childish Gambino — Hosted impromptu album listening sessions in public parks for Because the Internet.
Bob Dylan — Created a 16 channel interactive music video for "Like a Rolling Stone."
Performing Woodie:
Tyler the Creator
Ed Sheeran
Jay Z
Arcade Fire
The National
The XX
Best Collaboration Woodie:
A$AP Rocky and Skrillex — "Wild For the Night"
Avicii and Aloe Blacc — "Wake Me Up"
Just Blaze and Baauer featuring Jay Z — "Higher"
Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons — "Radioactive (remix)"
Daft Punk and Pharrell — "Get Lucky"
James Blake and Chance the Rapper — "Life Round Here"
College Radio Woodie (Best College Radio Station):
Ball State University (WCRD)
Boston University (WTBU)
East Stroudsburg University (WESS)
Eastern Illinois University (WEIU)
Indiana University (WIUX)
Texas State University - San Marcos (KTSW)
University of California - Berkeley (KALX)
University of Illinois - Champaign Urbana (WPGU)
University of South Carolina (WUSC)
William Paterson University (WPSC)
[Songs of the Day] 2/11/14 (Feat. Wiz Khalifa, Klaxons, The Black Lips and more)
Tuesday got a healthy dose of new music, and we have all of it gathered here for you once again for our 'songs of the day'. Starting things off is the honky-tonk sounds of Denny & The Jets with "Mexican Coke" and Klaxons with their heavy-handed dream pop arrangement in "Children of the Sun". Vic Mensa capitalized on a successful tour with Disclosure by releasing a freestyle over the UK duo's track "When A Fire Starts to Burn" off their album, Settle, and fellow Chicagoans Roman Flowrs and Donnie Trumpet teamed up over a Cam Osteen-produced beat in the soulful "Lake Shore Drive" and theWHOevers round out the middle of the map, offering up a J Dilla tribute in "Sooner or Later". Lil Boosie teases his post-prison plans, getting together with Boston George and Future on "Rich Off Lean" while Mr. Carmack gives listeners a new groove in his instrumental, "Free Baby" and Kelis returns with a new song in "Rumble". Yumi Zouma's “A Long Walk Home For Parted Lovers” gets a remix from Wild Nothings, Harry Fraud remixes JOYWAVE's "Tongues" and we get new tracks from The Black Lips, Beverly, Wiz Khalifa and a talented newcomer in Barney Bones. Check it all out, streaming below.
Track of the Day: Bevery: "Honey Do"
Denny & The Jets: “Mexican Coke”
Roman Flowrs: “Lake Shore Drive” (Feat. Donnie Trumpet) (Prod. by Cam Osteen)
Vic Mensa: "When A Fire Starts To Burn Freestyle"
Klaxons: “Children of the Sun”
theWHOevers: “Sooner or Later” (J Dilla Tribute)
Mr. Carmack: “Free Baby”
Boston George: “Rich Off Lean” (Feat. Lil Boosie & Future)
Kelis: “Rumble”
JOYWAVE: “Tongues” (Harry Fraud Remix):
Yumi Zouma: “A Long Walk Home For Parted Lovers” (Wild Nothing remix)
Beverly: “Honey Do”
Barney Bones: “Crash N’ Burn”
The Black Lips: “Justice After All”
Wiz Khalifa: “We Dem Boys”
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Disclosure Announce 'Wild Life' Series
Disclosure has been on a tear as of late. Having just stepped off tour earlier this week from a monster world journey of shows across the globe that saw them appear on almost every late night show stage there is and raise their profile ten-fold across the board. Not ones to be satisfied, the Lawrence brothers announced plans to continue the party this summer with their 'Wild Life' series that will take place across two dates so far that have been announced with acts that they enjoy. The first event will take place on April 18 in Berkeley, Ca., at the Greek Theatre and will feature the likes of Kaytranda, Claude Von Stroke and Bishop Nehru. The second date is slated for June 11 in Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo and is expected to have New York City artist Joey Bada$$, Green Velvet and George Fitzgerald in attendance. Keep it locked for ongoing news from the talented pair.
April 18
Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
Disclosure LIVE
Claude VonStroke vs Justin Martin
Kaytranada
Bishop Nehru
June 11
Chicago, IL -Lincoln Park Zoo
Disclosure LIVE
Joey Bada$$
Green Velvet
George Fitzgerald
[RH Photos] Disclosure and Vic Mensa in Austin (1/31/14)
Last Friday, the UK producer/DJ duo Disclosure took over Stubbs' outside venue to a a sold-out crowd. You couldn't ask for a better night for an outside concert. As soon as I walked in, Samo Sound Boy was already halfway trough his set, getting the crowd ready for SaveMoney's Vic Mensa. The rapper joined Disclosure on a handful of tour dates, with Austin being his last stop of the tour. Producer/DJ Stefan Ponce kept the crowd going before Vic stormed the stage, performing a set filled with songs from his latest project, INNANETAPE. Fans in the front row sang back lyrics to Vic as he moved around the whole stage. A short break to get things ready for Disclosure to hit the stage. ONce they did the crowd went wild. The duo went through many of their more popular songs from their last critically-acclaimed project, Settle. Austin loved Disclosure and did not want them to stop playing. Below are some shots I took of the show.
