Portola Music Festival 2025: Our awards & highlights for Year 4

September 29, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Portola Music Festival 2025 - LCD Soundsystem


LCD Soundsystem

Photos by Christine Kemp // Written by Molly Kish //

Portola Music Festival //
Pier 80 – San Francisco
September 20th-21st, 2025 //

The Bay Area celebrated Portola’s fourth edition this September by packing SF’s Pier 80 with its most diverse lineup so far. Attendees got the opportunity to catch legendary electronic artists, festival debuts, the iconic return of several dance-punk outfits and a show-stopping performance by one of the biggest pop stars on the planet.

The weather was impeccable, but that wasn’t enough to keep crowds from forming lines all weekend long to gain entry to the Bay Area debut of Despacio. James Murphy shared unofficial joint headliner duty with his high-fidelity audio immersion system that served as an honorary fifth stage. Folks waited sometimes hours to enter the dimly lit sound enclosure, lined with seven stacks of McIntosh-powered speakers, synchronized yet very sparse lighting, 50,000 watts of amplifiers and a giant disco ball. Lead audio engineer John Klett calls it an “emotional transmission machine,” and over the course of the two-day fest, many made a point to go find themselves in there.

Portola 2025 marked some monumental comebacks, including the first Bay Area show for The Rapture in more than 10 years, The Prodigy’s highly anticipated appearance after having to reschedule one of their two Coachella sideshows at The Warfield in April (read our show review here) and Moby’s return for the first time since the Ghostship Fire Benefit in 2020 to perform his seminal album Play with a live band and vocalist. Last but certainly not least was pop icon Christina Aguilera, who turned the festival into a girly-pop fever dream for 45 minutes and blazed through one of the weekend’s most epic sets.

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Despacio


Despacio

There were clear improvements to the layout for both the Warehouse and Pier Stage with larger and more accurately located VIP sections, and though the grounds felt less activated, they seemed to be more manageable. The selection of food vendors was also greatly improved, with less waiting time at the bars and larger selections of cocktails as well as specialty drinks than ever before.

For this latest installment, Portola went all in on tried-and-true favorites that included bringing back Dom Dolla, Caribou, Chemical Brothers and 2manydjs after their previous appearances. Goldenvoice paired down the over-the-top production from prior years and brought the focus back onto the music, too.

With noticeably smaller crowds and lighter fairground fluff, attending Portola this year felt different. But for a festival that draws fans who are more concerned about seeing quality performances than posting influencer-friendly content, it remained true to form in 2025 and was a much-needed party for the Bay Area’s club core.

Portola Music Festival 2025 - Christina Aguilera


Christina Aguilera

PORTOLA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2025 AWARDS:

Headliner of the Weekend: The Prodigy

Favorite Stage: Warehouse

Breakthrough Performance: Anti Up (Chris Lake & Chris Lorenzo)

Best Dance Party: Moby

Largest Crowd: Dom Dolla

Festival Daddy: Mau P

Portola Queen: Christina Aguilera

Best Legacy Act: Underworld

Hardest Set: Brutalismus 3000

Best Live Performance: LCD Soundsystem

Biggest Comeback: The Rapture

Most Cunty: Rico Nasty

Best Stage Production: Chemical Brothers (DJ set)

Favorite Festival Addition: Despacio

Best Afterparty: Peggy Gou B2B Mau P at 888 Garage

Biggest Improvement: Relocation of VIP section

Most Swoonworthy: Maribou State

Favorite Merch: Raccoon backpack

Silliest Trend: Food label stickers

Largest Obstacle: Lack of cellular service

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Goldenvoice fills up the rest of April with 2025 Coachella sideshows

February 13, 2025 by Leave a Comment

Goldenvoice Presents April 2025 - Los Angeles

Ah, it’s that time of the year again … you know, when February showers bring April flowers?

We know that’s not exactly how the idiom goes of course, but with heavy storms this week bringing floods and mudslides to Southern California only a month after wildfires wreaked havoc all over Los Angeles, getting even a sliver of positive news is always nice to help uplift our spirits.

So as Coachella approaches after catching a lot of us off guard by revealing its 2025 lineup quite a bit earlier than usual, Goldenvoice has once again filled up the spring concert calendar with another list of sideshows in support of the famed music festival.

This is usually the week that Paul Tollett and company unveils those plans, and for those of you who aren’t interested in making the trek out to the desert for three days in the hot, scorching sun or quite understandably just don’t have the budget to make that happen right now, fans of live music can still have a taste — or multiple tastes if they are inclined — of Coachella all while not having to ever leave the confines of LA County.

Much like the 2024 sideshows, this year’s will be extending north to the Bay Area. After booking almost a dozen “Goldenvoice Presents April” dates in and around SF a year ago, the renowned promoter has continued the trend with 15 performances scheduled over a two-week stretch from Friday, April 4th to Saturday, April 19th during what we used to call Fauxchella before officially joining this annual series a year ago that began in 2012.

Goldenvoice Presents April 2025 - Bay Area

Also different from last April is the fact that not many sideshows will be taking place down south in San Diego after the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park and Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay, among others, played host for the first time. Mostly venues owned and operated by Goldenvoice in and around LA will be used this time, with some of the farthest ones like The Glass House and Fox Theater Pomona extending east into Tollett’s old stomping grounds. Unfortunately if you enjoy a good gig out in Pioneertown at Pappy & Harriet’s (read our First Times coverage here), you will have to find another time to visit the famous biker haunt with it no longer being in the equation … at least for now.

Along with Blonde Redhead at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, kicking off the SoCal festivities on April 9th will be The Dare and Kumo 99 at The Glass House while The Go-Go’s rock The Roxy and Thee Sacred Souls headline the Fox Theater Pomona. But what really stands out right away is Basement Jaxx (Live) at The Fonda Theatre as well as Portishead lead singer Beth Gibbons at the Orpheum Theatre on what appears to be a busy April 17th. And sure, seeing Miike Snow play an 800-person room like The Glass House wouldn’t be too bad either. If we just go by past numbers, the amount of sideshows is back up to 45 in total between LA and the Bay after scheduling 35 in 2024 and 32 in 2023 (by our count, the record is still 62 in 2017) and that’s certainly a good sign for all parties involved.

Below is the list of Goldenvoice Presents April sideshows in SoCal:

• Blonde Redhead: April 9th (WED) @ Belly Up (San Diego)
• The Dare with Kumo 99: April 9th (WED) @ The Glass House
• The Go-Go’s: April 9th (WED) @ The Roxy Theatre
• Thee Sacred Souls with Los Yesterdays: April 9th (WED) @ Fox Theater Pomona
• Eyedress: April 10th (THU) @ El Rey Theatre
• Jimmy Eat World with Glixen: April 10th (THU) @ Fox Theater Pomona
• Alok presents Something Else: April 11th (FRI) @ Sound Nightclub
• Sparrow & Barbossa: April 12th (SAT) @ Sound Nightclub
• Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 + Los Mirlos: April 14th (MON) @ The Roxy Theatre
• Still Woozy: April 14th (MON) @ The Glass House
• Together Pangea with Prison Affair: April 14th (MON) @ El Rey Theatre
• Afrojack presents Kapuchon: April 15th (TUE) @ Sound Nightclub
• Djo with Post Animal: April 15th (TUE) @ Fox Theater Pomona
• GloRilla with Real Boston Richy: April 15th (TUE) @ The Novo
• Lola Young with Bob Vylan: April 15th (TUE) @ The Fonda Theatre
• Miike Snow: April 15th (TUE) @ The Glass House
• Speed with HiTech: April 15th (TUE) @ The Roxy Theatre
• Djo: April 16th (WED) @ The Sound (San Diego)
• DIXON + Jimi Jules + Yulia Niko: April 16th (WED) @ Sound Nightclub
• Hope Tala: April 16th (WED) @ Music Box (San Diego)
• julie + Fcukers: April 16th (WED) @ The Glass House
• Maribou State with Shermanology: April 16th (WED) @ The Roxy Theatre
• Parcels with Ginger Root: April 16th (WED) @ Fox Theater Pomona
• SAINt JHN: April 16th (WED) @ The Novo
• Basement Jaxx (Live): April 17th (THU) @ The Fonda Theatre
• beabadoobee with Pretty Sick + Keni Titus: April 17th (THU) @ Fox Theater Pomona
• Beth Gibbons with Bill Ryder Jones: April 17th (THU) @ Orpheum Theater
• Dennis Cruz + Beltran: April 17th (THU) @ Sound Nightclub
• El Malilla + Judeline: April 17th (THU) @ The Roxy Theatre
• Kneecap with Soft Play: April 17th (THU) @ The Glass House
• Medium Build: April 17th (THU) @ El Rey Theatre
• Underscores: April 17th (THU) @ Music Box (San Diego)
• Eli Brown: April 18th (FRI) @ Sound Nightclub

If you’ve got the itch to see some live music now, tickets for the SoCal sideshows will go on sale here next Friday, February 21st or Friday, February 28th at Noon PT. All of the Bay Area shows, meanwhile, have already gone on sale. Fans can also win a pair of Weekend 2 passes to Coachella as well as two Golden tickets that gives access to every “Goldenvoice Presents April” show in SoCal or NorCal (there are separate contests at the aforementioned link). Wishing you all the best of luck!

Goldenvoice Presents April 2025 - San Diego

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First Times: Leaping head first into slowdive’s dreamy shoegaze at a sold-out Fox Theater Pomona

April 29, 2024 by 5 Comments

slowdive - Rachel GoswellBy Josh Herwitt //

slowdive with Drab Majesty //
Fox Theater Pomona – Pomona, CA
April 26th, 2024 //

When you live in a city as big as Los Angeles, it’s not everyday that you find yourself hopping on the 60 Freeway and embarking out to the county’s eastern edge for an evening of live music in Pomona.

But nearly 10 years after making the 45-mile trek on a weeknight to catch The Kills at The Glass House (read our show review here), I still found a good reason to do it again and endeavor trying to beat rush-hour traffic on a Friday in LA (pro tip: it takes a lot of patience).

P-Town, as the locals call it, is Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett’s backyard after all. It’s where he grew up and co-founded The Glass House with his brother Perry before teaming up with Goldenovice co-owner Rick Van Santen to conceive the $100 million idea that Coachella would eventually become almost two decades later.

But it was in 2007 when Tollett partnered with Ed and Jerry Tessier to purchase the historic Fox Theater Pomona, a fully restored Art Deco movie palace that remains one of the Pomona Arts Colony’s flagship attractions more than 90 years after opening. Constructed in the classic “Hollywood Style” and used by movie studios around Tinseltown to host sneak previews of their upcoming films, the building received $10 million’s worth of renovations when the Tessier family took control and restored it into a state-of-art music venue for audiences as large as 2,000.

With a capacity of that size, the Pomona Fox Theater can attract some top-notch acts every year and Tollett has seized the moment each April since 2012 by booking some big Coachella sideshows there, from Bon Iver and Modest Mouse to Blur and Jungle most recently. Yet, after all these years covering live music, it was English rockers slowdive who finally convinced me to head east again for my first trip to the Fox — and I’m glad that I didn’t miss it after being out of town during their two LA headline shows at The Bellwether in October.

slowdive - band

slowdive, believe it or not, have been around for more than three decades at this point. The five-piece out of Reading was formed back in 1989 by primary songwriter Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell but has remained intact despite a hiatus that lasted almost 20 years.

And with the group’s label parting ways after its first three studio albums were released by the mid-90’s, it wasn’t until 2017 a few years after reuniting when slowdive dropped their self-titled LP that captivated a whole new swath of fans, who quickly jumped on the bandwagon upon hearing dreamy cuts “Slomo”, “Star Roving”, “Sugar for the Pill” and our personal favorite, “No Longer Making Time” toward the end of the eight-track effort.

I will be perfectly honest and admit that I have not always been the biggest fan of shoegaze. The alt/indie-rock sub-genre that had exploded out of Ireland and the UK in the late 80’s when I was a youngster had escaped me amidst the hair-metal scene and subsequent tidal wave of grunge rock during the early 90’s that my older brother turned me onto. I had completely missed the boat on My Bloody Valentine until much later on and never found myself diving into RIDE or Lush, which left me largely unaware of the movement that has paved the way for more recent acts, including DIIV, Hotline TNT, bdrmm and even Silversun Pickups (Pitchfork actually published a piece on shoegaze’s revival prior to the end of last year, citing slowdive’s “phoenix-like rise from the ashes in recent years” here).

Back inside the Fox where a capacity crowd eagerly awaited their arrival onstage, Goswell (vocals, guitar, keyboards, tambourine), Halstead (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Nick Chaplin (bass), Christian Savill (guitar) and Simon Scott (drums) made their presence known just after 9 p.m. with the opening track to their fifth full length Everything Is Alive that arrived in September via Dead Oceans. But it was older material such as the ensuing “She Calls” from the band’s 1992 compilation Blue Day that caught us by surprise as the constant wash of guitar distortion and echoing vocals put us in a trance-like state for the remainder of slowdive’s 90-minute performance.

If there was anything from the show we could nitpick, it was probably that we didn’t get to hear “Slomo” after it was played a day earlier at The Majestic Ventura Theater, and while we had considered heading north for that date instead, our first time seeing slowdive was far from underwhelming. “Souvlaki Space Station” followed by “kisses” served as one highlight, while an encore beginning with what has become their most popular hit “Sugar for the Pill” and a cover of Syd Barrett’s “Golden Hair” that understandably felt psychedelic in its nature provided a euphoric ending for the long drive home. slowdive might not be the loud rock ‘n’ roll concert you are looking for, but there’s no question — effects pedals and all — that they have carved out quite the following since their reformation. Because with the way things have been trending for them of late, we sure hope they don’t slow (no pun intended) down anytime soon.

Setlist:
shanty
She Calls (started, and abruptly stopped by Rachel, then played in its entirety)
Star Roving
Catch the Breeze
Avalyn
skin in the game
Crazy for You
chained to a cloud
Souvlaki Space Station
kisses
Alison
When the Sun Hits
40 Days

Encore:
Sugar for the Pill
Golden Hair (Syd Barrett cover)

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HARD Summer Music Festival welcomes Disclosure, FISHER + Chris Lake, REZZMAU5, Major Lazer & more to brand-new home in 2024

March 5, 2024 by Leave a Comment

HARD Summer Music Festival - updated 2024 lineup

HARD Summer Music Festival //
Hollywood Park – Inglewood, CA
August 3rd-4th, 2024 // taS

Spring is almost upon us, and we all know that means festival season is right around the corner.

With some of California’s biggest music festivals revealing their 2024 plans and Goldenvoice sharing its latest round of Coachella sideshows a couple of weeks ago, it’s now HARD Summer’s turn to jump into the action.

A year ago the annual SoCal festival returned to Los Angeles’ city limits and went back to two days after extending to three in 2022, but now HARD founder and CEO Gary Richards’ signature event is heading even further west from its 2023 site that featured the LA Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park and BMO Stadium — which was quite a difference from some of HARD Summer’s older eastern haunts such as the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Fairplex in Pomona and Whittier Narrows Recreation Area in South El Monte.

HARD Summer’s next stop? Well, that would be Inglewood. The two-day fest’s new home will be at what organizers are calling “Hollywood Park adjacent to SoFi Stadium,” though if we can be real, the grounds are primarily made up of the parking lots surrounding the state-of-the-art, indoor-outdoor stadium as you can see here. Hey, at least the weather should be cooler!

This year’s lineup will also look a little different than last year’s in a couple of ways. After highlighting B2B sets at the top of the poster for its first appearance in LA since 2013 and incorporating more hip-hop into the equation during past iterations, HARD Summer has gone back to its electronic roots even more with Disclosure, FISHER + Chris Lake (Under Construction), REZZMAU5 made up of REZZ and deadmau5, and Major Lazer leading the pack. Of course, other top-notch acts that we would be remiss to recognize in this space include Jamie xx, Subtronics, Zeds Dead, Tchami x Malaa, Mochakk, SOFI TUKKER (DJ set), Kenny Beats, Channel Tres, Eli Brown, Wax Motif, Dillon Francis and Boys Noiz. If you want to see the rest of the bill — like special guests Nelly Furtado and Chase & Status or the TBA artists blurred out for Saturday — who are scheduled to perform in August however, make sure to peep the poster above for the full details and check back here for updates.

GA and VIP passes are on sale this Friday, March 8th at 10 a.m. PT here for fans ages 18 and over, and you can set up a payment plan for single-day or weekend tickets after only a $9.95 deposit. So … who’s ready to go HARD in the “City of Champions” this summer?

UPDATE (March 27th): Ready to find who else is joining the party this summer? Both TBA acts have been revealed for Saturday, and they just happen to hail from the across the pond with UK tech-house act Cloonee taking his spot on the top line and British grime artist Skepta performing a Más Tiempo set in honor of his house-focused label that he launched in 2023 with Jammer. Scroll up to see the updated poster above as well as the latest on HARD’s social media while tickets are still available with a deposit of $29.95 here.

HARD Summer Music Festival 2024 - Saturday set times

HARD Summer Music Festival 2024 - Sunday set times

HARD Summer Music Festival 2024 - Boombox Art Car & Locals Only Stage set times

HARD Summer Music Festival 2024 - map

UPDATE (July 31st): As HARD gets ready to make its Hollywood Park debut this weekend, you can finally feast your eyes on this year’s set times. If you are headed down to SoFi on Saturday, Sunday or both days, check the schedules plus the map above to see what will be your biggest conflict and let us just say there are several like Disclosure vs. REZZMAU5 vs. Zeds Dead vs. Boys Noize vs. Mochakk standing out to us. Want to go but don’t have tickets? You can still buy them here before it’s too late!

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Goldenvoice shares latest round of Coachella sideshows this April after Weekend 1 tickets for festival’s 2024 edition finally sell out

February 21, 2024 by 2 Comments

Goldenvoice Presents April 2024 - LA

Is it spring yet? With all of the stormy weather California has experienced over the past few weeks, some sunnier and warmer days would certainly be welcomed right about now.

Of course, it’s around this time on the calendar when Goldenvoice starts turning our attention toward April for its biggest event of the year, but with Coachella’s announcement of its 2024 lineup coming a week behind schedule and tickets selling at a much slower pace than in prior years with Weekend 1 taking more than a day and almost a month longer than usual to sell out last week, it has seemingly been more of a challenge for the California concert and music festival promoter to convince folks to make the trek out to the desert.

Much of it has to do with the current, less-than-ideal economic conditions many people are facing at the moment, and with Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat set to make their headlining debuts in 2024, it’s far from the best the three-day, two-weekend music festival has had to offer in its 23 years on the scene.

But for those of you in the Golden State who might be living on a tighter budget than usual and can’t afford Coachella or just simply aren’t interested in spending thousands of dollars on a weekend out at the Empire Polo Club, the latest installment of sideshows in both Southern and Northern California can serve as a more economical option that still presents enough opportunities for everyone to catch some great live music soon.

After taking a look at the posters above and below, you might notice right away that there a significant number of more shows scheduled in SoCal versus NorCal, but the action will begin in the bay a week before Coachella’s first weekend gets underway when Belgian DJ/record producer Charlotte de Witte headlines the Cow Palace on Friday, April 5th. Other notable performances taking place in SF include Oneohtrix Point Never at The Regency Ballroom, Young Fathers at Great American Music Hall, Steve Angello at The Midway and Yoasobi at The Warfield.

Meanwhile, things pick up down south the following week as English rockers Blur stop by the Fox Theater in Pomona on Wednesday, April 10th for their first show on American soil since 2015 and another UK product in Jungle get set to play the 1,750-person venue the ensuing day. One change particularly noteworthy this year is the number of sideshows happening in San Diego, including the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park hosting Thai-funk trio Khruangbin with Latin instrumental duo Hermanos Gutiérrez and Alabama Shakes leader Brittany Howard performing at the world-famous Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay. Back up north in the City of Angels, there’s once again a TBA act on the poster after boygenius earned the honor last year and that’s something we will be sure to keep our eyes on with the expectation that more details will emerge next month about who will visit the El Rey Theatre.

Nonetheless, it’s also worth mentioning after comparing previous iterations that Goldenvoice has dialed back on the number of sideshows over the years, peaking at 62 in 2017 before 52 in 2018, 34 in 2019, 44 in 2022 and 32 in 2023. With only 24 in SoCal this time around, having 11 in NorCal does help pad the number back to 35 and we imagine it will continue to hover around this amount in the future based on the way things have been trending.

Ready to catch some live music? Tickets for the sideshows in Southern California go on sale here this Friday, February 23rd at Noon PT over the next two weeks, while admission to the Northern California dates is already available. Fans can also win a pair of Weekend 2 passes to Coachella as well as two Golden tickets that gives access to every “Goldenvoice Presents April” show in SoCal or NorCal (there are separate contests at the aforementioned link). So, with that we say … good luck, friends!

Goldenvoice Presents April 2024 - SF

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Goldenvoice shares 2023 Coachella sideshows

February 22, 2023 by 1 Comment

Goldenvoice Presents: April 2023

Love is in the air as it always is during the month of February, and even if you didn’t have someone special to spend Valentine’s Day with — no big deal! — this year, there’s still plenty of live music in California to gush over less than two months from now. Well, that’s because Goldenvoice has once again revealed Coachella’s annual sideshows throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

The three-day, two-weekend music festival will welcome Bad Bunny, BLACKPINK and Frank Ocean as headliners for its 22nd edition this April, and the concert promoter has lined up a good amount of gigs in a span of less than two weeks. Most of the venues hosting will be the same as in years past, but Sound Nightclub will feature the most — a total of seven — this time with The Roxy Theatre, The Novo and the Fox Theater Pomona right behind that count at five each.

While the festivities across SoCal will officially kick off with a surprise when a TBA act takes the stage in Pomona on April 12th, the following acts will also perform inside LA County:

The Breeders (with The Linda Lindas), Momma, Pi’erre Bourne (with AG Club), Remi Wolf (with Lava La Rue), Kyle Watson, Dennis Cruz and Chris Stussy, Bakar, Benee, FKJ, Cannons, Destroy Boys (with Soul Glo and The Murder Capital), Gabriels, Hiatus Kaiyote (with a DJ set by El Michels Affair), Vintage Culture + Colyn, Angèle, Blondie (with The Linda Lindas), Christine and the Queens (with Lewis OfMan), Ethel Cain, Monolink (DJ set), Mura Masa, Overmono, Willow and Yves Tumor, 2ManyDJs (DJ set), Big Wild + Elderbrook, Bratty + Los Bitchos (with Conexión Divina), Donovan’s Yard and Uncle Waffles, Mathame + Cassian, MUNA, Yaeji (with LP Giobbi), John Digweed and Nora En Pure. See the full list of sideshows in the poster above.

Once again, there will be no special showcase at the Palm Springs Air Museum like there was back in 2017, though this year will see the Greek Theatre get in on the action for the first time when the historic LA amphitheater welcomes Blondie with The Linda Lindas also on the bill. It’s also worth noting that the famed desert music venue Pappy and Harriet’s will not be in the equation for a change after playing a key role previously.

For more than a decade now, Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett and his sidekicks have been cashing in off of Coachella more and more with the inclusion of these sideshows. A peak of 62 came in 2017 after 52 were in announced in 2018, and since then the number has dropped considerably with 32 slated for this year, 44 in 2022 and 34 in 2019. It’s safe to say that there’s always an eclectic assortment of both talent and genres, and 2023 will follow suit as the El Rey Theatre welcomes an evening of punk rock courtesy of Destroy Boys that boasts support from Soul Glo and The Murder Capital followed two nights later by Latin-flavored acts Bratty and Los Bitchos.

Other sideshows that deserved to be mentioned include FKJ at the Fox Theater Pomona, Cannons at The Roxy, Hiatus Kaiyote with El Michels Affair (DJ set) at The Novo, 2ManyDJs (DJ set) at The Fonda Theatre and the legendary John Digweed at Sound Nightclub. Meanwhile, the Santa Barbara Bowl will have a couple of top-notch dates of their own not pictured above that includes The Chemical Brothers with Overmono (DJ set) on April 16th and FKJ on April 19th.

Tickets for the sideshows go on sale here this Friday, February 24th at Noon PT over the next three weeks, and fans can also win a pair of Weekend 2 passes to Coachella plus two Golden tickets that grant access to every “Goldenvoice Presents April” show this year. Wishing you all the best of luck!

UPDATE (March 31): Goldenvoice has unveiled who the TBA act will be for Wednesday, April 12th at the Fox Pomona Theater, and it’s none other than boygenius. The indie-rock supergroup comprised of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus will give fans a taste of their new debut LP The Record, which was released today, before heading to the Empire Polo Club for their Saturday sets at Coachella. Tickets to the show can be purchased here, but you will want to grab them fast before they’re all gone!

Goldenvoice

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Goldenvoice brings back Coachella sideshows for 2022

February 14, 2022 by Leave a Comment

Goldenvoice Presents: April 2022

It’s Valentine’s Day once again, and Goldenvoice is honoring its long-running tradition now of unveiling Coachella’s sideshows in and around the greater Los Angeles area.

With the three-day, two-weekend music festival returning to the desert this April for the first time after a three-year layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert promoter has lined up a slew of gigs over a stretch of more than two weeks. And although most of the venues hosting will be the same as before outside of the newly added Sound Nightclub, two in Pomona — the Fox Theater and The Glass House — will be the home for a good chunk of them starting April 12th with King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.

The festivities, meanwhile, will officially kick off a few days earlier on April 9th when Rina Sawayama performs at The Fonda Theatre. In addition to the Japanese-born singer-songwriter, the following acts will also take the stage inside and outside of LA County:

Epik High, Chicano Batman, Denzel Curry, Pabllo Vittar, Role Model, 100 gecs, Molchat Doma, Honey Dijon, Arooj Aftab, BADBADNOTGOOD (with Freddie Gibbs and Madlib aka MadGibbs), Beach Bunny, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Masego, MEUTE, Wallows (with The Regrettes), Amber Mark, beabadoobee, Chelsea Cutler, L’Impératrice (with Inner Wave), Purple Disco Machine, Still Woozy, Code Orange, Crumb, Damian Lazarus, Måneskin, Mika, Spiritualized, Viagra Boys, Ed Maverick, girl in red (with Holly Humberstone), Hot Chip (with Ela Minus), Koffee (with Mariah the Scientist), Michael Bibi, Nathy Peluso, Nilüfer Yanya and Altın Gün, PUP (with Skegss), The Marías, Dixon, Yard Act, Fred again.. and Omar Apollo. See the full list of sideshows in the poster above.

Unlike in previous years, no TBA dates are listed this time or a special showcase like there was back in 2017 at the Palm Springs Air Museum the night before Coachella’s first weekend.

Since 2012, Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett and company have made a point of monetizing off Coachella more and more by adding these sideshows to its portfolio and despite the number of them falling to 34 in 2019 after scheduling as many as 53 in 2018 and 62 in 2017, this year’s slate has climbed to 44 in total even with an average of 160,000 new coronavirus cases being recorded in the U.S. each day. But while Goldenvoice may have finally found a “sweet spot” when it comes to how many sideshows to book each spring, it has always showcased an eclectic array of genres and 2022 will be no different with a Brazilian drag queen (Pabllo Vittar) and a self-described “techno marching band” (MEUTE) on the bill.

Other highlights worth sharing include LA four-piece Chicano Batman at the Fox Theater Pomona, two nights of Canadian instrumental trio BADBADNOTGOOD with Freddie Gibbs and Madlib at The Novo in downtown LA, 28-year-old R&B singer-songwriter Amber Mark at the El Rey Theatre and London-based producer Fred again.. at The Fonda Theatre.

Tickets for the sideshows go on sale here this Friday, February 18th at Noon PT with the rest of them available on Friday, February 25th at Noon PT or Friday, March 4th at Noon PT.

Goldenvoice

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Goldenvoice unveils 2019 Coachella sideshows

February 14, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Goldenvoice Presents: April 2019

Valentine’s Day is back, and even if you don’t have someone special to celebrate the occasion with this year, Goldenvoice is still giving you a reason to love live music in 2019.

As the 20th anniversary of Coachella approaches in less than two months, the famed concert promoter has once again revealed its latest list of April sideshows that will take place across the greater Los Angeles landscape, including some in Orange County, Santa Barbara County and the desert. There are even a few new venues — both big and small — that are hosting for the first time: Zebulon in the gentrifying LA neighborhood commonly known as “Frogtown,” La Santa Modern Cantina (or “La Santa” as locals call it) as well as the Yost Theater in Santa Ana, Chain Reaction in Anaheim and The Forum in Inglewood.

California punk rockers The Frights kick off the festivities with their headlining performance at The Glass House in Pomona on Saturday, April 6th before the action really ramps up just a few days later. That’s when the following acts will take the stage either inside or just outside of LA County:

Mac DeMarco, Tame Impala, Clairo, Blood Orange, Dennis Lloyd, Pusha T, Iceage & Shame, Yellow Days, Hop Along & Soccer Mommy (with Las Robertas), Smino, FKJ (with Ross From Friends), Jaden Smith (with SG Lewis), SALES, Mr Eazi, Charlotte Gainsbourg (with Steady Holiday), Playboi Carti, Bob Moses, Ross From Friends (billed, in this case, as the headliner), Ella Mai, The Messthetics, The Garden, BLACKPINK, HYUKOH, Turnover (with Turnstile), PARCELS (with Cola Boyy), KAYTRANADA, CHVRCHES, Mon Laferte, Khruangbin (with The Marías & Steady Holiday), Superorganism and Perfume. See the full list of sideshows in the poster above.

Much like last year’s sideshows, there won’t be a special showcase at the Palm Springs Air Museum the night before Coachella’s first weekend as there was back in 2017. Nonetheless, there are still two TBA gigs scheduled for April 10th and 17th at The Roxy that we’ll have to await further word on.

Since 2012, Goldenvoice has made a point of capitalizing off its signature event by putting on more shows in and around Coachella — though the volume has started to drop more recently, with the number of sideshows this year down to 34 in comparison to 53 in 2018 and 62 in 2017. With 19 less in 2019, we can only surmise that Goldenvoice is still trying to find a “sweet spot” when it comes to the amount it organizes and promotes in support of the world-famous three-day, two-weekend music festival.

That said, Paul Tollett and company have still managed to give Southern California an eclectic roster that offers a little bit of everything, from lo-fi and indie rock to hip-hop and even K-pop. In fact, at first glance, here are the 2019 sideshows that stick out the most to us: Mac DeMarco at The Echo, Tame Impala at the Fox Theater Pomona, Blood Orange at The Roxy, Pusha T at The Novo, Hop Along & Soccer Mommy (with Las Robertas) at the El Rey Theatre, Bob Moses at The Glass House, PARCELS (with Cola Boyy) at The Fonda Theatre, Khruangbin (with The Marías and Steady Holiday) at Pappy and Harriet’s, and Superorganism at The Roxy, which will have a show practically every night during the eight-day run.

Tickets for most of the sideshows go on sale here this Friday, February 15th at Noon PT with the rest of them available on Friday, February 22nd at Noon PT or Friday, March 1st at Noon PT.

Goldenvoice

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Goldenvoice announces 2018 Coachella sideshows

February 14, 2018 by 1 Comment

Goldenvoice Presents: April 2018

It’s Valentine’s Day, so what could be a better way to celebrate love — or least your love for live music — than with a whole slew of newly announced shows?

Well, with Coachella’s 19th edition just a couple of months away, Goldenvoice has done it again, assembling another massive list of April sideshows at various venues all across the greater Los Angeles landscape, including some in Orange County (at The Observatory and Constellation Room), Santa Barbara County (at the Santa Barbara Bowl and The Arlington Theatre) and the desert (at Pappy and Harriet’s).

Sister trio HAIM kick off the festivities with their headlining performance at arguably our favorite Southern California venue, the Santa Barbara Bowl, on Saturday, April 7th before things ramp up the ensuing week with Kali Uchis, Chromeo, Tyler, the Creator, St. Vincent, Portugal. The Man (with Cherry Glazerr), Perfume Genius (with Big Thief), Princess Nokia, PVRIS, Marian Hill, Fleet Foxes, Carpenter Brut, Tash Sultana, The Drums & Alvvays (with Fazerdaze), alt-J (with BØRNS), Migos, The Bronx, Greta Van Fleet, A Perfect Circle, Yaeji, Angel Olsen, Jessie Ware, BROCKHAMPTON, First Aid Kit, Japanese Breakfast (with Snail Mail), Kelela, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Buscabulla (with The Marías), Priests, MØ, Jorja Smith & Tom Misch, ODESZA, Miguel, Boogarins (with B Boys & Señor Kino), Ron Gallo, Moon Boots (Live), The War on Drugs, Jungle, Soulwax, Petit Biscuit, 6lack, Aurora, Motor City Drum Ensemble (with Talaboman), Los Ángeles Azules, The Drums, Hayley Kiyoko and Elohim all playing — some even more than once — inside and/or outside of LA’s city limits.

Unlike last year’s sideshows, which included a special showcase at the Palm Springs Air Museum the night before Coachella’s first weekend featuring several artists from British independent record label Young Turks, Goldenvoice has opted not to go down that route again. The two gigs that mirror that mini festival the closest both take place on Thursday, April 19th, as Motor City Drum Ensemble performs at the Palm Springs Air Museum with Talaboman and Los Ángeles Azules invades the Riverside County Fairgrounds with Cuco, Helado Negro and Ocho Ojos just one day before Coachella Weekend 2 commences at the Empire Polo Club. Check out the full list of sideshows in the poster above.

Year after year, Goldenvoice seemingly continues to outdo itself with more and more shows in and around Coachella, and this April the renowned concert promoter has done its best to give music fans in Southern California a little bit of everything, from electro funk and indie folk to hip-hop and alternative R&B. But at first glance, the 2018 sideshows that stick out the most to us include the following: Chromeo at the El Rey Theatre, St. Vincent at The Orpheum Theatre, Perfume Genius (with Big Thief) at the Mayan, Fleet Foxes at the Warner Grand Theater, Tash Sultana at the Fox Theater Pomona, The Drums & Alvvays co-headlining (with Fazerdaze) at Pappy and Harriet’s, alt-J (with BØRNS) at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Migos at The Observatory, A Perfect Circle at The Arlington Theatre, Japanese Breakfast (with Snail Mail) at The Roxy, The War on Drugs at the Fox Theater Pomona, Jungle at Pappy and Harriet’s, Soulwax at The Fonda Theatre, 6lack at The Novo and Portugal. The Man (with Chicano Batman and Deap Vally) at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

Tickets for most of the sideshows go on sale here this Friday, February 16th at Noon PT with the rest of them available on Friday, February 23rd at Noon PT or Friday, March 2nd at Noon PT.

Goldenvoice

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Goldenvoice reveals 2017 Coachella sideshows

February 13, 2017 by 4 Comments

Goldenvoice Presents: April 2017

We’re already six weeks into 2017, and for many music fans residing in California, that means Coachella isn’t all that far away. But while much of the talk around this year’s lineup has been centered on Beyoncé’s debut and more recently her pregnant-with-twins news (the jury is still out on whether it will put a wrench in her plans to perform both weekends), Goldenvoice has turned a good portion of April into a long stretch of top-notch shows, similar to what Red Bull Sound Select has done in November with its month-long “30 Days in LA” series that last year included artists like Nick Murphy (formerly Chet Faker), YG, Jhené Aiko, AlunaGeorge, Pusha T and Isaiah Rashad (look back at our coverage here).

Much like in 2016, Goldenvoice has once again released a list of sideshows that will take place at venues in the greater Los Angeles area, with a select few extending into Orange County (at The Observatory and Constellation Room), Santa Barbara County (at the Santa Barbara Bowl) and the desert (at Pappy and Harriet’s).

Florida emcee Denzel Curry will kick off the festivities on Friday, April 7th at The Glass House before LA outfit Chicano Batman close things out at the same venue on Saturday, April 29th. In between those gigs, Sampha, Banks, Jack Garratt, Crystal Castles, Francis and the Lights, Bishop Briggs, SOHN, Oh Wonder, Future Islands, Little Dragon (with Sophie Tukker), The Head and the Heart, Joseph, Kaytranada, Banks & Steelz, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Nicolas Jaar, Car Seat Headrest (with Preoccupations), Bonobo, Mura Masa (with Kamaiyah), DJ Shadow, Breakbot, Blossoms, New Order (with Poliça), Hinds (with Twin Peaks), Bonobo, Galantis, Local Natives (with Tennis), S U R V I V E, The Avalanches, Glass Animals (with Little Dragon and/or Jagwar Ma), Empire of the Sun (with Broods), Tacocat, Bastille, Roisin Murphy, Whitney, Lil Uzi Vert, Mitski, Röyksopp, Future Islands, Pond (with Ezra Furman), Moderat, Swet Shop Boyz, Floating Points (Live), HONNE (with Arkells), Daphini, Jai Wolf, Guided by Voices and Phantogram will all perform — some even more than once — inside and/or outside of LA’s city limits.

Furthermore, British independent record label Young Turks will host a special showcase for its roster of artists with performances by Ben UFO, Four Tet, Francis and the Lights, Jamie xx, Kamaiyah, Sampha and special guest PNL in Palm Springs on Thursday, April 13th. Check out the full list of sideshows in the poster above.

It’s hard to believe that Goldenvoice has found a way to top their efforts from a year ago, but the renowned concert promoter has managed to do just that. This year’s Coachella sideshows are jam-packed with alternative-electronic and indie-rock acts, with Nicolas Jaar’s headlining performance at Pappy and Harriet’s alongside Floating Points (Live) and Pond as well as Future Islands’ date at The Glass House featuring support from Car Seat Headrest as two of the bigger highlights — and no doubt there are plenty on this bill. Yet, one of the most enticing pairings has to be the Glass Animals-Little Dragon-Jagwar Ma one that’s slated to take over the Santa Barbara Bowl, arguably our favorite venue in Southern California, on Saturday, April 23rd.

Tickets for most of the sideshows go on sale here this Friday, February 17th at Noon PT with the rest of them available Friday, February 24th at Noon PT or Friday, March 3rd at Noon PT.

Goldenvoice

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Goldenvoice announces 2016 Coachella sideshows

January 25, 2016 by 1 Comment

Coachella 2016 sideshows

Each and every April, Goldenvoice puts on a number of sideshows all around Southern California in support of the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

2016 will be no different, and the renowned concert promoter has unveiled its list of shows that will take place at various venues in and out of the greater Los Angeles area, one of which includes the rustic, Westernized Pappy & Harriet’s in little-ole Pioneertown near Joshua Tree.

The sideshows will kick off on Friday, March 25th in LA at the El Rey Theatre, where London electronic music producer Sophie will take the stage, and will continue through Monday, April 25th with Years & Years headlining The Fonda Theatre. In between those, Goldenvoice will welcome performances by Goldroom, Courtney Barnett, Silversun Pickups (with FOALS), Mbongwana Star, Bob Moses, Savages, AlunaGeorge, The Kills (with The Big Pink), Skepta, Rhye (with Ibeyi), AlunaGeorge, M83, The Arcs, Rancid, The 1975, James Bay, Beach House, Museum of Love, Christine and the Queens, Death Grips, Miike Snow, The Heavy, The Front Bottoms, The Last Shadow Puppets, Deerhunter (with Unknown Mortal Orchestra), Matt & Kim, Of Monsters and Men, Lapsley, St. Germain, Ex Hex, Snakehips, Grimes, The Damned, Nosaj Thing, BADBADNOTGOOD, Parov Stelar and more. Check out the full list of sideshows in the poster above.

As in past years, these sideshows will extend outside of LA’s city limits, with The Glass House and The Fox Theater in Pomona once again playing host to quite a few of them in addition to the aforementioned Pappy & Harriet’s. April 14th’s pairing of Silversun Pickups and FOALS on the night before Coachella Weekend 1, for example, looks particularly appealing, while The Kills’ April 18th date at the Mayan Theater with The Big Pink and LA Witch stands out as one of our other must-see shows on Goldenvoice’s lineup. Of course, there’s also Miike Snow at The Fonda Theatre on April 20th and BADBADNOTGOOD, one of our favorites from FYF Fest (read our review here) last year, hitting The Roxy Theatre on April 22nd. Much like Coachella and its own lineup, there’s a lot to choose from here, though that’s not exactly a bad problem to have if you’re a live music fan in Southern California.

Tickets for most of the sideshows go on sale here this Friday, January 29th at Noon PT or next Friday, February 5th at Noon PT.

Goldenvoice

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