Goldroom – Showbams

SF Show of the Week: GO4FREE to Goldroom’s High Seas Boat Tour feat. GIGAMESH & more 7/14 (SAT)

July 12, 2018 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Written by Molly Kish //

Goldroom presents High Seas Boat Tour feat. GIGAMESH, LUXXURY, MANICS
Pier 3 – San Francisco
July 14th, 2018 //

Los Angeles-based songwriter and electronic musician Goldroom sets sail on the SF Bay this Saturday for his High Seas Boat Tour and is bringing some of the biggest names in nu-disco, house and funk along with him on the open sea for four hours.

No stranger to nautical adventures, Josh Legg, better known by his stage name Goldroom, is a longtime sailor who has mentioned extensively that his passion for the ocean has influenced not only the style of his music, but also the sounds he likes to create in the studio. Captaining this lineup of electronic instrumentalists, the Massachusetts native and USC alumnus writes compositions deeply rooted in the West Coast scene, drawing inspiration from classic disco, funk, synthwave and pop.

GIGAMESH, LUXXURY and MANICS will also hop on board to offer a mix of indie-dance jams, dub remixes, and live percussion, modulation and visuals. While all three have already made names for themselves as multi-platinum-selling artists, dublab radio hosts and staples in the global club and festival scene, their ability to rock a dance floor, whether on land or water, is indisputable by now.

Summertime in the Bay Area has come early, and the High Seas Boat Tour is cruising into the season in style. With tickets nearly sold out, you’re not going to want to miss out on this one-of-a-kind dance party. Tickets are still available for $65, or you could win a pair of tickets by submitting your full name and email below.

Contest ends this Friday at 3 p.m.

Enter your name (First and Last) along with your email below. If you win a contest, you’ll be notified on the day the contest ends (details above).

Doors at 5 p.m. Boat sets sail at 6 p.m. (must board by 5:59) and docks at 9 p.m. 21+ only.

CONTEST CLOSED.

Like Showbams on Facebook, follow Showbams on Twitter and follow Showbams on Instagram. Subscribe to our social channels for a better chance to win!

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: dublab, Gigamesh, Goldroom, High Seas Boat Tour, High Seas Boat Tour 2018, High Seas Tour, High Seas Tour 2018, High Seas Tour 2018 San Francisco, LUXXURY, MANICS, Pier 3

Outside Lands 2017: Our 10th anniversary awards

August 28, 2017 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Photos by Marc Fong & James Pawlish // Written by Kevin Quandt & Molly Kish //

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 11th-13th, 2017 //

Outside Lands celebrated its 10th anniversary this August, and it was a weekend that we can definitively say had its share of ups, downs and unexpected twists. While many found plenty to gripe about, some took away a more positive experience, proving that music festivals and live music events are truly unpredictable even when you have some of the best in business at the helm. That said, the increasingly over-inflated market of music festivals right now can be volatile and may not be a cakewalk for concert promoters as more and more folks are drawn to large-scale events such as Lollapalooza, Coachella and Outside Lands.

Some stated that the 2017 edition of OSL lacked fireworks when the lineup dropped. Others said the lineup catered closer to the 25-35 demographic. There was no lack of opinions with regard to the acts that Another Planet Entertainment and Superfly booked, but it was clear they did have a vision and a bill that stood apart from the pack with a rare group of festival legends in The Who, Gorillaz and Metallica. Below those names led to further intrigue with the return of Queens of the Stone Age, Fleet Foxes and A Tribe Called Quest after a multiyear absence from the live arena.

But many now know that two out of those three sub-headliners were unable to perform for one reason or another, and while these sorts of things are generally out of anyone’s hands, they still take a toll on everyone involved in the days, hours and even minutes leading up to those highly anticipated sets. Alas, when you have such festival production pros who were backed by three insanely spot-on headliners, these bumps in the road can create something different than initially intended, yet equally satisfying.

So, without further ado, here are our awards from the 2017 edition of Outside Lands.

Gorillaz

Best three-time OSL performer: Hamilton Leithauser
One highlight this year was the debut of Hamilton Leithauser’s solo act on the Sutro Stage. Having played the festival in 2008 and 2012 with his primary outfit, The Walkmen, his set marked the rare occasion of an artist performing at Outside Lands for the third time, and while Leithauser did have to battle some minor sound issues, he rallied past them like the consummate professional that he is. Short of “Alexandra”, Leithauser exclusively dug into tracks from his collaborative album with fellow New Yorker Rostam Batmanglij (formerly of Vampire Weekend) by the name of I Had a Dream That You Were Mine. The spirited crooner still remains at the top of his game, and his vocal performance can’t be rivaled by even the best. One can only hope that this will not be Leithauser’s final time onstage at OSL as fans clamor to know what’s next from this crooning, indie god. -KQ

Best cameo’d performance of the weekend: Gorillaz
Easily one of the most anticipated acts of the weekend, Gorillaz’s Humanz tour made its West Coast debut on Day 1 at OSL. After a six-year hiatus, expectations ran extremely high for this headlining performance. On previous tours, the band’s members had played second fiddle to the cartoon projections of their alter egos onstage, but everyone was visible this time around. Several collaborators from Gorillaz’s previous albums, including Kali Uchis, Yukimi Nagano and Del the Funky Homosapien, came out to join them, and the Damon Albarn-led group still pulled some even bigger surprises with cameos appearances from De la Soul and Pusha T. The two-hour set also saw Little Simz deliver a blistering performance of “Garage Palace” as well as a string of radio hits that included “Feel Good Inc.”, Clint Eastwood” and “Demon Daze”. With longtime fans and a new generation of contemporaries on hand, there was something truly special about seeing a packed crowd sing along with some cartoon legends. -MK

Best reason to sit in Golden Gate Park with your friends and listen to music: Real Estate
Real Estate continue to tour off this year’s stellar LP release, In Mind, and they demonstrated their live prowess at OSL with a sphincter-tight set of jangle pop. “Stained Glass” got the show started for the rather sizable crowd, which only grew over their allotted time. The Sutro Stage has become an ideal locale for mellower acts to play for slightly-more-seated audiences, and this set felt more loungey than others even though fan favorites “It’s Real” and “Green Aisles” punctuated a strong, breezy performance from Martin Courtney, Alex Bleeker and crew. -KQ

Most in need of performance pointers: KAYTRANADA
KAYTRANADA’s debut LP 99.9% was a highlight from 2016, and the Canadian producer has been continuing his victory lap with banner festival sets all around the world. While there’s no denying the infectious nature of his tracks like “Glowed Up” and “Got It Good” in a large-group setting, we yearn to get a little more out KAYTRA when he’s onstage. To be fair, he has loosened up a little and will toss a quick little dance move or hand gesture, but he still really doesn’t engage his audience much, whether it’s in the intimate confines of Mezzanine or in front of 25,000 strong at Outside Lands’ Twin Peaks Stage. Kay, like many others, was pretty stoked for A Tribe Called Quest to follow, but we all know how that ended. -KQ

Cage the Elephant

Next “big” rock headliner (TIE): Cage the Elephant and Royal Blood
While the cancellation of Queens of the Stone Age was a blow a week prior to the event, the replacement that was lined up more than delivered a blistering set of rock ‘n’ roll. Cage the Elephant are now being widely considered festival-headliner material, and frontman Matt Shultz is making a strong claim for that accolade as he continues to elevate his stage act to near-Mick Jagger levels of pomp and energy. “Come a Little Closer” and “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” received hearty sing-alongs from a decidedly youthful crowd as Cage have become a favorite of Generation Z.

But Cage did have some competition at OSL, and these guys are moving at a helluva pace for the crown. Royal Blood have been one of the hottest rock acts over the past few years. I mean, their first single wasn’t even released four years ago. Royal Blood quickly rose to fame in the UK, then set their sights on Europe and lately have become the new darlings of alt-rock radio here in the U.S. with one of their newest singles, “Lights Out”. The bass-and-drums duo make a serious racket for only two blokes onstage, but they put on a show that rivals any full-band act with four or five members. Similar to Cage, the kiddos were swirling up a decent little pit in front of the stage while Mike Kerr belted out an impressive setlist with minimal effort and contributed to the low end in a serious manner. -KQ

Best use of Thai funk in a group setting: Khruangbin
Sure, many think K-bin (short for “Khruangbin”) have Thai origins with their Thai name (which means “airplane”) and their Thai funk-infused groove rock. But this rising trio that met and formed in Texas have steadily built a following based around an infectious sound that feels home both on the dance floor and at the lounge. Mark Speer on guitar is a phenom to behold; his playing style, coupled with his tone, has a true lyrical quality that’s perfect for the trio, which opted to not have a lead vocalist. It was clear that the band, like many fans in attendance, were bummed about ATCQ’s sudden cancellation, so they decided to bring one of their classics, “Electric Relaxation”, to life as drummer Donald Johnson delivered the chorus. Many chuckled and grooved to the track before the band jumped back into a set that featured “Mr. White” and “The Infamous Bill”. We can only hope a sophomore LP is not too far off. -KQ

Best use of a festival billing for a greater purpose: Solange
After a weekend marred with schedule changes and cancellations, Solange was the festival’s saving grace on Day 3. Despite starting 15-20 minutes late, she descended upon the glowing stage in a choreographed flight pattern, followed by her backing band and team of dancers, and segued directly into a soulful montage of hits from 2016’s A Seat at the Table, extending each breakdown with some interpretive dance routines. An outstanding cover of Thundercat’s “Heartbreaks + Setbacks” was seamlessly woven midway into her set before leading into an all-out dance party with deep cuts from her 2012 LP True. Solange then took a minute to touch upon the events that were happening concurrently in Charlottesville. As the only artist on the OSL bill to do so, she addressed the tragedy and utilized the stage as a final public platform before deleting her Twitter account the next day. The evening ended in dramatic fashion with the power getting shut off and the performance concluding with the crowd singing the lyrics to “Rise” in the dark. -MK

Outside Lands 2017 - Belle and Sebastian

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festival Reviews, Festivals Tagged With: A Tribe Called Quest, Above & Beyond, Action Bronson, Alt-J, Belle and Sebastian, Bleachers, Bomba Estéreo, Cage the Elephant, Dawes, Del The Funky Homosapien, Dr. Octagon, Electric Guest, Empire of the Sun, Fleet Foxes, Foxygen, Future Islands, GastroMagic, Golden Gate Park, Goldroom, Gorillaz, Hamilton Leithauser, Heineken Dome, How to Dress Well, Hundred Waters, James Vincent McMorrow, k.flay, Kali Uchis, Kaytranada, Khruangbin, Little Dragon, Lorde, Louis the Child, Maggie Rogers, Metallica, MUNA, Music Festival Outside Lands Music Festival 2017, Noname, Outside Lands, Outside Lands 2017, Outside Lands Music Festival, Outside Lands Music Festival 2017, Queens of the Stone Age, RAC, Rag'n'Bone Man, Real Estate, Rebelution, Rostam, Rostam Batmanglij, Royal Blood, S U R V I V E, Schoolboy Q, Shovels & Rope, Sleigh Bells, Sofi Tukker, SOHN, Solange, Temples, The Avett Brothers, The Lemon Twigs, The Who, Thundercat, Tove Lo, Vampire Weekend, Vance Joy, Warpaint, Young The Giant

Outside Lands 2017: Top 5 things to see, eat & drink

August 10, 2017 by Kevin J Quandt Leave a Comment

Photo by James Pawlish // Written by Kevin Quandt //

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 11th-13th, 2017 //

Outside Lands returns this weekend for its 10th anniversary, and to get you ready for three fun-filled days in Golden Gate Park, we’ve outlined our top sets that you won’t want to miss, this year’s biggest scheduling conflicts, some potential guest appearances and the very best beverages to drink.

Also, don’t forget to create your own schedule here, and enter for a chance to GO4FREE to XXYYXX’s show this Saturday, August 12th at a secret location here.

TOP SETS NOT TO MISS

A Tribe Called Quest: While we see how this may be a controversial choice to top this list with the untimely passing of founding member Phife Dawg, it appears this may be the final time the Bay, or even the U.S., get to see the legendary hip-hop group perform. The group’s FYF Fest and Panorama performances featured multiple references to being the final ATCQ shows in those cities, so all the chatter about how extensive this “farewell tour” will be has reached a fevered pitch. Pro (Q)tip: Wanna hear Tribe’s popular hits? They’ll be featured at the end of their set.

Lorde: Sure, she has found herself toward the top of many festival lineups this year, and for good reason, as Lorde is one of the most popular artists out there right now, and her latest release Melodrama will surely be in top contention for Album of the Year. At only the age of 20, the singer’s recent sophomore success has also translated to the stage in impressive ways and will surely satiate the 18-25 demographic before The Who close out the event on Sunday.

Royal Blood: The unfortunate cancellation of Queens of the Stone Age has put a dampening on fans of all things rock, especially since Saturday was stacked in said department. Though some will be pleased with Cage the Elephant as the replacement, it does leave a glaring gap for many hoping to get another hour-plus of fist-banging rock and f’in roll. So, let’s longingly look to the upstart UK hard-rock duo that continues to make waves across the global festival circuit and delivers some amalgamation of Muse and The Black Keys. Expect to hear a solid smattering of tracks from their most excellent recent release How Did We Get So Dark?

Fleet Foxes: Has it really been six years since Robin Pecknold and band last played the Bay Area? Yup! A lot has changed in those years, but thankfully they are still producing their own unique brand of cool-kid folk and should fit in nicely for their premier performance in Golden Gate Park. We’ll be hearing many tracks for the first time live to go along with a different band lineup onstage. While no one who attends the event ever wishes for Karl the Fog, he could fit semi-decently into this set like during Sigur Rós in 2012.

The Who: The legendary rock bands of our parents’ generation are quickly folding up shop and The Who may be the next to wave a fond farewell. While many attendees have griped in various online forums about this closing headline slot, it seems only fitting considering that Sunday has become the fest’s more legacy-leaning day. Roger Daltery and Pete Townsend are backed by a killer band and have been churning out enigmatic setlists the past few years, so expect to hear all your favorites with a few rare gems.

SCHEDULING CONFLICTS, THOUGHTS & QUERIES

Friday

• Sub-headliner jumble: End of ATCQ vs. Future Islands vs. beginning of Fleet Foxes.

• alt-J vs. Gorillaz: There’s likely a fair amount of fan crossover between these two acts.

• “Bouncin’ for Beignets” moves to Friday afternoon from its previous weekend mid-day slot.

Saturday

• Royal Blood vs S U R V I V E: Seems like an odd conflict, but these artists are playing their first OSL this year and are some of 2017’s most buzzy acts.

• Anyone else notice that two-hour-and-35-minute gap after Kaytranada and Empire of the Sun? We did, too. Our bet is we’ll be getting either an EDM or hip-hop late addition. Does Afrojack fly up from Vegas for the day?

Sunday

• Solange will now be closing the Sutro stage. We surmise her set was on Saturday after Kaytranada before the shift.

• The Heineken Dome has a mystery set scheduled from 5:10-5:40 p.m. that’s billed as a “Pop-Up Guest Performance.” Our bet is DJ Qbert gets this slot as he’ll be onsite for his GastroMagic set earlier in the day.

• This will be the first time Another Planet has put three acts against each other in the form of The Who, Solange and Above & Beyond.

POTENTIAL GUEST APPEARANCES

• Little Dragon vocalist Yukimi Nagano comes out with Kaytranada to perform “BULLETS”.

• Lady Gaga with Metallica … remember this year’s Grammys?

• Del the Funky Homosapien joining Gorillaz for “Clint Eastwood”. He’ll be at the GastroMagic stage the next day for Kimchi 3030.

• Kali Uchis and Rag’n’Bone Man joining Gorillaz for their Humanz tracks.

BEST BEVERAGES TO DRINK

Fort Point Beer Company: Fort Point has been making waves from their Presidio location over the past few years but has recently started to see the brand grow out from the Bay. Their flagships Villager, a West Coast IPA, and KSA, a Kölsch style ale, will surely please the palate whether we get a typical foggy summer day or are blessed with clear skies.

Whitechapel (Cocktail Magic): You like gin? Yeah, us too. Well, all us are in for a treat as SF’s hottest gin bar will be serving up a few of their signature cocktails in the Mclaren Pass section of the fest. While it’s unlikely they’ll schlep over all 400 varieties of gin they offer at their Tenderloin brick-and-mortar, they’ll certainly offer some of the most complex cocktails offered at any major U.S. music festival.

Bushido’s “Way of the Warrior”: OSL wine curator Peter Eastlake knows his stuff, and while winos will find many of their favorites, it’s this sake debut that makes us a little excited. The can graphics feature some rad little samurai fox character while the contents display notes of raspberry and watermelon rind with a spicy finish. I mean, sake in a can? Yeah, I’ll take two … and arigatou.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: A Tribe Called Quest, Above & Beyond, Action Bronson, Alt-J, Belle and Sebastian, Bleachers, Bomba Estéreo, Cage the Elephant, Dawes, Del The Funky Homosapien, Dr. Octagon, Electric Guest, Empire of the Sun, Fleet Foxes, Foxygen, Future Islands, GastroMagic, Golden Gate Park, Goldroom, Gorillaz, Hamilton Leithauser, Heineken Dome, How to Dress Well, Hundred Waters, James Vincent McMorrow, k.flay, Kali Uchis, Kaytranada, Khruangbin, Little Dragon, Lorde, Louis the Child, Maggie Rogers, Metallica, MUNA, Music Festival Outside Lands Music Festival 2017, Noname, Outside Lands, Outside Lands 2017, Outside Lands Music Festival, Outside Lands Music Festival 2017, Queens of the Stone Age, RAC, Rag'n'Bone Man, Real Estate, Rebelution, Rostam, Rostam Batmanglij, Royal Blood, S U R V I V E, Schoolboy Q, Shovels & Rope, Sleigh Bells, Sofi Tukker, SOHN, Solange, Temples, The Avett Brothers, The Lemon Twigs, The Who, Thundercat, Tove Lo, Vampire Weekend, Vance Joy, Warpaint, Young The Giant

Outside Lands reveals its 2017 schedule

August 1, 2017 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 11th-13th, 2017 //

One day after Outside Lands announced some stunning news that Saturday sub-headliner Queens of the Stone Age will not be performing this year “due to injury” (and then quickly replaced them with Cage the Elephant), the three-day festival has unveiled what every live music fan clamors for … set times!

Take a peek at the festival’s 2017 schedule for its 10th anniversary here and start making your plans for which artists you’ll be seeing at Golden Gate Park this August.

Of course, when it comes to scheduling conflicts, this year — just like every year at Outside Lands — isn’t void of them. For starters, festivalgoers on Friday will have to choose between Electric Guest/Tove Lo, Fleet Foxes/Future Islands and Gorillaz/alt-J, and that’s just Day 1.

Meanwhile, Saturday sees Warpaint and The Lemon Twigs pitted up against one another, along with Dawes vs. Thundercat, Royal Blood vs. S U R V I V E, Vance Joy vs. Kaytranada, Cage the Elephant vs. Foxygen, and Metallica vs. Empire of the Sun. Plus, there’s this …

The question is, who will it be? Our money is on an EDM act (i.e. Afrojack, A-Trak, Tiësto), considering the festival has barely any superstar DJs performing this year besides English progressive-trance trio Above & Beyond, but anything’s still possible with a little less than two weeks to go.

And finally, Sunday offers its own set of difficult choices, with Bleachers and Maggie Rogers scheduled only 20 minutes apart (as well as James Vincent McMorrow and Sofi Tukker) and The Who, Solange and Above & Beyond all performing at the same time as they close down the fest.

But with so many quality options from top to bottom, you really can’t go wrong. So, keep that in mind when you’re stressing over who you should see. Whatever you do though, make sure to pick up a comfortable pair of running shoes before heading to the park and download the mobile app here.

Pumped for Outside Lands? Go back in time and check out our coverage from 2016 here.

Outside Lands reveals 2017 lineup, headlined by Metallica, The Who & Gorillaz

April 4, 2017 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 11th-13th, 2017 //

Outside Lands is going BIG for its 10th anniversary.

The three-day music festival returns to Golden Gate Park this August with a lineup for the ages, headlined by Metallica, The Who and Gorillaz. All three headliners were mentioned among our OSL predictions this year, with Metallica pretty much becoming a sure bet last week after Ranger Dave’s not-so-subtle tweet.

Natives of the Bay, Metallica have been on the road in support of their 10th LP Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, and their headlining set at Outside Lands will come toward the tail end of their North American tour during a string of West Coast shows. The Who, on the other hand, have only a limited number of 2017 gigs planned right now, culminating with a six-night residency in Las Vegas that concludes on Friday, August 11th. With that said, we know then that Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and company will perform at OSL on Saturday or Sunday, with the latter being all the more likely. The festival, after all, has been known to schedule its “older” headliners for the Sunday night slot a la Lionel Ritchie (2016), Elton John (2015), Tom Petty (2014), Paul McCartney (2013) and Stevie Wonder (2012), and we expect The Who to get the same kind of treatment in 2017.

But for Gorillaz fans in the U.S., Outside Lands could be the one place to see the band perform this summer. The festival is one of two North American dates for the Damon Albarn-led group, which headlines its own Demon Dayz Festival in June before making a stop at Festival d’été de Québec in Quebec City a month later. The same could even be said for sub-headliner Queens of the Stone Age, considering that OSL is their first scheduled North American show this year. The same, however, definitely can’t be said for Lorde, who is making the festival rounds with Coachella, JazzFest, Governor’s Ball, FPSF, Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, Rock Werchter, OpenAir St. Gallen, Fuji Rock, Lollapalooza, Osheaga and now OSL all on her current tour schedule.

Other standout acts lined up for OSL this year include A Tribe Called Quest, alt-J, Above & Beyond, Fleet Foxes, Empire of the Sun, The Avett Brothers, Belle and Sebastian, Solange, Future Islands, ScHoolboy Q, Young the Giant, Rebelution, Vance Joy, Tove Lo, Bleachers, Little Dragon, Kaytranada, Action Bronson, Sleigh Bells, Royal Blood, Shovels & Rope, Dr. Octagon, Louis the Child, Thundercat, Dawes, Warpaint, Rag’n’Bone Man, Bomba Estéreo, Temples, Real Estate, RAC, James Vincent McMorrow, K.Flay, MUNA, Hamilton Leithauser, Sofi Tukker, Maggie Rogers, Foxygen, Goldroom, SOHN, Electric Guest, How to Dress Well, Hundred Waters, Noname and many more. Check out the poster above for the rest of this year’s bill.

Boasting six consecutive sellouts to date, Outside Lands is sure to do the same in 2017 and will once again include a full lineup of comedy performances in addition to its famed Beer Lands, Wine Lands and Choco Lands + Cheese Lands. Of course, you’d have a tough time finding much better food and drink at a music festival than what Outside Lands offers.

If you missed out on Eager Beaver tickets last Thursday, you can buy Outside Lands tickets starting this Thursday, April 6th at 10 a.m. It’s worth mentioning, though, that with the new lineup also comes increased ticket prices. Three-day GA passes are up to $375 and three-day VIP passes have climbed to $795. Shuttle passes and parking passes, meanwhile, will be sold for $48 and $255, respectively. And though the festival makes no mention of it yet, single-day tickets are usually sold at a later time.

UPDATE (June 6th): Outside Lands has unveiled its daily lineups for 2017, and not to pat ourselves on the back, but our predictions for which days the festival’s headliners would perform were right on point, with Gorillaz performing Friday, Metallica storming the stage Saturday and The Who closing things down Sunday. Check out the daily schedules below before single-day tickets go on sale this Thursday, June 8th at 10 a.m. PT.

UPDATE (July 31st): Outside Lands has announced that Queens of the Stone Age, after all, will not perform this year “due to injury” and have been replaced by Cage the Elephant. No details on the “injury” have been released at this time.

Due to injury, Queens of the Stone Age's previously announced appearance August 12 at Outside Lands has been cancelled.

— Outside Lands Help (@outsidelands411) July 31, 2017

Queens apologize for any inconvenience & we look forward to returning to the Bay Area at a later date. https://t.co/mPYv68KRod

— QOTSA (@qotsa) July 31, 2017

JUST ANNOUNCED: Cage The Elephant are performing at @outsidelandssf in San Francisco on August 12th. 🎟️👉 https://t.co/lPDUFeqHZo #ol10 pic.twitter.com/NsnYoJNW4x

— Cage The Elephant (@CageTheElephant) July 31, 2017

UPDATE (August 1st): The festival has revealed the schedule for its 10th edition. Take a peek here and start mapping out who you’ll be seeing at Golden Gate Park.

Can’t wait for Outside Lands’ 10th edition? Check out our coverage from 2016 here.

Goldenvoice announces 2016 Coachella sideshows

January 25, 2016 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

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.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: AlunaGeorge, BADBADNOTGOOD, Beach House, Bob Moses, Christine and the Queens, Coachella, Coachella 2016, Coachella 2016 sideshows, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Coachella sideshows, Courtney Barnett, Death Grips, Deerhunter, El Rey Theatre, Ex Hex, FOALS, Goldenvoice, Goldroom, Grimes, Ibeyi, James Bay, Lapsley, M83, Matt & Kim, Mbongwana Star, Miike Snow, Museum of Love, Nosaj Thing, Of Monsters and Men, Parov Stelar, Rancid, Rhye, Savages, Silversun Pickups, Skepta, snakehips, St. Germain, The 1975, The Arcs, The Big Pink, The Damned, The Fonda Theatre, The Front Bottoms, The Heavy, The Kills, The Last Shadow Puppets, Unknown Mortal Orchestra

The 25 best live music acts of 2015

December 28, 2015 by The Bam Team 3 Comments

Around this time last year, we shared our 25 favorite live performers of 2014 after spending the past 12 months covering many excellent bands, musicians and DJs. So, with 2015 almost in the books, we thought we would give the same exercise another try, except this year, we made the call to exclude any artists we named in 2014. What fun would it really be to list them two years in a row anyway?

In the end, it wasn’t an easy task whittling down our list to 25, but some tough decisions had to be made. Those who didn’t make the cut but still deserve to be mentioned here include the following artists and bands (in alphabetical order) who we either covered at their own show and/or at a music festival this year:

AlunaGeorge, Ariel Pink, BADBADNOTGOOD, Bad Religion, Battles, Beirut, Belle and Sebastian, Big Grams, Billy Idol, Black Lips, The Black Keys, Blonde Redhead, BØRNS, BROODS, Built to Spill, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Chet Faker, Chromeo, City and Colour, Classixx, Cold War Kids, Dâm-Funk, Damien Rice, Death Cab for Cutie, Dengue Fever, Django Django, Dr. Dog, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Failure, The Flaming Lips, Flight Facilities, Goldroom, Glen Hansard, The Glitch Mob, Gorgon City, Holly Herndon, Interpol, Israel Nash, James Bay, Jeff Tweedy, Jenny Lewis, The Jesus and Mary Chain, JMSN, Jose Gonzalez, Jurassic 5, Kanye West, Kindness, King Tuff, Marina and the Diamonds, Miami Horror, Milky Chance, Modest Mouse, Morrissey, MS MR, Les Sins, Lotus, Natalie Prass, Neon Indian, ODESZA, Of Montreal, Oneohtrix Point Never, Panda Bear, Penguin Prison, Phantogram, Portugal. The Man, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Purity Ring, Ratatat, Royal Blood, San Fermin, Shlohmo, Slow Magic, SOHN, St. Paul and The Broken Bones, STRFKR, Surfer Blood, Talib Kweli, Tame Impala, Tennis, Toro y Moi, Tycho, Umphrey’s McGee, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Vintage Trouble, Vulfpeck, Widespread Panic, YACHT.

Now, without further ado, The Bam Team presents our 25 favorite live performers of 2015.

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2015

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2015:

25. Lord Huron

The audience reacted with just as much enthusiasm during classic Lord Huron tunes as they did in hearing brand-new material, especially during fan favorites like “She Lit a Fire” and back-to-back rockabilly-tinged jams “The World Ender” and “Fool for Love”. At this point, the crowd had not only warmed up to Lord Huron’s infectious stage presence, but also gave into their buoyant vibes as mini dance parties broke out throughout the venue. -Molly Kish, photo by Steve Carlson

24. Puscifer

Maynard James Keenan and friends have established themselves as not just a group of musicians who play songs on stage, but rather an assemblage of entertainers that provide their viewers and fans with something they may not have ever seen before — a true experience. Paying homage to the likes of Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd and the glory days of the rock opera, Puscifer have a very special way of combining their music with a stage show that offers so much more than just music. -Scotland Miller, photo by Mike Rosati

23. Viet Cong

Once the appetizer had been digested, Viet Cong were taking the stage and beginning a theme of quirky banter that eased the crowd into the blistering set as opposed to bombardment. Within the first few chords, it was evident that continued time on the road found the band at the peak of perfection. -Kevin Quandt, photo by Diana Cordero

22. Kate Tempest

This decade will likely be known for the death of “genre,” the end of how groups have been contained into categories like R&B or rap since the birth of record labels. And with dance music on the rise, digitized conventions are creeping into pop, rap and indie music on the regular. With music more accessible than ever and for free, listeners are willing to experiment with their auditory material — and amalgamation is the natural result. Tempest represents this change as much or more than anyone as we enter the smack-dab middle of this decade. And that includes Kanye West, Sylvan Esso or Run the Jewels. -Mike Frash, photo by James Nagel

21. Deerhunter

Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox talked about how he decided on the way over to the island that he wouldn’t play many songs, how he took ayahuasca on Saturday night in LA and he was surprised at how reserved the TIMF audience was. He said we were “polite like the Japanese.” Bradford, that’s what we call “respect” — and you’ve earned it. -Mike Frash, photo by Marc Fong

20. Faith No More

It can be hard to know what to expect from a crew like Faith No More and their eccentric, yet prolific members. The entire stage was dressed in white, from the curtains to the amplifiers to the mic stands. Lining the entire length of the stage and any flat surface that would support them were thousands of dollars worth of beautiful, fresh flowers. The abundance of purples and pinks, reds and yellows created a very comfortable and soothing, yet incredibly eerie feeling as to what was about to happen next. Once the setup was complete and the lights dropped, the crowd was let in to the stark contrast that is the weird world of Faith No More. -Scotland Miller, photo by Greg Ramar

19. Sufjan Stevens

Stevens spoke of the need for community in the throes of grief, and the audience ably did their part to help him through this very public grieving process. At the end of the main set, a young woman crashed the stage to offer a bemused Sufjan something (a hug? words of love and encouragement?), and it seemed wholly appropriate, as if the audience needed in some small way to collectively reach out to the man after he bared his soul so openly. -Steve Carlson, photo by Steve Carlson

18. Allen Stone

In many ways, Stone’s ideological stance on technology shapes not only his set as a performer but also his fan base. Watching an Allen Stone show, one can feel certain that all pretenses will be left at the door and those surrounding you will be committing their full attention to the music. Midway through Stone’s set, the venue was completely under his charismatic spell. The audience actively followed the Seattle-born frontman’s lead as he prompted a group participation “2-step” and rolled through crowd favorites from his self-titled LP and latest album Radius. -Molly Kish, photo by Tom Dellinger

17. The Kills

Mosshart, tall and slender, strutted her way through just about all of it, displaying a bravado that exudes both sex and confidence, while Hince handled his axe like a bona fide rock star, eventually playing some slide guitar during the gritty, blues-infused track “Pots and Pans” that got the crowd roaring after it was over. After all, it’s that blues/garage-rock overlap, along with the chemistry exhibited between Mosshart and Hince onstage, that makes The Kills such a captivating rock ‘n’ roll act to see live these days. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt

16. The Chemical Brothers

Directly following their dramatic entrance to a recording of Junior Parker’s epic “Tomorrow Never Knows”, the duo kicked off their career-spanning set with crowd favorite “Hey Boy, Hey Girl” from 1999’s Surrender. They launched into a full-blown frenzy from that moment on, and the UK dance legends went hard (no pun intended) throughout the rest of their two-hour performance, debuting live remixes of new material from their 2015 release Born in the Echoes while interspersing nostalgia-inducing EDM classics off their seven previous albums. -Molly Kish, photo by Justin Yee

15. Eagles of Death Metal

EODM have the perfect style as a rock band, one that takes itself just seriously enough. As a whole, they are a hard, fast and tightly-wound production, with their silly lyrics and even sillier frontman bringing a perfect balance to what you want to see at a rock show. Closing with “Speaking in Tongues”, EODM walked off the stage at the Great American Music Hall knowing that they had accomplished what they came to do — to prove that rock ain’t dead. -Brett Ruffenach, photo by Mike Rosati

14. Florence + the Machine

Welch lapped around the inside ring of the bowl, stopping briefly at the sound stage. What a cool moment. -James Nagel, photo by James Nagel

13. Sturgill Simpson

Simpson has stage presence, that is without a doubt. The conviction of his voice bolsters his words as he describes a life of highs and lows, trials and tribulations. This was evident on renditions of songs like “Turtles All the Way Down”. If there is a song to capture your attention and convince you of Simpson’s talents as a songwriter, this is one of them. Just like that of his predecessors, he writes music that goes against the grain of popular country music. It may be defined as “outlaw country,” but I personally feel it is music that resonates with a wider audience than that of its counterparts. -Kory Thibeault, photo by Kory Thibeault