Lightning in a Bottle taps REZZ, SOFI TUKKER & ZHU as headliners for ‘transformational’ festival’s 20th anniversary in 2023

Lightning in a Bottle - 2023 lineup - Phase 1

Lightning in a Bottle //
Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area – Bakersfield, CA
May 24th-29th, 2023 //

Lightning in a Bottle, believe it or not, is turning 20 this year.

After 2022 marked its first installment in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic with Glass Animals, Kaytranada and GRiZ headlining, the “transformational” festival is back at it this Memorial Day weekend and ready to enter a third decade.

Sitting atop the poster for The Do LaB’s signature event will be three electronic heavyweights in REZZ, SOFI TUKKER and ZHU following its Phase 1 lineup announcement, but the undercard has more than enough dance-forward music to keep you moving and grooving into the early-morning hours, too.

Below the top line, some of the artists standing out at the Lightning Stage in 2023 include Phantogram, Tobe Nwigwe, 070 Shake, Caribou, DRAMA, Sampa the Great, MINDCHATTER, Uncle Waffles, Beats Antique and Ozomatli with Chali 2na & Cut Chemist. The Thunder Stage, meanwhile, has its own crop of acts worth highlighting here in Liquid Stranger, LSDREAM, TOKiMONSTA (DJ set), The Glitch Mob, LTJ Bukem with Armanni, MEUTE, Deathpact, The Polish Ambassador and The Floozies, yet so does the Woogie Stage with sets by Tale of Us, Diplo, Purple Disco Machine, Ben Böhmer, Stephan Bodzin (Live), Blond:ish, LP Giobbi, Giorgia Angiuli and more. Peep the poster above for the rest of the roster.

LIB has long been considered to be one of the country’s premier boutique festivals and a great way to cure any Coachella blues just one month later. Though there aren’t a lot of names — besides DRAMA — crossing over from the famed two-weekend, three-day extravaganza in the desert this April, both of them have previously shared the same electronic-leaning talent from RÜFÜS DU SOL, SG Lewis and Bob Moses to Four Tet, Bonobo and Tycho. Still, for as much as the music has been the main draw for fans over the last 10 years, promoting the ideals of sustainability, social cohesion, personal health and creative expression through art, yoga, workshops and speakers continues to play an essential part of the experience and The Do LaB’s overall mission since the very beginning.

GA and VIP tickets to LIB 2023 can be purchased here for $439 and $775, respectively, plus fees as well as car camping and parking passes. Group campsites in addition to admission for RVs and kids ages 1-17 will also be available, so feel free to bring the whole family to Buena Vista Lake for a long weekend of fun!

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Grand Artique

UPDATE (February 28th): The lineup for the Grand Artique stage has now been announced featuring performances by Band of Gringos, Bootleg Sunshine and more. You can find the rest of the scheduled acts in the poster above.

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - The Junkyard

UPDATE (March 2nd): Two days after telling us which artists will play the Grand Artique stage, the festival has shared the roster for The Junkyard with Ali Khalili, Armando Kroma and Beau Sebastian leading the way. See who else will be there in the poster above.

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Compass Music

UPDATE (March 7th): Feeling a little spiritual in 2023? LIB has revealed more of its Phase 2 lineup as LIGHTCODE by LSDREAM and Sunday Service with The Polish Ambassador lead the Compass Music stage with their ambient, chill vibes. Take a look at the poster above to familiarize yourself with the other artists on the bill.

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - The Stacks

UPDATE (March 9th): Hey, bass heads! The fest has dropped more music (like it’s hot) by delivering its roster for The Stacks that boasts The Gaslamp Killer and so much more, including special guests. Peek at the poster above for the full list of performers.

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Wednesday & Thursday

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Friday

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Saturday

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Sunday

UPDATE (March 14th): With 10 weeks to go before LIB’s 20th anniversary, daily lineups have officially arrived. Scan the posters above for all of the acts taking the stage from Wednesday to Sunday.

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Wednesday & Thursday

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Friday

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Saturday

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Sunday

UPDATE (May 16th): LIB has released its set times as the 2023 edition quickly approaches, and while there are certainly some conflicts to work through, at least they’re giving you more than a week’s notice, right? Also, the music goes until 4 a.m. on Friday-Sunday so don’t forget to pace yourself if you’ll be at Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area next weekend. See more details above.

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - map

UPDATE (May 19th): Heading to LIB next weekend? Make sure to check out the festival map above before you get there!

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - High Noon Camp

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Sunrise Camp

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Sunset Camp

Lightning in a Bottle 2023 - Sunset Group Camp

UPDATE (May 22nd): More maps for all of your camping needs! If you’re going to LIB this weekend, take a closer look above at the four camping areas: High Noon Camp, Sunrise Camp, Sunset Group Camp or Sunset Camp. Also, those of you staying in an RV will be placed in the Sunrise Camp.

UPDATE (May 24th): Due to unforeseen circumstances, Berlin-based duo Tale of Us will not perform at LIB this weekend and will be replaced by British DJ Lee Burridge, who has been an LIB staple for years, on the Woogie Stage.

Dive back into our past coverage of LIB here.

Surprise! Coachella offers a big twist while revealing 2022 set times as Arcade Fire joins the party unexpectedly

Coachella 2022

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival //
Empire Polo Club – Indio, CA
April 15th-17th & April 22nd-24th, 2022 //

Well, Coachellans … if you thought last week’s news that saw Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd replace Ye (fka Kanye West) as Sunday’s headlining acts was the only change before you head out to the desert, think again.

The three-day, two-weekend music and arts festival has surprised us all in revealing set times for its 21st edition just a little more than 24 hours before it begins — the latest they have ever been released — and casually including Arcade Fire, which was not listed on the official lineup poster, at the Mojave Tent on Friday. If you’re hoping to catch what should be an epic performance from Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and company during “magic hour” and likely hear some new tunes off their upcoming sixth studio album WE that arrives in May, we would recommend getting there early before 6:45 p.m.

And while there are always hard decisions to make at Coachella, it only gets tougher with the Grammy-winning band added into the mix.

Don’t be shy, though … what’s your biggest conflict this year and who are you most excited for?

WEEKEND 1 SET TIMES

Coachella 2022 - Weekend 1 - Friday set times

Coachella 2022 - Weekend 1 - Saturday set times

Coachella 2022 - Weekend 1 - Sunday set times

UPDATE (April 16th): We’re only one day into Weekend 1, and there are already some shake-ups to the schedule starting with Madlib being unable to join Freddie Gibbs at the Gobi Stage due to personal reasons. Gibbs, nevertheless, will still perform solo at his scheduled start time of 9:35 p.m. Meanwhile over at the Sahara Tent a couple hours earlier, Tchami will now begin at 7:03 p.m. instead of 7:15 p.m. You can peep the latest set times for Saturday in the tweet above.

WEEKEND 2 SET TIMES

Coachella 2022 - Weekend 2 - Friday set times

Coachella 2022 - Weekend 2 - Saturday set times

Coachella 2022 - Weekend 2 - Sunday set times

Arcade Fire are most notably missing from the Weekend 2 set times, but that’s not the only change that stands out if you’re comparing them to Weekend 1. Besides some changes to the early-afternoon slots as well as slowthai moving up and The Marías moving back to compete with Grupo Firme for some odd reason, another notable adjustment is Run the Jewels moving to Friday at 8:10 p.m. in the Mojave Tent after taking the Coachella Stage on Sunday at 4:35 p.m. during Weekend 1.

And as we saw last weekend with Shaina Twain, Justin Bieber, Damon Albarn, Snoop Dogg, Post Malone, Diplo, Khalid, Tyga, Saweetie, Metro Boomin and more all making cameos, Coachella has become a breeding ground for live collaborations and special guests so we’ll see if Weekend 2 has more surprises in store for fans after a star-studded return to the polo fields.

MAP

Less than four hours before the gates officially open at the Empire Polo Club, Coachella has finally shared this year’s map and it looks a lot like what we saw in 2019. But one change to the map that sticks out is the relocation of the Yuma Tent, which has moved farther away from the main entrance (though only slightly) and closer to the 12 Peaks VIP section adjacent to the Coachella Stage. Also, there’s only one way to access the Sonora, Gobi and Mojave Tents now as compared to prior years when guests could walk directly from the Sahara Tent to any of them, and while that might create for less foot traffic in the area near The Do LaB Stage, it will be a longer walk than before.

Coachella has long been considered to be one of the world’s best-run music festivals (and rightfully so), yet with Goldenvoice running behind schedule this week on the release of set times and other pertinent information, we’ll see how smoothly things go after a three-year hiatus for the concert promoter.

Coachella 2022 - map

So whether you’ll be in Indio or watching the YouTube livestream on your couch, let’s hope there aren’t any other artists or bands canceling at the last minute.

Happy Coachella!

10 California music festivals you won’t want to miss in 2022

2022 California music festivalsWritten by Josh Herwitt //

With live music returning to stages across the U.S. during the second half of last year and spring now right around the corner, 2022 is shaping up to be a monumental year for the industry and a big reason for that is the comeback of the music festival. California has certainly played a major part in its revival coming out of a global pandemic, with a number of single-day and multi-day events already scheduled to take place up and down the Golden State over the next six-plus months. So, who’s ready for festival season to begin?

If you’re itching to hit a music festival, here are 10 in California you should save your cash for this year.


CRSSD Festival - Spring 2022 lineup

CRSSD Festival
Location: Waterfront Park – San Diego
Dates: March 5th-6th
Tickets: Buy them here!

One North American concert promoter who wasn’t deterred by the news surrounding the coronavirus’ omicron variant a few months ago happens to be FNGRS CRSSD, the San Diego-based brand that debuted CRSSD Festival back in 2015 and has been going strong ever since with a spring and fall edition of the event each year. Unleashing another electronic-leaning roster for its first installment in 2022 with Glass Animals and SOFI TUKKER as headliners, CRSSD has managed to hold tight with its plans. Four Tet, Get Real (Claude VonStroke and Green Velvet), Gorgon City, 070 Shake, Blu DeTiger, Cautious Clay, Chet Faker, Parcels, Franc Moody, Lastlings, SG Lewis and more stack the undercard.

READ MORE HERE


Smokin Groves Fest - 2022 lineup

Smokin Grooves Fest
Location: LA State Historic Park – Los Angeles
Dates: March 19th
Tickets: Buy them here!

Smookin Grooves’ lineup has easily matched what it offered fans in 2018 (read our review here) and 2019 (read our review here) after putting on excellent showings both years sheerly by landing Erykah Badu, Nas, The Roots, Miguel and Jhené Aiko to lead the charge. But adding The Internet, Flying Lotus, Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Smino, Toro y Moi, SiR, Little Dragon, Hiatus Kaiyote and more to the roster makes this another must-see production. The one-day fest is also getting a change of scenery as it relocates north to the 32-acre LA State Historic Park in the Chinatown neighborhood of downtown LA that once hosted FYF Fest and several HARD events.

READ MORE HERE


Coachella - 2022 lineup

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Location: Empire Polo Club – Indio, CA
Dates: April 15th-17th & April 22nd-24th
Tickets: Buy them here!

The three-day, two-weekend event is finally ready to give it another go in April after becoming one of the first large-scale music festivals in the U.S. to postpone its plans when the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm almost two years ago. Harry Styles and Billie Eilish will spearhead the 2022 lineup, with Swedish House Mafia back at Coachella for the first time in a decade since the electronic supergroup’s closing set on the main stage in 2012 and The Weeknd added late to help replace Ye (fka Kanye West). The famed California fest has had a penchant for booking more international acts — from BLACKPINK to Bad Bunny — in recent years, and 2022 will be no different.

READ MORE HERE


BeachLife Festival - 2022 lineup

BeachLife Festival
Location: Seaside Lagoon – Redondo Beach, CA
Dates: May 13th-15th
Tickets: Buy them here!

The three-day event moved to September in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s back to its normal month of May this year with plenty to get excited about. Leading the fest’s third installment will be Weezer and 311 as co-headliners on Friday while The Smashing Pumpkins and Steve Miller Band will have their own days — Saturday and Sunday, respectively — to shine even after the sun dips into the Pacific Ocean. Black Pumas, Vance Joy, Sheryl Crow, Stone Temple Pilots and Lord Huron, in the meantime, anchor an impressive undercard for what’s sure to be a party down by the shore.

READ MORE HERE


Just Like Heaven - 2022 lineup

Just Like Heaven
Location: Brookside at the Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA
Dates: May 21st
Tickets: Buy them here!

The one-day music festival put on by Goldenvoice, which debuted in 2019 and was an instant success, has dropped a 2022 roster that should be a dream come true for any indie music fan. And after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the show is ready to go on again — although this time it’s migrating north from the Queen Mary Park in Long Beach to take over the Brookside Golf Course at the Rose Bowl — and we still can’t remember the last time heaven ever looked this good. NYC indie rockers Interpol will have the honor of headlining this time around, but sets by Modest Mouse, The Shins, M.I.A., Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Chromeo, Santigold, Cut Copy, The Hives, Wolf Parade, Peaches, !!!, The Raveonettes and more are likely to leave a lasting impression.

READ MORE HERE


Lightning in a Bottle - 2022 lineup

Lightning in a Bottle
Location: Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area – Bakersfield, CA
Dates: May 25th-30th
Tickets: Buy them here!

After being forced to cancel its 15th edition more than 18 months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the “transformational festival” is returning to Kern County over Memorial Day weekend and The Do LaB has retained a handful of acts on the 2020 roster from headliners like Kaytranada and GRiZ to several undercard standouts such as Purity Ring, Big Wild, Four Tet, Empress Of and Jon Hopkins. But LIB in 2022 will also feature some new blood, starting right at the top of the poster with Glass Animals as well as a pair of Brits in SG Lewis and Little Simz — who are newcomers to the event — on the bill. Other notable names include Chet Faker, Black Coffee, CloZee, Seth Troxler, Monolink, G Jones B2B Eprom, Maya Jane Coles, Goldlink, OPIUO, Chika, Mr. Carmack, Big Freedia, Dirtwire and more, including a Desert Hearts launch party with Lee Reynolds.

READ MORE HERE


BottleRock - 2022 lineup

BottleRock Napa Valley
Location: Napa Valley Expo – Napa, CA
Dates: May 27th-29th
Tickets: Buy them here!

Despite announcing its lineup at the beginning of this year when COVID-19 cases were skyrocketing across the U.S. due to the omicron variant, the three-day event is marching ahead toward its normal timing of Memorial Day weekend after canceling in 2020 and sliding the festivities back to Labor Day weekend in 2021. And much like BottleRock’s previous rosters, 2022’s follows very much in the same vein (i.e. lots of rock ‘n’ roll) with Metallica, P!NK, Twenty One Pilots and Luke Combs topping the bill. The Napa fest’s ninth edition should serve as a special performance for Metallica no less, considering that the legendary heavy-metal band has called the Bay Area home for almost three decades.

READ MORE HERE


Outside Lands - 2022 lineup

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival
Location: Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
Dates: August 5-7th
Tickets: Buy them here!

After being forced in 2021 to push back its 13th year (read our review here) to Halloween weekend due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the three-day music festival is finally returning to its usual timing in August and spring is when we normally anticipate the lineup dropping every year. But the latest installment of SF’s signature event has a slightly different feel than in years past as Green Day, Post Malone and SZA assume headlining duties with Jack Harlow, Weezer, Phoebe Bridgers, Illenium, Lil Uzi Vert, Kali Uchis, Disclosure, Mitski, Polo & Pan and Anitta leading the undercard. And though all three headliners will be topping the poster at OSL for the first time, Green Day’s performance should carry a little extra weight given that the legacy act is originally from the East Bay.

READ MORE HERE


This Ain't No Picnic Festival 2022

This Ain’t No Picnic
Brookside at the Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA
Dates: August 27th-28th
Tickets: Buy them here!

Concert promoter Goldenvoice is bringing back This Ain’t No Picnic to SoCal for the first time since 2002 and taking over the Brookside Golf Course at the Rose Bowl for two days in late August (warning: it will be hot) with a killer two-day roster that screams “Pitchfork Fest!” The event has a history of exposing the raw energy of punk-leaning, indie darlings such as Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney and Guided by Voices in 1999 before taking another step toward the mainstream by booking Beck, Yo La Tengo, Built to Spill, At the Drive-In and Modest Mouse for its 2000 edition. A couple of NYC products in The Strokes and LCD Soundsystem will serve as headliners in 2022 while the fest’s undercard offers its own set of highlights starting with the reunion of Le Tigre, another NYC product who last reunited in 2016 to give us “I’m with Her” as their latest single.

READ MORE HERE


Primavera Sound Los Angeles - 2022 lineup

Primavera Sound Los Angeles
LA State Historic Park – Los Angeles
Dates: September 16-18th
Tickets: Buy them here!

Primavera Sound has been a staple across the music festival circuit since launching back in 2001 with its Spanish roots firmly planted in Barcelona. But we would be lying if we didn’t admit here that we have eagerly been anticipating the release of Primavera Sound LA’s inaugural lineup, which was originally set to make its U.S. debut in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic put a hold on things, and that news has finally become a reality with Arctic Monkeys, Lorde and Nine Inch Nails set to headline. That said, Arca, Bicep (Live), Buscabulla, Cigarettes After Sex, Clairo, DARKSIDE, Faye Webster, James Blake, Jehnny Beth, Khruangbin, Kim Gordon, King Krule, Low, Mitski, Stereolab and Tierra Whack have all signed on as well to mark what’s looking like a banner year for live music in the City of Angels.

READ MORE HERE


Which of these music festivals are you going to? Which are you looking forward to the most?

Lightning in a Bottle 2016

Coachella unleashes a new group of headliners after three-year hiatus as Harry Styles, Billie Eilish & Ye spearhead 2022 lineup

Coachella - 2022 lineup

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival //
Empire Polo Club – Indio, CA
April 15th-17th & April 22nd-24th, 2022 //

The wait is officially over.

Just a year after celebrating its 20th anniversary with Childish Gambino, Tame Impala and Ariana Grande at the top of the poster, Coachella was primed to make another splash in 2020 with Rage Against the Machine headlining for the third time in the legendary band’s career and Travis Scott scheduled to make his headlining debut on the polo fields as well as Frank Ocean.

But the three-day, two-weekend event became one of the first large-scale music festivals in the U.S. — along with South by Southwest and Ultra Music Festival — that was forced to postpone its plans when the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm almost two years ago. Goldenvoice worked to quickly reschedule Coachella for October, though with coronavirus cases and deaths spiking out of control all over the country, another delay came in June, signaling the unfortunate reality that there would be no festival in the calendar year for the first time since 2000.

With the state of the pandemic in flux and the U.S. still operating without a vaccination program in place by early January last year, Coachella in 2021 quickly became a fantasy. Fast forward another year, and the famed California fest is finally ready to give it another go in April.

However, none of the previously announced 2020 headliners are still booked for its 21st edition in less than three months. Rage Against the Machine, for starters, dropped out despite the Los Angeles Times reporting last summer in an exclusive interview with Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett that the band would still headline and Scott was also pulled following his disastrous Astroworld Festival — or as some might like to call it, Disastroworld — performance back in November while Ocean is now expected to perform in 2023, according to the aforementioned LA Times report.

Instead, Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Ye (fka Kanye West) will spearhead the 2022 lineup after reports circled last week about Eilish and Ye being in talks to headline and another surfaced only hours before the roster was unveiled regarding a commitment from Styles.

Swedish House Mafia, in the meantime, will return to Coachella for the first time in a decade since the electronic supergroup’s closing set on the main stage in 2012, although their appearance is not all that surprising thanks to this tweet back in October. Which day they’ll perform, however, is anyone’s guess right now.

Coachella has had a penchant for booking more international acts — from BLACKPINK to Bad Bunny — in recent years, and 2022 will be no different with Grupo Firme, Anitta, Joji and Karol G on the bill. But this year’s undercard showcases plenty of other talent too, including Lil Baby, Flume, Doja Cat, Daniel Caesar, Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, Disclosure, Jamie xx, Big Sean, 21 Savage, Run the Jewels, Danny Elfman, Maggie Rogers, Louis the Child, Stromae, Ari Lennox, Baby Keem, GIVĒON, Banda MS, Still Woozy, BROCKHAMPTON, Fatboy Slim, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Rich Brian, Måneskin and more.

Tickets for Weekend 1 are already sold out, but there is a wait list that you can jump on here while three-day GA and VIP passes for Weekend 2 will go on sale here during a presale this Friday, January 14th at 10 a.m. PT.

UPDATE (April 6th): With less than two weeks to go, Coachella has revealed some changes to its 2022 lineup after reports surfaced earlier this week indicating that Ye (aka Kanye West) would not perform this year. Ye won a pair of Grammys a few days ago at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards and was scheduled to headline the festival on Sunday over both weekends but will be replaced by the previously announced Swedish House Mafia, who had yet to be assigned a specific day on the initial poster that came out back in January, and newly added The Weeknd — after his last appearance in 2018 — as co-headliners who will perform together as a new collaboration and something that neither Coachella nor many other music festivals have done before at the very top of the poster. That, of course, is the beauty of Coachella after all as Goldenvoice always finds a way to keep the programming fresh with new and exciting surprises.

Headed out to the desert this spring? Look back at our coverage of Coachella over the years here.

Coachella

Lightning in a Bottle lines up Glass Animals, Kaytranada, GRiZ & more to lead festival’s comeback in 2022

Lightning in a Bottle - 2022 lineup

Lightning in a Bottle //
Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area – Bakersfield, CA
May 25th-30th, 2022 //

Lightning in a Bottle is alive and well!

After being forced to cancel its 2020 edition more than 18 months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the “transformational festival” is returning to Kern County over Memorial Day weekend.

And for those who previously purchased tickets and have been waiting for an update on LIB’s future, you might be happy to know that The Do LaB has retained a handful of acts on the 2020 roster from headliners like Kaytranada and GRiZ to such undercard standouts as Purity Ring, Big Wild, Four Tet, Empress Of and Jon Hopkins across the fest’s three stages.

But LIB 2022 will also feature some new blood, starting right at the top of the poster with Glass Animals fresh off their performance at Outside Lands last weekend for Halloween. Joining the English psych-pop band as other LIB newcomers on the bill will be a pair of 27-year-old Brits in SG Lewis and Little Simz.

Other notable names on the initial lineup for LIB’s 19th installment include Chet Faker, Black Coffee, CloZee, Seth Troxler, Monolink, G Jones B2B Eprom, Maya Jane Coles, Goldlink, OPIUO, Chika, Mr. Carmack, Big Freedia, Dirtwire and more, including a Desert Hearts launch party with Lee Reynolds.

LIB, which has long been considered to be one of the country’s premier boutique festivals, has served as an excellent follow-up to Coachella over the last decade, often pulling some of the same electronic-leaning talent — whether it’s Bob Moses, Bonobo, Emancipator, RÜFÜS DU SOL or Tycho — who can be seen performing years prior at the famed two-weekend, three-day music festival in the desert.

GA and VIP passes to LIB can be purchased during the presale this Thursday, November 4th at 10 a.m. PT if you sign up here or for $395 and $775, respectively, plus fees here this Friday, November 5th at 10 a.m. PT with payment plans available. As always, promoting the ideals of sustainability, social cohesion, personal health and creative expression through art, yoga, workshops and speakers will remain a critical and prominent element of The Do LaB’s signature event.

Lightning in a Bottle - 2022 daily lineups

UPDATE (March 8th): LIB has shared its daily lineups for 2022, with Glass Animals leading the way on Friday, Kaytranada performing on Saturday and GRiZ closing out the fest on Sunday. Take a closer look at the list of artists scheduled for each day above.

Lightning in a Bottle 2022 - Compass lineup

UPDATE (March 15th): The lineup for the festival’s music, learning, and culture programming at the Compass that will feature speakers, workshops and more across seven immersive spaces has arrived. Among some of the discussions are Regenerating Soil with Microbes, Cryptocurrency: The Ownership Economy, Queering the Liminal, Technology of Prayer, Fire Adapted Communities: Building A Wildfire Resilient Future, Transforming Fulfilling Prophecies into Love and Resilience of Chamorro Food. See more details above.

Lightning in a Bottle 2022 - Friday

Lightning in a Bottle 2022 - Saturday

Lightning in a Bottle 2022 - Sunday

UPDATE (May 16th): Less than two weeks before LIB’s long-awaited return, the festival has released its set times — so you can sort out your conflicts for all three days in advance — with the music going until 4 a.m. for those who can hang that long. See more details above.

UPDATE (May 22nd): LIB has announced several changes to this year’s lineup as the days count down to the fest. Jhené Aiko will replace Little Simz, who had to cancel her performance. Chromonicci will also step in for Jon Casey while Moodlite and Dirtwire will fill in for Moontricks. Plus, don’t forget to check out the festival and camping maps below before you arrive at Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area.

Lightning in a Bottle 2022 - festival map

Lightning in a Bottle 2022 - camping map

Can’t wait until May? Tap back into our past coverage of LIB here.

Lightning in a Bottle’s 2020 roster has Kaytranada, Sylvan Esso, GRiZ & Purity Ring leading the pack

Lightning in a Bottle - 2020 lineup

Lightning in a Bottle //
Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area – Bakersfield, CA
May 20th-25th, 2020 //

Lightning in a Bottle is back on schedule.

After a longer-than-expected wait last year to release its 2019 lineup due to new dates and a new location in Kern County, the “transformational festival” has already unleashed its 2020 roster with Kaytranada, Sylvan Esso, GRiZ and Purity Ring topping the bill.

Other noteworthy acts on the initial lineup for the fest’s 17th installment include James Blake (DJ set), Four Tet, Amon Tobin (presents Two Fingers), Nina Kraviz, Big Wild, DJ Shadow, Bob Moses (club set), Jon Hopkins, Emancipator, Noisia, Stephan Bodzin, Doja Cat, Justin Martin, Keys N Krates (DJ set), Empress of, DROELOE and more.

Lightning in a Bottle 2020 - The Stacks

Lightning in a Bottle 2020 - CTRL-Z

UPDATE (February 13th): The Do LaB has announced the lineups for The Stacks and CTRL-Z stages at LIB 2020 that includes sets from Joe Kay, Justin Martin, Kraddy and more. Check out the posters above for both stages.

Lightning in a Bottle 2020 - Grand Artique

Lightning in a Bottle 2020 - The Compass

UPDATE (February 20th): The lineups for the Grand Artique and Compass stages have now also been announced with performances by Fantastic Negrito, Whiskerman and more slated at Buena Vista Lake. See the posters above for both stages.

LIB, which has been praised over the years as one of the nation’s premier boutique festivals, will also return to its traditional Memorial Day weekend slot when it takes over Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area for a second straight year this May. But for many West Coast music fans, it has become an excellent hangover cure shortly after Coachella’s both weekends end.

Four- and five-day passes to LIB, as well as the brand-new Patron Experience ticket, can be purchased here for $349, $419 and $999, respectively, with payment plans available. And as always, promoting the ideals of sustainability, social cohesion, personal health and creative expression through art, yoga, workshops and speakers will remain a defining portion of The Do LaB’s signature event.

UPDATE (March 13th): Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Lightning in a Bottle will not take place May 20-25 at Buena Vista Lake, with no official word on rescheduled dates or refunds yet. LIB joins Coachella as another California music festival that has either postponed or canceled this week, shortly after South by Southwest and Ultra Music Festival pulled the plug on their own events. With the coronavirus rocking a lot of the world right now and in particular the live music industry, The Do LaB is uncertain if LIB will return in the near or distant future and that is certainly a sad thought to consider.

Take a peek at our past coverage of Lightning in a Bottle here.

Coachella locks down Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott & Frank Ocean to headline in 2020

Coachella - 2020 lineup

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival //
Empire Polo Club – Indio, CA
April 10th-12th & April 17th-19th, 2020 //

Well, if your New Year’s resolution was to see Rage Against the Machine perform at Coachella, it’s time to start packing your bags.

After the legendary rock band posted to Instagram on Halloween that it would be performing in Indio this April and multiple reports surfaced over the last few weeks confirming the news, the California festival made the announcement official with the release of its 2020 lineup.

It marks the third time that RATM have been booked to headline Coachella, with the previous instance dating back to 2007 when Zack de la Rocha (vocals), Tim Commerford (bass, vocals), Tom Morello (guitar) and Brad Wilk (drums) reunited following the group’s unforeseen break-up seven years prior.

Joining Rage at the top of the fest’s famed poster will be Grammy-nominated rapper Travis Scott and enigmatic crooner Frank Ocean, both of whom will be headlining the three-day, two-weekend event for the first time (though they each have played Coachella before).

And in what was nearly an unprecedented move by organizers, 2016 headliner Calvin Harris has retreated to second-line status. It’s just the second time that’s occurred in Coachella’s 21-year history, with the only other artist being Beck when he headlined its inaugural edition in 1999. But the rest of the undercard boasts some highlights like Flume, Lana Del Rey, Run the Jewels (with a de la Rocha cameo as we once witnessed likely), Thom Yorke, Disclosure, Rex Orange County, Daniel Caesar, FKA twigs, Danny Elfman, Louis the Child, BROCKHAMPTON, Fatboy Slim, Caribou, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Charli XCX, Jai Wolf, Madeon, Yaeji, Chicano Batman, Hot Chip, Mura Masa, Duck Sauce, GRiZ, DJ Koze, Carly Rae Jepsen, Peggy Gou, Duke Dumont, Floating Points, J.I.D, IDLES, BADBADNOTGOOD, Daphni, Weyes Blood, Steve Lacy, (Sandy) Alex G, slowthai, Big Wild, TOKIMONSTA, Noname, Friendly Fires, Altın Gün, Crumb, Cashmere Cat, Sampha the Great and girl in red.

Like in more recent years, many of the acts on the bill lean in the hip-hop, R&B and electronic direction while rock continues to get phased out. Nevertheless, it’s worth mentioning that two of Dan Snaith’s projects are listed in Caribou and Daphni, the latter of which will assuredly be a DJ set in the Yuma Tent.

Coachella’s first weekend is scheduled for April 10th-12th, with its second weekend slated for April 17th-19th. With Weekend 1 passes already sold out, tickets for Weekend 2 will go on sale this Monday, January 6th at 12 p.m. PT here.

UPDATE (March 10th): Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Coachella 2020 has been rescheduled for October 9th-11th and October 16th-18th. All passes purchased for the festival’s previous dates in April will be honored in October, with refunds available to those who are unable to attend. Coachella becomes the latest major event to be affected after South by Southwest and Ultra Music Festival were both canceled last week.

UPDATE (June 11th): As coronavirus cases continue to spike in certain parts of the U.S., the sad and unfortunate likelihood of Coachella not occurring in 2020 has now become a reality. Goldenvoice instead has marked some 2021 dates down on the calendar — Weekend 1 will be April 9-11 and Weekend 2 follows April 16-18 with all 2020 passes purchased being honored — though sadly there’s always the possibility that Coachella could be postponed until October again as we near the New Year, when the festival usually reveals its annual lineup.

Ready to take the desert by storm? Look back at our coverage of Coachella over the years here.

Our favorite performances from 2018

Best live shows of 2018 - Foo Fighters, NxWorries, Pusha T & Courtney Barnett

Holy smokes, 2018 … you were a blur. Maybe it’s just us, but this year really did fly right by.

Before we officially say hello to 2019 though, it’s time for us to revisit the past 12 months at Showbams. Every year we have the great privilege of witnessing some amazing moments in live music, and this year was no different. While we can’t touch upon every performance we covered in looking back at the year that was, we still managed to see a wide variety of talent over the course of 2018.

Whittling down our list is never easy. Those who didn’t make the cut but still deserve to be mentioned here include the following artists, DJs and bands (in alphabetical order), all of whom we either covered at their own show and/or at a music festival this year:

Aaron Neville, A.CHAL, Alanis Morissette, Alina Baraz, Allen Stone, Amen Dunes, Aminé, A Perfect Circle, Ari Lennox, A$AP Rocky, Aquilo, BADBADNOTGOOD, The Bangles, Belle & Sebastian, The Beta Machine, Billie Eilish, BØRNS, Carly Rae Jepsen, Cashmere Cat, Childish Major, Chromeo, CHVRCHES, Cigarettes After Sex, Cloud Nothings, Cuco, Cut Snake, CyHi the Prynce, Daniel Caesar, Deap Vally, Destroyer, Diet Cig, Drab Majesty, DRAM, The Dustbowl Revival, Erykah Badu, Fantastic Negrito, Future, Garbage, George Fitzgerald, Gomez, Gov’t Mule, Great Grandpa, Griz, The Growlers, Gucci Mane, HAERTS, H.E.R., Hot Flash Heat Wave, Ibeyi, Iggy Pop, Irma Thomas, Isaiah Rashad, Jaira Burns, Jamie xx, Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, Jhené Aiko, John Maus, Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band, Joywave, JPEGMAFIA, Jungle, Kailee Morgue, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Kamasi Washington, Kauf, Kelela, Kikagaku Moyo, Kings of Leon, Kopps, Laff Trax, Lion Babe, Lizzo, Lophile, Lord Huron, Los Lobos, Lucy Dacus, Margo Price, Miguel, Mija, Milk Carton Kids, ModPods, Moses Sumney, The Mother Hips, Mura Masa, Neil Young, N.E.R.D, North Mississippi Allstars, ODESZA, Pale Waves, Paula Frazer and Tarnation, Phantogram, Pharoah Sanders, Pixies, Polo & Pan, POND, Portugal. The Man, The Pretenders, Quicksand, Ravyn Lenae, Rivers Cuomo, The Revolution, Robert Plant, Rory Phillips, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Sabrina Claudio, Salt-N-Pepa, Santigold, Sasha Sloan, Seu Jorge, Shakey Graves, Shame, Shana Falana, Sharon Van Etten, Silk City, Sleigh Bells, Snoh Aalegra, Soccer Mommy, The Specials, The Spook School, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Tame Impala, Tenacious D, Third Eye Blind, Tinashe, together PANGEA, TV on the Radio, Tycho, Typhoon, Uniform, Wafia, Waxahatchee, The Weeknd, Wet, William Tyler, Will Varley, Yen Yen, Zedd

Now, it’s time for The Bam Team to present our favorite performances from 2018.

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2018

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2018:


Best of 2018 - Cut Copy

Cut Copy

Date: March 3rd
Location: Exposition Park – Los Angeles

For those in LA who missed Cut Copy 10 months ago when they visited the Shrine Expo Hall with De Lux, Palmbomen II and Cooper Saver also on the bill, their headlining performance last Friday at The Wiltern was another chance to dance the night away upon hearing several classics such as “Need You Now”, “Free Your Mind”, “Future”, “Hearts on Fire” and to close, “Lights & Music”. In fact, the last time that we caught them back in March, a mini downpour erupted at Shaun White’s Air + Style (read our festival review here), but it didn’t phase them. Who said playing — and dancing — in the rain isn’t fun anyway? -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Air + Style


Best of 2018 - Washed Out

Washed Out

Date: March 4th
Location: Exposition Park – Los Angeles

In what was easily the most visually stimulating (and pleasing) show we witnessed at Expo Park, Ernest Greene, who performs under the moniker Washed Out, entranced a completely packed crowd at the smaller Summer Stage with a slew of trippy visuals and his chilled-out tunes. We had been wanting to see Washed Out in SoCal for several months now, ever since Greene released the project’s third LP Mister Mellow last year, and after missing his gig with Nick Murphy at the Shrine Expo Hall in October, we were glad to finally hear him play “Hard to Say Goodbye” (one of our favorite songs of 2017) and “Feel It All Around” live as any loyal “Portlandia” fan would be. With Toro y Moi venturing away from the chillwave movement he helped pioneer, it’s up to Greene to lead the charge, and so far, he has done one hell of a job. -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Air + Style


Best of 2018 - Phoenix

Phoenix

Date: March 4th
Location: Exposition Park – Los Angeles

After what we thought was an underwhelming way to wrap up Day 1, Air + Style closed with a bang thanks to Phoenix’s energizing, 16-song set. The French indie-pop outfit have headlined Coachella before, and it was more than worthy of that billing for this occasion. Kicking things off with the opening track “J-Boy” from their sixth studio album Ti Amo that dropped back in June, Thomas Mars and company gave us exactly what we wanted to hear: a hit-ladden show featuring singles like “Lisztomania”, “Trying to Be Cool”, “Too Young” and “1901”. No, there wasn’t a Daft Punk or R. Kelly appearance — not that we expected one — but Phoenix put an exclamation point on an otherwise successful weekend. We may not have known the quartet could rock that hard after the last time we saw them, but we definitely do now. -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Air + Style


Best of 2018 - Moby

Moby

Date: March 26th
Location: Apogee Studio – Santa Monica, CA

His guitar playing, meanwhile, may be just as impressive, if not surprising to some. Less than two weeks before Moby stepped into Bob Clearmountain’s diminutive recording studio, I was fortunate enough to catch him the final of his three shows at The Echo, and it was there as he performed a variety of songs from Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt, Play and a few other albums, that I fully realized just how talented he is with a black Gibson SG in his hands. He may be an electronic musician, but unlike a lot of them today, Moby is a musician in every sense of the word. While his vocals at times sound more like spoken word than actual singing, he has found more than capable sidekicks in Julie Mintz (keyboards, vocals) and Mindy Jones (vocals) to assist him in that department. Jones’ ranging voice, in particular, is one that suits his music well, and when you hear her sing, her pipes elevate the song to a whole new level. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Brian Feinzimer


Best of 2018 - The War on Drugs

The War on Drugs

Date: April 13th
Location: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Weekend 1 – Indio, CA

Weeks before The War on Drugs released their fourth LP A Deeper Understanding last year, we were fortunate enough to hear Adam Granduciel and company perform a handful of cuts from the new album in an intimate setting for KCRW. It was then and there that we knew the follow-up to 2014’s Lost in a Dream was another masterpiece, and that impression was only validated when A Deeper Understanding won the Grammy for “Best Rock Album” just a few months ago. On Day 1 of Coachella, the Philadelphia band brought some of those same songs we witnessed at Apogee Studio to life, though sadly, this time “Holding On” wasn’t part of the setlist. But we did get to experience “An Ocean in Between the Waves” in all of its glory, and we still have yet to come across another piece of music in more recent years that will make you want to play air guitar as much as the seven-minute track from Lost in a Dream does. Who said rock was dead? -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Goldenvoice


Best of 2018 - Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai

Date: April 13th
Location: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Weekend 1 – Indio, CA

Thirteen years. That’s how long it has been since Jamiroquai last performed in the U.S. With that in mind, there was no way we were going to miss Jay Kay and the rest of his sidekicks in favor of The Weeknd’s headlining performance (sorry, Abel), and after what ended up being close to a 90-minute set from the London nu-funk/acid jazz group, we had no regrets about our decision. The only regret we have is that they ran out of time and didn’t get to play their smash hit “Virtual Insanity” in its entirety, and you could tell Jay Kay felt bad about it as he jumped down from the stage to greet some overjoyed fans after wrapping the show up with “Love Foolosophy” from 2001’s A Funk Odyssey. But while Weekend 2 attendees got the full version of the Travelling Without Moving single, we were treated to a massive surprise when Snoop Dogg came out to rap on “Dr. Buzz” with a huge blunt in his hand. It was the kind of collaboration you never expect to see, except at Coachella of all places. -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Coachella


Best of 2018 - Eminem

Eminem

Date: April 15th
Location: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Weekend 1 – Indio, CA

While we can’t say that we were completely thrilled with Goldenvoice’s choices for this year’s headliners, we were excited to see Eminem finally play Coachella (he had never performed in an official capacity before) and close out the festival on Sunday night. Sure, his newest album Revival didn’t exactly receive rave reviews from critics when it dropped at the end of 2017, but watching one of hip-hop’s most talented emcees run through his hits all while bringing out 50 Cent and Dr. Dre was undoubtedly THE highlight from Day 3. For this “stan,” just crossing Em off my concert bucket list would have been enough to send me home with a smile. Fortunately for those of us who were there though, the real Slim Shady lived up to the hype and more. -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Coachella


Best of 2018 - Big K.R.I.T.

Big K.R.I.T.

Date: April 19th
Location: Echoplex – Los Angeles

At Echoplex, we were treated to the “rapper” and the man himself as bass-heavy party starters like the title-track opener and “Confetti” from 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time got everyone hyped, while Atlanta’s T.I. came out to perform his verse on “Big Bank”. After singling out one excited fan, who was wearing a shirt with a giant picture of his face, during the easygoing “1999” and paying homage to Southern rap pioneers UGK, Big K.R.I.T. took the latter half of his hour-long set to connect with the crowd. -Joseph Gray, photo by Joseph Gray


Best of 2018 - Soulwax

Soulwax

Date: April 19th
Location: The Fonda Theatre – Los Angeles

While Soulwax’s recorded music has always been perfectly enjoyable, in person it becomes something else entirely. Their new, three-drummer lineup was the ideal format to hear new tracks like “Is It Always Binary” while giving older tracks such as “KracK” a newly textured and complex sound. Sitting stage right, drummer Victoria Smith, for one, offered the group some serious personality thanks to her animated facial expressions. -Zach Bourque, photo by Zach Bourque


Best of 2018 - NxWorries

NxWorries

Date: June 16th
Location: The Queen Mary – Long Beach, CA

I fall somewhere in the middle between those two age groups, so it was fitting that the uber-talented rapper/singer/drummer Anderson .Paak had just walked onto the “Free Your Mind” main stage when I showed up. .Paak, 32, wore a smile as expressive as his music, packaged with a bright nautical-themed ensemble. He effortlessly impressed with standouts “Suede”, “Another Time” and “What More Can I Say” off Yes Lawd!, his 2016 LP with Los Angeles hip-hop producer Knxwledge as part of their collaborative project NxWorries (pronounced “No Worries”). The duo’s set would eventually culminate in a playful dance-off between women, which fans showed their appreciation for before .Paak and Knxwledge said their goodbyes. -Joseph Gray, photo by Joseph Gray


Best of 2018 - The Roots

The Roots

Date: June 16th
Location: The Queen Mary – Long Beach, CA

However, anticipation for The Roots kept me at the main stage. It proved to be a wise decision, as their nearly hour-long performance reminded me why the Grammy-winning band is still so revered after more than three decades. Black Thought got the crowd riled up with a 10-minute barrage of lyrical proficiency that so many have come to know as his “Hot 97 Freestyle” after it hit the internet in December and quickly went viral, while his bandmates exuberantly jumped with sousaphones and guitars during “You Got Me” and a number of other hits. But providing a jolt like he only can, the one and only Busta Rhymes showed up for a quick-but-memorable performance of “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” and “Pass the Courvoisier, Part II”. -Joseph Gray, photo by Joseph Gray


Best of 2018 - Melvins

Melvins

Date: July 16th
Location: Great American Music Hall – San Francisco

I’m far from an expert on this kind of thing (because I’m not), but I didn’t expect to see the Melvins perform with the amount of energy that they showcased. For a band that has been touring and putting out new material for the past 35 years, they performed as if everything depended on it. You weren’t going to catch “King Buzzo” standing in one place for too long, with his signature fro whipping in the wind from the fans that were on the stage, McDonald and Pinkus holding it down on their own instruments, and Crover beating the living hell out of his drums. Fans were ready to receive the band and responded to the various sonic blasts coming from the amplifiers. During the thrashy songs, they formed a brutal pit, and during the sludgier songs, they lit up joints and bobbed their heads to the music. -Andrew Pohl, photo by Mike Rosati


Best of 2018 - Glassjaw

Glassjaw

Date: July 20th
Location: Observatory OC – Santa Ana, CA

Glassjaw’s show covered their entire discography, and very few fan favorites were left off the setlist. While it was to be expected that newer tunes like “Shira” and “New White Extremity” would rock, it was staggering how well their older songs held up in a live setting. Palumbo’s voice, though slightly less manic than it once was, is still unmatched in its vocal range and shear intensity. -Zach Bourque, photo by Zach Bourque


Best of 2018 - Weezer

Weezer

Date: August 8th
Location: The Forum – Inglewood, CA

That’s not to say that Cuomo isn’t a talented musician. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The Harvard grad shreds without question, something I never really realized until he uncorked a number of guitar solos, whether it was during “Buddy Holly” to open Weezer’s performance or “Say It Ain’t So” (with a snippet of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”) to put a bow on the show. And while there aren’t many lead singers who can do both, Cuomo certainly remains among some elite company, with Jack White, Trey Anastasio (Phish), Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) also immediately coming to mind. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best of 2018 - Florence + the Machine

Florence + the Machine

Date: August 11th
Location: Golden Gate Park – San Francisco

There was a bit of controversy surrounding Saturday’s main slot as Florence + the Machine officially made the move to full-blown festival headliner. Some festivalgoers had their own doubts after FYF Fest 2018 was canceled with a near-identical top billing, but Florence and her bandmates proved, many times over, that she is more than capable of commanding any stage as her energy is unlike many others. She debuted a brand-new show, which featured “June” in the opening slot and was book-ended by “Big God” and “Shake It Out” for a two-song encore. -Kevin Quandt, photo by Norm de Veyra


Best of 2018 - Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monáe

Date: August 12th
Location: Golden Gate Park – San Francisco

The incomparable Janelle Monáe was a tad late to take the stage, as she was fighting off a stomach bug, but when she did, she captivated the masses with a suite of tracks from her most recent release Dirty Computer and tossed in a fair amount of costume changes over a nearly hour-long set. Monáe proved that she’s easily one of the best in the business at the moment and will only continue to climb upwards. -Kevin Quandt, photo by Norm de Veyra


Best of 2018 - Deafheaven

Deafheaven

Date: August 18th
Location: The Wiltern – Los Angeles

Fortunately, Deafheaven haven’t bowed to convention or criticism. Their fourth studio album Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, which ANTI‐ released last month, is their arguably their most experimental to date, spanning more than an hour over seven songs. There’s a sense of angst and nostalgia in the music that leans far more positive and hopeful than their previous work. There are still echoes of black metal at times, but you can feel this is a band that’s embracing its differences instead of defending them. -Zach Bourque, photo by Zach Bourque


Best of 2018 - Jack White

Jack White

Date: August 19th
Location: Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA

Yet, for as eclectic and wide-ranging as White’s output has been over two decades, it’s the unpredictable nature of his live shows that makes them so intriguing to see. This time, we were treated to a rare cover of The Stooges’ “T.V. Eye” from their 1970 album Fun House, as well as a number of fan favorites, from set closer “Ball and Biscuit” to an eight-song encore that featured “Icky Thump” (with some amusing “Icky Trump” messaging), “Steady, as She Goes” (with a snippet of Richard Berry’s 1955 song “Louie Louie”), and of course, what has easily become the biggest stadium anthem in the world, “Seven Nation Army”. And though the show didn’t conclude without a few hiccups during some of White’s improvised playing between songs, he hasn’t lost his unique ability to surprise an audience — whether it means bringing out his mother in Detroit to perform “Hotel Yorba” with him or covering Pearl Jam’s “Daughter” in Seattle — at any given moment, especially when we all aren’t staring down at our phones. -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Jack White


Best of 2018 - David Byrne

David Byrne

Date: August 22nd
Location: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco

As the show progressed into his songs “Here” and “Lazy”, Byrne’s band joined him onstage. The light changed and filled in the stage, giving the audience a happier tone and providing a seamless transition into a Talking Heads interlude. Then, later on during “Blind”, one of the more stunning visual elements was made possible by a simple lamp that was placed in front of the band, casting whirling shadows on the strands of beads hanging behind them. -Tim O’Shea, photo by Tim O’Shea


Best of 2018 - The National

The National

Date: September 20th
Location: Hollywood Palladium – Los Angeles

Right before that final aforementioned single, they brought out Phoebe Bridgers to help them perform “Sorrow” from 2010’s High Violet, as Berninger and the 24-year-old singer-songwriter, who said during her brief opening set that The National were her favorite band, traded vocals on the tune they once played 105 times in a row, with the performance at an art installation in New York lasting all of six hours. We weren’t quite as fortunate to get that kind of show in LA, as The National opted for one of their more traditional, two-hour events. But whether you’ve been a fan from the start or one like myself who arrived rather late to the party, The National continue to make some of the most compelling music in rock, expanding their fan base with each and every album they release. That’s the sign of any good band these days, and though there’s only a handful of others that could even say the same right now, The National should take comfort in knowing they’re one of those select few. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best of 2018 - Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear

Date: September 23rd
Location: Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles

Similarly, the gig also marked one of Grizzly Bear’s last performances in support of their fifth LP Painted Ruins, which they released last year on RCA Records, and having already played a two-night run at The Wiltern back in December, this was more of a victory lap than a coming-out party. Unfortunately for us, the five-piece had to cut things short due to the venue’s strict Sunday night curfew, ending on a rather sudden note. That’s just part of the deal at the Bowl, though. For those of us who have to work on Monday morning, it’s actually more of a blessing in disguise than a disservice to the overall concert experience as we’ve come to realize. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best of 2018 - Courtney Barnett

Courtney Barnett

Date: October 5th
Location: Greek Theatre – Los Angeles

When she wasn’t sharing the spotlight with Waxahatchee, Barnett was sharing it equally with the rest of her stellar backing band, but it was mostly just difficult to take your eyes off of her. Everything she does feels casual, from her outfit to her guitar playing, slinging her instrument around like it was an extension of herself. Even her delivery of the wrenching reality that the 30-year-old Australian singer-songwriter articulates so well is casual, singing like the end of the world isn’t a mere 22 years away. -Rochelle Shipman, photo by Rochelle Shipman


Best of 2018 - Greta Van Fleet

Greta Van Fleet

Date: October 6th
Location: Glen Helen Regional Park & Festival Grounds – San Bernardino, CA

By the time we got through security and stepped inside the gates, Manchester Orchestra had just finished their 45-minute set on the main stage, which essentially was the 65,000-person Glen Helen Amphitheater that was constructed back in 1982 for the first US Festival. Next up was Greta Van Fleet, and boy, do these kids know how to rock. Zeppelin clearly runs deep in these four Michiganders’ veins, as they showcased songs off their forthcoming debut album Anthem of the Peaceful Army with frontman Josh Kiszka commanding the stage and offering his best Robert Plant impression. He even dresses the part, sporting some tight, white jeans with a water-colored blouse and necklace of feathers while his brothers Jake and Sam wore vests or shirts that looked like what you would find at a vintage clothing store. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best of 2018 - Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters

Date: October 6th
Location: Glen Helen Regional Park & Festival Grounds – San Bernardino, CA

As the Foos left the stage for their encore break, we waited patiently for them to return. The crowd, by now, had been taken for a two-hour ride with Grohl firmly at the wheel, pumping adrenaline into our veins with every minute that passed as the Foo Fighters know how to do so well during their usual two-and-a-half-hour jaunts. The video screens on each side of the stage were black until suddenly some backstage footage appeared showing Grohl with Krist Novoselic and what looked like Joan Jett. All of that would end up coming true in the last 30 minutes of Cal Jam 18, but it was a six-song encore with Grohl on drums, Novoselic on bass, the Foo Fighters’ Pat Smear on guitar and Deer Tick frontman John McAuley on both vocals and guitar as Kurt Cobain’s fill-in who got us hyped. Nirvana fans have waited 25 years for a reunion since Cobain’s sudden passing, and when you put it in perspective, it will probably go down as one of the year’s biggest surprises, even at a time in music when many industry experts say that rock now stands in the shadows of hip-hop and EDM. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best of 2018 - Pusha T

Pusha T

Date: October 13th
Location: Middle Harbor Shoreline Park – Oakland

But U.S. Girls were the highlight of the weekend for us. A nine-piece experimental pop act, they put on a stunning 45-minute set that culminated in an entrancing rendition of “Time”, the closing track on their critically acclaimed studio effort In a Poem Unlimited, that lasted more than 10 minutes. The energy, instrumentation and vocal capabilities were absolutely stunning. Easily one of this year’s most exciting new acts, and we can’t wait to catch them again soon. -Brett Ruffenach, photo by Brendan Mansfield


Best of 2018 - U.S. Girls

U.S. Girls

Date: October 14th
Location: Middle Harbor Shoreline Park – Oakland

But U.S. Girls were the highlight of the weekend for us. A nine-piece experimental pop act, they put on a stunning 45-minute set that culminated in an entrancing rendition of “Time”, the closing track on their critically acclaimed studio effort In a Poem Unlimited, that lasted more than 10 minutes. The energy, instrumentation and vocal capabilities were absolutely stunning. Easily one of this year’s most exciting new acts, and we can’t wait to catch them again soon. -Brett Ruffenach, photo by Josh Withers


Best of 2018 - Daniel Caesar

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Five highlights from Shaun White’s Air + Style 2018

Air + Style 2018Photos courtesy of Air + Style // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Shaun White Presents Air + Style //
Exposition Park – Los Angeles
March 3rd-4th, 2018 //

When three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White launched his first Air + Style contest on U.S. soil three years ago in Pasadena (read our review here), it had plenty of kinks to work out like any brand-new event has nowadays. Half snowboard competition and half music festival, Air + Style offered a different twist for those who enjoy a side of extreme sports with their live music, or vice versa.

And in many ways, it still does. Because when you get right down to it, there aren’t a whole lot of events out there, if any, where you can catch some of the best snowboarders in the world go big while also taking in performances from top-notch artists and bands across a wide-range of musical genres. There’s the X-Games of course, but after that, there’s not much else.

White, in that regard, has certainly created something fun and unique in a short amount of time. But as we realized upon arriving at Exposition Park for Air + Style’s fourth installment here in LA, it wasn’t hard to see that there’s a heavy emphasis placed on the music. Maybe it felt that way because this year marked the first time there was no big air event (and we were rather disappointed to find that out on Day 1), even if the consolation prize was moving to a street-style course for the snowboarders and adding skateboarding, which was another first for Air + Style’s LA edition. Or, maybe it was a Coachella-like lineup headlined by Zedd and Phoenix, coupled with the size of the two stages, that made it feel like so many other major music festivals in Southern California that we have previously attended. Even Phantogram frontwoman Sarah Barthel said it herself, calling Air + Style a “mini Coachella” during the group’s hour-long set on the ginormous Winter Stage.

Either way, in a city with so much to do and an overwhelming amount of options when it comes to live music, it’s impressive to see Air + Style still going strong and drawing large crowds like it did this year. It may have been just another way for “The Flying Tomato” to party with friends and celebrate his latest Olympic gold from Pyeongchang, but for us, it served as an opportunity to see some of our favorite musicians in action and catch some others we’ve been eager to check out for a while (more on that below). So, with that said, these are our five highlights from Air + Style 2018.


Air + Style 2018 - Cut Copy

Cut Copy

Whenever Australian four-piece Cut Copy come to town, you know you’re in for a dance party. But a rainy dance party? That’s something that none of us, including frontman Dan Whitford, saw coming. What blindsided all of us was an epic, approximately 10-minute downpour right in the middle of their set. And they thought it never rains in LA! Sorry, Danny boy … but well, it does — you know, every once in a while. As Whitford told the crowd, it was kind of amazing that their equipment didn’t short out, as we were treated to a lot of the usual favorites such as “Hearts on Fire” and “Lights and Music” as well as a few off 2017’s Haiku from Zero, including “Black Rainbows” and “Standing in the Middle of the Field”. For as many times as we’ve seen these guys take the stage over the years, they always seem to deliver — rain or shine.


Air + Style 2018 - DRAM
DRAM

Considering that we wouldn’t exactly call ourselves huge fans of Zedd, Saturday’s bill felt a bit lackluster compared to Sunday’s. But one of the biggest surprises from the weekend proved to be DRAM, who was on a mission to “spread love” while at Air + Style. With so many examples of hate and violence in recent months, it was an important reminder for all of us no matter the setting, and in this case, White’s festival seemed as good as any for Shelley Massenburg-Smith to promote more positivity. DRAM’s performance, though, was more than just one big love fest — rather, it felt like a celebration of life as he performed “Cute” and later “Broccoli” (even if it was sans Lil Yachty), eventually making his way into the crowd to show his fans some more … why yes, love. Keep spreading those good vibes, Big Baby DRAM. We’re all for it.


Air + Style 2018 - Washed Out

Washed Out

In what was easily the most visually stimulating (and pleasing) show we witnessed at Expo Park, Ernest Greene, who performs under the moniker Washed Out, entranced a completely packed crowd at the smaller Summer Stage with a slew of trippy visuals and his chilled-out tunes. We had been wanting to see Washed Out in SoCal for several months now, ever since Greene released the project’s third LP Mister Mellow last year, and after missing his gig with Nick Murphy at the Shrine Expo Hall in October, we were glad to finally hear him play “Hard to Say Goodbye” (one of our favorite songs of 2017) and “Feel It All Around” live as any loyal “Portlandia” fan would be. With Toro y Moi venturing away from the chillwave movement he helped pioneer, it’s up to Greene to lead the charge, and so far, he has done one hell of a job.


Air + Style 2018- Griz

Griz

Gosh, we can remember when Grant Kwiecinski, aka Griz, was first starting out and opening for his buddies in Big Gigantic more than five years ago. Fast forward to now, and the 27-year-old Detroit native has climbed higher and higher up the festival ladder. Melding hip-hop and electronic music to create his own future-funk sound, Kwiecinski knows how to get the party going with various elements of trip-hop, dubstep and glitch-hop all sprinkled into his tracks, but it’s his jazzy saxophone solos — and some slick guitar work from his sidekick/childhood friend Muzzy Bearr (born Dan Hacker) — that adds another element to the final product. And then there’s his stage production, which Kwiecinski has clearly taken up a few notches as the huge screen on the Summer Stage flashed psychedelic images that would also poke fun at the current state of American politics. After all, what kind of music festival would it be without a few Donald Trump references?


Air + Style 2018 - Phoenix

Phoenix

After what we thought was an underwhelming way to wrap up Day 1, Air + Style closed with a bang thanks to Phoenix’s energizing, 16-song set. The French indie-pop outfit have headlined Coachella before, and it was more than worthy of that billing for this occasion. Kicking things off with the opening track “J-Boy” from their sixth studio album Ti Amo that dropped back in June, Thomas Mars and company gave us exactly what we wanted to hear: a hit-ladden show featuring singles like “Lisztomania”, “Trying to Be Cool”, “Too Young” and “1901”. No, there wasn’t a Daft Punk or R. Kelly appearance — not that we expected one — but Phoenix put an exclamation point on an otherwise successful weekend. We may not have known the quartet could rock that hard after the last time we saw them, but we definitely do now.

Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, ZHU, GRiZ & Fever Ray lead Lightning in a Bottle’s 2018 lineup

Lightning in a Bottle - 2018 lineup

Lightning in a Bottle //
San Antonio Recreation Area – Bradley, CA
May 23rd-28th, 2018 //

Lightning in a Bottle has been considered one of the country’s premier boutique festivals for quite a while now, although in more recent years it has arguably started to outgrow that label with rising attendance numbers and capacity crowds becoming the norm.

But after last year’s edition saw Bassnectar, Bonobo, RÜFÜS DU SOL and Kaytranada lead the way, the 15th year of The Do LaB’s signature event will be headlined by Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, ZHU, GRiZ and Fever Ray this Memorial Day weekend. The news, which comes more than four months in advance of the festival, marks the first scheduled show on U.S. soil since 2010 for Fever Ray (aka Karin Dreijer), the former lead singer of The Knife who released her sophomore solo LP Plunge back in October.

Other names listed on what LIB is calling Phase 1 of its 2018 lineup include The Glitch Mob, SOFI TUKKER, tUnE-yArDs, NAO, Beats Antique, Tokimonsta, The Funk Hunters, Monolink, Dirtwire, Tipper, Modeselektor (DJ set), Emancipator, Sango, Giraffage, Bleep Bloop, CloZee, Random Rab, Alix Perez, Nu:Logic, Nicole Moudaber, The Black Madonna, MK and more.

While the “transformational festival” has become a great hangover cure for West Coast music fans suffering from a bad case of post-Coachella blues, it also marks the second straight year that LIB mainstays Lucent Dossier Experience and William Close & The Earth Harp Collective are missing from this year’s bill.

Lightning in a Bottle 2018 - Phase 2 lineup

UPDATE (February 8th): The Do LaB has dropped its Phase 2 lineup for LIB 2018, featuring performances by Beats Antique Lightning Orchestra, Too Many Zooz, Lyrics Born, Con Brio, Jamie N Commons, The California Honeydrops and more. Check out the poster above for the rest of the roster that will be dispersed across four stages.

Weekend passes to LIB can be purchased here for $305 starting this Thursday, January 18th at 10 a.m. PT. As attendees have come to expect over the years, The Do LaB will also continue to promote the ideals of sustainability, social cohesion, personal health and creative expression through its unique collection of art, yoga, workshops and speakers.

Yet, over the past few years, the festival has regularly sold out as the calendar turns to May, and 2018 will likely follow that trend with the lineup shaping up to be one of LIB’s best. So, don’t sleep on getting your tickets for what’s sure to be another memorable weekend at San Antonio Recreation Area.

Can’t wait for LIB? Look back at our past coverage here.

Outside Lands 2016: Top sets, awards & what we overheard at Golden Gate Park

Outside Lands 2016Photos by Norm de Veyra & James Pawlish // Written by Molly Kish //

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 5th-7th, 2016 //

Celebrating its ninth annual year as Northern California’s premier music, comedy, food and arts festival, Outside Lands took over Golden Gate Park last weekend and entertained crowds of more than 60,000 attendees each day with a massive roster of world-renowned talent. This year’s highlights surmounted all previous editions and exceeded the expectations of the most veteran festivalgoers.

Beyond the daily artist lineups, mouth-watering fare and unparalleled comedy showcases, Outside Lands kicked it up a notch in 2016, playing to what seemed like a more refined crowd on a local and national level. The festival’s organizers created an environment that appealed to both novices and seasoned attendees, with convenience being the key factor and a running theme that helped establish a flow to the fairgrounds that was unattainable in past years.

The fest also worked with PayPal to set up an option for cashless transactions by uploading “Bison Bucks” to your wristband, creating a seamless navigation of all the food/beverage and merchandise options. Furthermore, the debut of additional boutique concessions at Oyster Lands and Cocktail Lands provided a reprieve from the long lines at food trucks, booths and beer stands for the mature palette.

Even the structure and pace of this year’s Outside Lands schedule felt more conducive to less park-length traversing, with each stage focusing more on specific genres and demographics. There are still certain aspects that could use improvement, such as an increased availability of trash receptacles, bathroom options and crowd control at the festival’s entrance, but the issues that Outside Lands faced this year were no different or more overbearing than any other large-scale production.

Now nine years on the circuit, the Bay Area’s premiere destination for festival revelers has definitely matured to an impressive standard in the live music business. As Outside Lands continues to set the bar high thanks to its innovative features, top-notch billing and overall experience, here are our favorite moments from 2016.

Outside Lands 2016 - LCD Soundsystem


LCD Soundsystem

TOP SETS:

Headliner: LCD Soundsystem

Hip-Hop: Anderson .Paak

Pop: Grimes

Singer-Songwriter: Lana Del Rey

Rock: FOALS

EDM: Zedd

Jazz: Kamasi Washington

Experimental: Air

Breakthrough artist: Jidenna

Local act: Down and Outlaws

Heineken Dome: Warren G & E-40 (pop-up performance)

Outside Lands 2016 - Chance the Rapper


Chance the Rapper

OUTSIDE LANDS 2016 AWARDS:

Biggest Crowd: Chance the Rapper

In one of the few transcendent moments of the weekend, a set that had everyone throughout the fairgrounds hyped into an anticipatory frenzy, Chance the Rapper performed at the Lands End stage on Sunday afternoon for easily the largest crowd of the entire weekend. Even those who stood their ground through Third Eye Blind’s preceding set felt the drastic change in both crowd size and personal space as the polo fields flooded and temperatures rose. Even though Chance could have used this to his advantage and conducted an explosive show, igniting the tightly configured crowd into a combustive state, he instead took his fans “to church” with a spiritually centered gospel set, making sure everyone was attentive and of course, that “his part” resonated among the masses.

Honorable Mention: Lana Del Rey, J. Cole

Most Magical Outside Lands Moment: Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem

One of the biggest questions on everyone’s mind coming into Outside Lands was, “Who were Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem?” For those who knew, it was, “How in the hell were the Muppets going to fill a Sunday slot on the main stage?” Because the band had never played a show of such magnitude or outside the context of a TV/film studio, no one had any clue what to expect during this early-afternoon slot. Though some festivalgoers (mistakenly) decided to forego the experience altogether, those present will not forget the incredible feat that Another Planet Entertainment and Jim Henson Enterprises were able to pull off for what was one of the most emotionally nostalgic, blissfully complex and once-in-a-lifetime festival performances maybe ever. The Muppet house band both effortlessly managed to pluck the heartstrings of multiple generations of fans while delivering the most conceptually beautiful “love letter” to the city of SF, blanketing the grounds in a sea of love and collective euphoria for a brief, yet unforgettable moment. Relive the full performance here.

Honorable Mention: Big Boi’s set at Heineken Dome (pop-up performance), Jason Isabel performing with Ryan Adams

Outside Lands 2016

Funniest Stage Banter: Ryan Adams and The Shining

Known to be quite the comedian with his sassy stage banter and on-the-spot ad libs, Ryan Adams and his backing band, The Shining, catered to the Bay Area audience by revisiting a moment from his 2014 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass set with a rousing reprise of “3 Balloons”. He not only called out his attending family’s and audience members’ concert etiquette faux pas, but he also mentioned his annoyance with the bass of Major Lazer’s simultaneous set as well as referenced the standout beacon of this year’s festival, which was hoisted up by a group of super fans watching from the crowd. Check out it here.

Honorable Mention: Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem, Lionel Richie

Most Jaw-Dropping Performance: Peaches

For those familiar with the raunchy revelry that a Peaches show entails, we were front and center when the pro-sex powerhouse took the Panhandle stage on Saturday. As for novice audience members or anyone really within the general vicinity during the set, this festival performance was one that frontwoman Merrill Nisker was determined to make sure would be burned into our Outside Lands memories for life. Somewhat of a crossbreed between live sex show and avant-garde performance art, Peaches paired hard-hitting bass lines with spitfire lyrics and a stage show of elaborately X-rated costumes and choreography that left the crowd on one hand speechless and on the other frantically screaming for more.

Honorable Mention: Grimes, The Claypool Lennon Delirium

Best GastroMagic Moment: Skew It on the Bar B with Big Boi, Animal’s Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo and State Bird’s Stuart Brioza

On the third and final day of Outside Lands, most attendees were camped out at their favorite stage, decompressing from the first two days of excitement and settling in to watch the final performances of the weekend. But if you happened to be one of the few wandering through the Choco Lands overpass or happened to remember Big Boi’s scheduled performance at the GastroMagic stage, you were in for a treat. Those present in the intimate crowd not only got a mini set of both Outkast and solo hits from the vivacious emcee, but they also got samples of some of the most sought-after BBQ shrimp in the Bay Area while listening to remixed versions of each song that incorporated the word “shrimp” into every chorus. Hilariously ridiculous and insanely delicious, those present may never hear those songs performed the same way again. In fact, we’re still giggling and singing “I like the way you shrimp” days later.

Honorable Mention: Beignets and Bounce Brunch (with Big Freedia and Brenda’s Soul Food), Shark Bites (with Jauz, Mother of Pearl and Guittard Chocolate Company)

Outside Lands 2016 - Big Grams


Sarah Barthel of Big Grams

Most “Thirst-Inducing” Performers of the Weekend: Big Gram’s Sarah Barthel, Miguel

Worst Decisions of the Weekend: The girl who climbed the windmill during J. Cole’s set and fell (watch here), deciding to bring a bag with you to the festival

Best Totems: The Red Balloon

Honorable Mention: Rick & Morty, Stranger Things Dustin

Biggest Festival Wear Trend of 2016: Hipster Bandito

Honorable Mention: Animal-themed onesies, flower crowns/bedazzled body parts

Best “Taste of the Bay” Menu Item: Bacon Bacon CA BBQ Bacon Burritos

Best Adult Beverage: Elixir’s Whatamelon Cocktail

Best Non-Alcoholic Nectar of the Gods: Straw’s Basil Strawberry Lemonade

Best Festival Feature: Cocktail Lands

Best Way to Waste Time Between Sets: PayPal Video Game Arcade

Outside Lands 2016 - Radiohead


Radiohead

OVERHEARD AT OUTSIDE LANDS 2016:

The best directly stated and heard in passing at the festival.

“An empty bag is still a bag!” – crowd members policing the “no-bag” entry lines to the festival

“Is this the Trail of Tears section of Outside Lands?” – crowd members while passing through Choco Lands

“I’m in the Upside Down …” – Day 3 entry ways to the festival

“Hurry up, run! The flower crowns are coming, the flower crowns are coming!” – crowd members exiting the Twin Peaks stage area before Lana Del Rey

“I must’ve missed the goth/bandito appropriation memo …” – in reference to this year’s style trends

“Meet me at the Red Balloon!” – various lost attendees throughout the grounds

“Tits out for Radiohead!” – an ambitious crowd member on Saturday night

“Jesus, Rachel!” – in reference to “basic bitch” behavior/clothing choices throughout the weekend

“I be on that shrimp tonight, straight up on that shrimp tonight, I be on that straight up on that, I be on that shrimp tonight.” – Big Boi during his GastroMagic performance

“Mmmm, porcini doughnuts …” (Homer Simpson voice) – mimicking nearby food vendors

“Who even is Lionel Richie … oh, Nicole Richies’ dad?!” – mortifyingly clueless audience member

“We’re all Diana Ross!” – Lionel Richie in reference to his “special guest”

“We’re all gonna die, whatcha’ gonna do about it?” – Sufjan Stevens contemplating life on stage

“This is the best moment of my life, can I live in an LCD set?” – enthused crowd member

“I’d follow you to hell …” – a member of a large group attempting to traverse the grounds

“But my mom and dad are in there …” – festivalgoers attempting to jump the line entering the festival

“You know San Francisco has totally changed, like I went back to my place on the pier and it was taken over by sea lions, like totally gentrified!” – Janus during Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem’s set