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 this year, 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. Peep 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.

BeachLife Festival hits the sand in May for third edition with Weezer, 311, The Smashing Pumpkins, Steve Miller Band & more performing

BeachLife Festival - 2022 lineup

BeachLife Festival //
Seaside Lagoon – Redondo Beach, CA
May 13th-15th, 2022 //

The weather outside might be a little chilly right now, but you know what that means? We’re only a few months away from festival season!

Here in California, there has already been plenty of lineup announcements over the past six weeks with Smokin Grooves, This Ain’t No Picnic, Primavera Sound LA, CRSSD and BottleRock all putting out their individual rosters dating from early March to late August. Now, it’s BeachLife Festival’s turn.

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.

If all or some of those names hitting the stage at Seaside Lagoon in Redondo Beach don’t exactly wow you though, don’t stop reading just yet.

BeachLife, which leans heavily in the direction of rock ‘n’ roll and reggae but also incorporates jam, funk and punk acts, has plenty of other talent booked for 2022. Black Pumas, Vance Joy, Sheryl Crow, Stone Temple Pilots and Lord Huron anchor an impressive undercard, but they aren’t the only ones deserving of being mentioned with Cold War Kids, Capital Cities, UB40 feat. Ali Campbell, Milky Chance, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Cannons, Matisyahu, The Allman Betts Band (made up of Devon Allman, Duane Betts and Berry Duane Oakley), Atlas Genius, Sugar Ray, Ozomatli and more on the bill. Check out the poster above for the rest of the scheduled artists and bands.

Want to buy tickets? They’re already on sale here! Three-day GA and GA+ passes can be purchased for $419 or $449, and VIP is available for $899 as well as single-day tickets for $159 (GA), $189 (GA+) and $349 (VIP). And if you’re really looking to throw down some cash, there’s always the three-day Captain’s pass for $2,999 or $1,250 (single-day) so don’t miss the boat on securing your admission to a weekend of live music on the beach before it’s too late.

Lightning in a Bottle 2019 boasts Disclosure (DJ set), Big Gigantic, Flying Lotus & more at a new location

Lightning in a Bottle - 2019 lineup

Lightning in a Bottle //
Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area – Bakersfield, CA
May 8th-13th, 2019 //

After a longer-than-expected wait, Lightning in a Bottle has finally given us the goods.

The “transformational festival,” which has become an excellent hangover cure for West Coast music fans shortly after Coachella, usually drops its lineup sometime in mid-January, but with new dates and a new location in Kern County holding things up, it took an extra month before we could learn more about who will be performing in 2019.

And boy, did The Do LaB go big for the 16th edition of its signature event, booking Disclosure (DJ set), Big Gigantic, Flying Lotus (3D) and Santigold to lead another outstanding lineup that comes to Buena Vista Aquatic Recreation Area in Bakersfield this May.

Let’s just hope leaving on Monday morning doesn’t take a mind-numbing five hours like it did once at San Antonio Recreation Area, the festival’s previous site in Bradley from 2014-18.

Now a staple in California’s expansive music festival scene, LIB took some more steps toward the mainstream a year ago after securing Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Zhu, Griz and Fever Ray to play its 2018 installlment, and it appears to have continued down that same path with Gramatik, Toro y Moi and Khruangbin on board for this go-around, which will not occur over Memorial Day weekend as has been the tradition.

Lightning in a Bottle 2019 - Phase 2 lineup

Other acts earning a spot on the Phase 1 roster include Rising Appalachia, Masego, ELOHIM, Cautious Clay, Jan Bloomqvist & Band, Channel Tres, Framworks, ÌFÉ, LUM, Mobley, Lane 8, DJ Koze, Damian Lazarus, Shiba San, Bedouin, Recondite (Live), Escapade (Walker & Royce + Ardalan), G Jones, The Polish Ambassador, OPIUO, CloZee, Shades, 1788-L and more.

UPDATE (March 5th): The Do LaB has announced the Phase 2 lineup for LIB 2019 with Ozomatli, Rising Appalachia, My Baby, Swingrowers, Próxima Parada, The Fungineers, Frameworks, Vokab Company, Balkan Bump and more all slated to perform across four stages. Check out the poster above for the rest of the bill.

LIB has received praise as one of the nation’s premier boutique festivals over the years, but that label has been called into question as sold-out crowds have become more of the norm. Meanwhile, prior mainstays like Lucent Dossier Experience and William Close & The Earth Harp Collective have also been recently absent as the fest’s organizers look to branch out.

Four- and five-day passes to LIB can be purchased here for $335 and $395, respectively, this Saturday, February 16th 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 art, yoga, workshops and speakers.

Itching to attend LIB? Take a peek at our past coverage here.

SF Show of the Week // GO4FREE to Wye Oak at Great American Music Hall 7/15 (FRI)

Wye OakWritten by Brett Ruffenach //

Wye Oak with Tuskha //
Great American Music Hall – San Francisco
July 15th, 2016 //

Just a year ago, I was at Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle, hanging out at the main stage on an unlikely sunny afternoon. Joining an impressive lineup of artists — including Jamie xx, Father John Misty and Toro y Moi — for a relatively small music festival, Wye Oak took the stage and demonstrated a unique sound. Between the masterful guitar and vocals of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stuck’s simultaneous drumming and synthesizer work, the duo put on a captivating set that certainly won more than a couple new fans (myself included) that day.

Wye Oak have successfully carved their own path in the world of indie rock. The Baltimore duo have made a name for themselves with their increasingly ambitious studio efforts, from their 2011 breakthrough LP Civilian to their critically acclaimed 2014 record Shriek. With each record, their sound has matured more in form as they add new elements of vocal distortions, synthesizers and syncopated guitar melodies.

Though a standard strategy for mainstream artists like Beyoncé and Adele, Wye Oak dropped their new record Tween by surprise just a month ago. It is a tightly-knit, 10-track album that expands on the production style of Shriek and continues to demonstrate Wye Oak’s ambition as a band, an ambition that’s best captured in the swelling vocals and distortions of “Trigger Finger” and dragging guitar chord progressions guiding “Too Right”.

In a non-stop stream of indie-rock acts coming through SF, Wye Oak is a truly different kind of indie-rock band that is not to be missed live. This Friday, they will be taking the stage at the Great American Music Hall with support from Bowerbirds member Phil Moore’s electropop project Tuskha. Tickets are available for $23, or you could win a pair of tickets by submitting your full name and email below.

Contest ends this Friday at 3 p.m.

Wye Oak - Great American Music Hall


Follow Showbams on Twitter for more contest giveaways throughout the week. Be the first to respond to our contest tweets to GO4FREE to these shows:

Mike Will Made-It: July 15th (FRI) @ The Independent
The English Beat: July 15th (FRI) @ The Independent
Fear of Men: July 15th (FRI) @ Swedish American Hall
Sugar Candy Mountain: July 15th (FRI) @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall
Ozomatli: July 15th (FRI) or July 16th (SAT) @ The New Parish
La Gente: July 16th (SAT) @ Great American Music Hall


Win-2-Tickets

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). 21+ only.

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

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BottleRock drops 2016 lineup, led by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Wonder, Florence + the Machine

BottleRock Napa 2016 lineup

BottleRock Napa Valley //
Napa Valley Expo – Napa, CA
May 27th-29th, 2016 //

While everyone has been fixating on Monday night’s Coachella lineup announcement, which includes a reunited LCD Soundsystem and some form of Guns N’ Roses headlining the Indio festival, BottleRock Napa Valley was busy unveiling their own bill less than a day later.

The three-day festival in downtown Napa, which appeals to an older crowd than the aforementioned Coachella, announced its lineup early Tuesday and will welcome Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Wonder and Florence + the Machine as headliners over Memorial Day weekend.

With more than 70 artists scheduled to perform across four stages, other noteworthy acts on this year’s lineup include The Lumineers, Death Cab for Cutie, Lenny Kravitz, Walk the Moon, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Ziggy Marley, Grouplove, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Gogol Bordello, Cold War Kids, Iration, Misterwives, Atlas Genius, Buddy Guy, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, The Pharcyde, The Joy Formidable, X Ambassadors, Ozomatli and Jamestown Revival.

BottleRock will also be bringing back and expanding its popular Culinary Stage that’s known for matching culinary stars up with celebrities, as last year’s festival saw Snoop Dogg teaming up with “Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto.

Tickets go on sale on Thursday, January 7th at 10 a.m. here and start at $269 for a three-day GA pass. VIP passes will be sold for $619, and a three-day platinum pass is as much as $3,100.

So, as you get ready for your “first taste of summer,” go back in time with our 2014 coverage.

PHOTOS: Ozomatli, Bang Data at The New Parish 3/28

OZO1 (3 of 5)

By Steve Roby

Ozomatli with Bang Data, Kool Kyle
The New Parish — Oakland
Friday March 28th, 2014 //

Hats off to the talented folks at The New Parish for putting together a solid triple bill of entertainment.

Local DJ El Kool Kyle (Kyle Brinson) got the party started with a powerful ninety-minute set of hip-hop-infused Latin music. Kyle is no newcomer. In the 1980’s he toured with Run-DMC, and has since co-founded Baylando Records, a new independent record label focused on urban indigenous dance music. He celebrates 21 years of music making in the Bay Area.

BD1 (1 of 5)

By 10pm, the crowd was ready for live music, and Oakland’s own Bang Data didn’t disappoint. The edgy Latin band features Deuce Eclipse on vocals, drummer Juan Manuel Caipo, bassist Marco Guzman, and Dave Lopez on guitar. They emerged in 2009 with their debut EP Maldito Carnaval, and followed up in 2012 with the full-length album La Sopa. Crowd pleasers at The New Parish were “Amor Califas”, “Don’t Know” and of course the self-titled “Bang Data”, which was featured on A&E’s Emmy Award winning television drama Breaking Bad. Keep a close eye on this band, and catch them next month at San Francisco’s The Independent on April 25th.

OZO

After a quick turn-around, Ozomatli hit the stage like a mad bull out of control. If you were on the second level overlooking the stage, you could feel the floor bounce as everyone jumped to the infectious beat. And when guitarist Raul Pacheco leapt into the crowd for an extended solo, the audience went nuts.

Ozomatli are currently on tour supporting their recent release, Place In The Sun (Vanguard/Caroline). This is the eighth album by the multi-genre, multi-cultural Grammy-winning band. Critics have called the record “funky, loud and fresh right from the start.”

The band will now prepare for a tour of Australia in April. They’ll be back in California come August, but no Bay Area dates are scheduled yet.

OZO1 (5 of 5)

WIN TICKETS: Ozomatli at The New Parish 3/29

ozomatli_post

Enter to win a pair of free tickets to the Saturday Ozomatli show below (March 29).

Ozomatli with Bang Data, Kool Kyle (3/28) and La Misa Negra, DJ Julicio (3/29)
The New Parish — Oakland
March 28th & 29th, 2014 (Friday & Saturday) //

Get ready to start your weekend with the multi-Grammy winning band Ozomatli this Friday and Saturday at The New Parish in Oakland. The band is currently on tour promoting their recently released album, Place In The Sun.

Ozomatli burst onto the LA scene in 1998, and a year later were touring with Carlos Santana and won the Grammy for “Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album” for 2001’s Embrace The Chaos, and in 2004 for their album Street Signs.

Now’s your chance to catch Ozomatli for their only Bay Area appearance (March 28/29) before they head out to Australia. Ozomatli infuses a DJ party mix with dynamic live band chops and attitude that you won’t want to miss.

Buy tickets if you know you want to go.


Win-2-Tickets

Enter to win if you can attend this show Saturday, March 29th at The New Parish in Oakland.

Submit your full name and email address below.
Contest ends Friday, March 28th at Noon. Winners will be picked at random & notified by email. Your email will be kept private – we will share your email with no one.

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WKEND MIXTAPE: Cut Chemist – American Pie: Fall Backwards

Cut Chemist

Los Angeles native Cut Chemist brings us this week’s mix with a deep blend of psych folk and rock selections. Created last fall to give thanks to the harvest of music that was recorded in this country, you’ll find an hour of music perfect for the season.

Cut Chemist is a founding member of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He is also a co-creator of Brainfreeze with DJ Shadow.

For more mixes from Cut Chemist check out his Soundcloud page.