The 11th annual Bonnaroo Music Festival runs June 7-10th in Manchester, Tennessee. This year’s bill is headlined by Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish, and the reunited Beach Boys, with Bon Iver, The Shins, Dispatch, Foster the People, The Avett Brothers, Skrillex, Feist, and Aziz Ansari among the other heavyweights.

Other notables include The Roots, Ben Folds Five, Black Star, Alice Cooper, St. Vincent, Mogwai, Major Lazer, Flying Lotus, Alabama Shakes, Dawes, Flogging Molly, Childish Gambino, Ludacris, tUnE-yArDs, SBTRKT, Battles, Black Lips, Kendrick Lamar, Danny Brown, The Joy Formidable, Young the Giant, Kurt Vile and The Violators, EMA, The Antlers, Delta Spirit, Das Racist, The War on Drugs, Laura Marling, Here We Go Magic,  Yelawolf, and Mac Miller.

Also playing are Umphey’s McGee, The Word (featuring Robert Randolph, John Medeski, and North Mississippi Allstars), Bad Brains, Mariachi El Bronx, The Devil Makes Three, Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires, Gary Clark Jr., Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Kathleen Edwards, Phantogram, Two Door Cinema Club, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Civil Wars, City and Colour, The Kooks, Big Freedia, K-Flay, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Grouplove, White Denim, SOJA, Big Gigantic, Fruit Bats, Moon Taxi, The Soul Rebels, The Lonely Forest, ALO, Blind Pilot, Ben Howard, Trampled By Turtles, Mimosa, and Spectrum Road (featuring Santana, John Medeski, Jack Bruce, Cindy Blackman, and Vernon Reid.)

This year also promises another one of Bonnaroo’s trademark superjams; however, the participating artists have yet to be announced.

In all, over 125 bands and 20 comedians will perform across 13 stages during the four-day event. Additional artists and comedians will be revealed in the coming weeks. Below, you can watch the lineup announced by ESPN’s John Anderson.

Tickets go on sale beginning Saturday, February 18th at Noon ET via the festival’s website.

Update: Here’s the poster:

The sucessor to the infamous Rothbury Music Festival, Electric Forest returns for its second-go around from June 28th – July 1st in Rothbury, Michigan. Much like its inaugural year, jam veterans String Cheese Incident will headline the festivities, playing three sets over the course of the weekend. This year, they’ll be joined by Bassnectar, STS9 (who will play two shows), Girl Talk, Thievery Corporation, and Santigold.

Other notable acts include Major Lazer, Ghostland Observatory, Richie Hawtin, Wolfgang Gartner, Das Racist, Zeds Dead, Big Gigantic, Datsik, Steve Aoki, Reggie Watts, Battles, Pictureplane, EOTO, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, 12th Planet, Glass Candy, Gramatik, Chromatics, Balkan Beat Box, Paper Diamond, Borgore, and Chali 2na & the House of Vibe, among others. Check out the complete lineup at Festival Outlook.

GA and VIP passes are now available via the festival’s website.

The Wakarusa Music Festival has revealed the second phase of its 2012 lineup. Pretty Lights, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and an acoustic performance by Bob Weir, Chris Robinson, and Jackie Green led the first phase. Now, the festival has added Primus, Girl Talk, and Umphrey’s McGee to the fold.

Other new additions include Fitz and the Tantrums, Blitzen Trapper, Heartless Bastards, Big Gigantic, Gary Clark Jr., That 1 Guy, The Secret Sisters, Tea Leaf Gren, Toubab Krewe, Lance Herbstrong, and more. You can check out the festival’s current bill at our Festival Outlook, and stay tuned for the third and final lineup phases.

Wakarusa 2012 runs May 31st to June 3rd at Mulbery Mountain in Ozark, Arkansas. Four-day, VIP, and other ticket packages are now available via the festival’s website.

About two hours prior to midnight, Oakland, CA’s Polish Ambassador took the stage dressed in a jumpsuit straight-out of 1987 to warm up the already crowded dance floor. Signed to 1320 Records, the Ambassador (nee: David Sugalski) produced a progressive set of original mixes with the quirky use of classic synths, a wide ranging track selection, and funky break beats. Plus, with an infectious carefree stage presence, booty-popping was guaranteed. The set’s list of samples reads like the playlist from a typical college dance-party, but like a well-dressed Polish sausage, he buried the original track beneath a delicious mound of toppings. Crowd favorites included glitchy re-edits of Major Lazer’s “Hold The Line”, Dead Prez’ “It’s Biger Than Hip-Hop”, the indie-favorite “Litsztomania”, and the original Polish Ambassador hip-hop mashup, “Girl Control”. He closed the set reminding everyone to grab most of the cuts from his website for free, but we’ll have to wait a bit for him to upload the unreleased remix of Kelis’ “Milkshake”.

At 11:30 p.m., Lalli and Sulken emmerged from backstage and appeared atop their respective elaborate lighting rigs. To the delight of longtime fans, the duo opened their night with “Wide Awake”, and just to ensure the crowd were in fact wide awake, they broke into a remix of the instrumental hook from The Prodigy’s “Voodoo People”. Four minutes prior to midnight, Big G announced they’d be playing a brand new track to bring in the New Year, then Lalli triggered Kanye West’s “Homecoming” and commenced an epic sax solo over Sulken’s syncopated percussive beat.

As the clock struck 12 a.m., confetti and balloons rained down upon the crowd as “Rise and Shine” blared through the Riv’s booming sound system. Big G further tested the system with a series of hip-hop remixes, chopping the vocals and adding some deep bass on “Notorius Thugs”, then sustaining a long bass tone underneath a nasty remix of Jay-Z’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulder”, and re-worked Yeezy’s “Get Em High” with a future bass touch up. The crowd appreciated the uptick in bass intensity and tempo, but by focusing on those characteristics, the tracks lost Lalli’s signature sax solos which is what really sets the duo apart from the growing number of popular glitch/electro-house producers.

After almost two hours of relentless energy, Big G took a brief break before the first of two encores. The first featured a live re-edit of Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow”, which a sweaty Sulken mouthed the entire time, and the second showcased a new track off the forthcoming Nocturnal. Even at 2 a.m. fans were reluctant to leave, hoping the duo would somehow had time for one final jam. When the house lights were finally turned on, smiles were seen across the crowd, and it was obvious, we were the folks that will be talking about our epic NYE night for weeks to come.

It’s been a long year. Scratch that, it’s been a veeerrrry long year. From social revolutions to the end of our occupation of Iraq, from the death of celebrities and dictators to a man who sneezes bullets and the mystery of planking, the world experienced a slew of emotions and all sorts of cultural and political upheaval in 2011. And that’s not even counting the plethora of music news that had the blogosphere abuzz this year.

So, as the question begs, what comes next? Well, 2012. If you were to believe certain factions, it’ll be the end of days. A more likely scenario, though, is that it will be another busy year, with people to meet, triumphs to celebrate, disasters to mourn, and a whole other set of memories to file away as we march perpetually onward toward the Great Unknown. A dreary prospect for sure, one that almost makes the impending Apocalypse sound warm and fuzzy. However, there is temporary respite in the form of New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Eve is that magic night where one year is all but over. It’s the chance to stop worrying for a moment. It’s an opportunity to celebrate surviving the last 364. It’s the start of a whole new scheme or design for the upcoming 365. Rather than chugging cheap champagne and letting off fireworks, NYE should be commemorated with the one thing that makes any year bearable: music.

As we have for every other major celebratory occasion, CoS has your back with our handy-dandy New Year’s Eve 2011 Concert Guide. From the beaches of Miami to life in the City of Angels, and everywhere between, our guide has everything you’ll need to know to see your favorite bands live. Whether you’re planning to rock out with Patti Smith at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, get freaky with The Flaming Lips and Yoko Ono in Oklahoma City, or hit up BOTH of Kaskade’s NYE shows (in two different state mind you), our guide is the only New Year’s Eve accessory you need (save for maybe a noisemaker). Plus, if you’re not one to brave the weather and the sea of drunks, we’ll tell you what you should be watching on the old boob tube. The point is, if it’s happening on NYE, it’s in this guide. Your only concern will be how to get home and/or where to pass out at the end of the night.

If we’ve missed any gathering or shindig, please let us know in the comments below. Call this a cliché bit of writing, but we’d like to leave you with some parting words from the immortal Benjamin Franklin to guide you into what lies ahead: “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”

See ya in 2012.

-Chris Coplan
News Editor

New York City

– AarabMUZIK, Balam Acab: 285 Kent

– Assembly of Dust: Mercury Lounge

– Avicii: Pier 34

– The Bad Plus: The Village Vanguard

– Charles Bradley, The Budos Band: Music Hall of Williamsburg

– Chuck Berry: B.B. King Blues Club

– Dark Star Orchestra: Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ)

– Deadmau5: Pier 36

– Deer Tick, J. Roddy Watson and the Business, Dead Confederate: Brooklyn Bowl

– Fitz and the Tantrums: The Gramercy Theatre

– Gogol Bordello: Terminal 5

– Gov’t Mule: Beacon Theatre

– Infected Mushroom: Best Buy Theater

– The Knocks: Gansevoort Park Avenue

– Laidback Luke: Pacha

– Lee Fields & The Expressions: The Bell House

– Los Lobos: City Winery

– Matt and Kim, Super Mash Bros., Body Language: Hammerstein Ballroom

– Neru: Webster Hall

– The New Deal: B.B. King Blues Club

– New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men: Roseland Ballroom

– Nick Catchdubs: Loreley

– Nosaj Thing: Glasslands

– O’Death: Spike Hill

– Patti Smith: Bowery Ballroom

– Phish: Madison Square Garden

– Steve Lawler: District 36

– Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Maxwells (Hoboken, NJ)

Chicago

– Alkaline Trio: Metro

– Big Gigantic: Riviera Theatre

– Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears: Double Door

– Cage the Elephant, Sleeper Agent: Aragon Ballroom

– Cave: The Hideout

– Disco Biscuits, Future Rock: Auditorium Theatre

– The Hood Internet: Lincoln Hall

– Keys N Krates: Chicago Urban Art Society

– Local H: Bottom Lounge

– Murder By Death: Subterranean

– Old 97s: Intercontinental Hotel Grand Ballroom

– Rusko, Sinden, Switch: Congress Theater

– The Spits: Cobra Lounge

Los Angeles

– The Aggrolites: Alex’s Bar

– Benny Benassi, Paul Van Dyk, Kaskade, Dada Life: Anaheim Convention Center (White Wonderland)

– DJ Quik: Key Club

– Duck Sauce, Diplo, Chromeo, Felix da Housecat, The Bloody Beetroots, LA Riots: Oak Canyon Park (Together As One)

– The Henry Clay People, Races: The Satellite

– Give Up the Ghost: Ukrainian Culture Center

– Jenny and Johnny, Cults: The Standard Hollywood

– John Digweed: The Avalon

– Junkie XL: Detroit Bar

– L.A. Guns: Whisky A Go Go

– Lupe Fiasco: Hollywood & Highland Center

– Musiq Soulchild: House of Blues

– Wanda Jackson, Best Coast, Dan Sartain: Club Nokia

San Francisco

– The Fresh & Onlys, Thee Oh Sees: Brick and Mortar Music Hall

– Furthur: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

– Kreayshawn: The Regency Ballroom

– The Limousines: Rickshaw Stop

– Maceo Parker: Yoshi’s

– Santigold, Amon Tobin Islam Live, Beats Antique, Claude Von Stroke,: Concourse Exhibition Center (Sea of Dreams)

– Primus: Great American Music Hall

– The Slip: Cafe du Nord

– Sonny & The Sunsets: Amnesia

– Talib Kweli: Sloane Squared

– Tedeschi Trucks Band, The New Mastersounds: The Warfield

– Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue: The Fillmore

– X: Slim’s

– Yeasayer (DJ Set): W Hotel

– DJ Z-Trip: Fort Mason Center

London

– The 2 Bears: XOYO

– Adam Beyer: Fabric

– Ferry Corsten: Brixton Academy

– Gabby Young and Other Animals: Royal Festival Hall

– Gary Numan: All Star Lanes

– Gross Magic: The Victoria

– Joker, Brekage, Roska, Plastician, Sigma: Electric Brixon

– Kasabian, Chase & Status, Zane Lowe: The O2

– Toddla T: The Nest

– The Wedding Present: Dingwalls

Elsewhere

Aspen

– Jane’s Addiction: Belly Up

Athens (Georgia)

– MartyParty, Dubconscious: New Earth Music Hall

– of Montreal: Go Bar

– Reptar: Georgia Theatre

Atlanta

– Against Me!, Fake Problems, Franz Nicolay: The Masquerade

– Cake: Fox Theatre

– JJ Grey & Mofro: Variety Playhouse

– Kylesa: The Earl

– Naughty By Nature, Ed Kowalczyk: Hyatt Regency

– Perpetual Groove: Center Stage

– STS9: The Tabernacle

– Zac Brown Band: Philips Arena

Atlantic City

– Brand New: House of Blues

Austin

– Big Freedia: The Mohawk

– The Black Angels, Wooden Shjips, Ume: Emo’s East

– Bob Schneider, Quiet Company: Paramount Theatre

– Designer Drugs: Austin Music Hall

– Gary Clark Jr.: Antone’s

– Groupo Fantasma: Beauty Bar

– Hayes Carll: La Zona Rosa

– Penguin Prison: American Legion Hall

– Russian Circles: Red 7

– White Denim, Royal Bangs: The Empire Space

– Willie Nelson: Moody Theater

Australia

– Arctic Monkeys, Crystal Castles, Dan Deacon, The Naked and Famous: The Falls Festival (Lorne)

– Fleet Foxes, Beirut, CSS, CANT, Unknown Mortal Orchestra: The Falls Festival (Marion Bay)

Baltimore

– Carbon Leaf: Hyatt Regency

– SOJA: Baltimore Soundstage

Boston

– David Wax Museum: Lizard Lounge (Cambridge, MA)

– Lucero: Paradise

– New York Dolls: New England Conservatory

Charlotte (North Carolina)

– Widespread Panic: Time Warner Cable Arena

Dallas

– Girl Talk, Ghostland Observatory, MSTRKRFT, Neon Indian, Pendulum (DJ Set): Lights All Night

– The Polyphonic Spree, Centro-matic: House of Blues

– Quinton and Miss Pussycat: Zubar

Denver

– Flux Pavilion, Doctor P: Colorado Convention Center

– Gauntlet Hair, Pictureplane: The Larmier Lounge

– Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad: Cervantes’ Other Side

– Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Orgone: Cervatnes Ballroom

– Ladytron (DJ Set): City Hall

– Pretty Lights: 1stBANK Center (Broomfield, CO)

– Railroad Earth: Ogden Theatre

– Truckasauras: The Summit

– Ween: The Fillmore

Detroit

– The Detroit Cobras: Magic Stick

– Greensky Bluegrass, The Macpodz: Majestic Theatre

– Maze featuring Frankie Beverly: Masonic Temple

Greenville (South Carolina)

– The Avett Brothers: Bi-Lo Center

Houston

– Blue October: House of Blues

– Christopher Lawrence: Stereo Live

– Young Jeezy: Reliant Arena

Lake Tahoe

– Bassnectar, Pretty Lights, Thievery Corporation, The Glitch Mob, Childish Cambino, A-Trak, Theophilus London, YACHT: Snowglobe Music Festival

Las Vegas

– Chris Brown: Pure Nightclub

– Guns N’ Roses, Sebastian Bach: The Joint

– John Legend: Pearl Concert Theater

– Kaskade: Marquee

– NOFX, Lagwagon: House of Blues

– Paul Oakenfold: Rain

– Steve Angello: XS Nightclub

– Stevie Wonder: Cosmopolitan

Louisville (Kentucky)

– The Pass: Butchertown Pub Studios

Miami

– The Heavy Pets: Tobacco Road

– Spam All-Stars: The Catalina Hotel

Minneapolis

– Dawes: Varsity Theater

– EOTO: Skyway Theater

Milwaukee

– Skrillex, Dillon Francis: The Rave

Nashville

– Bassnectar: Bridgestone Arena

– Moon Taxi, Apache Relay: Exit/In

New Orleans

– Big Sam’s Funky Nation: The Joy Theater

– Black Lips: One Eyed Jacks

– Dr. John: House of Blues

– Funky Meters: Tipitina’s French Quarter

– Galactic, Anders Osborne: Tipitina’s Uptown

— Rebirth Brass Band: Howlin’ Wolf

Northampton (Massachusetts)

– Josh Ritter: Calvin Theater

– Rubblebucket: Pearl Street Nightclub

Oklahoma City

– The Flaming Lips, Yoko Ono: Brickstown Events Center

Orlando

– Trivium, Sevendust, Black Tide: House of Blues

– Slightly Stoopid, The Expendables: Hard Rock Live

Ottawa

– Electric Six: Mavericks

Philadelphia

– Clutch: Trocadero

– Eternal Summers, Bleeding Rainbow: Level Room

– Good Old War, River City Extension: Theatre of Living Arts

– Lotus: Festival Pier

– Man Man (DJ Set), Dr. Dog (DJ Set), Sun Airway (DJ Set): Johnny Brenda’s

– Smoking Popes: North Star Bar

Phoenix

– Meat Puppets: Clubhouse Music Venue

Portland (Maine)

– moe.: State Theatre

Portland (Oregon)

– Leftover Salmon: Roseland Theater

– Nurses, Radiation City: Mississippi Studios

– Pierced Arrows: Ash Street Saloon

– Red Fang: Star Theater

– Reverend Horton Heat, Supersuckers: The Crystal Ballroom

– Talkdemonic: Misson Theater

San Diego

– Fedde Le Grand, Porter Robinson, Hardwell, Bart B More: Valley View Casino Center (OMFG! NYE)

– Kinky: 4th & B

Seattle

– Mustard Pimp: King Cat Theatre

– Starfucker, Champagne Champagne: The Crocodile

St. Louis (Missouri):

– Cowboy Mouth: Old Rock House

– Devon Allman’s Honeytribe: Blueberry Hill

– Excision: Koken Art Factory

– Umphrey’s McGee: The Pageant

Toronto

– Elliot Brood: Lee’s Palace

– Kyuss! Lives: Cherry Cola’s Rock N’ Rolla Cabaret & Lounge

– The Sadies: Horseshoe Tavern

– Steve Aoki, Thomas Gold: Kool Haus

Vancouver

– Tiësto: Pacific Coliseum

Washington, DC

– Animal Collective (DJ Set), Le Tigre (DJ Set), ANR (DJ Set): 1800 L Street NW (BYT NYE)

– Drive-By Truckers, Booker T, Alabama Shakes: 9:30 Club

– Gucci Mane: Love Night Club

– Morgan Page: Fur Nightclub

– Painted Face: Rock and Roll Hotel

On TV

– Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (ABC): Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, Blink-182, Nicki Minaj

– New Year’s Eve with Carson Daily (NBC): Drake, The Roots, Cee-Lo Green

– NYE in NYC (MTV): J. Cole

– Coldplay New Year’s Eve: An Austin City Limits Special (PBS)

It’s not often you hear jazz blasting from the average dormitory or house party, but by combining the timeless American art-form with nasty beats, hip-hop elements, and a progressive production style, Colorado’s Big Gigantic are getting an entirely new generation swinging to underlying jazz melodies. Even with a relentless 2011 summer touring schedule, the duo of saxophonist/producer Dominic Lalli and drummer Jeremy Salken have managed to make it back into the studio, and are now delivering the lead single from their upcoming album Nocturnal. Available below in both mp3 and live video form, “Rise and Shine” showcases Lalli’s phenomenal ability to craft a bumping dance track over his saxophone runs, along with Salken’s ferociously syncopated drumming style, two attributes that have helped Big Gigantic quickly develop a loyal, and expanding, booty-shaking fanbase. Just one tip: Make sure to turn the volume up. Your neighbors will appreciate it.

Big Gigantic – “Rise and Shine”

Nocturnal is due out in October. In support of the album’s release, Big Gigantic will spend much of the coming weeks on the road, playing shows with Pretty Lights and Bassnectar.

Big Gigantic 2011 Tour Dates:
09/20 – Asheville, NC @ Thomas Wolfe Auditorium *
09/21 – Charlottesville, VA @ Charlottesville Pavilion *
09/22 – Binghamton, NY @ SUNY Binghamton Events Center *
09/23 – Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion *
09/24 – Washington, DC @ DC Armory #
09/25 – Lewiston, ME @ The Colisee *
09/27 – Burlington, VT @ Memorial Auditorium *
09/29-10/03 – Rombello Cruise
10/06 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bluebird
10/07 – Knoxville, TN @ The Valarium
10/08 - Louisville, KY @  Headliners
10/11 – Oxford, MS @ The Lyric *
10/12 –  Oxford, MS @ The Lyric *
10/13 - Tuscaloosa, AL @ Tuscaloosa Amphitheatre *
10/14 - Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre *
10/19 – Des Moines, IA @ People’s Court
10/20 – Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre
10/21 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Cabooze
10/22 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
10/23 – Urbana, IL @ Canopy Club
10/28 – Charleston, SC @ The Music Farm
10/29 – Little Rock, AR @  Verizon Arena *
11/12 – Little Rock, FL @ Bear Creek Music Festival

 * = w/ Pretty Lights
# = w/ Bassnectar

Danceability seemed like the only factor that connected many of North Coast’s diverse acts. The headliners had lengthy electronic resumes: Thievery Corporation, Bassnectar, Fatboy Slim, and David Guetta. Meanwhile, the undercard was a smorgasbord of styles: the quirky pop of acts like Little Dragon and of Montreal; classic hip-hop from Common; sample-heavy dance beats from Zed’s Dead, Major Lazer, and Wolfgang Gartner; and gypsy punk from Gogol Bordello. North Coast has so far been a case of all the odd kids at school sitting at one lunch table together, finally achieving critical oddball mass. North Coast is so varied, so wild, so different that everything flips and becomes cool again; a fest that many music snobs brush off (“I don’t really like electronica”) becomes the can’t-miss event of summer.

Sold-out on days two and three, North Coast seemed to be by all accounts a wild success. Like last year, superior organization (this is seriously the best-run festival I have ever been to or heard of) and good luck with the weather (it did rain, but the thunderstorm that forced the cancellation of many a football game on Saturday bypassed the fest altogether) contributed to a memorable weekend. They call North Coast “Summer’s Last Stand,” and we’d like to keep standing with it for as long as it’ll have us. Any summer that ends with thousands of people dancing in a field together in the cool night air is alright by us.

-Megan Ritt
Editorial Manager

Friday, September 2nd

The Hood Internet – Red Bull Stage – 4:30 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

 The Hood Internet kicked off the afternoon for a lot of festival-goers, and they handled their assignment artfully. The shady Red Bull Stage provided better-than-expected relief from the nearly 100-degree heat, and the crowd cooled off while warming up to The Hood Internet’s eclectic mix of mash-ups. These included cuts from Modest Mouse and Michael Jackson and a sing-along inducing rendition of Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You”. A dynamic light show and chilled-out dancing fit right along with the chorus of R. Kelly’s “Remix to Ignition”, combined into a dance-heavy mash-up: “It’s the freakin’ weekend baby/ I’m about to have me some fun.” –Megan Ritt

Auto Body – The Named After Groupon Stage – 5:30 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

If you’re still a fan of neon headbands, leggings, John Hughes’ flicks, and/or sporting a fanny pack, set Auto Body atop your must listen list. Hailing from sultry Austin, TX, the producer/bass guitar tandem of Thibault Bowman (aka DJ Thibault) and Felix Moreno had no issues with the intense mid-afternoon heat; sending out a cool wave of electro-pop beats. Even up against James Zabiela, the duo utilized an array of synthesizers, samplers, and Bowman’s above average vocals to build a decently sized, dance-happy crowd. Even those in the audience with two left feet would have a hard time not bouncing to the beats of “Closer To The Edge”. -Derek Staples

SBTRKT – North Coast Stage – 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

Warning: Do not attend a SBTRKT show in hopes of catching multiple tracks off his debut release. The (as-always) masked performance began on a high note with a remix of Radiohead’s “Hole Inside My Head” and only continued to pick up steam, rarely mixing in vocal samples or slowing down the tempo to below 120 BPM, both of which are prevalent on SBTRKT. To the joy of the audience, SBTRKT did stray from the more up-tempo electro-dub DJ set to spin “Wildfire”, but unfortunately Little Dragon wasn’t on-hand for a special guest appearance. -Derek Staples

Lotus – Red Bull Grove Stage – 7:00 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

During a day dominated by solo DJs, Lotus’ performance offered revelers the opportunity to actually watch an act perform tracks. Backed with an amazing light show, the four-piece started the set with “Bellwether”, and then got the Lotus-faithful moving with a spectacular performance of the bass/keyboard driven “Lead Pipe” into “Sunrain”. The set was closed out with a healthy dose of funk administered in the form of “Greet The Mind”. For a festival with such a high population of young hippies and jam fans, the 90-minute performance was deserving of headlining status over Wiz Khalifa and David Guetta. -Derek Staples

Wolfgang Gartner – North Coast Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

As the sun set and the stage lights came up, Wolfgang Gartner took the stage in a full-on tribal mask. The sound built up quietly, almost indistinguishable from the canned backing music, until suddenly the bass was booming and the party began in earnest. An explosive, throbbing club beat drew people from all corners of the grounds, and the mass of pulsing humanity resembled nothing so much as a rave. Glow sticks held high, the crowd jumped as one to clever remixes like “Show Me Love” and a line from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. After a long set, the music began to run together, and the crowd began to trickle away to get spots for Wiz Khalifa. –Megan Ritt

David Guetta – North Coast Stage – 8:30 p.m. 

Photo by Lilian Cai

Most artists feel comfortable spending a few minutes backstage prior to a performance, some go out of their way to interact, but David Guetta went to extremes in order to avoid all interactions during his performance Friday night at North Coast. Just moments prior to his set, the French superstar DJ/producer was ushered as near the stage as possible via a black SUV, and then demanded limited access to the backstage area during the entirety of his performance. Sociability issues aside, Guetta has the tracks and experience under his belt to perform a 90-minute long set entirely of massive self-produced radio/club hits.

The set focused on Guetta’s most recent album, Nothing But The Beat, launching with his recent Snoop Dogg collaboration entitled “Sweat”, and continuing with new hits “Where Them Girls At”, “Little Bad Girl”, “I Just Wanna Fuck (feat. Afrokjack”), and “Lunar”. Further Afrojack collaborations popped up, a remix of Guetta’s hit “One Love” over Afrojack’s “Doing it Right”. With a world-class visual production supporting every track, Guetta also spun “Levels”, “Memories”, and “Without You”. -Derek Staples

Wiz Khalifa – Red Bull Stage – 9:00 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

Clad in Taylor Gang shirts and by now thoroughly drunk, the crowd roared when Wiz Khalifa took the stage with “When I’m Gone”. The edge of melancholy to the lyrics was perhaps lost on the partying crowd, but let it never be said the music was not enjoyed. With a monotone delivery and solid flow, Khalifa rapped over a couple guys on backing vocals and a DJ scratching on a pair of turntables.

Khalifa’s lyrics run to women and weed, but then so does the average fest-goer. “Make some noise over there if you’re smoking that good weed!” he shouted to a chorus of cheers. Tracks like “Cabin Fever” and “Gangbang” had the audience singing along. “The Thrill” added a surprising touch of sobriety to the proceedings. The crowd went nuts when they heard the opening bars, and the delivery of the serious lines made Khalifa a great deal more respectable as a performer. “We are always running for the thrill of it/ thrill of it… Never looking down/ I’m just in awe of what’s in front of me,” he spat, and you got the sense that he truly was. –Megan Ritt

Saturday, September 3rd

Rubblebucket – Groupon Stage –  1:30 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

Those who took the trouble to arrive early on Saturday were treated to one of the best sets of the weekend. Rubblebucket, an eight-piece featuring horns and keyboard, dominated the Groupon Stage with an addictive blend of jam-tastic indie dance-pop. A funky bass line and clanging keyboards provided the backing for Kalmia Traver’s deep, rich, alto vocals. In between bewitching the crowd with her throaty growls and tosses of her wild hair, Traver grabbed up her bari sax and laid some fat, booming notes on the proceedings. Regarding the rest of the fest, she asked the crowd, “Are you excited for all the other times after now?” her enthusiasm honest and infectious.

Photo by Lilian Cai

The sort of large, noisy collective that might otherwise be annoying, Rubblebucket avoids this by being enormously, obviously talented. The trumpet and trombone players also whistle and provide a falsetto backing when required; the keyboardist pounds out layers of texture; there’s a second percussionist manning just the bells, spare drums, and cymbals. Songs like “Raining” and “Came Out of a Lady” entranced the crowd with their playful, funky rhythms. For a final touch, Rubblebucket’s horn line ran offstage and joined the crowd on the ground, mobbed by fans, playing upwards toward the clouds with thunderous energy. –Megan Ritt

Zeds Dead – Red Bull Grove Stage – 3:00 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

So what’s the best way to shake off the haze from Friday’s late-late night set? How about a few Red Bulls mixed with the pulsating bass music provided by Toronto’s Zeds Dead. As a slight shower started on Union Park, Coasters were being blasted by the duo’s original productions like the drum-step track “Rudeboy”, and remixes of The Jet’s “Crush On You” and “Blue Skies” originally done by BT. But the duo didn’t just stick to the normal routine of remixing female pop vocals with massive bass drops, surprising old-school trip-hop fans with their take on Massive Attack’s “Paradise Circus”. -Derek Staples

RJD2 with Break Science – Groupon Stage – 3:30 p.m.

RJD2 started just as the rain let up, drawing raucous cheers with his trademark “Commissioner Crotchbuttons” intro before quickly shedding the suit to work his turntables. He led off with his best-known piece, “A Beautiful Mine” (aka the theme from Mad Men), and spun it off into a long, beautiful wander of a song. With the crowd’s attention now in hand, RJ proceeded to literally play for an hour, clearly enjoying himself, mixing a gorgeous, low-key dance set that had all heads bobbing.

Break Science added further texture and interest by echoing the mixes on a live drum set, but the focus remained on RJD2. Watching him DJ is truly entertaining. He flips blindly through a huge stack of records, finding the one he wants seemingly by touch, hand-setting effects and flipping knobs while always nodding his head, grooving out just a little himself, mindful of the fun he’s manufacturing all the while. Tracks like “Ghostwriter” brightened the mood for the damp-but-cheerful crowd. So far, this was the quickest hour of the weekend. –Megan Ritt

Photo by Lilian Cai.

Big Gigantic – Red Bull Grove Stage – 4:30 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

Part jazz, part funk, part electronica, and 100% a fun time, there is no other outfit that fits the same mold as Colorado’s two-member Big Gigantic. Other Northwestern electronic outfits have similar production styles, but the power, precision, and emotional qualities that Dominic Lalli plays the saxophone simply cannot be matched by a traditional producer/DJ even with the most authentic horn samples. Paired with the superb drumming of Jeremy Salken, the two create amazing electro-funk jams that you just want to go on for hours. -Derek Staples

Major Lazer – Red Bull Stage – 6:00 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

“It’s time for the Major Lazer!” This time, unfortunately, also coincided with dinnertime and the end of a dance-heavy set by Big Gigante on the same stage. While most people seemed excited to see one of the more famous acts on the undercard, there was also a certain tiredness in the air, and Major Lazer’s repeated calls for “hands in the air!” and “Say, ‘Major!’ Say, ‘Lazer!’” sometimes went unanswered. Unfazed, though, the duo of Diplo and Switch put on a very respectable hour-long set that had people dancing even as they complained (about the rain, the humidity, the relative lack of unique sound in the set—pick your poison).

Popular tracks included a remix of “Like a G6” and samples of “Intergalactic” and “Day-O (the Banana Boat Song)”. Playing with their mixes, Major Lazer had a habit of holding onto the beat—and then not dropping it when the crowd expected, resulting in some moments of lost energy. Despite any of the drawbacks to this set, it was undeniably infectious. The music made it impossible to hold still. –Megan Ritt

Rusko – North Coast Stage – 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

Back in 2010, Rusko promised to bring dirty, grimey dubstep to the U.S. – mission successful. Now that dubstep is firmly planted on American soil, and nearly every dance tent at major festival is filled with oscillating basslines, Rusko has been forced to step up his game. Rusko’s Saturday performance displayed a more well-rounded artist. The Briton is still a ball of energy on stage, but has added more electro-production to his tracks, no longer relying on “Woo Boost” elements added throughout the set to get the crowd jumping. Rusko still enjoys mixing in high frequency vocals throughout his tracks, which was evident in the remix of his new single “Everyday”. It’s easy to forget the pioneer is still not even 30, and at a festival with legends like David Guetta and Benny Bennassi, one can hear how a producers career can change over a decade. -Derek Staples

Common – Groupon Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

TimeOut Chicago referred to Common as the “elder statesman” of North Coast, and a more accurate statement is hard to conceive. Looking very professorial in a full beard and shaved head, Common descended from his ivory tower of hip-hop in order to school the masses on how it’s really done. There was no begging for audience participation, no repeated requests for this or that; Common merely said, “scream,” and they screamed. He said, “Let me see your hands,” and up they went. He ruled his subjects from the Groupon Stage with goodness and might, putting on a masterful show.

A Chicago-centric show from start to finish, Common played up his hometown connection, even being introduced by the 27^th ward alderman. He called out to people from the Southside, Northside, West Side; he called out to the “real people.” In the City of Big Shoulders, of course, that’s all you need to do to win ‘em over. Tracks like “Be”, “Real People”, and “Faithful” saw Common waxing philosophical on life’s real issues to a raving crowd, proving definitively to any doubters that raunch is not a requirement in popular music.

Photo by Lilian Cai

With old-school rhymes over a simple backing beat, Common kept up an astonishing pace. At an electronic-heavy fest, his “light show” was simply the stage lights, the better to focus everyone’s attention on the MC. The crowd responded physically to songs they knew, surging forward, arms in the air, all eyes on the stage. Someone waved the flag of the city of Chicago high above the crowd. “Punch Drunk Love” brought down the house, complete with clever lyrics (“we exchange like students/ cuz I study abroad”) and Common flexing his vocal chops—actually singing—on the chorus. And that’s how you do it, folks. –Megan Ritt

STS9 – North Coast Stage – 8:30 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

After eight straight hours of dancing, the task of grooving to STS9 may seem like a small challenge, but the five-piece’s celestial live-tronica casts a spell over a crowd of nearly any size that just makes any discomfort simply vanish. The set was heavy on newer material, with the band choosing to start the performance with “EHM” off 2009′s Ad Explorata. The set also offered many fans the first opportunity to catch “Scheme” and “When The Dust Settles” from the fresh EP When The Dust Settles. However the highlight of the performance was a 10-minute presentation of 1999′s “Moon Socket”. Even stuck beneath the cityscape of Chicago, the track’s swirling guitar riffs, and driving bottom end transported fans to a place far above the cramped Union Park crowd…or maybe that was just all in our minds? -Derek Staples

Fatboy Slim – Red Bull Stage – 8:45 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

Should anyone really have to follow Common playing to a hometown crowd? That’s a question that bears consideration after Fatboy Slim’s headlining set on the Red Bull Stage. While not technically bad, it was a return to the generic club mixes of earlier in the day, and after watching Common tear things up for an hour, it was frankly disappointing.

Those whose drunkenness still compelled them to dance enjoyed the set a great deal, and there was something charming and Matrix-like to wild lights spiraling up from the dance party and illuminating the trees above. And Fatboy Slim is, after all, a pretty famous guy for a reason (more so in the late ‘90s, perhaps, but alas). His songs featured epic sweeps of guitar and synth, long swathes of electro glitches and dance beats that filled the air, music personified by the movement of the lights.

Photo by Lilian Cai

A number of his samples were not so much sampled but played largely in full. Tracks like 2Pac’s “California Love” and Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You” ran almost unedited for long stretches. His mixes flowed together into one long, unending song. Finally growing exhausted after a long day of rain, heat, and music, the crowd began to drift away towards the waiting El trains. –Megan Ritt

Sunday, September 4th

The Budos Band – Groupon Stage – 3:30 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

The Budos Band’s brand of noisy, guitar-happy world music was a fine way to warm up on Sunday afternoon. Many folks appeared to sleep in after a long Saturday night, and so the place was just starting to fill up when The Budos Band took the stage. Led by melodic solos on the trumpet and a gorgeous old bari sax, the rangy collective took us through a number of slow-grooving tunes old and new, including “Vertigo” from their forthcoming 4^th album and the aptly selected “Chicago Falcon”, which leads with a scorching horn riff.  –Megan Ritt

Van Ghost – North Coast Stage – 4:30 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

Chicago was at its glory as Van Ghost took the stage: 73 degrees and sunny, with a light breeze and lazy clouds. The beauty of the scene had a good many concertgoers curled up on blankets around the edges of the crowd as Van Ghost entertained them through the dinner hour. Focusing on guitar-driven rock, Van Ghost had one of the more traditional sets of the weekend, although Jennifer Hartswick on vocals livened things up a bit. With a tremendous, powerful alto and a slight tinge of country, Hartswick added texture and flair to the proceedings. “Messenger” and “Domino Effect” went over well with the crowd, as did a cover of La Roux’s “Bulletproof”. –Megan Ritt

Little Dragon – Groupon Stage – 5:30 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

Little Dragon’s indie pop is colored primarily by funky, Napoleon Dynamite-esque atonal keys. At times, the keyboardist evoked a full-on accordion effect from his instrument. Singer Yukimi Nagano swayed about the stage with a large scarf, at times wrapping herself in it, at times draping it over her head. The four-piece played quirky electro-pop driven by relentless bass and drums. “Please Turn” came out especially beautiful live, feedback static melting into a lovely, almost jam-style electronic puddle.– Megan Ritt

of Montreal – North Coast Stage – 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

If Sunday started off calmly, of Montreal was there to remedy any sense of boredom. The audience was buzzing, pushing closer to the stage, eager to catch a glimpse. And oh, what glimpses there were! As the sun set, of Montreal took the stage in costumes: a pink, sparkly, prom-style dress, a ref’s uniform, something kind of giant boa a la Wayne Coyne. And the theatrics of the rest of the set certainly brought The Flaming Lips to mind again.

Luchadores wrestling onstage, dancers in giant skull masks, a chain of long, thin balloons for the audience to play with, singer Kevin Barnes riding a giant rainbow-colored Chinese dragon made of masked people: The music almost took a backseat to all the antics. Almost. The quality of the music on tracks like “Suffer for Fashion”, “The Party’s Crashing Us”, and “A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger” crept through, a word or a fragment of melody here, impossible to hide even with all the visual distractions. Of Montreal are brilliant lyricists, and the line “What you want? Somebody that will corrupt your heart with too much kindness,” was quite striking on “You Do Mutilate?” Dance rock exploded from the speakers, escaping the guitars, conquering the audience.

Photo by Lilian Cai

The lyrics of “Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and Other Games)”—striking in its bouncy, cheerful melodic sway—sum things up rather nicely: “Let’s have bizarre celebrations…/Now it seems too lovely to be true/ but I know the best things always do.” –Megan Ritt

Benny Bennassi – Red Bull Grove Stage – 7:00 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

Even at the age of 44, Benny Bennassi remains a true student of electronic dance music. Unlike dance musicians who stick fairly close to a genre, one never knows what to expect from a Bennassi set, except a ton of smiles from the crowd and the man himself. Best known for his pulse-pounding “House Music”, and more recently as “Electroman”, Bennassi worked Sunday’s crowed into a frenzy by effortlessly transitioning between tempos and genres. The Italian DJ started the set with a track eerily reminiscent of music ripped from a slasher film, moved into his well-known mid-tempo “Cinema”, which had roughly 40% of the audience singing along, and then shocked the crowd by spinning Skrillex’s dubstep remix of the track. The dubstep remixes continued with Bennassi’s grimey edit of James Blake’s “Limit To Your Love”, and then provided the same treatment to 2003′s “Satisfaction”. -Derek Staples

Gogol Bordello – Groupon Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

Have you ever seen Gogol Bordello live? If not, spoiler alert: However good you think they might be, they are epically better. It’s hard to imagine, if you haven’t seen it, the rising lava of excitement in the crowd as the accordion player wheezed a greeting, as the violin player bowed out his opening salvo, as finally and forcefully frontman Eugene Hutz barreled onto the stage bearing his acoustic guitar before him like a weapon, exploding straight into “Ultimate”. The crowd dancing, jumping, weaving in a mad circle, fists raised, shouting, “hey!” along with everyone onstage. Hutz ripping his shirt off, swinging the guitar, then playing while hopping about with one leg raised to waist height, next swinging his axe around his head. He threw it to the ground at the end of “Transcontinental Hustle” to a chorus of raging cheers. He changed the lyrics to that song for the hometown crowd: “When death comes I won’t be there/no I will not be found anywhere/Not in Nevada/Not in CHICAGO!”

Single “Immigraniada (We Comin’ Rougher)” raged hard and long, Hutz sloshing wine down on the crowd as he drank straight from the bottle, everyone screaming along now. Mosh pits seem so 1998, but there was what might be described as a friendly pit in the center of the audience. “My Companjera” and “Wonderlust King” both tore down the house. Gogol Bordello barely paused between songs, racing through a breathless hour of almost continuous music. The crowd sang along on “Universes Collide”, shouting the “hey hey hey/ nah nah nah nah” chorus in a lusty echo of the group’s vocals. The guitars on “Break the Spell” ripped deeper and wider than on the album, lacerating the air, drawing fists skyward.

For a closer, Gogol Bordello broke out the marching bass drum. As the first bars of “Start Wearing Purple” rang out, Hutz teased that they had an “old gypsy song” for us. The crowd went nuts, and Hutz started singing “Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)” instead, a giant smile wreathing his contorted face. When after the first verse they circled back to “Start Wearing Purple”, the audience was on the moon. They called and called out for Gogol Bordello at the end– “Play one more!” “Play three more!”– but there was a festival schedule to adhere to. If there wasn’t, we’d all still be there now, watching the sun come up to a beautiful Gypsy punk chorus. –Megan Ritt

Thievery Corporation – Red Bull Stage – 8:30 p.m.

Photo by Lilian Cai

When Gogol Bordello finished, there were essentially two camps: those who still wanted to keep things going hard and fast and those who needed to chill out a bit. The former gravitated to the next stage to watch Bassnectar, while the latter wound their way back to the Red Bull Stage to take in opposite headliner Thievery Corporation.

With a chill, slow-wave dance beat and reggae influences, Thievery Corporation gave the crowd a low-key jam set. Their female vocalist swayed and unleashed her ethereal voice in front of a driving drumbeat that connected the diverse elements of their mix. The sound of steel drums and a fat bossa nova horn lent things an island flavor. The throbbing beats of Bassnectar intruded a bit from the opposite stage, but Thievery Corporation just kicked up their own bass, inducing deep hip swaying among the masses. The beat was funky, and the crowd was drunk enough to dance.

Photo by Lilian Cai

“Radio Retaliation”, from the album of the same name, drew a response of recognition from the audience, with its deep reggae funk. It bled into technical, Arab-style, chromatic beats powered by the relentless rush of the live drummer. He was surrounded by so many iterations of his instrument that it was hard to tell at any given time which drum he was playing, or if the particular sound was coming from the effects panel instead. As the night wore on, Thievery Corporation’s jams smoothed out, a peaceful, gentle release out into the dark, away from the festival, from summer, and back to real life. –Megan Ritt

Bassnectar – North Coast Stage – 9:00 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

The progressive bass music of NorCal’s Bassnectar was easily the draw of the weekend. And while many suggest Bassnectar has shifted his production style more toward dubstep to attract the burgeoning market, I like to imagine that a larger music listening community finally respects his talent behind the tables and daunting tour schedule, plus the remixes of pop songs probably don’t hurt. Bassnectar’s closed the festival on a scale like none other, as a fellow Coaster mentioned to walking to Bassnectar, “I can hear Thievery Corporation, but I can feel Bassnectar”.

After remixing “Bass In Your Face” with the instrumental of NIN’s “Closer” at the onset, Bassnectar dug deep to edit DJ Rush’s “Motherfucking Bass”, which asks a fairly straightforward question, “Do you like bass?”. After a resounding yes, Bassnectar continued on with the wobble-intensive set, including the well-received Bassnectar remixes of Ellie Goulding’s “Lights”, Blur’s “Track 2” (which also happened to be remixed by Benny Bennassi and Major Lazer the same weekend), and The Pixies’ “Where is My Mind?”. A suitable question to ask oneself after a Bassnectar experience.

Photo by Derek Staples

Compared to 2010, North Coast went above and beyond with artists’ visuals. As chaotic and fast paced as Bassnectar’s set, the images just always seemed to match, be it city streets, outer space, moving orbs, building blocks, junk food packaging, or hygiene products. And as if a sign by some divine force, the rain waited to break until the final drop of Bassnectar’s encore performance. -Derek Staples

The Culture of North Coast

Gallery by Lilian Cai and Megan Ritt

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To pay for it all, this year saw an increase in sponsorships. It was tasteful though, and kept to the festival guidebook as not to change the festival’s look. Besides, it can only mean good things when the festival has Four Loko sponsoring the biggest tent, and a hydroponics company for the other tent.

As for the music, Wakarusa’s resident bands – Sound Tribe Sector Nine (STS9), Dirtfoot, Umphrey’s McGee, and Split Lip Rayfield – returned, and with them a promising smattering of bands from all walks of music. At the top were My Morning Jacket, Ben Harper, Thievery Corporation, and Grace Potter. In the middle though were the equally hopeful Minus the Bear, Mumford & Sons, Ghostland Observatory, and Bassnectar, to name only a few. The rest was a steady helping of dub, noodley jam bands, and electronica of all styles pumping until sun up. I’m still not sure when people slept.

Temperatures reached into the high 90’s, the humidity was uncomfortable and sticky. The much cooler nights helped tremendously though. It also was nice to see that Sunday, normally the day most people choose to leave, was fuller than in years past. This kept the festival alive a little longer. Really though, it was just another gorgeous year atop Mulberry Mountain.

-E.N. May
Senior Staff Writer

Thursday, June 2nd

Dirtfoot – Revival Tent – 1:30 p.m.

There are a number of bands that have become an annual part of Wakarusa over the years, and Dirtfoot owns them all when it comes to participation. This year saw the Shreveport, LA natives performing three sets over the weekend, and just for good measure, they also played each morning at a fan-hosted breakfast nook, called Chompdown on Wilderness St. For Dirtfoot’s second set over the weekend, the band started by debuting a preview of its recently released Live and In Prison DVD. Shot in an actual prison, it’s a mini-movie featuring a live performance inside Louisiana’s Wade Correctional Center.

Together, they played as loud and as hard as they could. The music translated very well from the tent to the main stage, filling the airspace with boisterous riffs and off the wall saxophone lines. The set threw out dirt-stirring punk rock rambles, tying it up with a tight country backbone. To close things out, the gypsy punk anthems got the crowd shouting along with “Break My Bones”, “My Girl”, and “Bad Train Sick”. And to think they did this all weekend.

Minus the Bear – Revival Tent – 5:45 p.m.

For an “out of place pick”, Minus the Bear certainly made themselves at home, complete with a packed Revival Tent giving them much love. Starting with “Knights”, the set started with the hook heavy work of earlier material, working everyone up for the back end of the set that focused on the newer, more melodic material. They also threw in a track from the bands recent free EP. The song translated heavier live, full of the band’s trademark glitchy guitar stops. By the end of the song, Jack Snider and Dave Kusdon were on all fours twisting the feedback into one whirl of an outro. The new work all received some fanfare, and the band ate it up, stating numerous times how excited they were to be on that stage. Maybe they were just being nice, but they certainly didn’t hold anything back.

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals – Main Stage – 6:15 p.m.

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals‘ reputation held strong during its early evening set. Hits like “Ooh La La” came off heavier and dirtier, pushing back the radio-friendly chorus for a real rock show. The biggest highlight came with “Sugar”, which included a quick segue into The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black”, before looping back into “Sugar” for a blown out finish. The band looked sharp in all black. Potter was her usual sexy self, being playful with her band and flirting with the crowd, offering one-liners like, “You know it’s a good show when you got the panties rolling out.” This was just another gig for the band, though, sticking to the formula of staying genuine and looking like they’re having a great time. Here though, they actually were.

Umphrey’s McGee – Main Stage – 10:15 p.m.

Staple of the festival scene (and hosts of their own), Umphrey’s McGee too know how to play to the moment, and this moment saw them as Thursday’s headliner. The thing to note about Umphrey’s is that they come with two types of sets. The rock set for the day shows, and the fusion set for the night shows. With a big production light show in tow, the group went for the jammier blend of big arena rock, mixing in electronic odds and ends. The long extended songs flowed together, with some reprising 10 minutes later. The only exception to that came with the new track “Puppet String”. The song brought out heavy Tom Morello-style riffs with a rattling bass bridge into the verse.

It was the slow burning tracks that brought the bands best Pink Floyd moves, the set hitting all the required points of a modern rock jam show. Umphrey’s is a band built on the live experience, so it makes perfect sense why they now have moved to the headliner status. By midnight, the audience’s collective ears were ringing.

The Shpongletron Experience – Main Stage  - 1:00 a.m.

When a performer brings a show labeled as an “Experience”, the bar is prematurely set high before they even take the stage. With an 18-foot structure to play from, this horned devil head of scaffold and projection screens built anticipation throughout the day as it sat shrouded on the main stage. When show time came, what was delivered was a collection of screen saver visuals and house lights that wasn’t so much an experience, but another Shpongle DJ set on stilts.

That being said, his high energy blend of classic electronic beats and world – Spanish, West African, and Brazilian etc.- rhythms sounded organic in the open air. This was the first year the main stage was used for late night sets, and from 18 feet up, Shpongle sounded great and kept the night hot. Next time, though, bring the band.

Friday, June 3rd

Cornmeal – Revival Tent – 1:30 p.m.

Cornmeal was back this year with another two sets of genre bending New Grass. The early afternoon set was the second for the weekend, and the group opened fast with Mississippi style blue grass. The set was kicked up though when the acoustics turned electric and all tradition went out the door. The fiddle wailed with distorted guitar solos for quite the wild blend before pulling it all in for a rock jam outro. For all the New-Grass bands out there, Cornmeal have found a way to stand far out by being as eclectic as possible with the simple instruments they have. This set only showed further how underrated they are in the scene.

Split Lip Rayfield – Revival Tent – 3:00 p.m.

Friday afternoon in the revival tent was all about the bluegrass, and as the third band in that hard picking line-up, Split Lip Rayfield brought things back to basics – and turned up the speed. The picking and strumming was fast and unrelenting, that gas tank bass adding punk rock ingenuity for an extra thud from the strings against the steel. The harmonies sounded great, and the musicianship kept loose. Nothing out of the ordinary here, just another carefree set.

Lucero – Revival Tent – 6:00 p.m.

Midway through the set, vocalist Ben Nichols admitted he didn’t think Lucero was a festival kind of band. Listening to the set it was easy to see his point as Lucero, in the simplest of terms, is a bar band. They channel Springsteen in the song writing department, turning life into poetry relatable to anyone in a tough spot. What they wouldn’t realize until later was that this kind of music is perfect for the festival setting. What’s more, Lucero carry a southwest twist to the rock they write. This makes their sound much bigger than the chord by chord alt country that is at the base. Along with Nichols’ rock growl and enduring subtle twang, the band sounded great. The set list itself started pre-planned, but was quickly thrown out for fan requests. The entire back half of the set was just that in fact. The crowd was small, but quite loyal, making for one intimate show.

My Morning Jacket – Main Stage  - 10:30 p.m.

It’s difficult to keep coming up with new ways to say just how incredible a My Morning Jacket set is. The reputation that precedes them is in every way true, and has been hyped appropriately. The set this past Friday was no exception as the band showed that they are a worthy headliner, and not just the undercard anymore. It’s about time, too.

Opening with “Victory Dance”, the band launched into the first two tracks from their latest LP, Circuital. They made sure to mix in older favorites as well, hitting “I’m Amazed” early on. The tried and true material was jammed out into extended versions; in fact, Patrick Hallahan shined bright here, as he massacred his drumset during a few solos. However, despite a few far reaching addition, it was the new album that took over the set. New single “Holdin’ on the Black Metal” arrived early on, “Outta My System” and “Circuital” could have filled a stadium, the songs translating even better live, and “First Light” blasted into a prog-rock freak show to close it out in a monumental way.

MMJ is a band that has grown with the festival scene, so all of its material is meant for the big open air stage. It was psychedelic, ethereal, and rocked hard for a full two hours. The thing is, with the way the audience and the band were feeling, they could have played for another hour easily. Satisfying is the key word here, and what more could there be for a headlining set?

Bassnectar – Main Stage  - 1:00 a.m.

With MMJ going over the set time by 30 minutes, the rest of the night would be pushed back. It was a minor detail though and one that no one seemed to mind. Besides, this was one of the more anticipated late night sets of the weekend, and by the time Lorin Ashton came out, the field was filled like he was a headliner in his own right. These days, Bassnectar is much too big for the dance tent, as it seemed the entire festival had shown up to see the set. Ashton also noticed the sea of neon, and with an opening Wu-Tang sample, the hour-and-a-half of womping bass was on.

For those who haven’t seen Ashton, his set is a mix of match ups and samples with unrelenting bass beats behind them. He uses hip-hop just as much as he uses rock, and loves to throw around some Nirvana. Every time the beat would drop, glow sticks would fly, and the neon party hit its peak. The energy was as persistent as the humidity, so when the set ended, Ashton had to come out for a quick encore, just to say goodbye to his biggest show to date – according to him.

Ghostland Observatory – Main Stage – 3:00 a.m.

This would be the latest set the main stage would see all weekend. By this point in the night, the audience had spread out to the several other late night shows going on, leaving a much smaller audience for Ghostland Observatory. No matter, though, as the Austin duo brought out all the tricks to lead the festival into the pre-dawn hours. They too are coming off a somewhat new, much more club-influenced album. The set was perfectly suited for the vibe of Wakarusa’s late night, and this band is made for only one time of the day anyhow. Lasers poured into the sky as Aaron Behrens and Thomas Turner pulsed out a heavy dose of glamtronica. Behrens was a wild man on stage, popping in and out of the fog and lights to thrust around and hype the crowd with his wild vocals. While most of the set stuck to the pure electronic material, they did bring out the old goodies, and the guitar for the punchy songs that got them noticed in the first place. Ghostland too has become a live force recently, pulling all the production punches so tracks like “Sad Sad City” can be a visual and audio trip. It was with out a doubt one of the best late night sets all weekend.

Saturday, June 4th

MarchFourth Marching Band – Revival Tent – 4:30 p.m.

Wakarusa has a thing for variety acts. One sneaks in every year and surprises an afternoon crowd looking for shade in the big tent. This past Saturday the festival brought in the punk vaudeville troop MarchFourth Marching Band, for an hour-and-a-half’s worth of big brass funk and ska. Part of the vaudeville came in the form of dancers on stilts hyping the crowd and showing off some impressive acrobatics. The other was in the from of a little burlesque. They had the marching band look, 13 pieces, and the big hats, flags, and dance routines. It was easy and entertaining; altogether, text book funk and west coast ska. Band geeks eat your heart out.

Mumford & Sons – Main Stage – 6:00 p.m.

As the latest “break out” band to be driving in its debut, Mumford & Sons 15 minutes remain in full swing. Coming out in the heat of the day to a swelling crowd, the latest folk heroes played right through their acclaimed LP, Sigh No More. The Celtic bluegrass ballads sounded straight from the album, though they turned up sections for the sake of the live show. People ate it up, sang along, and screamed with the first notes of “Winter Winds” and “Little Lion Heart”. It was a hot dusty mess with all the dancing, and the band relished in it. Two new songs were debuted, as well. “Below My Feet” used the standard Mumford equation of quiet intro into revelry of strums. The other, “Lover of Light”, ventured into Dave Mathews territory, sounding more like an acoustic pop song. The band is embracing this mainstream success full heartedly, and with a show like this, its 15 minutes will be on for quite a while longer.

Ben Harper and the Relentless 7 – Main Stage – 8:00 p.m.

Ben Harper, in any form, really works best in the festival setting. His tunes are easy going, socially conscious rock. Insert agreeable positive political statements and you have it in a nutshell. As for the Relentless 7, this is Harper’s true to form rock band. Festival anthem “Burn One Down” opened the show, which, with the haze over the crowd, was very appropriate. From there it was two hours of middle of the road rock, with a few solo acoustic throw backs to Harpers earlier material. The good thing about Harper is the size of his catalogue, and his musicianship. When he lets it fly, it makes for some quality moments. For this band, and this set, it came in the form an electric steel slide. After a glitch in the sound (it went completely down for a quick minute), the band punched back with a solid cover of the CSNY staple, “Ohio”.

Playing as the sun went down made Harper’s set the perfect time to relax. He’s a charismatic, humble musician who connects with the crowd (gave a shout out to the Razor Backs) and does his job right. In all, Harper with The Relentless 7 provided the pre-game.

Thievery Corporation – Main Stage – 10:30 p.m.

As U.S. ambassadors for world beat electronic music, Thievery Corporation’s showcase is quite the spectacle. With its rotating cast of vocalists and full live band, the gamut of world sound was covered. While Rob Garza and Eric Hilton sit at the top of Thievery, the live experience is very much so a band effort. The songs have been deconstructed and assembled for the show, improvising and forming each song into its own familiar but new experience.

Opening with a bouncy sitar, the introduction wove its way right into “Lebanese Blonde”. The South Asian styles created a very mellow atmosphere to start out with, but the funk-dub fusion that came next is what set off the set with “Radio Retaliation” and “38-35” making the cut. There is the activist side to the duo, which came out on the anti-IMF “Vampires”. Bottom line: The show was fantastically eclectic, and a perfect way to kick off the last full night of music.

Sound Tribe Sector 9 – Revival Tent – 12:30 a.m.

Wakarusa wouldn’t be the same without STS9 holding down at least one late night slot. This year there were two STS9 sets, an evening one on Friday, and this, the late night set in the Revival Tent. First off, a band this big shouldn’t be in a tent. The surrounding space outside the tent was just as congested as the space inside, and it should have been on the main stage. That’s why the festival organizers kept it running later this year, right? Oh well, though, because the night went off, and it was easily the best of the band’s sets that weekend.

Bassist David Murphy has only recently come back from cancer treatment. The fact that he’s back on tour playing like the day he left is unbelievable. On stage, he looked great – fatigued, but ecstatic with the swelling reception in front of him. STS9 came out playing the heavy club-ready material, packing a heavier wallop in the beat between the signature spacy guitars and breakneck drumming. Dominic Lalli of Big Gigantic came out to lay down a sax line over some steady synth lines for a quick jam, making for a killer collaboration. Given the two are cut from the same cloth, it was a wild few minutes of hot saxophone over a wall of drum and bass. It made a huge impact on the weekend. When STS9 are on, they really turn on, and this was a set for the books.

Big Gigantic – Outpost Tent – 2:30 a.m.

Watching a band grow at a festival is an exciting thing. Big Gigantic have, up until this year, been only a hidden gem in the line-ups of festivals all over the country. This year that’s all changing however as the livetronica sound (samples/DJ with live drums) has taken off. This left the small Outpost Tent feeling extra tight as all weekend the hype was swirling about the set. With tons of new material out, there was plenty to get to in the set. Remixes and re-worked older tracks were slipped seamlessly in as every beat drop drew a roar from the bouncing crowd. For just about two hours, the energy never dropped. Thick layers of bass were smoothed out by Lalli’s saxophone, using it to reprise songs throughout the set, and bring home the remixes. The story here is with the newer material however. It’s a welcome step up in Big Gigantic’s game as they’ve fully embraced the audience’s love for thicker and more sustained bass drops. The band spent more time on the samples making the new material forward and fresh, and it worked. The crowd ate it up, and Big Gigantic far surpassed the hype.

Sunday, June 5th

The Stone Foxes – Outpost Tent – 3:30 p.m.

The rock scene at Wakarusa is a sneaky one and it likes to hide early on Sundays. San Francisco’s seventies rock loyalists The Stone Foxes brought out a storm of overdriven blues rock to a mostly vacant Outpost Tent. It may sound like a sad sight, but the band didn’t seem to care as it felt more like a garage show than a festival set. They joked with the 50 people huddled in the front, and it was an intimate treat for everyone. The guitar wailed like Jack White giving psychedelic break downs and solid loud riffs. There’s nothing new about what The Stone Foxes are doing, but they can play, and play hard.

Zoogma – Outpost Tent – 8:30 p.m.

The winner of band with most flyer litter goes to Zoogma. Signs and posters reading, “What the fuck is Zoogma?”, could be found on posts in the camp sites, and on the grass in lieu to the festival. Why not though, the still mostly unknown band was playing two sets this weekend. It was Sunday’s set however that got the biggest reception. Zoogma is a young band in the electronic jam scene, taking all its cues from its predecessors like STS9. While the band members are obviously very talented, they have yet to find a niche, but it’s certainly being worked on. The choice in synth beats helps, going for an 80’s pop feel in the hooks and synth tones. Those made the biggest impact, and filled one last need for a sound that’s taken over the jam scene, and Wakarusa for that matter.

Ozomatli – Revival Tent – 10:00 p.m.

With the majority of the people headed to get a last fix of bass elsewhere, a thin crowd stuck around for Ozomatli’s second set as defacto Sunday headliner. One more time they brought out the world beats and conscious rhymes. The mix of Latin, reggae, and hip-hop is always a safe bet. Throw in uplifting social messages and you have something everyone can agree with. It provided a nice alternative for the overheated electronic sets as more people trickled in over the hour or so. The energy was there, and Justin Poree got a cheer for having just been bailed out of jail from the night before. Getting arrested during a festival? Now that’s rock and roll.

That aside, the set took the festival into one more late night, and for those who stuck around, it provided yet another close up encounter with a relatively big band. The last of the fireworks were shot off (not official festival fireworks, just the work of fans with good timing), and so went another Wakarusa.

Electric Zoo, the massive three-day electronic throwdown that seems to be the only successful music festival in New York City history, has added 40 more acts to its 2011 bill. Set to go down Labor Day weekend at Randall’s Island Park, the festival already promised headliners Tiësto, David Guetta and Armin van Buuren, along with industry notables such as Moby, Richie Hawtin, MSTRKRFT, Above & Beyond, and Chromeo.

Now, festival goers can also expect to see Gareth Emery, Markus Schulz, SebastiAn, Joachim Garraud, Kid Sister, Carl Craig, Beardyman, Gui Boratto, Guy Gerber, and Excision & Datsik. Other new additions include Felguk, Andy Moor, Dirty South, Steve Bug, Big Gigantic, Carte Blanche, Fake Blood, Jack Beats, James Holden, and Nicolas Jaar.

In all, some 77 acts are currently confirmed for Electric Zoo 2011, and you can check out the complete lineup at our Festival Outlook page. The festival’s poster is also posted below.

Three-day passes remain on sale and range from $249 – $324 depending on your means of transportation. Also, the festival is now offering layaway plans for those who’d like to break up their payments in installments. Visit Made Tickets for complete ticketing information.

Sometimes even the musically rich really get richer, too. The lineup for the second edition of the Hangout Music Festival was already stellar to begin with, but festival organizers have just dropped another bomb that makes the decision whether or not to attend what is essentially the coolest beach block party on Earth a no-brainer.

Twelve acts have been added to the already stacked bill, which includes: The Avett Brothers, STS9, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Brandi Carlile, and down South favorites, JJ Grey and Mofro. Also joining a lineup that already sports Paul Simon, Foo Fighters, My Morning Jacket, and the Black Keys are Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Big Gigantic, Soja, Railroad Earth, Greensky Bluegrass, Rival Sons, and the Honey Island Swamp Band.

The $159 dollar tickets have already sold out, but remaining three-day passes are going for $174 at Hangout’s official page. VIP ticket and travel packages are also available starting at $525. The festival runs from May 20-22 and concertgoers who are ballin’ on a budget can opt for a payment plan that allows them to split the ticket price into three installments. The last day to order the plan is March 31^st.

Early-rising locals with an affinity for free swag will have a chance to win tickets when Good Day Alabama and festival organizers warm up the beach with two days of free, beachside concerts and a ticket giveaway on March 14-15.  Complete details, including the full line up, are available here.

Then there’s always our own giveaway coming up later this month. Stay tuned!

The rest of the lineup is a bit more by the book: moe., Levon Helm Band, John Butler Trio, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Dark Star Orchestra, and Dr. John and the Lower 911 are among the other confirmed notables, while acts like The New Mastersounds and Big Gigantic will hold down the late night stage.

A second round of 2011 acts will be made within the next 2 weeks, and you can keep track of all the latest updates at our GOTV Festival Outlook page.

Advanced camping and VIP passes are priced at $205.00 and $420.00, respectively, and are now available via the festival’s website.

As previously reported, jam icons String Cheese Incident will take over the stomping grounds of the still-in-doubt Rothbury Music Festival for their own four-day extravaganza this Fourth of July weekend.

Set to run June 30-July 3rd at the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, Michigan, the Electric Forest‘s inaugural bill already includes 51 acts, with even more still to be confirmed. Along with three sets by SCI, the festival will offer such musical heavyweights as DJ Tiësto, Pretty Lights, REO Speedwagon, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic, Stephen Marley, Kaskade, Shpongle, and Railroad Earth.

Other confirmed acts include Laidback Luke, JJ Grey & Mofro, Excision The New Deal, EOTO, Emmitt-Nershi Band, Skrillex, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Toubab Krewe, Bonobo (DJ Set), Beats Antique, Big Gigantic, Chiddy Bang, Eskmo, Lettuce, Eliot Lipp, Paper Diamond, The Infamous Stringdusters, 12th Planet, The Pimps of Joytime, and Emancipator. For a complete look at Electric Forest’s 2011 lineup, visit Festival Outlook.

In addition to the music, Electric Forest will also offer access to Rothbury’s enchanted Sherwood Forest, Gold Rush Water Park, Thoroughbred Golf Club, Big Wildcat Lake, and horseback riding.

Weekend tickets are available starting March 5th for $199.00 (plus fees), but that price will rise to $239.00 once the initial allotment sells out. A number of VIP packages are also available. You can find complete ticketing information at the festival’s website.

Furthur, moe., and Umphrey’s McGee will head this year’s edition of All Good, set to take place July 14-17 at Marvin’s Mountaintop in Masontown, West Virginia. Other confirmed heavyweights include Primus, Pretty Lights, John Butler Trio, Yonder Mountain String Band, and Keller Williams.

Galactic, Toots & the Maytals, JJ Grey and Mofro, The Infamous Stringdusters, Papadosio, Toubab Krewe, Big Gigantic, Hot Buttered Rum, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Everyone Orchestra, and Orgone round out the rest of the festival’s initial lineup. Additional acts will be announced in the weeks and months ahead.

Three-day an four-day passes, priced at $139 and $159, respectively, are now available via the festival’s website. VIP packages are also available.

During the first week of March, Colorado’s Vail Valley – which boasts over 5,000 acres of freeride terrain for skiing, snowbarding, etc. – will play host what some are calling “Snow-chella,” and while it might be hard to produce a lineup like the one in Indio, Calif., the folks in charge of the Snowball Festival are still going to have a crack at it. Just check out the lineup for their inaugural snowdown.

While scheduling details are still unavailable, headliners for the three-day, multiple stage soiree include The Flaming Lips, Pretty Lights, and Bassnectar. Other big names include Portugal. The Man, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Local Natives, Lotus, and Diplo. Rounding out the roster are Baths, Brother Ali, and none other than Afroman. (Insert marijuana joke here).

Three-day lift ticket/music passes are already sold out, so you non-sporting types have nothing to worry about. Music fans can still finagle their way into the shindig by purchasing a three-day music only pass for just $165. If you can’t swing that, then the fest is offering you a layaway plan to ensure you get tickets before they sell out. All ticketing, lodging, and lift information is included at Snowball Festival’s official site, which can be found on our Festival Outlook page. Freeze on!

The actual gig in question will be August 28th at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, GA. And while the prospect of Big Boi is enough to make even the biggest jam band detractor rethink his or her distaste of nine-minute guitar freakouts, Mos Def will also be at the same show, along with opening for Disco Biscuits on August 21st at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom. If that doesn’t appeal to you (why wouldn’t it?!), there’s also going to be appearances by Big Gigantic and John Hughes at the same gig, making this one awesome day in ATL.

Check out both Disco Biscuits and STS9′s tour dates below. Make sure you buy your tickets for the magical show here.

Disco Biscuits 2010 Tour Dates:
08/19 – Windham, NY @ Great Gig in the Sky Festival
08/21 – Bartow, WV @ Camp Barefoot 4 Festival
08/25 – Dewey Beach, DE @ Bottle & Cork #
08/26 – Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre #
08/27 – Live Oak, FL @ Blackwater Music Festival
08/28 – Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre %
08/29 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
09/01 – Lexington, KY @ Buster’s Billiards & Backroom # ^
09/02 – Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues # ^
09/03 – Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater
09/04 – Austin, TX @ Nocturnal Festival
09/05 – Chicago, IL @ North Coast Music Festival
09/07 – State College, PA @ State Theater #
09/08 – Buffalo, NY @ The Town Ballroom #
09/09 – Buffalo, NY @ The Town Ballroom
09/10 – Holyoke, MA @ Mountain Park
09/11 – Boston, MA @ Bank Of America Pavilion
10/29 – Hampton, VA @ Hampton Coliseum $

# = w / MiMOSA
% = w / STS9, Big Boi, Mos Def, John Hughes and Big Gigantic
^ = w / Papadosio
$ = w/ String Cheese Incident

STS9 2010 Tour Dates:
08/11 – New York, NY @ Blender Theater at Gramercy (Axe the Cables show)
08/12 – New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom *
08/13 – Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion *
08/14 – Philadelphia, PA @ Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing *
08/20 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
08/21 – Chicago, IL @ Charter One Pavilion #
08/21 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues (Official After-Party) $
08/22 – Chicago, IL @ VENUE TBA (Axe the Cables show)
08/27 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle %
08/28 – Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater %
09/02 – Fayetteville, AR @ Arkansas Music Pavilion
09/03 – Tulsa, OK @ River Parks Amphitheatre
09/04 – Omaha, NE @ Anchor Inn Music Center
09/05 – Kansas City, MO @ Crossroads Pavilion
09/09 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
09/10 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
09/11 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphiteatre

* = w/ Lotus, The Album Leaf
# = w/ Bassnectar, Big Gigantic
$ = w/ Bassnectar, Big Boi, Mos Def, John Hughes and Big Gigantic
% = w/ Disco Biscuits

2010 proved to be a landmark year for Wakarusa. It was the culmination of years of enduring the politics of festival organizing and coming out on top with a premier mid-level event. After settling in to their new home last year, Waka was able to step up their game and build the festival they’d been dreaming of for this past weekend. Even though this was its seventh year, it felt like the first, but with the same intimacy and charm they’ve had all along.

With a brand new main stage, a full carnival, and expanded camping, you could tell from the first day that things were going to be bigger. The new Satellite Stage placed off in the south woods created an oasis for those looking for an all night party. And with music running 24 hours, if you wanted to rave at seven in the morning you most certainly could. Singer-songwriters started the day early on the Outpost Stage, and Oklahoma’s Mud Stomp Records provided open showcases as you walked by the shops. If what you saw on the way to main stage wasn’t enough, another side street of vendors was added through the main camping area. How they were able to get so much in such a small space shows that they’ve gone above and beyond to solidify the best possible festival experience.

What’s more, a jaw dropping line-up was gathered that pulled from the Jam scene’s biggest players (some getting two sets), as well as choice acts to flesh out the days. Thursday through Saturday were stacked with “must see” sets going into the early hours. Sunday would be the most relaxed with only the tents running, and many choosing to get home before the workweek. Those that stuck around were treated to intimate performances from some big names and one last chance to take a dip at the waterfall.

Organizers did their homework, however, and as a result they were able to pack the mountain to the brim with tickets selling out the week before. The days were scorching with temperatures in the 90’s beating those who braved to be out in it, but the music was absolutely rewarding, distracting you from the impending sunburn. The nights were a different experience altogether with everyone adorning the neon way with the weekend’s top sets as the backdrop. I say it every year, but there really is no festival like this, and with the momentum they’ve gained, Wakarusa’s not going anywhere.

Thursday

Split Lip Rayfield:

Split Lip is no stranger to Wakarusa, and every year they play, their momentum builds at the festival. Hitting the main stage early they brought the high energy beat up bluegrass, playing it out like a rock band. Jeff Eaton’s gas tank upright bass added serious momentum with his metallic slap carrying the set along side fast and furious mandolins and banjos. Dust was kicked and the heat was shrugged off with the fire on stage even being even hotter.

Somasphere:

With the strong move of the jam scene to embrace the electronic, Somasphere hosted a packed Outpost tent in the mid afternoon pulsing with knob tweaking improvisational rock. With the electronic drum and bass holding a steady beat, they let the live drums carry the set with guitars dancing around samples and loops. Songs moved from straight thumping electronica into guitar and bass jams, the six-string eventually taking over. The set proved them to be a band to watch for in their scene, and was a great introduction to a sound that’s quickly taking over.

7 Walkers:

Festivals and The Grateful Dead are one in the same, and in the early evening we got a taste as to why they fit so perfectly together. The Dead’s master of the beat, Bill Kreutzman, brought his latest project with some friends from Tea Leaf Green and Pap Mali having fun with The Dead’s classic sound. There were new jams from the project, and old ones from a bygone era. Kreutzman showed off with the rest of the band more than keeping up, letting Mali take over for his own noodley blues guitar licks. The improvisations worked through all the classic styles that Kreutzman and Mali pioneered, and for that moment the Dead Heads got their fill.

Pimps of Joytime

As one of the biggest surprises of the festival, Pimps of Joytime put an electro spin to heavy New Orleans funk. Lead guitarist/singer Brian J was ripe with hot solos and blues guitar stomps. Electronic bass and hooks were thrown in every so often to throw you off, but it was perfect for the grand scope of the modern funk party they were throwing. It was a combination of sounds you’d never think would be thrown together, and proved surprisingly infectious and unforgettable.

Robert Randolph and the Family Band

With Robert Randolph, you know what you’re going to get, and he delivered like he always does to a hot packed field. The set was filled with takes from Colorblind showing off his impressive slide guitar work. “Ain’t Nothing Wrong” provided the hype into “Homecoming” and the bigger than life “Deliver Me”. Throwing in top 40 tie-ins to older favorites felt cheesy, but the music and show spoke for itself. They’re perfectionists with an undeniable high energy, but there is a sense that this is it with the band, what you see is what you get. With everyone on stage shooting for over the top it was pure entertainment without having to be anything else.

Disco Biscuits

Over the past couple of decades, Bisco’s taken on a whole new life, evolving far past its days as a rock band. The group’s set showed why jam has embraced the keyboards and MacBooks, adding them to their set up, as the next wave of jam takes over. The best moments come from the older tracks and the more established jams. The massive glow stick wars erupted early in the set, the music keeping the field in a neon frenzy. Being the self-proclaimed official start to the festival season for the band, the energy was gleaming off the stage as they soaked it all in. The Biscuits are at the top of their game, and the show Thursday night was just more proof.

The Machine: Pink Floyd Laser Show

For any Pink Floyd fan, this is the ultimate spectacle. The band has put together musically the show that many never had the chance to see. Every moment so carefully planned so that when the guitar solo in “Money” hits with note for note perfection the hair on the back of your neck stands. By having them in the largest of the tents, the lasers (used sparingly) filled the space in a wash of colorful rays and blankets of reds blues and greens. The set pulled from the greatest hits and rare deep cuts from Floyd leaving everyone more than satisfied, and very much in awe.

Lotus

One of the more anticipated sets of the weekend, Lotus threw down their take on trans-jam to an overflowing tent. There wasn’t a body still within earshot as they held the crowd in the palm of their samplers. Still being mostly rock, the electronics provided infectious sugary hooks resulting in one of the best sets of the night.

Friday

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears

Dressed to kill for an early slot on the main stage, Lewis didn’t just play the blues, he owned it. Riding high off his excellent debut, the set shined with a backing horns section highlighting Lewis’s Buddy Guy like swagger. Full of attitude, the funked up “I’m Broke” brought a new generation to the working mans blues. The band is built for the live experience, and while only one album in the game, they own every moment to final note.

Earl Greyhound

Earl Greyhound’s a powerful band. Even with a sparse crowd, they played like it was for a packed house letting Kamara Thomas’s heavy raspy bass rumble while Matt Whyte tore into his guitar. With a new album out, the fresh material sounded just as thick and penetrating. “Oye Vaya” and the epic set closer “Misty Morning” showed that there are several sides to this bands music, taking you from a quiet mystique to in your face sonics with twisting feed back. The set was high on the new material side, the garage blues building on elements of grunge, all just adding more power to the blow your hair back sound. A sleeper set, but another of the best from the weekend without a doubt.

Dirtfoot

Louisiana band Dirtfoot is a bit of an anomaly in the world of jam. Combining hillbilly punk with New Orleans style you get a kind of energy that sucks you in. They’re regulars for the festival and have the following to pack a wooded stage. Playing with the harsh six o’clock in their eyes on the tiny backwoods stage, they sweated out the hour and a half and kept the crowd a movin’.

Umphrey’s McGee

By this point, Umphrey’s McGee has figured out how to transcend just being another jam-rock band. Their sets are heavy, breaking out double bass and stadium size guitars that are just too big for any stage. On the first of two sets, they brought the prog-rock jam bliss, opening with the rare “13:48”. With ripping duel lead guitars, they continued to establish themselves, not just as a jam staple, but as a live force to be recon with. They can work in quick covers from just about anyone, like a nod to Motley Crue, but the pinnacle coming from the high end of a blistering build up before falling perfectly into Pink Floyd’s “Time”. It was a surreal moment, Umphrey’s delivering as they always do with a set full of surprises and non-stop rock power.

Big Gigantic

Thanks to technology, a lot of sound can come from a minimal place. Big Gigantic only describes the rumbling dub-step, and not that it’s coming from just two guys. With one on drums, the other from the multi instrumentalist tying in hip-hop hooks with his own smooth saxophone lines. The loops and layers sparkled, with the live drums fueling the set. While certainly not the first to incorporate that style, it was all in their delivery, and that little extra from the brass to break up the electronics, they’ve found their niche.

STS9

Another Wakarusa staple, Sound Tribe have become the must see band in the live-tronica game. It could be that they helped bring it to the foreground, but every set is a blistering spectacle of light and sound. Technical issues kept the set to a slow start, but once the ball was rolling it was the onstage acid trip everyone was waiting for. Impressively David Murphy played the set with an injured wrist, a hole cut in the cast for his two fingers to get to the strings of his bass. While not at their best, it fed the need for the larger than life electronics that the people craved.

Bassnecter

Winner for biggest party of the weekend easily goes here. Lorin Ashton lived up to his reputation with an unrelenting throbbing, cutting synths and samples between sub-bombs. Part DJ, and part dub, the blend created a mass of sweaty thick beats, not one person left still in the over flowing Revival Tent. The place was hot and sticky, but so was the earth rattling noise. Every beat thundered as he dropped it, his long locks flying around his head with relentless strobes behind. He’s the king of the late night electronic set with an energy that never came close to easing during his hour and a half blow out.

Tea Leaf Green (Late Night)

A band really is only as strong as their rhythm section, and for Tea Leaf Green’s Reed Mathis, he was the band. Mathis ran circles around the songs, taking the lead and squeezing in extra parts whenever possible. It’s hard to find a bassist that commanding, taking the spotlight to show off, removing the set far from being just another late night jam. It was a night of ruckus blues bar funk that fit perfectly in the early morning hours and provided a break from the constant thumping of the subwoofers at the other stages. You don’t need pretty lights and a laptop at three am; no, a wailing rock band and a stripped down stage were all it took to get the festival to sunrise.

Saturday

Tea Leaf Green

After the late night jam, TLG got in one more round in the early afternoon, this time on the main stage. The set was tailored to the unusually hot start of the day. More upstrokes and surf inspired, it was a brighter, and easier going set that still let Mathis show off even more. This time, Josh Clark stepped out the guitar more for a not so bass heavy, cooler jaunt. The set qued in the cool breezes with their floating harmonies making it the best way to wake up.

Blues Traveler

For a band that was once threatened by the dreaded ‘one hit wonder’ tag, John Popper and company have completely reinvented themselves. Stepping out, their set was ready made for the festival scene. They leaned heavy on the songs that let Popper rip into his harmonica, or Ben Wilson the keys with equal expertise. Radiohead’s “Creep” was a bit of a surprise, the blues revision kept desperate enough to stay in touch with the original. It’s safe to say that a harmonica can make any song better. Two of Spoonfed Tribe’s percussionists stepped in on the congas for Traveler biggest songs. The jams were impressive with that endless harmonica that gave them their name. With a set like this, they fit right in with the rest of the festival regulars, providing an impressive second life for the band.

The Black Keys

With the sun at its hottest, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney took to the main stage. A Keys live show is much heavier than the records, sporting gritter guitar work with bigger distortion. The band has created their own rock show for the big stage, revamping older favorites like “Stack Shot Billy” and “Remember When” with sonic steel slide break downs and blow out finishes. For the new material, they’ve enlisted help from two other musicians to help with the odds and ends found on their most recent record, Brothers. You can tell that they’re still getting used to the bigger band, the chemistry being worked on, just as is the new material. Back to back they played from the latest, with “Next Girl” bringing the show to its peak, Auerbach yelling out on the chorus. The band seems to be finding the right place for the new songs in their set (e.g. Auerbach taking a moment to figure out his falsetto on “Everlasting Light”, but turning “Howlin’ For You” into an instant live classic), though without a doubt, this band is made for bigger stages.

Dweezil Zappa Plays Zappa

Of all the legacies to be kept in tact, Frank Zappa’s son, Dweezil, has been keeping his dad’s freaky rock traditions alive and well. Note for note Zappa jumped right in to a set filled with old rarities and favorites, calling on classic albums like the infamous Live at the Fillmore, “you know, the white one?” he reminisced. The people new it well, and took in another dose of nostalgia. Zappa’s guitar was spot on and clean, his job only to tell a story of what was, making you wish the real thing was still around. It’s the ultimate in tribute bands touting family in a son with just as much natural talent. That alone makes this as close to the real thing as you can get.

Widespread Panic

Three hours is a long time to spend with any band, but some have enough power and presence to leave an audience begging for more. With hundreds of songs to pull from, it seemed like every last person was standing in that field with a density that reached as far back as it could. It was a marathon set of ripping southern guitars that never seemed to quit, the energy only building until the final moments. As is becoming tradition, impromptu fireworks were set off in celebration of the culmination of a weekend. Every note and word clung to as the southern rock tearing up the stage seemed exhaustingly endless. It was a magical thing to experience, a kind of harmony in song unifying everyone in that moment. Panic proved again why they’re at the top of the jam game, and why they’re the perfect way to headline a festival like this, or any festival for that matter.

Sunday

Zoomga

After a quick set shuffle due to the loss of the Dirty Guv’nors, Zoomga brought one more take on the newly sprouted live-tronica scene. As goes with these bands, live drums and bass make up the backbone with a network of synths over top. Guitars end up taking over bringing the songs through to their climax. Zoomga added more rock intensity, though, throwing in a sample of “Eleanor Rigby” that worked its way into the set and off the computer. This is the future of improvised music, and as such there are plenty of bands fighting for their place. Zoomga is another one of them, loaded with strong musicians, but still fighting to stand out amongst the pack.

That 1 Guy

More of an engineer than a musician, Mike Silverman has built a sizable loyal following as his second set for the weekend filled up the tiny space in front of the Backwoods Stage. His live style over the years has been honed and perfected, creating a odd blend of kraut-funk that can rock like metal, and groove like Les Claypool. He’s mastered the single man show turning his weird genius into something anyone can dance to. As musician you have to see to believe there’s a clear novelty about it all, but you can’t deny his originality.

State Radio

This band has the college festival crowd on lock. Reggae under tones, up-stroked guitars and a penchant for lefty politics make them all too agreeable, and lets be honest, harmless. That aside when it came to the live aspect, there’s no doubt that they can put on a show. There were plenty of sing along moments to fill the hour and a half, moving from bouncy reggae rock to ska like alternative. They were cheered back on for an encore, and threw out one last blast of rock with punk speed, stretching the vocals into a ripe yell before thanking the audience one more time. There was a lot of love for the band, and as their only U.S. festival appearance, the set was a real treat for the fans.

John Butler Trio

With a packed tent for one more set, John Butler came out to a deafening roar. The show kicked off with his more popular material hit early on, “Used to Get High” setting the pace. Once underway, he gave the real Butler show, just him and his guitar blowing minds with what was coming out of the speakers. One-man heavy rock tracks took over the middle of the set, furiously plucking and strumming, adding distortion and slides as the pace got quicker. Later while back with the trio he took that same prowess and put it into what ever he picked up, be it banjo or a lap slide. From alt rock to bluegrass and everywhere in between, Butler proved once again that he’s a master of anything with strings and a fret board. The set provided a vast improvement from last year’s closing day, with more fireworks being set off in the campsites for one last moment of celebration. With Butler at the helm, another year of Wakarusa went into the history books.

Photography courtesy of Priscilla Raba

Along with organizing volunteer and cleanup efforts, The Hangout Music Festival has announced  two benefit concerts to coincide with their previously planned festival. This Friday, May 14th, Alex B, Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), and Big Gigantic will take the stage for a late-night concert, with 100% of profits going to Mobile Baykeeper. Then, on Saturday, May 15th, Keller Williams’ Electronic Experiment offer an indoor show. Be forewarned, though, that tickets may only be bought in advance and a $5 donation is expected.

For more information on what you can do, visit The Hangout Festival on Facebook.

After a an upcoming series of anticipated festival appearances, STS9 will begin a massive summer tour with an “Axe the Cables” show at the Blender Theatre at Gramercy in New York City. Then, Northeast stops with Lotus and The Album Leaf, before they take on the Windy City with four performances during a two day stop.

STS9 will then join forces with jam-brethren The Disco Biscuits, providing Atlanta with a weekend it won’t soon forget.  After traveling through America’s heartland, they conclude the tour in Colorado. Tickets for this massive summer tour are currently available exclusively at STS9Store.com.  A complete list of tour dates follow:

STS9 2010 Tour Dates:
05/28-05/30 – Chillicothe, IL @ Summercamp Festival
06/09-06/06 – Ozark, AR @ Wakarusa Music Fesival
06/29 – Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
07/03 – Oxford, ME @ Nateva Festival
08/11 – New York, NY @ Blender Theater at Gramercy (Axe the Cables show)
08/12 – New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom *
08/13 – Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion *
08/14 – Philadelphia, PA @ Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing *
08/20 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
08/21 – Chicago, IL @ Charter One Pavilion #
08/21 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues (Official After-Party) $
08/22 – Chicago, IL @ VENUE TBA (Axe the Cables show)
08/27 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle %
08/28 – Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater %
09/02 – Fayetteville, AR @ Arkansas Music Pavilion
09/03 – Tulsa, OK @ River Parks Amphitheatre
09/04 – Omaha, NE @ Anchor Inn Music Center
09/05 – Kansas City, MO @ Crossroads Pavilion
09/09 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
09/10 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
09/11 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphiteatre

* = w/ Lotus, The Album Leaf
# = w/ Bassnectar, Big Gigantic
$ = w/ Bassnectar
% = w/ Disco Biscuits

STS9 2009 Tour Dates:
08/07 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/08 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
08/22 – Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
09/25-27 – Laytonville, CA @ Earthdance Festival
10/02 – Austin, TX @ TBA
10/03 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
10/06 – Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall *
10/07 – Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium *
10/08 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
10/09 – Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom *
10/10 – Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Egyptian Room *
10/14 – Louisville, KY @ W.L. Lyons Theatre ^
10/15 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall ^
10/16 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Orbit Ballroom ^
10/17 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom ^
10/18 – Troy, NY @ Revolution Hall ^
10/21 – Bridgeport, CT @ The Klein Theatre #
10/22 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues #
10/23 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 #
10/24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory #
10/25 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live #

* = w/ Big Gigantic
^ = w/ Telepath
# = w/ Eskimo