Tag: Bonnaroo

Bonnaroo announces 2015 lineup

Americana Music News — The Bonnaroo Music Festival has announced its  lineup for 2015 and a fair number of Americana music artists are in the mix, including Sturgill Simpson, Jerry Douglas and the Earls of Leicester, Mumford and Sons, Alabama Shakes,  Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn and the Punch Brothers.

The line-up so far:

Billy Joel

Mumford & Sons

Deadmau5

Kendrick Lamar

Florence + The Machine

Jerry Douglas

Jerry Douglas

Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters

My Morning Jacket

Bassnectar

Alabama Shakes

Childish Gambino

Flume

Hozier

Slayer

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals

Belle & Sebastian

Spoon

The War on Drugs

STS9

Ben Folds

SuperJam !

Atmosphere

Atomic Bomb! Who is William Onyeabor?

Tears for Fears

Brandi Carlile

twenty | one | pilots

The Bluegrass Situation SuperJam featuring Ed Helms and Special Guests

Flying Lotus

Earth Wind & Fire

Caribou

Gary Clark Jr.

SBTRKT

Punch Brothers

Medeski, Scofield, Martin, & Wood

Tove Lo

Run The Jewels

Dawes

G-Eazy

Trampled By Turtles

Sturgill Simpson

Moon Taxi

Awolnation

Sylvan Esso

Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn

Guster

Jamie XX

Against Me!

Odesza

SOJA

Jerry Douglas presents Earls of Leicester

Bleachers

Rudimental

Mac DeMarco

Tycho

The Very Best

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib

Shakey Graves

Shabazz Palaces

Gramatik

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Jungle

Benjamin Booker

Houndmouth

The Growlers

Glass Animals

Ana Tijoux

SZA

Courtney Barnett

Rhiannon Giddens

Royal Blood

Tanya Tagaq

Woods

Hurray for the Riff Raff

Iceage

Temples

Between the Buried & Me

Rustie

Ryn Weaver

Dopapod

Pokey LaFarge

Priory

Bahamas

Strand of Oaks

Phox

Gregory Alan Isakov

Brownout Presents BROWN SABBATH

The Districts

Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear

DMA’s

Catfish & The Bottlemen

Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen

Pallbearer

Dej Loaf

Christopher Denny

Hiss Golden Messenger

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard

Jessica Hernandez & the Deltas

Unlocking The Truth

 

A Beatle at Bonnaroo: McCartney’s magical evening

Paul McCartney at Bonnaroo

Paul McCartney at Bonnaroo

By Ken Paulson

There’s a joy to Paul McCartney’s concerts these days, and that was never more evident than in his headlining show at the Bonnaroo Music Festival tonight.

Early on, he took a break for an extended gaze at the estimated 80,000 people in the audience, as if to say “We’re going to enjoy this.” By show’s end, he was literally skipping offstage.

It’s not realistic to suggest that a 70-year-old man will hit the same notes he did when he was a half-century younger, but it’s not obvious. His current band has played with him for more than a decade and the performances are smooth and exhilarating.

McCartney opened the show with “Eight Days a Week,”  an early Beatles hit that he doesn’t play very often. He followed that up with “Junior’s Farm,” a fitting choice given the setting, and a song that was recorded 90 minutes away in Nashville. Then came “All My Loving” and “Listen to What the Man Said,” continuing that pattern throughout the evening, interweaving Beatles classics with his best moments with Wings and as a solo artist.

“All Together Now” was a pleasant surprise, a jaunty obscurity from the Yellow Submarine soundtrack tailor-made for a festival crowd that was eager to bounce along. McCartney also unearthed  “For the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” a John Lennon song from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.  It was inspired, particularly when followed by McCartney’s rendition of George Harrison’s “Something.”

McCartney also took a moment to acknowledge legendary producer Phil Ramone, dedicating “Just Another Day,” his first real hit single as a solo artist, to him.

Although the concert packed in more than 30 songs, McCartney also took the time to chat. He told a story about Jimi Hendrix playing the title track from Sgt. Pepper in a club right after the song’s release, but running into tuning problems. His pleas to Eric Clapton to help him were for naught.

The size of the audience (and perhaps its youth) seemed to ignite McCartney. His “Helter Skelter” and “Day Tripper” were hard-charging and raucous, and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was silly and buoyant.

Perhaps most surprising was the audience sing-along to “Yesterday” late in the show. Despite its status as one of the most-covered McCartney compositions, it’s not a staple of rock radio.  How do 21-year-olds know every word?

I’ve seen McCartney in concert almost a dozen times, but this show may have been the best yet. He doesn’t have a new album, so it was hits and classics all the way. This is a man with nothing to prove, but he does it anyway.

It’s a shame we’ve lost Lennon and Harrison, but it is truly a blessing to have McCartney around to show a new generation what the magic was all about.

Follow Sun209 on Twitter at Sun209com.

Beach Boys, Sarah Jarosz, Deep Dark Woods at Bonnaroo

By Ken Paulson

The final day of the Bonnaroo festival was amazingly eclectic,and the rain held off. That’s as good as it gets.
The Beach Boys are not an Americana band, but they’re arguably the American band. Their 50th anniversary appearance was astonishing. Yes, they show their age and Brian Wilson seemed a little unsettled and lost, but the harmonies (with a little help from their friends, particularly Jeff Foskett) are intact. They played songs from every era of the band and an audience roughly five decades younger sang along with joy and exuberance. Magical.
Sarah Jarosz played a fine set in one of the tents, and engaged the audience throughout. Her stage presence and confidence are now matching her musicianship.
The Deep Dark Woods played the Solar Stage, a small, but very pleasant venue, in front or a small, but very pleasant crowd. Much of the set came from their excellent second album. They also had to endure a mini-interview that included a question about how each of us can make the world a better place. The Deep Dark Woods’ response: Be good to others. We’ll second that.