OUTSIDE LANDS 2023 NIGHT SHOWS ANNOUNCED!

As we dig deeper into Summer, it’s time for Outside Lands to start trickling out their “bonus content.” First off- the night shows! (Still to come- the Gastromagic Stage and Grass Lands lineups, and then we start our petition to bring back The Barbary!) Highlights (for me at least) include No Vacation (with Sour Widows) at the California Academy Of Sciences (!) on August 10th, L’Impératrice at Bimbo’s on August 11th, and an epic double bill of Soccer Mommy and SASAMI at The Independent on August 12th. So, yeah, it might be worth leaving Foo Fighters a hair early to ensure you get to The Indy by 10 pm, because you REALLY don’t want to miss SASAMI. 

Eager Beaver & Golden Gate Club ticket holders have the first opportunity to grab tickets with those presales running Wednesday, 6/21, from 10 am PT to Thursday, 6/22, at 11:59 pm PT. The festival ticket holder presale is Thursday, 6/22, from 10 am PT to 11:59 pm PT. Any remaining tickets still available for Night Shows will go on sale to the public on Friday, 6/23, at 10 am PT. Promo codes will be emailed to ticketholders shortly. Ticket links can be found here! A complete list is below: Continue reading “OUTSIDE LANDS 2023 NIGHT SHOWS ANNOUNCED!”

BE YOUR OWN PET! NEW ALBUM! WEST COAST TOUR DATES! NEW SONG! FUUUUUUN!

The Be Your Own Pet comeback remains the least expected return of 2023, but I’m ALL IN! We’ve got a second single that isn’t quite the JoltColaCore of their first two records, but we all have to grow up sometime? And if growing up for BYOP means embracing your darkest and most controversial desires and expressing them in the form of rock n roll, that’s not a bad way to channel maturity. “Worship The Whip” is that very song, and it’s off their third album (15 years after their genius sophomore record Get Awkward), Mother, which is headed your way on August 25th. Prepare for this date the way you see most fit by clicking here! I’m a tad overwhelmed by my preorder options, TBH. We will see what I end up buying! 

Oh- and I promised tour dates that go on sale this Friday. Looks like a sweaty good time for all: 

9/16 – Third Man Records Blue Room – Nashville, TN

10/18 – Local 506 – Chapel Hill, NC 

10/19 – Union Stage – Washington, DC  

10/21 – Elsewhere Hall – Brooklyn, NY  

10/22 – Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA

10/23 – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH

10/24 – Third Man Records – Detroit, MI

10/25 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL

10/27 – The Back Room at Colectivo – Milwaukee, WI

10/29 – Headliners Music Hall – Louisville, KY

11/8 – Soda Bar – San Diego, CA

11/9 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA

11/11 – Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA

11/12 – Moe’s Alley – Santa Cruz, CA

11/14- Harlow’s – Sacramento, CA

11/16 – Star Theater – Portland, OR

11/17- Neumos – Seattle, WA

11/18 – The Pearl – Vancouver, BC

BottleRock Napa Valley 2023 Preview

Can you feel it? Summer’s almost here, finally! Besides the fact that the rain has finally stopped and the temps are heating up, you always know it’s just about summer when it’s time to take a look at the upcoming BottleRock Napa Valley festival!

As usual, the folks organizing this magical event in my sweet hometown have done a brilliant job providing us with not just fantastic headliners but quite a few awesome smaller bands. It starts in less than 10 days, and as usual, I can’t wait!

This year, the Red Hot Chili Peppers return to headline along with The  Smashing Pumpkins, Lizzo, Duran Duran, Post Malone, and Lil Nas X!

Beyond that impressive lineup of headliners, there are countless other interesting acts I hope to see, including Bastille, Phantogram, Kennyhoopla, Jean Dawson, Beach Weather, Paris Jackson, local band High Noon, Leon Bridges, Carly Rae Jepsen, Tove Lo, Dayglow, Danielle Ponder, Wu-Tang Clan, The National, Caamp, Sheryl Crow, Los Lobos, The Wrecks, and The Alive. And that’s without listing any of the extensive food, wine, or cocktails available to tempt and delight tastebuds, too!

Here’s my 2023 BottleRock preview playlist for your listening enjoyment, and I look forward to seeing you there soon! Don’t have tickets? Try here, and come on out to Napa for some sunshine at the best fest in the west!

Bumbershoot is back!! Bumbershoot is back!!!

Regular readers will have learned that this site’s music editor sometimes misses important news. Like, I don’t know, the 50th Bumbershoot getting announced with a ridiculously stacked line-up of mostly said music editor’s favorite bands? Well, better late than never? Plus, they broke out the lineup into individual days, and it’s still almost too much good to handle. 

Headlining Saturday is Pacific Northwest legends (and the literal best band in America) Sleater-Kinney (playing what looks like their only show of 2023!) alongside Bay Area notables Zhu and AFI, as well as Brittany Howard. Sunday treats us to The Revivalists, Bay Area punks Jawbreaker, alongside The Descendents, Matt & Kim, and more. Further down the line-up, we’ve got Spinning Platters favorites, The Dandy Warhols, Debby Friday, Shannon & The Clams, Destroy Boys, Morgan & The Organ Donors, Hunx & His Punx, and way too many more. 

The other exciting news? Bumbershoot has teamed up with our pals at The UC Theater to help their Concert Career Pathways Program spread to Seattle. What is this program? It’s a tuition-free, hands-on education program bringing careers in live music to young people that wouldn’t normally have this opportunity. You can donate to these folks here

Full daily lineups are below. Tickets are available NOW and are moving nicely, so don’t delay!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 Sleater-Kinney Zhu AFI Brittany Howard Sunny Day Real Estate Durand Jones Matt and Kim Maya Jane Coles Ride Jacob Banks Major League Djz DOMi & JD Beck The Dip Puddles Pity Party Anabel Englund Destroy Boys Hunx and his Punx Thunderpussy Reignwolf Screaming Females Morgan and the Organ Donors Sweet Water Chong the Nomad Slift Girl Trouble Radioactivity Dave B. Chimurenga Renaissance Spirit Award Pressha Long Dark Moon Breaks and Swells Wimps Scarves SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 The Revivalists Jawbreaker Fatboy Slim Phantogram Band of Horses Descendents Bomba Estereo Uncle Waffles A-Trak Valerie June Pussy Riot Benny the Butcher The Rebirth Brass Band Shannon and the Clams Temples Dandy Warhols Algernon Cadwallader Sol Gustaf Trinix Debby Friday True Loves Modernlove. The Black Tones King Youngblood Massy Ferguson Cassandra Lewis Them Simone BG Fouad Masoud Black Ends TV Star Pink Boa Beverly Crusher

New Music Videos from Blondshell and Dream Wife

Remember when Tuesdays were the “New Release Day” for music? Those days were special. Although I think moving it to Friday is a little more fun. That being said, two videos dropped today from two of my favorite finds of the year! 

Going in alphabetical order out of fairness… 

Continue reading “New Music Videos from Blondshell and Dream Wife”

Spinning Platters Interview: Jim Welte, Executive Director of the Mill Valley Music Festival

Executive Director of Mill Valley Music Festival, seen here with his trusty bodyguard.

Here at Spinning Platters, we are REALLY excited about the second year of the Mill Valley Music Festival. We are getting the return of Northern California legends Cake, alongside SP favorites Tank & The Bangas, Adrian Belew & Jerry Harrison doing a Talking Heads set, Durand Jones, Valerie June, Black Joe Lewis, and many more. The party is NEXT WEEKEND- May 13th and 14th. Tickets and more info here. We had a chance to chat with their Executive Director, Jim Welte about this year’s event, and here’s a bit of our conversation: 

I’ve just got a couple of questions to ask you about this insane endeavor you’re pulling off in one of the hardest cities in the Bay Area to get to, which prompts my first question, what made you pick Mill Valley? Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Jim Welte, Executive Director of the Mill Valley Music Festival”

Mosswood Meltdown- Single Day Line Ups // Afterparties // New Acts!

“Mosswood Meltdown is a pissed-off July 4th weekend celebration for the punk rock elite. Slum-goddess feminists, butch twinks, homo-masculine straight guys-we’re all ready to pogo our way to musical mayhem.”

– John Waters 

Our good friends at Mosswood Meltdown continue to make the greatest festival lineup ever (according to me) even greaterest! (WTF? Grammarly didn’t flag that word?!?!) In addition to the previously announced returns of Le Tigre, Bratmobile, Gravy Train!!!!, Mika Miko, The Rondells, JJ Fad, and too many more to name, we have been gifted with four ridiculously cool additions! We have Oakland’s Twompsax bidding us adieu with their last two performances ever. We also have Japan’s greatest surf band, The 5678s, returning to the US for the first time in a while. For those of you sick of music played by humans, the Teddy Bear Orchestra (which really is a band comprised of robot teddy bears) will give pleasure to your ears as a distraction while they plot to take over the human race. 

They’ve also FINALLY let us know who is playing on which days. For me, personally, that stretch of SNOOPER to Bratmobile on Sunday is about as perfect as a music festival could possibly be. Full details are below, as well as info on the afterparties! Tickets are available here, and get them while you can! This is looking like selling out is not out of the question…

Continue reading “Mosswood Meltdown- Single Day Line Ups // Afterparties // New Acts!”

The 2023 Stern Grove Fest Line Up is Ridiculous!!!!

We are so very lucky in San Francisco. The lineup for the Stern Grove festival was just released, and it feels unfair how good it is. We are already lucky enough to live in the greatest place on Earth, but to see this array of acts FOR FREE?!?!?! In an absolutely stunning outdoor amphitheater? The rest of the world is full of envy for us. 

I kinda want to go to everything… I mean, it opens with jazz experimentalists Snarky Puppy on June 18th. Then a bill where NEKO CASE IS THE OPENER?!?! Of course, she’s opening for the legendary Indigo Girls on June 25th for a bill that’s way more than closer to fine. (Sorry!) Avant-Pop icon Santigold on July 2nd. Lyle Lovett with our dear friend Andrew St James on July 9th. Legendary singer Angelique Kidjo is gracing our presence on July 16th. Jammy Funksters Lettuce is playing with the SF Symphony, which is just, um, !!!!!!. On July 20th, we’ve got the house double bill of Bob Moses and Neil Frances. August 6th brings us the FINAL SF PERFORMANCE from Buddy Guy. Competing with Outside Lands on August 13th (Damn right, I’m angry) is Patti Smith, possibly the most captivating live performer I’ve ever seen, paired with former Husker Du and Sugar frontman Bob Mould. And closing the whole thing out? The Flaming Lips on August 20th. 

As with the last two years, tickets are free but do require RSVP. RSVP Links are below, along with the day and time they go live. (Which appears to be the same date as the show in the prior month at 2pm) And, as usual, they are selling tables to The Big Picnic with The Flaming Lips on August 20th

June 18 Snarky Puppy, Isaiah Sharkey (RSVP Opens May 18th at 2pm)

June 25 Indigo Girls (with Full Band), Neko Case (RSVP Opens May 25th at 2pm)

July 2 Santigold, Ogi (RSVP Opens June 2nd at 2pm)

July 9 Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, Andrew St. James (RSVP Opens June 9th at 2pm)

July 16 Angelique Kidjo, Jupiter & Okwess (RSVP Opens June 16th at 2pm)

July 23 SF Symphony with Special Guest Lettuce (RSVP Opens June 23rd at 2pm)

July 30 Bob Moses, Neil Frances (RSVP Opens June 30th at 2pm)

August 6 Buddy Guy Damn Right Farewell Tour, Eric Gales (RSVP Opens July 6th at 2pm)

August 13 Patti Smith, Bob Mould (RSVP Opens July 20th at 2pm)

August 20 The Big Picnic Featuring The Flaming Lips, Alan Palomo (Neon Indian DJ Set) (RSVP Opens July 20th at 2pm)

Outside Lands Daily Lineups HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED!

August seems so much closer in the last week than it has been… It might be the fact that our three months of ACTUAL WINTER have finally drifted away, and the sun has revealed itself. Although if you are a real San Franciscan, you are most excited about Karl The Fog returning in August, which makes Outside Lands consistently the most comfortable music festival in America. 

But I digress… Single Day lineups have been announced, so you can kinda start planning? It looks pretty likely that we are gonna get Janelle Monae warming up the crowd for Kendrick Lamar, which is basically gonna cause my brain to implode. We also see Orville Peck and Trixie Mattel playing on the same day, so keep your fingers crossed that this happens! Will they try to find a way to combine Fake Fruit and Venus & The Flytraps for the most uncomfortable concoction for Gastromagic on Sunday? I certainly hope soo… 

Single Day GA, GA+, VIP, and Golden Gate Club passes are on sale Wednesday, April 19th at 10 am at sfoutsidelands.com

OUTSIDE LANDS 2023 LINE UP ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

Christmas came really early this year! We’ve got the full lineup for Outside Lands 2023 six whole weeks earlier than last year!!!! And they did very well, as usual. Topping the bill is Kendrick Lamar, making his first trip to the bay since the amazing Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers came out, as well as the first Foo Fighters set since the passing of Taylor Hawkins and ODESZA, making them the first electronic act to close out Lands End. Other Spinning Platters favorites include Megan Thee Stallion (Yes. This is the act I’m most excited to see), Janelle Monae, The 1975, Maggie Rogers, Lil Yachty, Interpol, Father John Misty, Orville Peck, ALVVAYS, beabadoobee, Soccer Mommy, Shaquille O’Neal (!), and my favorite current Bay Area band, Fake Fruit! 

I’ve already started studying for our annual “Top 10 from the bottom half” of the poster, but don’t miss your shot to buy tickets! 3 DAY GA, GA+, VIP, and Golden Gate Club tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10am

Outside Lands 2023 Lineup Continue reading “OUTSIDE LANDS 2023 LINE UP ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!”