It’s the time of year again!! When you get to stress over the Outside Lands, schedule for a week and a half, attempting to both optimize your experience and agonize over clashes. Not only that but there are now TWO dance music areas instead of one… So get ready to figure out the fastest way between the SOMA Tent and Dolores’ stage. Feel free to plot your own schedule here. And, obviously, if you are foolish and haven’t picked up tickets yet, you can still get Sunday GA and Golden Gate Club tickets here.
It’s late July / early August, which means it’s time to start plotting out your Outside Lands plans! This means you get to hear MY OPINION on the best acts from the “lesser known” half of the poster! There is a lot of good stuff happening early in the day, so get your money’s worth, load up on coffee, and get to the park when the gates open! A full slate of performers can be found here, and there are still *some* tickets left as of press time, and those limited ticket types can be found here.
In addition to the list below, Outside Lands added a new, gay-centered stage named after every hipster’s favorite Castro-adjacent park, Dolores‘! On Friday the area is being taken over by Fake & Gay. On Saturday, SF Drag Laurette, D’Arcy Drollinger is bringing her club, OASIS, to the park. And on Sunday, the most legendary local party, Hard French will be making sure you feel very French all Sunday long. Continue reading “Top 10 from the Bottom Half of the Outside Lands Poster 2023”
Last Saturday night, I was moments away from calling a Lyft to take myself to the Chase Center after one of the most exhausting Saturdays I’ve had in years. Literally right before I was going to “Select Lyft” button, I got a text from a friends letting me know that the show had been postponed. Someone appears to have gotten sick in the touring party. OH NO! The worst part about it was that I was kind of relieved… I ended up introducing my four year old to Oliver & Company instead that night, and it was an excellent decision. The SF Show was moved to August 7th, as well as Seattle moving to the 9th, Portland to the 10th, and the 2023 tour is now closing up in Seattle on the 13th. This is sad news for most people, but excellent news for folks that were sold out of these shows, as the postponed shows are allowing for refunds for a week. You can snag those tickets as they become available here!
Did you attend Mosswood Meltdown this last weekend? Did you enjoy yourself? OF COURSE, YOU DID!!! Do you want to relive the fun/ live the fun for the first time? While, for another week or so, the whole thing is streaming on Twitch! Are you ready for next year already? Well, super-discounted early bird tickets are available NOW for Mosswood Meltdown 2024. The dates are July 6th & 7th. Do I know who’s playing? Absolutely not. But I like a bargain, and there is no way it won’t be stupid fun. Besides, both GA ($79+fees) and VIP ($159+fees) are $100 less than the door prices!
GUESS WHAT!?!?! Mosswood Meltdown is THIS WEEKEND! Possibly the best lineup I’ve ever seen for an event, and it’s finally here! There are only a few tickets left for sale, and those can be purchased here. Join us to see legendary, groundbreaking acts Le Tigre, ESG, JJ Fad, and Bratmobile, as well as so many of my favorite bands ever- Mika Miko, Avengers, Snooper, Teddy Bear Orchestra, The Rondelles. Set times are below, and here’s a quick introduction to everyone playing! Continue reading “MOSSWOOD MELTDOWN SET TIMES ARE HERE! JOIN US THIS WEEKEND!!!”
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!”
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
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!
Here’s my2023 BottleRock preview playlist for your listening enjoyment, and I look forward to seeing you there soon! Don’t have tickets? Tryhere, and come on out to Napa for some sunshine at the best fest in the west!
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!
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!