Music festivals are the best place for music fans to not only see several of their favorite bands in one weekend, but also to discover new artists. While there are hundreds of festivals across the United States that take place each summer, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee is one of the best. Bonnaroo takes place on a 700 acre farm upon which 80-90,000 concert goers camp during the four spectacular days of music in early June. Bonnaroo has been known to schedule bands that are of a wide array of genres and levels of obscurity or popularity. This festival in particular is a great place for unknown bands to get noticed-they debut at the festival in one of the three tents and end up returning a few years later to play on a bigger stage, or in some cases, as a headliner.
The two most recognized artists that have significantly boosted careers thanks to the festival’s publicity are the Black Keys and Kings of Leon. The Black Keys debuted at Bonnaroo in 2004 where they played That Tent. The duo returned in 2007 and 2010 to play That Tent both times, and then finally, in 2011, The Black Keys returned to headline the festival on the What Stage for over 80,000 festival attendees. In a similar tale, Kings of Leon premiered at Bonnaroo in 2004 playing That Tent as well. The band moved up to Which Stage in 2005, played for What Stage 2007, and then returned in 2010 to headline the festival on What Stage-a goal they’d had since they played the festival in 2004.
This past summer Bonnaroo pulled out the big guns and did their research well, because while the big names like Foster the People, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Childish Gambino blew their audiences away, the little unknown bands that played were phenomenal. And going off Bonnaroo’s past history with picking hidden talent well, the following three artists are sure to return to the festival in five or six years to play on one of the bigger stages.
One such artist was K. Flay who played in That Tent. This white, female rapper from Chicago will surprise you with her musicality. She performed with just a drummer while she used a keyboard, synth, and loop machine to mix her beats live on stage, each song just a little new and different from the recorded versions. Her EP, Eyes Shut, is available on her website for free download-her chill, relaxed tone and her witty use of rhyme are worth a listen. The songs “10th Ave” and “No Duh” are good places to start.
Another fresh voice at Bonnaroo was that of Connecticut indie-rock group the Tune-Yards. For fans of St. Vincent or The Dirty Projectors, the Tune-Yards take normal conventions of music and blow them out of the water. The lead singer plays with a loop machine, layering her voice on top of itself several times, while creating multiple loops to call upon and layer over each other in the bands seven to ten minute songs. The band also includes a couple of saxophonists and an auxiliary percussionist who plays everything from wind chimes to the vibra-slap during their performances. This band is one to see live, their spontaneity and jazz-like improvisation is displayed more realistically in performance than in recording. Their album, Whokill, is available on iTunes and the songs to hear are “Gangsta” and “Bizness”.
Lastly, fans of Metric and The XX will love indie pop electronic band, Phantogram, from Saratoga Springs, New York. Phantogram is comprised of Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter. While Sarah plays synth and does lead vocals and Josh plays drums and does backup vocals, they often switch off singing in some of their songs. Their EP, Nightlife, is the one to listen to, the album shows off their mellow, melodic, electronic style well. Sarah’s haunting voice combined with the tingling and throbbing synth music creates an interesting and different musical experience that is especially visceral during live performance. If interested in Phantogram, check out “Don’t Move” and “A Dark Tunnel”.
So music lovers, keep your eyes peeled for K. Flay, the Tune-Yards, and Phantogram, because Bonnaroo knows when an artist has that something special and these guys are sure to keep popping up in the following years. Maybe they’ll even return to the festival again or even headline it.
Check out BonnarooMusicFest on YouTube to see other performances from the festival this summer.