Bonnaroo Updates

A lot of news in the land of Bonnaroo:

David Byrne Curated Stage
Aside from playing his own set, David Byrne, founding member of The Talking Heads, will be hosting the first ever artist curated stage in Bonnaroo history, on Friday, June 12.

What this means, is basically that Byrne will be hosting/overseeing/introducing several bands, that were handpicked by him to play the festival. These artists include Ani DiFranco, Santigold, St. Vincent, The Dirty Projectors and Katzenjammer.

Also expect Byrne to sit in on some songs with these artists.

More Band Additions
American Princes - hard, indie rock

Belleville Outfit - a country version of a jamband

Ben Sollee - Kentucky native, celloist from Abigail Wasburn's Sparrow Quartet, has played with everyone from our very own, Kim Taylor, to Jim James (of My Morning Jacket)

Black Lillies

BrakesBrakesBrakes - in England they're simply known as Brakes, but in the US, they're known as brakesbrakesbrakes...they play punked-up versions of rock, country, folk and surf....

Cotton Jones - indie-pop, folk-rock, gospel and soul with a small-town sound

Dear and the Headlights - Arizona indie-rock similar to Manchester Orchestra and Margot & the Nuclear So & So's, currently touring with Jimmy Eat World and Paramore....

Madi Diaz - "a staggering voice, poignant melodies and innovative arrangements"

Dirty Guv'nahs - loud rock music

Dirty Sweet - hard, southern, stoner, garage-rock out of San Diego, for fans of Year Long Disaster and Rose Hill Drive

Dan Dyer - gospel and soul singer/songwriter, full of beautiful melodies...

Justin Townes Earle - he's the son of the legendary Steve Earle, and the godson of the legendary Townes Van Zandt...so if you know about those two, you have to figure Justin is probably a decent songwriter himself...

Everest - a band from L.A. made up of members of Sebadoh, Alaska!, The Watson Twins, Great Northern and Stanford Prison Experiment, they have already toured with Neil Young and My Morning Jacket, thanks to their debut "Ghost Notes" which was released just shortly over a year ago...

The Features - longtime vets of the Murfreesboro, TN scene, these indie-rockers won a spot to play Bonnaroo in a band competition...

Fiction Family - a collaboration between Jon Foreman (of alt-rock band, Switchfoot) and Sean Watkins (of bluegrass band Nickel Creek)...together, they mold influences from opposite ends of the spectrum, bringing together alternative rock, folk and christian music...

The Giraffes - Brooklyn's metal, punks, known for rowdy live performances

The Heavy Pets - a funky, jamband for those into U-Melt, The Breakfast and Perpetual Groove...

Jedd Hughes - Australian country, singer/songwriter that fans of Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley will enjoy...

Jerry Hannan

Jets Overhead - another fine indie-rock band out of Canada, they've mesmerized crowds with their hypnotic take on trance-rock

Ki: Theory

Kuroma - spacey, psychedelic, guitar-driven rock for fans of Wooden Shjips and Dead Confederate

Jessica Lea Mayfield - not even 20 years old, Jessica is well beyond her years, both in her quick rise to fame, as well as the sound she creates, mixing country, folk and soul...currently touring with Ray LaMontagne, she has also worked with The Black Keys and members of Dr. Dog...

Erin McCarley - a female, contemporary singer/songwriter, whose music has appeared on Grey's Anatomy...she's also part of Ten Out of Tenn...

Moonalice (pronounced moon-a-lease) - a jamband combining elements of roots, blues, psychedelia and folk. They're a supergroup that includes G.E. Smith - recognize that name? (he's the former Saturday Night Live band leader), as well as members of Bob Dylan's Band, Phil Lesh and Friends, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Hot Tuna and David Nelson and Friends...

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band - an indie-pop, dance-punk, rock band from Seattle, who garnered considerable attention even before releasing a single song

MyNameIsJohnMichael - a New Orleans native with a remarkable story. In late 2007 he decided it was time for a change. Beginning in 2008 as a solo artist, he would write one song a week over the entire year. By the end of the year, he in fact did have 52 songs, but more importantly, several musicians joined in on the project with him including members of Rotary Downs, Antenna Inn and Big Rock Candy Mountain....

Nikhil Korula Band - returning to Bonnaroo this summer, these guys have toured with the likes of both John Mayer and OAR. Ultimately a jamband, they blend sounds of calypso, reggae and African and Latin grooves...

Julia Nunes - a ukulele playing, singer/songwriter from upstate New York, Julia's career first took off thanks to internet sites like YouTube and MySpace, thanks to some amazing covers, however, she has already released two albums of original material being sold around the world

Outernational - a political band from New York, combining elements of hip-hop, punk, ska and world music, thus creating a "raw and uplifting" stage show

Phoenix - indie, electronic, French pop/rock

Joe Pug - Only in his young-twenties, this Dylan-like folkie, singer/songwriter has quickly garnered near universal critical acclaim, establishing him as one of his generations most respected songwriters

Russian Circles - an instrumental, post-metal/post-rock trio from Chicago, who play epic, sprawling music going from heavy to soft, similar to bands like Pelican, Minus the Bear and Caspian

Sons of Bill - southern, country-rock band of brothers from Charlottesville, VA

Those Darlins - one of the year's best, up-and-coming, all-female groups...raucous, cheerfully sarcastic, booze-filled live shows...mixing country, punk and rock...received a "Best of Nashville" nod in 2007, as well as "Best Local Rock Band Who'd Be at Home on the Grand Ole Opry"

Tobacco - the frontman of the band, Black Moth Super Rainbow, this electronica artist also known as Tom Fec, his music is powered by analog synths, hip-hop beats, tape machines and vocoders, rather than guitars

Turbine - Relix Magazine had this to say about them..."Their sound is exhilarating, with flurries of melodic guitars and wailing harp propelling complex improvisations"

Vertigo - an experimental, alternative-rock band out of Knoxville, TN

Roger Alan Wade - While he's written songs for country legends like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, George Jones and Hank Williams Jr, Wade's solo career took off thanks to promotional assistance from his cousin, Johnny Knoxville, where his music has appeared on the television show "Jackass"

William Elliott Whitmore - With a voice sounding decades older than he is (think Tom Waits), Whitmore's songs about death and love have the lyrical context of a Johnny Cash

Zee Avi - Malaysian female singer/songwriter signed to Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records label