The rumored two-day NJ Metallica festival is true, and it's happening on June 23 & 24, 2012 in Atlantic City, NJ. 22+ artists (music and comedy) will play with Metallica headlining both nights with special setlists. Metallica will play the Black Album in its entirety on one of the nights "for the first time ever on US soil", and... Ride The Lighting on the other night! The venue is Bader Field (an abandoned airport).

Other bands are:

Arctic Monkeys • Avenged Sevenfold
Modest Mouse • The Gaslight Anthem
Cage The Elephant • Fucked Up • Best Coast
Hot Snakes • Titus Andronicus
Gary Clark Jr. • Lucero • Roky Erickson
The Black Angels • The Sword
A Place to Bury Strangers • Liturgy
+ more TBA

There will be a MET Club Ticket Presale on Feb 8 at 10am with a special MET Club presale price of $125 for two days. Public sale begins Feb 11 at 10am. Early bird tickets will be $150 for two days, or $175 if you wait to buy them.

"More than just music, the festival will also feature a lifestyle element showcasing the band's individual interests - and allowing fans to interact directly with each of the band members. More details soon!"

The festival is in partnership with C3 who also does Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits.

Lollapalooza last year (more by Josh Darr)

Lollapalooza celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with some huge names on its just-announced lineup. See it in full below.

The festival has obviously changed over the years. What started out as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction with a 'touring festival' lineup that included the Rollins Band, Nine Inch Nails, Butthole Surfers, and Souxsie & The Banshees, has turned into a one-weekend Chicago festival that Lady Gaga co-headlined last year. As leaked a while ago, Foo Fighters, Muse and Eminem all play this year, as will Coldplay, Cee Lo Green, and My Morning Jacket along with the reunited Cars and the continuing-to-be-reunited Big Audio Dynamite and Death From Above 1979, and a bunch of other bands which may or may not be worth the ticket price depending on how you feel about the headliners and generally seeing bands in big, hot, outdoor crowded parks (Lollapalooza happens in Chicago's Grant Park from August 5th - 7th).

Full 2011 Lineup and a couple of videos (one from 1991, one from 2010), below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2011 lineup announced"

most photos by Alysse Gafkjen, Gulf Restoration Network photos courtesy of Gulf Restoration Network

The Gulf Restoration Network celebrates four years as the official non-profit partner of the Voodoo Experience, one of New Orleans best music festivals. We constructed demonstration barrier islands, marshes and cypress swamps to educate music worshippers about the importance of our natural storm defenses, the threat of the BP drilling disaster, and the need for a national commitment to the recovery and restoration of the Gulf. We also held a press conference with featured musicians speaking out for the Gulf, and welcomed the Acting Outlaws to NOLA. The Acting Outlaws are Tricia Helfer and Katee Sackhoff, actresses who share a line on their resumes (lead roles in Battlestar Galactica), a love of motorcycles, and a belief that everyone can do something to make the world better. The two rode BMW motorcycles cross country for Gulf awareness, supporting the Gulf Future campaign, and the work of GRN and the Gulf Coast Fund.

Pictures of the Gulf Restoration Network's site at the festival, and the rest of our pictures from the New Orleans music fest (the rest here are HERE, HERE and HERE), below...

Continue reading "the rest of the Voodoo Experience pictures "

ACL 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

October 8-10, 2010 | Zilker Park, Austin, TX

"The Austin City Limits Music Festival began as a modest, two-day event and now, as it enters it's 9th year, has become a perennial American music experience. Taking place at the heart of Austin, Texas in the legendary Zilker Park, ACL Festival has grown to 3 days, 8 stages and over 130 bands."

Tickets go on sale today. The 2010 ACL lineup is below...

Continue reading "Austin City Limits announces 2010 festival lineup (Eagles, Muse, Phish, Strokes, MIA, LCD, Spoon, Gayngs, more) "

photos by Chris La Putt & Tim Griffin

mud, Tool & Ice T

During his Friday night set at the All Points West festival in Jersey City, Jay-Z took a moment to salute trail-blazing gangsta-rapper Ice-T, who, Jay-Z said, was "in the house." And Saturday afternoon, Ice-T took the stage to perform as a backing rapper during Kool Keith's second-stage performance.

"Sometimes it's just cool to stand on the side of the stage and be a hype man," said Ice-T.

He did, though, perform parts of his own raps, "Hardcore" and "God Forgive Me," a cappella.

With his confident, casually commanding flow, he made a strong impression in his few brief moments in the spotlight.

In addition to Jay-Z and Kool Keith, hip-hop acts like Q-Tip, the Knux and the Cool Kids have performed at All Points West. Hip-hop, though, will not figure prominently in the third and final day of the festival, Sunday. [NJ.com]

Though it didn't rain on Saturday (8/1), it was still super muddy. There were dry spots, but you literally could not walk from one place to another without going through some mud. Other highlights of the second day of All Points West included comedy by Tim & Eric in the tent (aka the third stage), back-to-back sets by St. Vincent and Neko Case on the 2nd stage, and the Arctic Monkeys and Gogol Bordello on the main stage. But nothing topped the end of the day. Now fully dark out and perfect weather, My Bloody Valentine, with the Statue of Liberty to their right and the Manhattan skyline straight ahead of them, delivered the power. The hour they played was, for me, the perfect festival experience.

My Bloody Valentine

It helped that My Bloody Valentine, as they are known for being, were LOUD. Maybe they didn't seem as loud as they did inside a club, but they were loud enough that even those in the bleachers were putting on their earplugs if they had them. After their set I ran all the way back to the dance tent (pretty much the farthest distance you would have to ever go at this festival) to catch Crystal Castles. The tent was packed with the largest concentration of youth I'd seen in Liberty State Park up until that point. Everyone was dancing and cheering. Before CC were finished I ran back to the main stage to watch Tool.

During My Bloody Valentine I thought, "well, there are plenty of people here, but I guess they could fit a lot more". Ends up, all of those people that could fit, they showed up for Tool! Did they all just get there? Were they hiding in other areas? Either way, it totally hit me by surprise when I got back to the stage. I was also surprised, but happy, that Tool hadn't gone on yet. They don't play a super long set, so maybe they delayed to make the show go until curfew.

Once they did start, the amount of fist pumping (much bro fist pumping included) going on almost matched the amount of people in the park. I wouldn't consider myself a Tool fan, but there was no denying the awesomeness of their show.

"On a bill loaded with indie rock, Tool seemed initially distinguished by their popularity. They were the only band on Saturday's bill to have a platinum record, and the only performers to have won Grammys, and the only ones with enough starpower to sell out arenas on their own. And yet despite their high profile, Tool hardly behave like a mainstream band. Saturday's set was an exercise in atmosphere -- a dark, riveting performance that minimized the members of band while foregrounding their stranger sensibilities.

Visually, the show was stunning. Tool perform to a series of bleak films mostly created by the artist Adam Jones, and beamed out giant-size across Liberty State Park they seemed more imposing and unnerving than ever. Opening with the sinister, twisting "Jambi," the group slowly worked its way through a set that spanned its small catalog. Part of what makes Tool concerts such visceral experiences is the band's peerless sense of control and release. Songs start with icicle drip guitars and rolling, tribal percussion, steadily building to perfectly timed explosions of sound. When paired with Jones' frightening films, it became more like a theater experience than a concert. At times it was remarkably easy to forget there was a band onstage at all." [Rolling Stone]

I took the light rail to the park, but then the ferry home. Props to APW for making the ferry experience a much, much better one this year (no line at all, huge boats, very quick trip home, and I didn't even leave until Tool was finished).

Pictures from APW day one HERE. More from day two below...

Continue reading "All Points West 2009 - Day 2 in Pictures (Tool, mud & Ice T)"

"Though promoters around the country report strong early ticket sales for festivals and summer tours, the recession is causing jitters. This year Coachella, which has the most glamorous reputation of all American festivals, began selling tickets on layaway, and 18 percent of its customers took that option, Mr. Tollett said.

The proliferation of big festivals, like Bonnaroo near Nashville and Lollapalooza in Chicago, has not been without casualties. This year Langerado in Miami shut down, citing the economy. The Pemberton Festival in British Columbia is on hiatus after only one year, although its promoter, Live Nation, said the problem was permit delays." [NY Times]

With all the leaks of bands playing Lollapalooza this year, there are almost no surprises in the official lineup announcement, except maybe the Animal Collective DJ set... The whole thing below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2009 - the official & complete lineup"

Following last year's inaugural event, festival producers began work immediately on resolving concerns expressed by fans in attendance. They have worked closely with their partners at NJ Transit to improve light-rail service and capacity. As an added value for 2009, festival goers who choose to travel to the site utilizing the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line can ride for free throughout the weekend with their ALL POINTS WEST festival ticket. Additionally, based on the popularity of the ferry as a mode of transportation from lower Manhattan to Liberty State Park, the frequency and size of the ferryboats will increase at a reduced price for festival attendees.... The producers have also worked with their partners at Liberty State Park to improve the fan experience in the beer gardens. This year's areas will be larger, have shorter lines, and feature shade tents, views of the stages and food concessions...

The second annual ALL POINTS WEST MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL returns to Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey Friday, July 31, Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2. Like last year, bands will play on three stages, except "the Queen of the Valley stage has been changed to a Coachella-like tent creating an environment that will showcase comedy, DJs, electronic acts and bands."

More details on the items above will be posted at the apwfestival.com. The entire lineup (it's good!) and ticket info, below...

Continue reading "All Point West - 2009 festival dates & lineup (Tool, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beastie Boys, Coldplay)"