2011 Festival Guide Part 2- Bonnaroo

Continuing with the Festival Guide (see part 1 here), Bonnaroo, is one of the newer kids on the block. Started in 2002, Bonnaroo was named "Best Festival" by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008, calling it "the ultimate over-the-top summer festival. The annual four day music festival is held at GreatStagePark on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee (halfway between Nashville and Chattanooga). The Festival features craftsmen and artisans selling unique products, food and drink vendors, a comedy tent, silent disco, cinema tent, and ferris wheel. Bonnaroo is unique because it features diverse array of musical styles including indie rock, world music, hip hop, jazz, americana, bluegrass, country music, folk, gospel, reggae, electronica, and other alternative music. Past Performers at Bonnaroo include Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Phish, Tool, Radiohead, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Dave Matthews Band, The Dead, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Kanye West, The Flaming Lips, Widespread Panic, Nine Inch Nails, The Dead, The White Stripes, and My Morning Jacket.

This year will be the 10th year of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival which will take place Thursday, June 9, through Sunday, June 12, 2011. Tickets are still available (as of April 27, 2011), but hurry they are bound to sell out fast. Among this year’s highlights is the collaboration between Dr. John and The Original Meters, performing their 1974 album "Desitively Bonnaroo" in its entirety. That record is the source of the festival's name. Dr. John will also be performing with the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach during its SuperJam tradition performance.

Let’s take a look at the headliners and some must see Artists.

Eminem

Born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, Eminem has dominated the rap game for most of the last decade. He is the best-selling artist of the decade according to US Nielsen SoundScan, and has sold more than 86.5 million albums worldwide to date, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. He is the only artist to win Best Rap Album for three consecutive LPs, The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show. In 2005, Eminem was ranked 79th on the VH1 100 Greatest Artists of All-Time. He was also named the Best Rapper Alive by Vibe magazine in 2008 and ranked 82nd on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2010, Eminem released his seventh studio album Recovery, the best selling album of 2010 . It became Eminem's sixth consecutive number-one album in the US and achieved international commercial success, charting at number one in several other countries. Recovery was also named the best selling album worldwide of 2010 joining The Eminem Show which was the best seller of 2002 giving him 2 worldwide year end number 1 albums.

Arcade Fire

This band from Montreal has come a very long way since their debut album, funeral. Formed around the husband and wife duo of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, Acrade Fire has 7 core members: Win Butler (vocals, guitar, piano), Régine Chassagne (vocals, accordion, keyboards, hurdy gurdy, drums), Richard Reed Parry (bass, guitar), William Butler (keyboards, guitar), Tim Kingsbury (bass), Sarah Neufeld (violin), and Jeremy Gara (drums). The band is known for their action-packed live performances, as well as its use of a large number of musical instruments. In addition to mainstays guitar, drums, and bass guitar, members play piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, xylophone, keyboard, French horn, harp, and my favourite instrument, the hurdy gurdy (Ok, I just like saying it) . The band released their highly Anticipated third album “The Suburbs” on August 2, 2010 in the UK and August 3, 2010 in the United States. It debuted at #1 in both countries. On February 13, 2011, the album won Album of the Year at the 53rd Grammy Awards.

Lil Wayne

One of the original members of the New Orleans group “Hot Boys”, Lil Wayne debut as a solo artist by releasing his Platinum debut album Tha Block Is Hot, selling over one million copies in the U.S.  It wasn’t until 2004 when Lil Wayne reached higher popularity with the realease of Tha Carter. His most successful album to date, Tha Carter III, was released in 2008 which went on to sell over 1 million copies in the U.S. its first week of release. The Album which included the number-one hit single "Lollipop", won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. However not everything Lil Wayne touch turns to platinum, the release his debut rock album, Rebirth, in 2010 receive negative reception from critics. The album eventually went gold.

Widespread Panic

Formed in 1986, Widespead Panic is one of the leading good-old fashion jam bands. Following in the steps of other Southern rock jam bands such as The Allman Brothers, they have influences from the Southern rock, blues-rock, progressive rock, funk and hard rock genres. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist DaveSchools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring. Michael Houser and George McConnell have also played lead guitar for the band. Well-known for their live performances, as of 2010, they hold the record for number of sold out performances at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO at 35 and Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA at 17.

Florence + the Machine

Probably one of my top ten artist right now, Florence + the Machine first hit the scene with the single “Kiss with a Fist” in 2008. The band is the recording name of singer/songwriter Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists (The machine) who provide backing music for her; Florence Welch is the band’s only constant member. The current touring lineup of the band is Florence Welch (vocals), Robert Ackroyd (guitar), Isabella Summers (keyboards), Tom Monger (harp), Mark Saunders (bass), Christopher Lloyd Hayden (drums). No two performances are ever alike , and the band is know for wearing clothes often culled from local second-hand shops that day.

Mumford & Sons

Mumford & Sons are a folk/bluegrass group formed in London in December 2007. The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, guitar, bass drum), Country Winston (banjo, slide guitar, vocals), Ted Dwayne (double bass, drums, vocals), and Ben Lovett (keyboards, accordion, vocals). The band creates a gutsy, old-time sound that marries the magic of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young with the might of Kings Of Leon, and their incredible energy draws us in quickly to their circle of songs, to the warmth of their stories, and to their magical community of misty-eyed men. This recipe landed them on the BBC sound of 2009 shortlist. Their debut album Sigh No More, released at the end of 2009, generated the hit single “Little Lion Man”, which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and #61 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

Robyn

At a time that blonde pop princesses reigned supreme, Robin Miriam Carlsson (better known by her stage name Robyn), took the world by storm with her worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know (What It Takes)" from her debut album Robyn Is Here (1997). She quickly faded into obscurity, but she remained popular in her native Sweden. The popularity of her #1 hit single "With Every Heartbeat", and subsequent album release Robyn (2005), brought her back to mainstream success worldwide. In 2010 Robyn released a trilogy of albums. Body Talk Pt. 1, was her first release with “Robyn”. The album's leadngle "Dancing on My Own"  became a hit single worldwide, and brought her a 53rd Grammy Awards nomination for the category of Best Dance Recording. Body Talk Pt. 2, went straight to #1 on the Swedish chart, and the final album of the trilogy, Body Talk, was released on November 22, 2010 with the first single "Indestructible".

Sleigh Bells

Out of the indie scene of Brooklyn, NY, Sleigh Bells sound is a mix of post- hardcore and bubblegum pop (trust me, it works!). The musical collaboration of Derek E. Miller (songwriter, guitarist, producer) and Alexis Krauss (vocalist, lyricist) was formed in 2008, when Miller was waiting tables on Alexis and her mother at a neighborhood Brazilian restaurant. When Miller mentioned that he was looking for a female vocalist for a new musical project, Krauss’s mother immediately volunteered her daughter. In 2010 the pair signed to M.I.A.’s label N.E.E.T, and in the following weeks released their debut album “Treats”. The album’s immediate popularity and the band’s reputation as an energetic live act have helped solidify the duo’s widespread popularity. Amidst blown-out drum beats, fuzzed guitars and synth-pop sensibilities, Krauss balances each song with a voice that is both forceful and elegant.