Free Press Summer Fest 2012

Mar 5, 2012 by Eggs

The moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived! The fine folks behind Houston’s annual music soirée, Free Press Summer Fest, have finally dropped the full line-up, and boy is it a doozy. Leading this year’s list of bands are bluegrass roots rockers The Avett Brothers, famed rapper and dope smoker Snoop Dogg, Texas country legend and equally famous dope smoker Willie Nelson, DJ extraordinaire Afrojack, bass heavy funksters Primus and a return from 2010 headliner The Flaming Lips who will be performing Dark Side Of The Moon in its entirety. I’m pretty sure no-one saw such a strong list of entertainers heading to Eleanor Tinsley Park come June, but Omar, Jagi and all the other fine folks that work for both Free Press Houston and Pegstar have truly outdone themselves for their fourth year of the festival. Also playing the multiple stages over the course of June 2nd and 3rd are The Descendents, Major Lazer, Young The Giant, Portugal. The Man, Morris Day & The (mutha fuckin’) Time, Best Coast, Two Door Cinema Club, Turquoise Jeep, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Robert Ellis and a whole heaping helping of more great bands.

Check out the full kick-ass line-up after the jump!

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Bonnaroo 2012 Initial Artist Announcement

Feb 14, 2012 by Eggs

Bonnaroo went hard again this year with their initial artist announcement, and boy does it look like a good time! Leading the dance card at the 2012 Manchester, Tennessee festival are indie rock gods Radiohead, alt-rock monsters Red Hot Chili Peppers, jam titans Phish and legendary surf rockers The Beach Boys. If that isn’t enough to get you to Bonnaroo, they have a little bit of everything else on the line-up as well. For those fans of indie rock, Bon Iver, The Shins, Foster The People, Feist, tUnE-yArDs, Dawes, Delta Spirit and St. Vincent will be playing the festival. Hip-hop fans can rejoice as they’ll be enjoying sets from The Roots, BlackStar, Ludacris, Mac Miller, Childish Gambino and Yelawolf. The nighttime will be the right time with sets from Skrillex, Major Lazer, Flying Lotus and more. While the first years of the festival were predominantly focused on the jam scene, things have changed for the better (arguably, depending on who you talk to), but their is still a strong focus on jambands with two sets from the aforementioned Phish, and also performances from the likes of The Avett Brothers, Dispatch, The Word which features John Medeski, Robert Randolph and The North Mississippi Allstars, Umphrey’s McGee, Dumpstaphunk and ALO.

Check out the initial artist announcement after the jump.

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MUTEMATH @ House Of Blues

Jan 31, 2012 by Eggs

Last weekend was a great one for music, starting Thursday night at House Of Blues when Alt-Rockers MUTEMATH took the stage. I’d seen MUTEMATH once before when they performed at Voodoo a few years back, but among all of the other great acts playing that weekend, they weren’t one that stood out above the rest. Going into this show, especially with such an early start time, my hopes were not too high. Those low hopes were immediately diminished as soon as they walked in the front door of the venue with instruments in hand, headed through the crowd while playing before ultimately taking the stage from the very middle. As soon as they jumped into their first song, I was sold. I had the opportunity to photograph the band for the first three songs, and while the energy was super high as it usually is at the beginning, it didn’t let up one bit after I left the pit. Actually, for over two straight hours, the band never let up. I’m not sure how a band could go for so long with such high energy, but they managed to do it that night – and while this was the first night of their tour, I have a feeling this is how it is at every single show. They were on the stage, off the stage, in the crowd, on top of the crowd, on top of a drum in the crowd, on top of a glittery, light-up air mattress on the crowd, and just about everywhere else besides the balcony and the bathrooms. The music was great too – mixing elements of 90′s alternative, 00′s jambands, and 10′s indie-dance rock, MUTEMATH had people sweating the whole performance. I had a great time at this show, and I can rest assured knowing that a band this good is making a huge name for themselves because of their ability to put on a great show, both musically and theatrically.

I took a bunch of pictures and a few different videos which you can find after the jump.

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Main Street Block Party

Jan 26, 2012 by Eggs

The second annual Main Street Block Party is set to take place this Saturday, January 28, at what is informally known as “The Island.” Featuring a slew of bands playing across six different venues at Main and Alabama streets in Houston, Block Party will be the place to be all day. What Made Milwaukee Famous will make a rare Houston appearance, or rather a rare appearance for them at all these days. The rest of the line-up mainly consists of an upcoming wealth of Houston-based talent as well as some regional acts that’ve been gaining steam as of late. B L A C K I E, Tax The Wolf, Caddywhompus, Empress Hotel, The League Of Extraordinary G’s, The Handshake, Bang Bangz, The Prairie Cadets and The Literary Greats are all set to perform, as well as a ton of other great, upcoming bands.

I had the best of times at last year’s event which I was also shooting for the Houston Press. Check out my shots of the bands from 2011′s Block Party here and of the crowds here. Before that, though, check out the full line-up, including set times after the jump.

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