I Went to a DIY Music Festival In a Children's Museum

'Shit,' I thought as I stared up at a life-sized whale skeleton hanging lazily from the ceiling, 'I'm really messed up right now.' In an all too familiar post-midnight haze, I wandered through an indoor treehouse to find Toronto-based art pop four piece Absolutely Free slamming out kraut rock synth jams in another room. I watched as psychedelic projections tessellated across the stage. 'Fuck,' I said, I'm pretty sure, out loud, 'Grickle Grass is awesome.'

Grickle Grass is an annual music festival in London, Ontario that takes place in the London Regional Children's Museum. It's a DIY labour of love by a group of altruistic music lovers in the city, and it celebrated its five year anniversary on Saturday night. The organizers invited the local scene's finest to play alongside out of town acts like the previously mentioned Absolutely Free, Halifax's Walrus, and South African-Canadian afropop-influenced R&B goddess Zaki Ibrahim.

The fest's day programming featured family activities like cooking for kids and sustainable gardening. I tried their curry, and found them to be actually decent cooks. When the sun went down, there was music and booze. The museum's exhibits were open and offered some pretty ideal makeout nooks, like the space room's docking bay or the arctic tundra.

Local heavy hitters like operatic ambient-glitch duo Wormwood and mathy experimental punk collective Serf Kanata, among others, filled out the night and got everyone psyched for the headliners. I played under a fully moveable replica of the Canadarm with my band New Zebra Kid as old Bill Nye episodes looped on a monitor in the mock control station. It was totally surreal.

The surreality continued as Walrus played a set of hooky psych rock in the main lobby and mind-bending visuals graced the carefully-laid decorations. Absolutely Free's room featured tie-dyed flags strung up across the stage and more psychedelic projections. By that time in the night, I was floating through it all and soaking it in.

The night's climax was an energetic set by Zaki Ibrahim. When I checked out her outfit, comprised of a shawl made of weaves and a ton of gold, I'm almost positive that I transcended corporeal reality into some kind of bizarre and fabulous astral plane. Mercifully, I came back down to earth just in time to ask her how her Grickle experience was.

'A lot of connectivity was happening with the shows. It was really, really, really cool,' she said. The other acts echoed her sentiments. 'Best. Show. Ever,' was how Walrus' Justin Murphy put it. Wormwood's Christina Willatt told me, 'It's like nostalgia for an experience I've never had.' Andrew Lennox, a member of Serf Kanata and a long-time Londoner, saw the event as the fulfilment of concerted community efforts. 'You can feel a definite energy in the building,' he said. Absolutely Free's Matt King and Moshe were impressed by how only one person passed out.

If there was one downside to the event, it's that the acts' timing continued to go askew throughout the night, causing Absolutely Free and Zaki Ibrahim's sets to overlap. It forced people to choose or, like me, split their attention. But these things happen, especially in DIY, and it's really hard not to stay positive at Grickle.

The diverse programming and eclectic music reflected the festival's commitment to inclusivity. From the middle aged suburbanites who stuck out like sore, cargo shorts-wearing thumbs to the hot, young downtown kids there to get fucked up and see their friends play, Grickle accepted everyone with open arms and a bottle of Steamwhistle. It's that community spirit that makes the festival so unique.

See, London is a lot like The Simpsons' Springfield. The mayor's an affable crook, the police aren't afraid to use a little excessive force, and we even have our very own Monty Burns-esque evil rich guy-who, coincidentally, just bought the Children's Museum. It might be a certified Shit Towne, but like Springfield, it's the people who make it an amazing place.

'I couldn't do half of the shit that I do if it wasn't for the people that step up because they believe in it. It's hard, man. It's hard working in DIY,' said Savannah 'Savy' Rae, the fest's lead organizer and a staple of London's music and art scene.

'People say, like, if you were in Vancouver, this festival's perfect for it. You'd have so much money, so much support, so much funding. Well, I'm not in Vancouver. I'm here. I'd love to be in Vancouver someday; I'd love to be everywhere, and I'd love to take this concept all over the place. But, one day at a time. Until then, I will do everything I can to keep this one going.'

I really hope Savy keeps her word, because Grickle Grass is a testament to what a bunch of dedicated individuals can do if they work together. That's a rare thing these days, and the museum's out of date and somewhat broken down attractions alluded to an all too common lack of public-mindedness.

Grickle Grass is a vibrant reminder-though, admittedly, it's still a little hazy for me-that community spirit is an important part of music. And, I guess, so are sand pits, treehouses, and giant whale skeletons.

Photos courtesy of Cory Downing

Jordan Pearson is a writer living in London, Ontario - @neuwaves

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Operators are reverse-engineering pop music

Odonis Odonis wants to hear both sides

We actually found a good band in our shitty university town

Entities 0 Name: London Count: 5 1 Name: Vancouver Count: 3 2 Name: Zaki Ibrahim Count: 3 3 Name: Ontario Count: 2 4 Name: Springfield Count: 2 5 Name: Grickle Count: 2 6 Name: Serf Kanata Count: 2 7 Name: Savy Count: 1 8 Name: Matt King Count: 1 9 Name: Bill Nye Count: 1 10 Name: Christina Willatt Count: 1 11 Name: Justin Murphy Count: 1 12 Name: Grickle Grass Count: 1 13 Name: Andrew Lennox Count: 1 14 Name: Moshe Count: 1 15 Name: Walrus Count: 1 16 Name: Halifax Count: 1 17 Name: Steamwhistle Count: 1 18 Name: Rae Count: 1 19 Name: Savannah Count: 1 20 Name: Odonis Odonis Count: 1 21 Name: Cory Downing Jordan Pearson Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1jKI1nN Title: Primavera Sound Sets the Stage for Music Festivals Worldwide Description: BARCELONA, Spain - Caetano Veloso, the bossa nova elder statesman, was holding court here on Saturday evening, floating his baritone voice and easy guitar over an amphitheater audience that swayed and sang along as he offered a slightly raunchy paean to his native Brazilian sounds.

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Enter the Wildfire Music Festival Ticket Giveaway!

Enter for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the Wildfire Music Festival at the White Oak Amphitheatre on Saturday, June 14th!

The contest will be open for entries from 6:00am on Monday, June 2nd, until 11:59pm on Friday, June 6th. Starting Tuesday, June 3rd, two winners will be randomly selected each day for a total of 10 pairs of tickets. At the end of the contest, there will also be a grand prize winner randomly selected that will not only receive a pair of tickets, but will also win a VIP parking pass, plus an opportunity to meet and great with the musical acts!

To register for your chance to win, fill out the registration form below. Good luck!

Entities Related Keywords 0 Name: tickets Score: 13 1 Name: june Score: 13 2 Name: pair Score: 12 3 Name: randomly Score: 11 4 Name: amphitheatre Score: 10 5 Name: contest Score: 9 6 Name: selected Score: 8 7 Name: win Score: 8 8 Name: winner Score: 8 9 Name: 59pm Score: 8 authors 0 Name: George Smith, WGHP Url: http://ift.tt/1hQ6Xdz Media Images 0

Showcasing Music Till the Sun Comes Up

Content:

BARCELONA, Spain - Caetano Veloso, the bossa nova elder statesman, was holding court here on Saturday evening, floating his baritone voice and easy guitar over an amphitheater audience that swayed and sang along as he offered a slightly raunchy paean to his native Brazilian sounds.

A few dozen feet away, on another stage, Earl Sweatshirt, the young California rapper and member of the Odd Future hip-hop clan, was doing his own conducting. 'Make some noise,' he instructed his audience, growling, 'if you're ready to go to hell for, like, three minutes.' The polyglot crowd spit back his rhymes, profanities included, with enthusiasm.

It was the final big night of Primavera Sound, an expansive music showcase here that has gradually become one of the top tickets of the European festival season and a template for promoters worldwide. Its 14th edition began in earnest on Wednesday at the Parc del Fòrum, a seaside complex, and ended with a trickle of free shows on Sunday at the Parc de la Ciutadella. In between, some 50,000 people a day saw nearly 300 acts - electronica to soul to postpunk - in concerts that stretched from afternoon to sunrise. The international lineup featured arena stars like Nine Inch Nails and up-and-comers like FKA Twigs on a dozen stages. The audience traveled from across Europe and, increasingly, North America. Walking through the grounds was a mini-United Nations of fandom, reflecting a global music industry and an orderly Euro youth culture, an acknowledgment that taste can translate across borders.

The festival is sometimes called the Coachella of Europe, a nickname it has earned, with some caveats, said Martin Mills, the founder and chairman of the Beggars Group, a roster of international record labels. 'This doesn't have the pretensions, if you like, of Coachella,' Mr. Mills said of that springtime festival in Indio, Calif., known as much for celebrity spotting and minting fashion and marketing trends as for its musical coups. Mr. Mills, whose independent labels represent acts like Vampire Weekend and the National, was attending Primavera for the third time, catching up with his own bands and others. 'Next year, I'll be coming again,' he said on Saturday. 'It feels like a very real music place here, and it's also a place that artists like to come to as fans.'

Or as Win Butler, the Arcade Fire frontman, put it, 'We had a really magical experience here.' He was backstage, after the group's headlining show on Thursday, when he bid the crowd good night and good morning sometime after 2 a.m., when the confetti cannons went off. The festival has 'the same vibe as the city,' he said. 'That's hard to pull off.'

Kyoko Minegishi, 31, a festival regular who came from Salzburg, Austria, and was feverishly bouncing along to Kendrick Lamar's set on Saturday night, compared Primavera favorably with other outdoor concerts. 'It's all about the open air until 6 a.m.,' she said.

Outside the festival gates, though, this city was roiled by demonstrations last week, as Spaniards protested the government's attempt to take over an abandoned warehouse that was long home to squatters. The uprisings were seen as emblems of the social unease and economic instability here, where unemployment remains high even as Barcelona experiences a record surge in tourism.

Though Primavera was calm, the tension was on the mind of locals, said Jofre Font, a television journalist and cultural commentator from Barcelona who attended both the protests and the festival. There was little contradiction, he added, between the action across town and the musical sensibility of the festival. Nine Inch Nails, he said, 'could be the soundtrack for the protests.'

But ticket prices, up to 195 euros, or about $265 for a three-day pass, are not quite squatter friendly. 'This festival is possible because all these foreign people come,' said Mr. Font, 36, who has attended since its first year.

About 40 percent of the attendees are from abroad, said Pablo Soler, a founder and director of the festival, which also offers free park shows and other programming for the city.

Fifteen years in, Coachella is host to two consecutive sold-out weekends, for nearly 100,000 people. (Passes are $375.) As Primavera approaches its 15th anniversary next year, its organizers hope to build its international appeal, promoting it in the United States for the first time, alongside efforts in Germany, France and Scandinavia, while still managing its growth. A satellite festival, introduced in 2012, runs Thursday through Saturday in Porto, Portugal. There is also PrimaveraPro, a music conference.

'Of course, bigger is better - supposedly, allegedly,' Mr. Soler said in an interview on Friday. 'But we're good. We're not the biggest festival, and we don't intend to be the biggest festival.'

The mystique of Primavera has expanded alongside its scale and booking prowess, which started with small clubs and European acts. A turning point came in 2005, when Neil Young headlined, said Fra Soler, the festival's chief booker (and no relation to Pablo Soler). Now the festival has a reputation for scouting bands early - the future dance-punk stars LCD Soundsystem performed on the strength of a few singles - and cajoling reunion gigs out of seminal retirees like Pulp, Slowdive and the Pixies. It's 'one of those shows that reminds us why we love playing live,' said David Lovering, the Pixies drummer.

Spanish artists still round out the festival, and smaller stages, arranged with music industry partners like ATP, Vice and Pitchfork, brim with popular American and British acts. 'My first foreign rapper performance!' Niklavs Sekacs, 20, an electronica musician from Latvia, said after Mr. Lamar's set. On Friday, it was a short stroll from FKA Twigs, an English R&B singer, to Furia, a shirtless Polish black metal band, to the Pixies, the American alt-rockers.

'Year after year, their booking blows me away,' said Lauren Beck, the director of music programming for the Northside Festival in Brooklyn. 'It's probably the only festival where you're going to see Slint, Slowdive, Speedy Ortiz and Spoon listed next to each other on posters,' she added in an email.

In a display of egalitarianism, Primavera lists artists alphabetically, rather than headliner-first. Organizers also take care not to overcrowd spaces and are sure to indulge their performers with a choice of equipment and snacks. Wine is served in real glasses.

It's 'a relative sanctuary for music fans,' said Chris Kaskie, president of Pitchfork, whose festivals in Chicago and Paris were partly modeled on the rarefied Primavera experience. 'The fact that you get to do that while on the Mediterranean, well, game over.'

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Showcasing Music Till the Sun Comes Up

Content:

BARCELONA, Spain - Caetano Veloso, the bossa nova elder statesman, was holding court here on Saturday evening, floating his baritone voice and easy guitar over an amphitheater audience that swayed and sang along as he offered a slightly raunchy paean to his native Brazilian sounds.

A few dozen feet away, on another stage, Earl Sweatshirt, the young California rapper and member of the Odd Future hip-hop clan, was doing his own conducting. 'Make some noise,' he instructed his audience, growling, 'if you're ready to go to hell for, like, three minutes.' The polyglot crowd spit back his rhymes, profanities included, with enthusiasm.

It was the final big night of Primavera Sound, an expansive music showcase here that has gradually become one of the top tickets of the European festival season and a template for promoters worldwide. Its 14th edition began in earnest on Wednesday at the Parc del Fòrum, a seaside complex, and ended with a trickle of free shows on Sunday at the Parc de la Ciutadella. In between, some 50,000 people a day saw nearly 300 acts - electronica to soul to postpunk - in concerts that stretched from afternoon to sunrise. The international lineup featured arena stars like Nine Inch Nails and up-and-comers like FKA Twigs on a dozen stages. The audience traveled from across Europe and, increasingly, North America. Walking through the grounds was a mini-United Nations of fandom, reflecting a global music industry and an orderly Euro youth culture, an acknowledgment that taste can translate across borders.

The festival is sometimes called the Coachella of Europe, a nickname it has earned, with some caveats, said Martin Mills, the founder and chairman of the Beggars Group, a roster of international record labels. 'This doesn't have the pretensions, if you like, of Coachella,' Mr. Mills said of that springtime festival in Indio, Calif., known as much for celebrity spotting and minting fashion and marketing trends as for its musical coups. Mr. Mills, whose independent labels represent acts like Vampire Weekend and the National, was attending Primavera for the third time, catching up with his own bands and others. 'Next year, I'll be coming again,' he said on Saturday. 'It feels like a very real music place here, and it's also a place that artists like to come to as fans.'

Or as Win Butler, the Arcade Fire frontman, put it, 'We had a really magical experience here.' He was backstage, after the group's headlining show on Thursday, when he bid the crowd good night and good morning sometime after 2 a.m., when the confetti cannons went off. The festival has 'the same vibe as the city,' he said. 'That's hard to pull off.'

Kyoko Minegishi, 31, a festival regular who came from Salzburg, Austria, and was feverishly bouncing along to Kendrick Lamar's set on Saturday night, compared Primavera favorably with other outdoor concerts. 'It's all about the open air until 6 a.m.,' she said.

Outside the festival gates, though, this city was roiled by demonstrations last week, as Spaniards protested the government's attempt to take over an abandoned warehouse that was long home to squatters. The uprisings were seen as emblems of the social unease and economic instability here, where unemployment remains high even as Barcelona experiences a record surge in tourism.

Though Primavera was calm, the tension was on the mind of locals, said Jofre Font, a television journalist and cultural commentator from Barcelona who attended both the protests and the festival. There was little contradiction, he added, between the action across town and the musical sensibility of the festival. Nine Inch Nails, he said, 'could be the soundtrack for the protests.'

But ticket prices, up to 195 euros, or about $265 for a three-day pass, are not quite squatter friendly. 'This festival is possible because all these foreign people come,' said Mr. Font, 36, who has attended since its first year.

About 40 percent of the attendees are from abroad, said Pablo Soler, a founder and director of the festival, which also offers free park shows and other programming for the city.

Fifteen years in, Coachella is host to two consecutive sold-out weekends, for nearly 100,000 people. (Passes are $375.) As Primavera approaches its 15th anniversary next year, its organizers hope to build its international appeal, promoting it in the United States for the first time, alongside efforts in Germany, France and Scandinavia, while still managing its growth. A satellite festival, introduced in 2012, runs Thursday through Saturday in Porto, Portugal. There is also PrimaveraPro, a music conference.

'Of course, bigger is better - supposedly, allegedly,' Mr. Soler said in an interview on Friday. 'But we're good. We're not the biggest festival, and we don't intend to be the biggest festival.'

The mystique of Primavera has expanded alongside its scale and booking prowess, which started with small clubs and European acts. A turning point came in 2005, when Neil Young headlined, said Fra Soler, the festival's chief booker (and no relation to Pablo Soler). Now the festival has a reputation for scouting bands early - the future dance-punk stars LCD Soundsystem performed on the strength of a few singles - and cajoling reunion gigs out of seminal retirees like Pulp, Slowdive and the Pixies. It's 'one of those shows that reminds us why we love playing live,' said David Lovering, the Pixies drummer.

Spanish artists still round out the festival, and smaller stages, arranged with music industry partners like ATP, Vice and Pitchfork, brim with popular American and British acts. 'My first foreign rapper performance!' Niklavs Sekacs, 20, an electronica musician from Latvia, said after Mr. Lamar's set. On Friday, it was a short stroll from FKA Twigs, an English R&B singer, to Furia, a shirtless Polish black metal band, to the Pixies, the American alt-rockers.

'Year after year, their booking blows me away,' said Lauren Beck, the director of music programming for the Northside Festival in Brooklyn. 'It's probably the only festival where you're going to see Slint, Slowdive, Speedy Ortiz and Spoon listed next to each other on posters,' she added in an email.

In a display of egalitarianism, Primavera lists artists alphabetically, rather than headliner-first. Organizers also take care not to overcrowd spaces and are sure to indulge their performers with a choice of equipment and snacks. Wine is served in real glasses.

It's 'a relative sanctuary for music fans,' said Chris Kaskie, president of Pitchfork, whose festivals in Chicago and Paris were partly modeled on the rarefied Primavera experience. 'The fact that you get to do that while on the Mediterranean, well, game over.'

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Crowds electrify, gum up BottleRock

The enigmatic wordsmith Andre 3000, from BottleRock's Saturday headliners Outkast, certainly knows what a tired, dusty festival audience needs.

'I know y'all can't wait to get home and take a shower!' he announced from the main stage on Saturday night, leading into the group's hit, 'So Fresh, So Clean.' And just like that, the diverse crowd came together in a gigantic celebration of music's ability to erase borders. Throughout Outkast's set, the same phenomenon of musical unity occurred over and over, with complete strangers dancing together to hits like 'Hey Ya!,' 'The Way You Move,' 'Ms. Jackson' and a ferocious set opener of 'B.O.B.'

Such a communion of massive numbers came at a cost, however. For the first time this weekend, BottleRock 2.0 on Saturday reached the crowded, frenetic energy of last year's festival.

BottleRock, Day 2

The band Matt and Kim ask the crowd to blow up balloons during their performance on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

The band Matt and Kim perform on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Kim Schifino from the band Matt and Kim performs on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Steve Lau dresses up as a banana to watch the band Matt and Kim perform on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Matt Johnson from the band Matt and Kim throws confetti over the crowd by the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Kim Schifino from the band Matt and Kim performs on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Matt Johnson from the band Matt and Kim performs on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

The crowd in front of the Toshiba Stage cheers for Third Eye Blind at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Third Eye Blind performs on the Toshiba Stage at the BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

The crowd in front of the Toshiba Stage cheers for Third Eye Blind at the BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Third Eye Blind performs on the Toshiba Stage at the BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Third Eye Blind performs on the Toshiba Stage at the BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

The crowd in front of the Toshiba Stage cheers for Third Eye Blind at the BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

The crowd in front of the Toshiba Stage cheers for Third Eye Blind at the BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Taylor Reeson, right, twirls a hula hoop before Third Eye Blind performs on the Toshiba Stage at the BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Third Eye Blind performs on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Mercie Walker twirls a hula hoop before Third Eye Blind performs on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

John Popper from the band Blues Traveler performs on the Sprint Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Fans cheer for De La Soul during their performance on the Miner Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Weezer performs on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Kelvin Mercer from the band De La Soul performs on the Miner Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Fans cheer for De La Soul during their performance on the Miner Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Weezer performs on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Fan cheer on Weezer during their performance on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Fan cheer on Weezer during their performance on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Fan cheer on Weezer during their performance on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Weezer performs on the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

People in front of the Toshiba Stage jumps up for foam lights being thrown into the crowd at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

Fans of the band Matt and Kim dance by the Toshiba Stage at Saturday's BottleRock music festival in Napa on Saturday, May 31, 2014. (Conner Jay/The Press Democrat)

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In the early afternoon, David Graham from BottleRock's Latitude 38 Entertainment estimated the day's attendance at 30,000. During crush hours, however, it felt more like 45,000 people swarmed the festival grounds. Molasses-like bottlenecks of sunscreen-drenched bodies were common throughout the afternoon. Lines for bathrooms grew to intimidating lengths. Wait times at food trucks reached 30 minutes.

Following the last song of the night, at least 2,000 people were stuck in a line waiting for transport to parking lots.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.comments powered by Entities 0 Name: Napa Count: 29 1 Name: Conner Count: 29 2 Name: Toshiba Stage Count: 21 3 Name: Matt Count: 8 4 Name: Kim Count: 8 5 Name: Kim Schifino Count: 2 6 Name: Matt Johnson Count: 2 7 Name: Jackson Count: 1 8 Name: Blues Traveler Count: 1 9 Name: Outkast Count: 1 10 Name: John Popper Count: 1 11 Name: De La Soul Count: 1 12 Name: Steve Lau Count: 1 13 Name: Outkast 's Count: 1 14 Name: David Graham Count: 1 15 Name: Kelvin Mercer Count: 1 16 Name: Mercie Walker Count: 1 17 Name: Taylor Reeson Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1n141j0 Title: The economics of book festivals Description: There is a particular sound that for many, along with the cry of the cuckoo, the thwack of willow on leather and the hum of a distant lawnmower, now signifies the approach of summer. It is, of course, the amplified tones of an author trying to be

Alabama Will Return to CMA Music Festival After Two Decades

Rick Diamond, Getty Images

Alabama, the Eighties powerhouse group best known for hits like 'Mountain Music' and 'Dixieland Delights,' will kick off this year's CMA Musical Festival on Thursday, June 5th, marking the band's first appearance at the Nashville-based country fest in nearly two decades. The group - made up of singer Randy Owen, bassist Teddy Gentry and guitarist Jeff Cook - announced the show on Twitter, asking fans to chime in with suggestions for the setlist.

Summer 2014's 40 Must-See Music Festivals

It's been a busy decade for Alabama, whose three members (drummer Mark Herndon, though inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame with the group, was considered a hired gun by Owen) emerged from semi-retirement in 2011 to sing on Brad Paisley's chart-topping 'Old Alabama.' From there, the band resumed touring and recording, even tracking two new songs for a tribute album, ALABAMA and Friends, that cracked the Top 10 last summer. Many of the artists who also appeared on that album, including Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Rascal Flatts and Florida Georgia Line, will play their own shows at CMA Fest, which is expected to bring more than 200,000 fans to downtown Nashville.

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Entities 0 Name: Alabama Count: 3 1 Name: Nashville Count: 1 2 Name: Getty Images Alabama Count: 1 3 Name: Randy Owen Count: 1 4 Name: Rascal Flatts and Florida Georgia Line Count: 1 5 Name: CMA Fest Count: 1 6 Name: Owen Count: 1 7 Name: Jeff Cook Count: 1 8 Name: Brad Paisley Count: 1 9 Name: Jason Aldean Count: 1 10 Name: CMA Count: 1 11 Name: Mark Herndon Count: 1 12 Name: Teddy Gentry Count: 1 13 Name: Luke Bryan Count: 1 14 Name: Rick Diamond Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1pj0xey Title: 5 Brilliant Business Lessons From Mötley Crüe (Seriously!) Description: Looking to Mötley Crüe for advice about business might sound a little like asking Warren Buffett for tips on headbanging. Are there really lessons to be learned from the band who, in their 1980s heyday, were as well known for their over-the-top debauchery as for their music?