TravelGrom contributor Lilian Min breaks down the 9 “small-print” acts to catch at Outside Lands this weekend. Keep an eye on these artists, you’ll be hearing their name much more in the coming months! Connect with Lilian on Twitter @llnmn
Festival season continues to roll along, and the next big stop: Outside Lands, the music, art and food festival, touches down in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park from August 8 to August 10, and is bringing with it headliners Kanye West, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and The Killers.
Related Post: Where to get sold-out Outside Lands tickets
But of course, there are a lot of other names on the lineup, and while a lot of them are familiar (“Yeah, I know that one song in that one thing…”), we’re giving you real reasons to check these folks out. So in between noshing on festival grub and overloading your Instagram with pics and vids of Kanye ranting, here are 9 acts worth listening in on:
Run the Jewels
El-P and Killer Mike have lengthy resumes outside of this rip-roaring collaboration, but, like PB&J, these two are just as good together (if not better…?) as they apart. On top of their lyrical and production talent, they’re both master showmen with wicked senses of humor, making their live show a can’t-miss.
Related: Coachella vs. Outside Lands
[facebook_like_button]Typhoon
An 11-piece indie rock outfit from the Pacific Northwest? Before your eyes roll out of your head, take a listen: they’re a much darker listening experience than your average family band-style group, but they’re still folksy enough to keep your eardrums in your head, if only for a while.
Bleachers
Fun.’s Jack Antonoff (or, Lena Dunham’s boyfriend) refuses to treat Bleachers as just another side project, and you can tell just how passionate he is about the endeavor in the music itself. And for those of you who like to celeb-watch, this is a prime feeding ground for that.
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[facebook_like_button]Dum Dum Girls
There are still very few all-lady outfits (not single) that make festival stages, but Dum Dum Girls, under the leadership of Dee Dee Penny, has kept on keeping on since 2008. Their lineup may have evolved considerably over the years, but the appeal of their dreamy pop has stayed the same.
[facebook_like_button]Christopher Owens
When Girls broke up in 2012, fans mourned the loss of both the band’s throwback sound and Owens’s distinctly mournful voice. Luckily, he bounced back into things with “Lysandre,” a concept album that actually lived up to its concept. The wait for solo album number two is officially on – who knows, maybe he’ll debut some new material in the Bay?
[facebook_like_button]Gorgon City
The English production duo’s latest singles (“Ready For Your Love,” “Here for You”) channel the big open electronica sound of folks like Calvin Harris, which is a good or a bad thing depending on your taste. But for a real trip, listen to any of the tightly wound, elegantly unwinding tracks off of their “Real EP.”
[facebook_like_button]Imelda May
Man, remember when rockabilly was kinda, sorta in vogue? Amy Winehouse was the face of the movement, but singers like Duffy and The Pipettes pushed the heavy curled bangs, pin-up dress aesthetic back into pop. Well, May’s bringing it back, so get your groove on during the festival’s last day.
[facebook_like_button]The Bots
Brothers Mikaiah and Anaiah Lei are still babies (20 and 16, respectively) but they’ve hit on a killer sound – close-knit rock build of hooks on hooks. Their track “5.17” is a relentless jam, and hopefully EP “Sincerely Sorry” is indicative of their material to come (versus new track “No One Knows”… QOTSA did it better).
[facebook_like_button]Flume
You know and love Harley Streten for his dance originals, collaboration with Chet Faker, and killer remixes of everyone from Disclosure to Lorde. The 22-year-old is poised to enter the ranks of A-list baby-faced producers, so if you haven’t caught him live, do it.