Made In America Festival reveals 2013 lineup

Following last year's monster success, Philadelphia's 2013 Made In America Festival has revealed its stunning second-year lineup.

Leading the charge is Beyonce, which seems like less of a big deal when you remember that Jay-Z is curating the whole ordeal. Alongside her will be Lollapalooza headliners Nine Inch Nails and Phoenix, with Deadmau5 as the head electronica act.

The mid and undercard are swelling as well, with Queens of the Stone Age, Kendrick Lamar, Miguel, A$AP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, Public Enemy, Calvin Harris, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Solange Knowles, and still many more.

The lineup was revealed today via Spotify, which has a mixtape that reveals every artist here. Public sale for tickets will begin April 17, and will be held in Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Labor Day weekend.

Lollapalooza Headliners Leaked

Aha! Finally some big Lollapalooza news.

Aside from that Nine Inch Nails news that Billboard leaked out a few weeks back, confirmations for this year's festival were largely stray. Aside from a few small confirmations, like Angel Haze and Imagine Dragons, nothing was firmly stamped down.

As per usual, The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot released the fest's first "confirmed" headliners. Previously rumored acts Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend are indeed on the billing alongside The Killers this year. All four performed at the festival in 2009 and 2010, but only The Killers and Phoenix were previously booked as headliners. M&S have obviously exploded since their 2010 appearance, so the headlining spot isn't surprising, but Vampire Weekend booked as an official headliner may be still curious.

Lollapalooza fans will recognize a slight gap in headliners - an electro act. Since 2011, festival organizers have made a large concerted effort to bring more electronica music to the festival, booking Deadmau5 in 2011 and Avicii and Justice last year. With the four new headliners and Nine Inch Nails, only one headlining slot remains. Nothing is confirmed, but expect that final slot to go to a major electronica act.

The four headliners weren't the only acts leaked, however. Previously rumored Postal Service and The National will also be heading to Chicago this August. Expect the full lineup release in the coming weeks.

Lollapalooza takes place August 2-4 this year. Stick here for more updates and rumors.

Lollapalooza 2012 Must-See Artists, Pt. I

By the fifth year in a row, I'm used to this.

With less than two weeks to go before the August 3-5 Lollapalooza festival begins in Chicago, I'll be providing my annual top ten countdown of 2012's Must-See Artists. Last year, headliners My Morning Jacket and Deadmau5 rounded out the top two, with regular Bears and Bullets favorites Black Lips and Titus Andronicus also landing in the countdown.

As it is every year, seeing every act - notable or otherwise - is impossible. So for those waiting through the list to see Jack White, unfortunately, won't be seeing him. Regardless, let's start with #10.

#10: Jeff The Brotherhood
Despite officially beginning their careers in 2001, Nashville brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall didn't really catch anything close to buzz until their 2009 album Heavy Days. Pulsed with fuzzy blues and cool garage punk, the recently released Hypnotic Knights LP finally gave some more ground for the band to walk on. Amid an extremely extensive touring history, the band has finally reached the major festival circuit. And, more than likely, they'll be returning very soon.

You can see Jeff The Brotherhood early Saturday, August 4, at 1:30 p.m. on the Playstation stage.



#9: At The Drive-In
The first project of Mars Volta figureheads Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López made huge news earlier this year after announcing their 2012 reunion. Rodríguez-López has already declared that At The Drive-In would not be recording new material, despite finally returning after more than ten years. Their April performance at Coachella marked one of the very few appearances for the band, so having them perform at Lollapalooza should be considered extremely rare.

Catch the band one last time (probably) Sunday, August 5 at 6 p.m. on the Red Bull Soundstage.



We'll continue with Part II tomorrow ...

Friday Bears: Lollapalooza 2011: Day Three Review

I rarely meet Sunday, the final day of Lollapalooza, with aggressive eagerness. The varied anticipation is usually mulled by paramount exhaustion and the daunting fact that, well, it's all but over. In previous years, the final night had been met by the weekend's most anticipated acts, like Arcade Fire last year, and Kanye West in 2008. This year, organizers found it befitting that Deadmau5, the first headlining electronic act since Daft Punk in 2007, would close out the north side, while modern rock staples Foo Fighters set the night on the south. What they didn't have in mind, unfortunately, was the timely monsoon that would set in on the skyline.

Day Three:

Waking up early, nothing but grey rain was visible through my hotel window. For a festival sweltering with enough people, it's bad enough, but at Grant Park, which has a tendency to get muddy with even the slightest bit of water, it's a potential disaster. Keep in mind, a little (or a lot) of mud and rain won't hurt anybody, but it will absolutely destroy your phone, wallet, and whatever else you have in your pocket at the time, as it did my Ipod (temporarily).

Luckily, after a quick shower, light had shone through and the sky was completely blue again - a perfect start to the day, which began thankfully with Titus Andronicus.

Titus Andronicus

The New Jersey (hey) art punks shone on the brightest part of Sunday afternoon, which may not be terribly befitting to the band's post-civil war era - if there ever was such a thing - punk. The group raced through tracks from their first two albums, starting with fan favorite "A More Perfect Union." It was an unfortunately abrupt set, but that's what you get for a 12:45 main stage billing. Still, the show was insatiable, even though the sounds do more justice in an enclosed area for longer.

The next few hours were a spaced mix of Perry's casual curiosity and dragged exhaustion after days of dancing, screaming, and pushing with little to no sleep to speak of. Daedelus did a fine early afternoon show, but those common household assholes made their way around to Cool Kids, making yet another insufferable Perry's experience. It's a shame for an act that seemed to so effortlessly control the crowd and feed off their energy, but I couldn't get out fast enough.

Daedelus

Gathering time to collect myself, the first shroud of death clouds crept over the Chicago skyline, raining through nearly the entirety of Best Coast's late-afternoon set. While my friends chose to spend their hours in the mud on the park's south side, I was spent for shelter. It wasn't until 7 p.m., when Manchester Orchestra took the same stage that rain had eventually died out and I gave it another go around.

Manchester Orchestra

Now, I can't go on the record proclaiming I'm actually a fan of Manchester Orchestra - I've never given them a shot, nor have seen them the numerous times they've appeared at Lollapalooza. In fact, since 2006, no single artist (aside from Perry Farrell himself, which shouldn't count) has appeared at the festival more than Manchester Orchestra, a total of four times. Regardless, the group puts on a fine, if not-to-describable show.

Leaving early was key for grabbing a spot for Deadmau5, considering the shit-storm of mud and garbage that had glossed over the park at that point. And like predictable clock-work, the rain cloud of all rain clouds set in. Now, as I said before, a little rain and mud can't hurt anybody (unless you drown, but, come on), but it will destroy your electronic equipment if you can't protect it. Call it whatever you want, but I wasn't risking all of my possessions being destroyed, Deadmau5 or not. So, I booked it out of there in time to save my stuff (except my clothes, which belong to the trash gods now).

Some people can deal with it, I clearly can't. It's absolutely unfortunate what happened, but at the very least I have solace knowing I took every moment in that weekend before that. I would say that the rain ruined that end, but everything leading up to that point was still a success, so I can't gripe too much.

So, that's the end. Four years in, I feel absolutely normal riding the blue line train into center city in the morning, as if my commute to work. I've fallen in love with the city and the festival over the years, and 2011 was no exception. And with luck, 2012 will be the same. Speaking of, if you haven't heard, the dates for next year are already scheduled: August 3 - 5. If all goes as planned, I'll be doing this all over again.

Best Performances: Titus Andronicus
Worst Performances: Weather

Highlight: "A More Perfect Union," by Titus Andronicus
Lowlight: What do you think?

Hey, no more Lollapalooza posts for a while? Deal.

Friday Bears: Lollapalooza 2011 Must-See Artists, Pt. V

And finally, here's part five.

#2: Deadmau5
Love it or hate it, no electronic act has exploded as much as Mr. Deadmau5 has in quite some time. For only the second time in Lollapalooza's history (Daft Punk performed in 2007), an electronic act will be headlining one of the main stages. The Toronto-based solo act has a pretty tough act to follow (albeit four years ago) with Daft Punk's show, which is highly regarded as the best show Lollapalooza has ever put on. Not coincidentally, Deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman) shows have become increasingly more elaborate, to the point where Zimmerman's label has said that this year's show will outdo Daft Punk's. Far be it from skepticism that he'll actually pull it off, but the boasting is fairly enticing.

Deadmau5 will be headlining the festival's final night, Sunday, August 7, at 8:30 p.m. on the Bud Light stage. Zimmerman will also be signing autographs at 6 in the f.y.e. tent.

Deadmau5 - Ghosts N' Stuff (ft. Rob Swire)



#1: My Morning Jacket
Is it a surprise? The music festival veterans will be appearing at their third official Lollapalooza, but their first since 2007 and first as a headlining act. Extremely well-regraded as one of the absolute premiere live music experiences, My Morning Jacket have rightfully exploded in recent years, even garnering their own American Dad episode (one of the show's best, if I can add). In short, the band is an absolute cannot miss.

My Morning Jacket will be performing Saturday, August 6, at 8 p.m. on the Bud Light stage.

My Morning Jacket - Wordless Chorus (Live)



My Morning Jacket - One Big Holiday (Live)

Tuesday Bears: Lollapalooza 2011 Headliners Revealed (a bit early)

The official lineup won't be fully released until 1:00 a.m. EST, but Rolling Stone has at least revealed the six main headliners of Lollapalooza 2011.

They are:

Coldplay
Eminem
Foo Fighters
Muse
My Morning Jacket
Deadmau5

We were well aware of Eminem, Muse, and Foo Fighters for months, and we heard of Deadmau5 earlier today, but Coldplay (which aren't playing any other major fest this year) and My Morning Jackets were nice late surprises.

Stay tuned for the whole lineup ...

All the Lollapalooza rumors so far ... today.

It's been a while since I've filtered the website (and not my Twitter account, which you should be following) with Lollapalooza rumors, so I'll get back on base.

Yesterday, it was pretty much revealed through several sources and suspicious scheduling that A Perfect Circle are set to be one of the six main headliners at this year's festival. So, for those that need a refresher, that makes four confirmed headliners: Eminem, Foo Fighters, Muse (all three completely confirmed), and A Perfect Circle.

With two headlining spots remaining (and three Perry's Place, the electronic/dance stage, headliners still unnamed), there have been speculation for a small handful of artists, including; Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, and now Death Cab for Cutie.

Rumors, however, became even more interesting after Perry Farrell revealed in the March/April issue of Relix that, “I can’t tell you who’s gonna be headlining this year, but one of the headliners is a dance act." Early rumors indicate that the probable act will be either Justice, Deadmau5, who played the festival two years ago, or the Chemical Brothers. Daft Punk was also mentioned, but chances of them performing again seem like a disillusioned dream.

The festival's Last.fm page, which has every artist confirmed or semi-confirmed for the weekend, has also listed Justice. Again, it's not a confirmation, but a reasonable suspicion for the French duo's speculative appearance. From this point, I'd make them the most likely headliner to be named next.

Outside of headlining rumors, several acts have also been added to the billing, including; Arctic Monkeys, Surfer Blood, and Tennis. It may also be within reason to assume that the Vaccines will make the lineup. The group is currently touring with the Arctic Monkeys and have no Chicago dates scheduled around August 5-7.

Stay tuned to Bears and Bullets for any and all rumors and information regarding the annual festival through the coming weeks ...

Lollapalooza 2009 Review (Day Three)

After soaking in the rousing success that was day two of Lollapalooza I boarded the Chicago Blue Line Sunday morning anticipating (or at least hoping) for day three to be as good. While the headlining acts of Jane's Addiction and the Killers may be a bit lacking in my opinion, the rest of the schedule was stocked full of notable acts that I could hardly wait to see.

Day Three:

Taking the short walk to Grant Park I noticed the sun was bearing down much harder than the day before, reaching the mid-90's by early afternoon. With sweat and sunscreen on my face, I took to the Chicago 2016 stage to catch Syracuse indie-pop group Ra Ra Riot. The band, only in their second year of existence, played mostly from their full-length debut The Rhumb Line, released last year. The limited amount of material may have held them back a bit, but the on-stage product remained an early-day delight for many of the fans who stood patiently in the sweltering heat.

Ra Ra Riot

As the female counterparts of the band, Alexandra Lawn and Rebecca Zeller, careened their string instruments through the band's songs, strong likeness of The Shins and the fanciful pop of the Arcade Fire remained prevalent. While this charmed the aesthetics of many, a little maturity would suit the group well. In a few year's the band could be filling a steadier spot in the festival line-up, but as of now they still have a bit of growing to do.

After a small break I made my way towards to the Vitamin water stage to catch English via Pakistan act Bat for Lashes. Natasha Khan's powerful harmonizing voice resembles something of early listener friendly Bjork, touching the subject of mythical and imaginative love in songs like "Sleep Alone" and "Siren Song."

Bat for Lashes

A moment of surreality came when Natasha's voice rose so far that the Chicago winds blew the tarps completely off the stage, to which Khan gently commented, "Whoops" garnering a laugh from the crowd. The show, despite the raging heat and uncontrollable winds, went off extremely well, showcasing Khan's on-stage talents and irresistible charms.

After taking a small walk around for food and a meet and greet with Natasha herself, I hurried back to the Vitamin water stage just in time to snag a spot for Baltimore electronica dynamo Dan Deacon. His shows were rumored to be fantastical events where fans get riled up into furious frenzies of excitement and energy, and his Lollapalooza appearance definitely proved those remarks true. The show started off fairly normal, with Deacon getting the crowd going with "Get Older" off this year's Bromst LP. From then on the energy continued to climb and climb, with Deacon getting into the crowd, making them yell, hold each other, form tunnels, and dance around a circle, along with bringing out the What Cheer? Brigade as he orchestrated an intense ending show climax with "Of the Mountains" and "Crystal Cat."

Dan Deacon with The What Cheer? Brigade

Fans from faraway could see the sheer amount of people bursting through the crowd, as countless numbers of them proceeded to crowd-surf their way to the front as streams of bottles, floats, and toilet paper streamed through the air. The final result was impossibly satisfying, as sweaty fans drudged their way away from the stage (like myself) physically and mentally exhausted from what they have just experienced. And while I may have known what I was getting myself into, I'm still at awe of what I witnessed. Unlike anything else in my concert going experiences, Dan Deacon's shows are a must not for just electronica and indie music fans, but for anyone who has the nerve to they could have a better time somewhere else.

Drained, I elected to skip Vampire Weekend (who had already started their set at the nearby Chicago 2016 stage) and instead grab a nice spot for indie-pop upstarts Passion Pit at the Citi stage. My total exhaustion (along with the massive crowd) forced me to take a 15 minute breather in the nearby grass. As I collected myself the Citi stage crowd grew and grew, proving a miscalculation by concert organizers (see; Girl Talk 2008).

Passion Pit

After I collected myself, the band rounded out their hour-long set with two of my favorites "Sleepyhead," and a song that proved to be my favorite of the day, "The Reeling." Afterwards, while legions people fled to the South and North sides of the park to catch Snoop Dogg and Lou Reed (another hard decision to skip), I grabbed a good spot for Atlanta group Deerhunter. Technical disturbances (again, Citi stage) became a bit of a problem at the beginning as making out much of what frotman Bradford Cox said became a bit difficult. Half-way through the show Cox came out of his shell, throwing out witty banter discussing his talent, making fun of Tool, and how sick he truly is.

Deerhunter

The set was full of Deerhunter favorites, including; "Nothing Ever Happens," "Little Kids," "Vox Celeste," and the very new "Circulation," off the group's new Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP. One cannot ignore Cox indelable on-stage charisma and humor as he frequently took credit for writing other artists songs. "This is a song we wrote in 1965 called 'Heroin,' " Cox said. "After that we'll play a song we wrote in 1967 called 'What Goes On.' Then we'll play a song we wrote in 1992 called 'Gin n' Juice'" (remarking how the fans elected to skip both Reed and Snoop Dogg to see his band instead). Full of humor and solid songs, Deerhunter's set was another solid show, which makes me regret more and more that I did not go to Deerhunter, No Age, and Dan Deacon's aftershow later that night.

After a short trip over to Perry's Tent to catch MSTRKRFT (and a surprise encounter will Chicago Bull's starting center Joakim Noah) I trecked back to the South side of the park for one of the last shows of the festival from the Killers. As it stands now I was somewhat unaware of how much I actually dislike the Killers music. After only two songs I couldn't take the mediocrity of 80's ideologies and left the show to catch (ironically another 80's band) Jane's Addiction. Again, I choose to leave and instead spent most of my final night at Perry's Tent during Deadmau5's set.

As for Perry's, I have not given the stage a fair assessment yet. For the most part the acts and set-up blew away last year's, proving endless entertainment for electro fanatics. Fans loved it and even fair-weather fans frequented the area. To those who opt to see only main-stage acts you're seriously missing out on one of the festival's shining achievements.

Exhausted yet again, my legs torn from constant walking and dancing, the final night of Lollapalooza 2009 came to an inevitable close. And while it's always so sad to see it go, the amount of joy recieved is hard pressed to be replicated. At this point it is obvious to why I've become such a fan-boy of the annual festival, and I think it goes without question that I'll be doing the same next year.

By the way, the dates have already been set up for 2010; August 6-8. Tickets with be available on the 17th. And to whom is rumored to headline next year? Bjork, The Arcade Fire, and The White Stripes appear to be strong contenders.

Best Performances: Dan Deacon, Deerhunter, Deadmau5, Bat for Lashes

Worst Performances: Killers

Highlight: "Of the Mountains" and "Crystal Cat" by Dan Deacon. "The Reeling" by Passion Pit.

Lowlight: The Killers ending the festival.

Counting down the days until Lollapalooza 2010 ...