Just like last year and the year before, we’re making it our mission to help you get acquainted with every single band on Bonnaroo‘s impressive 2014 lineup. We started from the bottom and have been working our way up, paying special attention to the smaller and lesser known acts on this year’s bill with daily, dedicated Bonnaroo Band of the Day and Bonnaroo Club Stage Band of the Day posts. Now that ‘Roo is fast approaching, and we’ve made our way through the fest’s entire undercard, we’ll be spending our last couple of weeks making sure you’re up to date on the festival’s headliners, this time in the form of group posts. Keep reading for your Bonnaroo Band of the Day: Main Stage Roundup…
THE HEAD AND THE HEART
Friday | Which Stage | 6:30pm
Formed in 2009, after founding members Josiah Johnson and Jonathan Russell met during weekly open mic nights at a local Seattle bar, The Head And The Heart almost immediately hit the ground running. After piecing together the rest of their six-person ensemble, they started selling self-burned copies of their eponymous, completely DIY, debut album after shows. The original version came in handmade denim sleeves and, pretty soon, the copies they gave to local record stores started flying off the shelves. As their popularity and underground cred grew, many labels came calling, but they signed with Sub Pop Records in 2o10. A remastered and slightly touched up version of their debut LP was rereleased on Record Store Day in 2011. Johnson says their band name is actually more literal than most people think …”your head is telling you to be stable and find a good job, you know in your heart that this (band) is what you’re supposed to do even if it’s crazy.” Thus, The Head And The Heart. With their latest record, Let’s Be Still (2013), they continue to channel their trademark indie folk-rock, which reminds us of modern interpretation of the conscience folk that Bob Dylan made popular in the early ’60s. See for yourself what we’re talking about live, and have a sample below. You don’t have to worry about listening to your head or your heart; listen to us and go see these guys! [JR]
LISTEN | “Shake”
WATCH | “Lost in My Mind” (Official Music Video)
CONNECT | Site | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify
_
CUT COPY
Saturday | This Tent | 8:45pm
Unlike some of the main stage performers, Cut Copy are not a new-on-the-scene, flash-in-the-pan. They began honing their craft in the land down under in 2001, and have steadily climbed the ranks in the world of danceable high energy electropop. We were first indoctrinated into the Cut Copy world with the release of In Ghost Colours in 2008, and the breakthrough single, “Lights And Music,” but, it wasn’t until the 2011 release of Zonoscope, that we really began to understand why these guys were tagged to support acts as large as Daft Punk, and were playing festivals the world over. Bring us to their most recent release, Free Your Mind, and Cut Copy have taken another step in perfecting their craft of moving asses on the dance floor (or festival tent, in this case). [MH]
LISTEN | “We Are Explorers”
WATCH | “Lights & Music” (Official Music Video)
CONNECT | Site | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify
_
DISCLOSURE
Friday | The Other Tent | 12am
At barely 20 and 23, brothers Howard and Guy Lawrence make up UK EDM group Disclosure, who, over the past year, have risen to become one of the most celebrated acts in electronic music. Channeling elements of house, synthpop, UK garage, deep house, and pop, the brothers first nabbed attention in their native UK in early 2012, but it wasn’t until “Latch,” which largely picked up steam throughout 2013, that the duo became global superstars. Like many of their songs, “Latch” relies on guest vocals to propel its pop hooks and to fuse together its intricate and ethereal electronic backbone; in this case, singer Sam Smith (who’s also slated to play ‘Roo and will, without a doubt, be making an appearance during disclosure’s set) lends his pipes. With just one full-length, last summer’s critically-lauded Settle, under their belts, Disclosure are still a bit wet behind the ears. If this is just the start, however, we can’t imagine what’s next for the group. [PO]
LISTEN | “When a Fire Starts to Burn”
WATCH | “Latch” ft. Sam Smith (Official Music Video)
CONNECT | Site | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify
_
NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL
Friday | This Tent | 8pm
One of the most influential and celebrated bands in modern indie rock, only a few short years ago, it seemed Neutral Milk Hotel were destined never to perform again. Amassing only moderate success in the ’90s, the Athens, GA-based group, part of the Elephant 6 Collective, disbanded just one year after the release of their breakthrough 1998 album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, which went on to achieve both unprecedented critical and commercial success in the subsequent decade. After years of uncertainty and mystery, frontman Jeff Mangum stepped back into the spotlight in 2010, performing, at first, as a solo artist, then once again reuniting with his former bandmates last year. Though no new music has yet resulted from the eclectic, folk-tinged, indie outfit’s reformation, their live show is incredible, picking up just where they left off in ’99, but with years of added experience and emotional weight on top of it. Though they seem to be back for good, Jeff Mangum is anything but predictable, so, we urge you, catch them while you know you can. [PO]
LISTEN | “Song Against Sex”
WATCH | Live at The Knitting Factory in ’98
CONNECT | Site | Facebook | Spotify
_
DAMON ALBARN
Saturday | What Stage | 8:45pm
Despite the fact that he made musical history by fronting prominent acts Blur and Gorillaz, British singer-songwriter Damon Albarn only recently released his first proper solo full-length, Everyday Robots. A bit more folk-tinged than previous efforts, Robots, is, nonetheless, a fusion of sensibilities from Albarn’s varied and hyper-successifval career, balancing the energy and alt sensibilities of Blur with the hip hop and experimental elements of Gorillaz. More personal than anything he’s done in recent years, the record showcases the purer, more emotionally honest side of Albarn that rarely shines through, and sheds a bit more light on the psyche of the complicated and eclectic performer. Though he has various demos, collaborations, soundtracks, and various other solo endeavors to pull from, we’d bet Damon is more likely to pad his set with material from his other, better-known projects, and we’d be shocked if the seasoned performer didn’t bring out a high-profile guest or two. [PO]
LISTEN | “Heavy Seas of Love”
WATCH | “Everyday Robots” (Official Music Video)
CONNECT | Site | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify
_
[JR] Jacob Ryan
[JS] Jack Smith
[MH] Matt Hall
[PO] Philip Obenschain
More from Bonnaroo | Tickets | Lineup | Site | Facebook | Twitter