Bonnaroo Band of the Day: Kevin Abstract

As we’ve been doing for the past several years now, we’re making it our mission to help you get acquainted with many of our favorites acts from from Bonnaroo‘s impressive 2017 lineup. As we dig through the entire schedule, we’ll highlight a spread of performers spanning across genres and stages, big and small, new and old, to bring you some of the most interesting, lesser-known, or most highly-reccomened among this year’s crop of artists. Though we’ll be jumping around, we’re loosely working our way through by day, and we’ll also be bringing you some special features and longer guides along the way, to help you plan your weekend before the fest. While these previews won’t span every performer, and might omit some more obvious must-see acts, we hope they’ll serve as a way to help you navigate Bonnaroo’s gargantuan lineup, and to make the most of your busy weekend on the farm!

Grab your tickets right here if you haven’t already, and keep reading to learn more about our Bonnaroo Band of the Day…

LEARN

A genre-bending artist who first came onto our radar when he supported The Neighbourhood last year at Marathon Music Works, at only 20 years old, Texas native turned Los Angeles transplant Kevin Abstract is one of the most unique and talented rising artists in the world, seemingly destined to follow in the footsteps of superstars like Frank Ocean with inevitable breakthrough success. Since first dabbling in music a few years ago in his teens, Abstract, real name Ian Simpson, quickly found online attention, and after a few early releases, crafted his debut, MTV1987 (it’s been labeled both an album and a mixtape), in 2014. After the aforementioned move and Neighbourhood tour, and despite several false starts, Kevin released his followup, American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story, last fall, met with widespread critical praise and ever-increasing notoriety.

The de facto leader of LA hip hop collective (a self-proclaimed “hip hop boyband”) BROCKHAMPTON, whose debut, All-American Trash, also arrived last year, Kevin seems like the heir apparent to serve as a Tyler, the Creator-esque figure for a new generation of hip hop loving teens with subversive and discerning taste. And, while hip hop and r&b are certainly a base for Abstract’s expansive sound, he dabbles just as much in palates of pop and rock, with shoegaze and earnest, almost emo influences, sort of a real-life reflection of the muddy genre-lines of millennial taste and relatability, navigating themes of suburbia, sexuality, relationships, race, and figuring out the world as a young person. Adding to his intrigue, and further assuring his inevitable fame, Kevin meticulosity crafts own enigmatic image, and has even directed his last few videos, which play more like short films, with breathtaking skill. We’re glad to see him on Thursday where it’s less crowded, and we urge you to make his late night set a must-see!

LISTEN | “Drugs”