Musicians Come Together to Stop Trump in Online Campaign “30 Days, 30 Songs”

Posted on by Darby McNally

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In an effort to deter the possibility of a Donald Trump presidency, an online campaign known as 30 Days, 30 Songs will release a protest song by a well-known artist each day until the election on November 8.

The songs, as expected, will all have anti-Trump themes. Still, the goal of the project is not just to warn people of the unrest that would result from a President Trump, but also to ignite support for Hillary Clinton. The site features open letters of persuasion to groups – such as “Obama supporters not feeling it for Clinton” – who are hesitant to give their vote to her.

Their approach is not to overwhelm readers with the potential positive aspects of a Clinton presidency, but to highlight her as the only viable alternative “who can prevent the apocalypse that would be Donald Trump as president.”

So far, three songs have been released from the online campaign. The first from the 30-day effort is Death Cab for Cutie’s “Million Dollar Loan,” which alludes to the “small” loan of $1 million Trump received from his father to start his business. Lyrics to the tune include, “Call your father on the phone and get that million dollar loan,” and “He countersues from any corner he’s backed into.”

The song’s message was clearly enough to rile Trump, who tried to minimize the song’s credibility by telling Sean Hannity the band is “small potatoes.” The second song is by outspoken singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, titled “Can’t You Tell?” which is written from the perspective of Trump himself. And out today is “With Love from Russia” by Bhi Bhiman.

Trump has yet to comment.

Other artists set to release songs as part of the project include R.E.M. and My Morning Jacket. The music is available on the 30 Days, 30 Songs website as well as Spotify. Streaming proceeds from the campaign will be donated to The Center for Popular Democracy.

 

Big Name Artists Bring Huge Crowd to Atlanta Pride

Posted on by Darby McNally

The annual Atlanta Pride Festival was held in Piedmont Park this past weekend, drawing in people from all over the Southeast with its welcoming atmosphere and its high-profile music lineup.

Although Atlanta Pride has been underwhelming in terms of music acts in the past few years, this year was a different story. Power 96.1 sponsored two of the performing artists, bringing Top 40 sensations Kiiara and Zara Larsson to the festival.

The headliner was none other than R&B icon Jody Watley, accompanied by members of her former group Shalamar. Towards the end of the day on Saturday, each of these women took to the Coca Cola Stage to perform their sets. The star power undoubtedly helped boost attendance at 2016 Pride to 300,000, which far exceeds the 200,000 expected to attend and makes the festival the most attended in Pride History.

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This was good news not only for members of the Atlanta LGBT community but also for Atlanta businesses. In between the two performance stages was about a mile long strip of stations where local businesses and nonprofits lined up to meet potential customers and donors. Drawing a crowd is crucial for these businesses to expand to and growth within the LGBT community, which is why revamping the festival’s musical element was imperative for an attendance boost.

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The Atlanta Pride Committee partners only with local gay and gay-friendly businesses who adore their involvement with the festival and organization, some of which are already engrained in the LGBT community. Joanne “Jo” Steiner of Sips n Strokes in Toco Hills has been a partner “since a time when it wasn’t popular to do so.” Just as she supports Pride, Atlanta Pride supports her and Sip n Strokes, “We are truly partners. We’re all here for one another.”

According to Pride’s 2014 survey, 72 percent of attendees purchase a product or use a service from a company that they were introduced to at Pride, and 90 percent of attendees are likely to do business with a company because of their involvement with the organization. Thanks to 2016 Pride’s stellar lineup, local businesses that are part of and friends to the LGBT community will reap these benefits on a much larger scale than ever before.

Funk, Food & Friends

Posted on by Jacklyn Citero

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With the new Feast of Funk & Soul Food happening right before Thanksgiving at Sprit of Suwannee Music Park, you might be loosening your belts a little earlier this November. Not only is this two day event serving up some of the best funk and soul music, but headlining this fest will be, of course, the food.

The food lineup is headlined by five internationally acclaimed chefs including James Beard Award winner Art Smith, (cookbook author and former private chef for Oprah Winfrey), Harrison Sapp (owner of Southern Soul BBQ, St. Simons Island and Live Oak, FL), Chris “Shaggy” Davis (New Orleans Crawfish Boil King), John Minas (The Edison, Tallahassee) and Samuel Forbes Edwards (Edwards Brothers BBQ). Foodies will be able to purchase tickets that include meals prepared by each of these culinary legends.

Additionally, Feast of Funk & Soul Food will welcome two of Florida’s best breweries to the show – Dunedin Brewery and 81Bay Brewing Co.

Combining funky music, delicious soul food, and these Florida breweries, Feast of Funk and Soul Food will raise money for local charities Love Inc., Hope Notes and Suwannee Spirit Kids Music Camp. It’s the prefect opportunity to come together with friends and family at an intimate Spirit of the Suwannee event, giving thanks and love the weekend before Thanksgiving.


A Feast of Funk & Soul Food Music Lineup:
Earth Wind & Power (the music of Earth Wind & Fire performed by The Nth Power featuring Jennifer Hartswick, Skerik, Farnell Newton, James Casey, Daniel Sadownick, Brian Thomas)
The Nth Power
Jennifer Hartswick Band
The Roosevelt Collier Band
The Groove Orient
Leisure Chief
Scott Campbell Band

Project Pabst Takes Atlanta

Posted on by Darby McNally

In an all-day event last Saturday, Project Pabst lit up East Village to kickoff October in Atlanta. The festival, which highlights local artists of all mediums in each of the four cities it visits, was a blend of music, art and PBR-fueled fun.

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The lineup for the event consisted of smaller bands like Jacuzzi Boys and Titus Andronicus as well as more established artists like The Internet and Santigold. The musical highpoint was headlining hip-hop group Run the Jewels, pulling a crowd of about 1,000 at the day’s end. Group member and Atlanta native Killer Mike has been vocal about his support of Bernie Sanders, which drew younger fans to Run the Jewels and, subsequently, to Project Pabst.

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Santigold performs at Project Pabst Atlanta

 

The large crowd meant a spike in local business; the festival area encompassed the strips that run along Glenwood Avenue and Flat Shoals Avenue, which were packed to the brim throughout the day.

Between the restaurants, bars and shops, festivalgoers could find an Atlanta-specific can of PBR at a mobile Pabst station. Pabst also provided “hydration stations” that gave out free bottles of water – a much-needed service any frequent festival attendee knows is rare to come by.

The Internet's Syd tha Kyd hypnotizes the crowd with her smooth vocals
The Internet’s Syd tha Kyd hypnotizes the crowd with her smooth vocals

Another facet of the festival was the Red Clay Comedy Show, where comedians like Mike Denny performed in between taking part in the festivities themselves. Denny, who is from New York City, calls the Atlanta event “mellow” in comparison to his usual experiences at festivals.

With such a high turnout and an overall successful collaboration with the local Atlanta music and art scene, Project Pabst may be back next year for anther round.

Project Pabst to Make First Ever Stop in Atlanta

Posted on by Darby McNally

Originating in Portland, Oregon, Project Pabst will reach three more cities this year, with Atlanta being among them. The Pabst Blue Ribbon-sponsored festival will be making its way to East Atlanta Village for a day of music, arts, and arcade games.

The festival will take place on Saturday, October 1 and promises an experience unique to the Atlanta scene. In addition to highlighting local musicians and artists, Project Pabst will sell cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon with a design specific to the Atlanta festival at “non-festival” prices ($3 Pabst Blue Ribbons!).

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This year’s eclectic music lineup includes Run the Jewels, Mastodon, NOFX, Santigold, The Internet, Real Estate, Titus Andronicus, and the Jacuzzi Boys. In addition to performances on the two main outdoor stages, The EARL and 529 will host additional live music, and 529 will also host the Project Pabst Comedy Stage, in conjunction with the Red Clay Comedy Festival. In between the music and comedy, you can play old school arcade games at the PBRcade, spray paint a van at the PBR Vandalism experience, or get a vinyl record made of music you create at the PBR Wax mobile studio.

Get to the festival when the doors open at noon to experience all that Project Pabst has to offer.

PROJECT PABST ATLANTA

Saturday, October 1 @ 12pm in the East Atlanta Village

Captain Pabst Stage

Summer Cannibals 1:05-1:35p

Real Estate 2:15-2:55p

Santigold 3:45-4:45

NOFX 5:35-6:35p

Mastodon 7:25-8:25p

Run The Jewels 8:55-9:55p

 

Unicorn Stage

Bad Spell 12:30-1:00p

Omni 1:40-2:10p

Titus Andronicus 3:00-3:40p

The Internet 4:50-5:30p

Charles Bradley 6:40-7:20p

Additional Performances at The EARL & 529 From

Radioactivity * Mind Spiders * Nots * Biters * Jacuzzi Boys * Midnight Larks * Cutis Harding * DinosBoys * and more

 

The full lineup as well as more information about Project Pabst can be found here.

The Floozies X Vinyl Mag

Posted on by Jacklyn Citero

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According to The Floozies, summer isn’t over yet. With their current tour, Summer Fling, But Like, In The Fall Tour, The Floozies hope to keep those summer vibes going well into the couple of months. Ahead of their stop in Athens, GA, at the Georgia Theatre, we sat down with Mark Hill (drummer) to get the inside scoop on this brother duo.

Vinyl Mag: Just to get into it, you guys are currently on tour, the Summer Fling, But Like In The Fall Tour.  We are loving the name of the tour, how did you guys come up with it?

Mark Hill: My brother thought of it because he thinks of a lot of brilliant things. And I think because we had just released “Summer Fling” and we were really proud of it and we just wanted to keep the summer vibes going because summer is the shit.

VM: We’ll agree with you on that. Now, you have a couple more cities you’ll be stopping at on this tour including Athens, GA, this Friday. Have you been to Athens before?

MH: Yeah, we’ve actually played the Georgia Theatre twice before and I loved it and I like Athens a lot.

VM: It’s going to be really good having you guys back in Athens. Will you guys have any downtime and be able to do anything around town before the show?

MH: Last time I was in Athens, I went to a record shop and bought like 15 CDs that were really cheap, so I’ll probably do that again. Then I’ll probably eat some good food, take a shower, and play a show.

VM: Speaking of your show, you guys put on quite the live performance. I know you work with Hunter (LaserWolf FX) with all the lasers and visuals. How do you guys approach the design and feel of your live show?

MH: The ideas kind of come randomly. We do a lot of drawing when we’re on the road and we just think about what we would want to see that fits our music. And then we see who has the lights or who can get them and run them. And BOOM! Then we just blast everybody with lasers, because everybody loves lasers.

VM: Everybody does love lasers, I will agree with you on that!

MH: We don’t do video. We have a very live show and if you do video you have to pretty much have everything planned out. With the lights that we use, we try to leave us room and that’s how we provide unique shows.

VM: Do you guys have any pre-show rituals?

MH: We always tell each other that we love each other.

The Floozies

VM: That’s incredibly sweet…I’ve noticed on socials that you have a lot of videos that give your fans a more intimate look into your lives on tour. How did you guys come up with wanting to shoot these videos and what do you hope fans get out of watching them?

MH: We’ve always made videos. Our good friend Daniel Opperman is really good with video and we brought him out on the road. This is probably the first tour he has been able to work video for us so it’s just really fun. We wake up and we go get coffee and we start thinking about fun things to do. We’re always trying to have fun and then he’s always there with the camera and he captures it. I think it’s cool for people to see what we do outside of playing shows. I know I would watch it if it was of my favorite band.

VM: I think it’s a great personal look into your world and you seem like really fun guys. The videos just make us want to hang out with you!

MH: We get really excited about things and we want to show them. Like one of the videos we made was really exciting because we previewed a new song that we’re going to release soon. The song is called “Butt Rock,” so all day I was just going around throwing up the rock hand sign. It’s just fun to go out and do stuff and not just sit around on bus.

Thrashed pretty hard with SunSquabi last night in Knoxville! Chattanooga tonight!

Song: Butt Rock (unreleased)… (it’s siiiiick)

Posted by The Floozies on Saturday, September 17, 2016

VM: Well, keep them coming because we love to watch them.

MH: Yeah, most people like them. We do it just to make sure people keep enjoying themselves. We know that not everyone can come to all the shows. And our mom likes to watch them. 

VM: That is so awesome….Being that you guys are brothers, have you guys learned anything about each other that you didn’t know or realize prior to creating music and touring together?

MH: Not really, we have always been extraordinarily honest with each other. I think more so than anyone else in the world these days. We also always got a long so it’s not that hard.

VM: That’s really great to hear because sometimes it doesn’t work out that way and you figure out weird things you never knew about each other even if you’re siblings.

MH: Yeah, well I kind of learned that Matt was a little bit of a diva. He really likes his sleep…

VM: Just wanted to touch upon your most recent EP, Granola Jones…what is the creative process behind your recorded material?

MH: We’re just constantly making music. Matt always likes to tell people that we don’t consider putting out a song unless it is going to make people dance. It’s just kind of constant, writing music while on tour, well most days, some days we sleep. It’s just kind of constant and inspiration can come from anywhere. It can come from Chet Porter, our opener, tossing a bottle and it landing really sweetly over and over again.

VM: And how was it to work with Karl Denson?

MH: It was great. Karl is a beast. He’s really talented, and he can shred for days, and he’s really buff. He’s really great and really nice. We sent him our music and he started cranking out the music right away. We didn’t have to wait a month for him to get back to us, which is always appreciated. And that’s how we are, we get really excited about a song and then we just really want to get it out.

Catch The Floozies on tour now!

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Electric Forest Expands to Two Weekends in 2017

Posted on by Jacklyn Citero

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In an official statement from Electric Forest HQ: Electric Forest will be held over two consecutive weekends in 2017.

The festival now will take place June 22–June 25 and June 29–July 2, 2017. It was stated that this move to add a second weekend is meant to offer two distinct, back to back weekends at a lower capacity strives to nurture the evolution and growth of the EF community while honoring the much cherished EF experience.

From praises to criticism, and everything in between, the reviews have been mixed about this announcement.

In a quote from Pasquale Rotella, Co- Founder of Electric Forest and Founder and CEO of Insomniac:  “In 2017, we will see Electric Forest evolve into two unique weekend experiences. I am glad EDC Las Vegas attendees will have an opportunity to rest and recharge before making the journey out to another festival. Home is where your family is, and the Forest has become another destination this community can call home.”

While we can agree that Insomniac and their events are home to a certain community all unto itself, we should also remember that not just the Forest, but the venue itself has been considered a home and a mecca for attendees with varying musical tastes over the years – even before Electric Forest was in existence.

There are hopes that a Rothbury-esq lineup will be brought back for one of the weekends, and there are concerns (or excitement depending on your music taste) that Electric Forest and it’s lineup will continue to keep looking more and more like any other EDC around the country, only now for two weekends instead of one.

Only time will tell what is in-store for Electric Forest 2017.

Read the full EF post here.

Falling in Love with Wildwood Revival

Posted on by Jacklyn Citero

 

 

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Down the winding Georgia backroads just 20 minutes outside of Athens stands Cloverleaf Farm. Upon arrival, manicured lawns and gardens that pop with vibrant colors radiating from heirloom flowers welcome you. Walking down the gravel driveway, our cowboy boots kicking up grey dust with every step, the late summer sun extends through the trees and shines down on the pristine white antebellum home. A focal point of the property, the structure stands out among the lush greenery of the farm with its impressive façade and slender, finely crafted cloverleaf columns.

Behind the house, sandwiched between an open courtyard and the beckoning meadows, attendees of Wildwood Revival gather in and around a ventilated barn structure. Twinkling white globe lights shine above as The Lone Bellow command the stage.

Welcome to Wildwood Revival.

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Once in awhile, a festival will completely capture your heart and make you fall in love with it; with every aspect of it. At Wildwood Revival, the attendees felt like family, the bands felt like friends, the food tasted like comfort, the drinks tasted like fun, and Cloverleaf Farm felt like home. Needless to say, we fell in love, hard.

Every detail, straight down to the hand painted signs, the hanging candlelit mason jars, the communal farm tables with flower centerpieces, the hay bails that provided seating…was handled with extreme care. The genuine Americana, southern country ambiance was organic and the energy was infectious.

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The three-day event kicked off on Friday and concluded on Sunday with a closing set from Houndmouth. The rest of the lineup for the entire weekend was impressive and boasted the likes of Gillian Welch, Hackensaw Boys, Legendary Shack Shakers, and many more. All artists played on the festival’s single stage, allowing for easy decision making when it came to the music. No competing sets is something we can get behind.

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The vendors and sponsors fit in with the esthetic of the event. Local and seasonal foods were served up from Athen’s own infamous Mama’s Boy and everyone’s favorite Hip Pops was on site dishing out refreshing ice pops on those hot festival days. Additionally, Cathead Vodka, Union Wine Co., and Athen’s Terrapin Beer Co., were all pouring quality crafted libations.

Small but mighty, young (only in it’s third year) but old souled, Wildwood Revival reminds you of all the reasons why music festivals were started in the first place. And as long as this quintessential event keeps taking place in our backyard year after year, we will gladly return to stomp our boots and kick up some Georgia dust all while drinking out of mason jar cups.

Enjoy some additional moments we captured from Wildwood Revival below!

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Reviving the Soul at Wildwood Revival

Posted on by Jacklyn Citero

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Just outside of Athens, GA, on a historic 30-acre farm there is an intimate, thoughtfully curated boutique festival being held this weekend. Tailored towards a truly unique music and cultural experience for all, Wildwood Revival‘s three-day event combines the soul of a juke joint, the wild spirit of a honky tonk, and the camaraderie of a supper club. It’s a little bit country, a little bit rock n’ roll, and everything in between.

“One of our goals with Wildwood Revival is to ‘revive community’ as well as support the style of music and makers who are bringing back the sounds and craftsmanship of older times,” says Festival co-founder Libby Rose.” We wanted to take the feeling you get from visiting places like small town juke joints, honky tonks, farmers markets, swap meets, front porch parties and supper clubs and bring those elements to the farm in the form of a festival.”

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The lineup boasts the likes of Gillian Welch, The Lone Below, Houndmouth, Hackensaw Boys, Legendary Shack Shakers, and many more. In addition to the music, Wildwood Revival features a plethora of activities. From nights that are filled with dance parties, sing-a-longs under the stars, and bonfires, to morning yoga classes, wiffle ball games and farm-to-table brunches, this festival is truly unlike any other.

If you find yourself close to Athens this weekend, make sure Wildwood Revival is on your radar and you make your way to one of the most unique festivals in the Southeast.