Ohmpark’s 2009 Festival Guide

The beginning of a new year comes with rampant speculation of who is going to be on each upcoming festival’s line-up. I’m going to break down some of the rumours, and talk about the festivals I am most excited about in 2009. So break open your calendar and get ready to plan your year in festies:

Big Ears Festival (Knoxville, TN) February

6-8

Usually the festival season doesn’t really get going until March, but this year we have an interesting, new contender to the battle of fests. Big Ears comes from the people that have brought us Bonnaroo, but this is almost the polar opposite sort of fest, with a line-up of critically acclaimed, non-mainstream experimental acts happening at various venues in downtown Knoxville. The tickets are on the pricey side of the spectrum for a small line-up without big drawing power, but that also means it will be quite an exclusive event and totally free of festival noobs. Here is the current line-up:

ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS
FENNESZ (solo)
FENNESZ/LINKOUS/MINOR
MICHAEL GIRA (Swans / Angels of Light)
PHILIP GLASS
JON HASSELL + MAARIFA STREET
MATMOS
THE NECKS
NEGATIVLAND
PAULINE OLIVEROS
WENDY SUTTER
SHAKING RAY LEVIS
BURNING STAR CORE
NED ROTHENBERG
LARKIN GRIMM
DAN DEACON
NICOLAS COLLINS>
SAN AGUSTIN
NEIL HAMBURGER
LUMINESCENT ORCHESTRII
FENCE KITCHEN
SXIP SHIREY’S SONIC NEW YORK
DAVID DANIELL

For more info, check out the Big Ears website.

Langerado (Miami, FL) March 6-8:

I attended Langerado for the first time last year and had a blast. They had moved it to the same Indian Reservation that the Phish New Years Eve 1999 festival had taken place, and the setting very much enhanced the high quality, diverse line-up. This year they have moved the festival to Miami’s Bicentennial Park, so there is no camping. While this certainly takes away from many of its strengths of last year, they have put together a rather impressive line-up again and tickets seem to be selling well, so it looks to be a success again. Here is the line-up:

Death Cab For Cutie • Snoop Dogg • Thievery Corporation (Live) • Slightly Stoopid • Ryan Adams and the Cardinals • Dashboard Confessional • The Pogues • Matisyahu • Flogging Molly • Michael Franti & Spearhead • Broken Social Scene • Cafe Tacuba • Umphrey’s McGee • The Disco Biscuits • Robert Randolph & The Family Band • Pepper • The Faint • Cold War Kids • Steel Pulse • Public Enemy • Gym Class Heroes • Tricky • Girl Talk • Chromeo • Mute Math • Bad Brains • Ozomatli • Against Me! • George Clinton & Parliament / Funkadelic • Tortoise • DeVotchKa • Black Kids • Grupo Fantasma • Holy F*ck • Budos Band • Tokyo Police Club • Lotus • The Virgins • The Gaslight Anthem • King Khan and the Shrines • Lucero • Murs • Ra Ra Riot • Tortured Soul • Rebelution • K’Naan • The Egg • Zac Brown Band • Tigercity • The Aggrolites • Cloud Cult • Spam Allstars • Rachel Goodrich • Blue King Brown • The Heavy Pets • Awesome New Republic • The Postmarks • Suenalo Sound System • Live Painting by LEBO

For more info, check out the Langerado website.

Read our 2008 Langerado coverage.

Harvest Of Hope Fest (St. Augustine, FL)

March 6-8:

So far this seems to be the most intriguing of the lesser known Spring festivals, as not only does the line-up have its strengths, but the pricing is extremely affordable. Due to the price, the existence of camping, the closer location, the line-up, and the non-profit fundraising goals of this fest, it may be the better option than Langerado this year and I’m seriously considering doing this thing. here is the line-up:

Against Me!
The National Propagandhi
Devotchka
Broken Social Scene
Bad Brains
Girl Talk
The Bouncing Souls
Less Than Jake
Lucero
The Night Marchers
The Virgins
Strike Anywhere
None More Black
Smoke or Fire
MURS
Grand Buffet
Ra Ra Riot
Paint it Black
The Faint
HEALTH
Dave Dondero
Holywood Holt
Tim Barry
Kevin Seconds
King Kahn & the ShrinesThe Mae Shi
This Bike is a
Pipe Bomb
Rehasher
John Vanderslice
Wild Sweet Orange
Underground Railroad
to Candyland
Her Space Holiday
Hamell on Trial
Young Livers
Whiskey & Co.
Ninja Gun
Flatliners
Grabass CharlestoNs
Cheap Girls
Holy Fuck
Monotonix
Austin Lucas
O’Pioneers
Josh Small
Tim Version
Ghost Mice
Paul Baribeau
Bomb the Music Industry!
Fake Problems
Brainworms
Landmines
The Takers
Cutman
Bridge & Tunnel
Fiya
Averkiou
Look Mexico
Mouthbreather
Failures Union
Anchor Arms
Hawks & Doves
Environmental Youth Crunch
Tubers
Liza Kate
Eric Ayotte
Virgins(fl)
Home team
How Dare You
Monikers
New Bruises
Dirty Money
Alligator
The Ones to Blame
Assassinate the
Scientist
No More
Lauris Vidal
Lymbyc Systm
Mumpsy
Clock Hands Strangle
BLORR
Antarctic
Protagonist
Mario Sevayega
Lostfingersfoundhands Imadethismistake
Incoherent
Blues Lightning
Coyote Throat
Onslaught Dynamo
County Road
Willie Green

A three-day pass only costs you $29.95 until the end of the month, so get more info at the Harvest of Hope Fest website.

South By Southwest (Austin, TX) March

18-22:

If Bonnaroo is the “Superbowl” of music festivals, SXSW is the “World Cup”. The less you recognize on the line-up, the better it will be, as indie, underground artists across the globe come to this music conference to stake their claim on being the next big hype. Last year I experienced it for the first time, and it is no exaggeration to say it was a life changing experience. Everything in Austin becomes a music venue for this week, including parking lots, furniture shops, and abandoned buildings. There are literally 100 different shows going on at any given time, and many bands end up playing 5 or more times before the week is done. The officlal line-up is still taking shape, and there are som any more bands that come in an unofficial capacity, but here is what things are shaping up like right now:

The official list as of today:

8Ball & MJG (Memphis, TN)
Akron/Family (Williamsport, PA)
Al Kapone (Memphis, TN)
Alina Simone (Brooklyn, NY)
Amanda Blank (Philadelphia, PA)
Amber Smith (Budapest, HUNGARY)
Angry vs The Bear (Essex, ENGLAND)
Anthony Snape (Sydney, AUSTRALIA)
ARABROT (Oslo, NORWAY)
Arc Angels (Austin, TX)
Asher Roth (Morrisville, PA)
Asobi Seksu (Brooklyn, NY)
Astrid Williamson (Shetland Islands, SCOTLAND)
B.o.B. (Atlanta, GA)
Banda de Turistas (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Bar-Kays (Memphis, TN)
Bavu Blakes (Austin, TX)
Ben Kweller (Austin, TX)
Benny Gallagher (West Wickham, ENGLAND)
Black Cherry (London, ENGLAND)
BLACK SKIES (Chapel Hill, NC)
Blaqstarr (Baltimore, MD)
Blue Scholars (Seattle, WA)
Bomba Estereo (Bogota, Columbia)
Brick Bandits (Philadelphia, PA)
Buck 65 (Halifax, NS)
Buraka Som Sistema (Lisbon, Portugal)
Candy Coated Killahz (Toronto, CANADA)
Cashier No.9 (Belfast, IRELAND)
Casiokids (Bergen, NORWAY)
Charles Hamilton (New York, NY)
Choc Quib Town (Bogota, Columbia)
CHOO-CHOO (Bern, SWITZERLAND)
Chris T-T (Brighton, ENGLAND)
Come On Gang! (Edinburgh, SCOTLAND)
Crystal Method (Los Angeles, CA)
Crystal Stilts (New York, NY)
Damero (Berlin, Germany)
Dananananaykroyd (Glasgow, Scotland)
Dave Alvin (Los Angeles, CA)
David Garza (Austin, TX)
Dead Prez (New York, NY)
Dekadens (Bucharest, ROMANIA)
Dirtblonde (Liverpool, ENGLAND)
Division Miniscula (Matamoros, Mexico)
Doctor Krapula (Bogota, Columbia)
EBONY BONES! (London, ENGLAND)
Ella (Bristol, ENGLAND)
Empire ISIS (Montreal, CANADA)
Explosions in the Sky (Austin, TX)
Flood of Red (Glasgow, SCOTLAND)
Franki Chan (Los Angeles, CA)
Free Sol (Memphis, TN)
Futumomo Satisfaction (Tokyo, Japan)
Gabi Almedia (Sao Paolo, Brazil)
Gary Clark Jr. (Austin, TX)
Grimy Styles (Austin, TX)
Hacienda (San Antonio, TX)
Hickoids (Austin, TX)
Ida Maria (Stockholm, Sweden)
Insite (Mexicali, Mexico)
Invincible (Detroit, MI)
Jokers of the Scene (Ottawa, ON)
Kap Bambino (Bordeaux, France)
Kid Sister (Chicago, IL)
Killer Mike (Atlanta, GA)
LA Riots (Los Angeles, CA)
Los Fancy Free (Mexico City, Mexico)
Madi Diaz (Nashville, TN)
Manana (Basil, SWITZERLAND)
Mandi Perkins (Los Angeles, CA)
Mexican Institute of Sound (Mexico City, Mexico)
Micachu (London, ENGLAND)
Midnight Youth (Auckland, NEW ZEALAND)
Mika Miko (Los Angeles, CA)
Mike Badger (Liverpool, ENGLAND)
Mistah FAB (Oakland, CA)
Monokino (Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS)
Moriarty (Montreuil, FRANCE)
Motel (Mexico City, Mexico)
Mundo Livre Sa (Recife, Brazil)
My Crew Be Unruly (Baltimore, MD)
My Federation (Hove, ENGLAND)
Nacho Vegas (Gijon, Spain)
Nacional (Glasgow, SCOTLAND)
NAVEL (Erschwil, SWITZERLAND)
Outasight (New York, NY)
P.O.S. (Minneapolis, MN)
Pato Machete (Monterrey, Mexico)
Peter Bjorn & John (Stockholm, Sweden)
Peter Rosenberg (New York, NY)
Port O’Brien (Cambria, CA)
Primal Scream (Glasgow, Scotland)
Reflection Eternal (Ohio/New York)
Rob Quest (Houston, TX)
Sage Francis (Providence, RI)
San Quinn (San Francisco, CA)
Scribe (Christchurch, NZ)
Shad (London, Ontario)
Shawn David McMillen (Austin, TX)
Simplifires (Mexico City, Mexico)
Soulico (Tel Aviv, Israel)
St. Vincent (Dallas, TX)
Suzy & Los Quattro (Barcelona, Spain)
T Bird & The Breaks (Austin, TX)
Tanya Morgan (Brooklyn, NY)
Temposhark (London, ENGLAND)
The Beat Poets (Belfast, IRELAND)
The Carrivick Sisters (Devon, ENGLAND)
The Courteneers (Manchester, UK)
The deBretts (London, ENGLAND)
The Deep Dark Woods (Saskatoon, CANADA)
the Devil Wears Prada (Dayton, OH)
The Everyday Visuals (Boston, MA)
The Knux (New Orleans, LA)
THE MOOG (Budapest, HUNGARY)
The Pepper Pots (Girona, Spain)
The Sonics (Seattle, WA)
The Temper Trap (Nth Fitzroy, AUSTRALIA)
thecocknbullkid (London, ENGLAND)
Thee Oh See’s (San Francisco, CA)
This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb (Pensacola, FL)
Tittsworth (Washington, DC)
Tommy Tee (Oslo, Norway)
Toy Horses (Barry, WALES)
Twilight Hotel (Winnipeg, CANADA)
Virgin Passages (London, ENGLAND)
Volodja Balzalorsky (Ljubljana, SLOVENIA)
WAZ (Los Angeles, CA)
We Have Band (London, ENGLAND)
We Should Be Dead (Limerick, IRELAND)
White Lies (London, ENGLAND)
Whitechapel (Knoxville, TN)
Willem Maker (Turkey Heaven, AL)
Willy Joy (Chicago, IL)
Yarah Bravo (New York, NY)

As extensive as that list appears, there will probably be like at least 10 times that many bands to show up in Austin over the SXSW week. Drive A Faster Car has an exhaustive list of unconfirmed acts that you should check out. Seriously, there is going to be too many great artists to keep up with, and while getting an official badge is about as pricey as it gets for a festival, the value can’t be denied (plus you can go and have a great time without a badge on the cheap).

For more info, keep up with the SXSW website.

Read our 2008 SXSW Coverage.

Winter Music Conference/Ultra Music

Festival (Miami, FL) March 24-28:

Winter Music Conference is the electronic/dance music equivalent of SXSW going down in Miami each year. In addition to the conference, the Ultra Music Festival takes place at the end of the week in Bicentennial Park boasting extremely impressive line-ups each year for the particular genre. I’ve been to Ultra once, but it was a bad experience due to the carelessness of the folks I was with. This year’s line-up for Ultra is turning out to be a high quality as always and is tempting me to take a south Florida vacation. You can view the full line-up here, but most notably to me it includes:

Tiesto, Bloc Party, The Prodigy, Paul Van Dyke, Santogold, Pendulum live, Roni Size Reprazent, Rabbit In The Moon, Cut Copy, Crystal Castles, Hercules & Love Affair, Moby, Carl Cox, Planet of The Drums (Dara, Diesel Boy, AK1200 J Messinian), Craze & Klever, and Infected Mushroom

For more info:

Winter Music Conference website
Ultra Music Festival website

Coachella Music Festival (Indio, CA) April

17-19:

Before every festival in the US started throwing indie acts in their line-ups, Coachella blazed that territory first. Coachella’s success is almost more important than Bonnaroo’s to creating this golden age in American music festivals as it was the first major one to take place after the Woodstock ‘99 fiasco when legal liabilities for such an undertaking were rather scary. In addition to putting together the consistently strongest line-ups of all fests over this decade, the endless band reunions of late have used Coachella as a staging ground for many legendary comebacks. I went to Coachella in 2004 and 2005 and both experiences were unforgettable. This year’s line-up hasn’t been officially release yet, but it should be coming very soon (last year it was announced on January 21st). But, there are many rumours and confirmed unconfirmed acts, so I’ll take you through the hype as it stands now:

First, the LAist is confirming:

Confirmed Artists:

the Airborne Toxic Event, the Bug, Buraka Som Sistema, Crystal Castles, Drop The Lime, Fleet Foxes, Flying Lotus, Girl Talk, the Hold Steady, the Killers, No Age, Noah and the Whale, Late of the Pier, Los Campesinos!, Peanut Butter Wolf, the Presets, Sébastien Tellier, Themselves, Tinariwen

Confirmed DJs:

DJ Gina Turner, DJ Hipnotic Starr, DJ Luis Segura, DJmorales, DJ Zegon

The vast message board speculation list includes:

ARTISTS: heavily rumoured high tier acts

Morrissey (more likely as a solo act than with the smiths)
Blur
The Kinks
The Replacements
Wilco
Kings of Leon
Tv On The Radio
Chemical Bros
Paul Weller
Gary Numan
Basement Jaxx
Of Montreal
James
Santogold
The Orb
Skunk Anansie
Tricky
Adele

no solid info but possible and have been rumored as high tier acts:

Beck
PJ harvey
Keane
Snow Patrol
Supergrass
Primal Scream
B.B.King
Lil Wayne
Lou Reed
Bryan Ferry
LIly Allen
A Tribe Called Quest
Eagles Of Death Metal
Ryan Adams and The Cardinals
N*E*R*D

(un)confirmed mid-lower tier bands by websites or sources:

Buraka Som Sistema
White Lies
N.A.S.A.
Tinariwen
Fleet Foxes
The Airbourne Toxic Event
Drop The Lime
No Age
Los Campensinos!
Turbonegro
Roni Size/Reprazent
Bajofondo
Lykke Li
Flying Lotus
Gui Boratto
The Hold Steady
The Bug
Sebastian Tellier
The Ting Tings
Crystal Castles
The Gaslight Anthem
Peanut Butter Wolf
Noah And The Whale
Girl Talk
Monotonix
Themselves
The Presets
mid-lower tier bands that are heavily rumored:

Glasvegas
Reverend Horton Heat
Katy Perry
Alphabeat
The Bloody Beetroots
Kode9
Great Northern
Chairlift
The Virgins
Robyn
Deerhunter
Evil NIne
Mogwai
Elbow
Amanda Palmer
Flobots
88 keys
The Knux
she and him
Hercules and love affair
Ladyhawke
Jenny Lewis
Far
A place to bury strangers
Rise against
Lady Gaga
Passion Pit
Ra Ra Riot
Ladytron
Jay Reatard
wolf parade
deerhoof
Estelle
Dr Dog
Vieux Farka Toure
Stanton Warriors
Four Tet
Gang Gang Dance
Vivian Girls
Pinback
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
Chad VanGallen
Jessica Lea Mayfield
Little Boots

While it is still unclear exactly how the line-up will shape up, there is no reason to speculate that it won’t be amazing, because it always is.

More info at the Coachella website.

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

(New Orleans, LA) April 24-May 5:

America’s most timeless and enduring music festival just don’t stop. the line-up may be a bit mainstream for you regular ohmpark readers, but there is still quality in the line-up, and any event in New Orleans is going to be a fun time. Here is the more recognizable part of the line-up for 2009:

Wynton Marsalis, Aretha Franklin, Dave Matthews Band, James Taylor, Sugarland, Joe Cocker, Ben Harper, Tony Bennett, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Kings of Leon, The Neville Brothers, Wilco, Bonnie Raitt, Allen Toussaint, The O’Jays, Erykah Badu, Etta James, Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, Los Lobos, Robert Cray, Toots and the Maytals, Dr. John, Spoon, Third World, Common, Orishas, Emmylou Harris, Irma Thomas, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Mavis Staples, The Whispers, Hugh Masekela, Doc Watson, Pete Seeger, John Mayall, Solomon Burke, Jakob Dylan, Rance Allen, Chuck Brown, Meter Men; Zig, George, & Leo, Kinky, Drive-By Truckers feat. Booker T. Jones, Better Than Ezra, Avett Brothers, Pete Fountain, Galactic, Marcia Ball, Roy Haynes, Patty Griffin, Kurt Elling, Poncho Sanchez, John Scofield & the Piety Street Band, Marc Broussard, Rebirth Brass Band, Esperanza Spalding, Kind of Blue @ 50 Tribute to Miles Davis, Del McCoury Band, Aaron Neville, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Odadaa of Ghana, The Genius of Sydney Bechet: A Tribute feat. Bob Wilber, Guy Clark, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Roy Rogers, Chris Owens, VaShawn Mitchell, Dew Drop Inn Revisited hosted by Deacon John, George Wein and Friends w/ Randy Brecker, Kermit Ruffins and the Barbeque Swingers, Terence Blanchard, Ivan Neville & Dumpstaphunk, Tab Benoit and the Wetland Allstars, Anointed Jackson Sisters, Ellis Marsalis, Dirty Dozen, Robert Mirabal, Trombone Shorty, The Vettes, Cedric Burnside, Lil’ Ed & the Imperials, Stephanie Jordan, Radiators, Buckwheat Zydeco, Amanda Shaw, The Ebony Hillbillies, Cowboy Mouth, Trout Fishing in America, Harlem Blues & Jazz Band, Tribute to Danny Barker, Amameresso Agofomma of Ghana, Crocodile Gumboot Dancers of South Africa, Ori Danse Club of Benin, Ladysmith Redlions of South Africa, Cheick Hamala Diabate of Mali

For more info, check out the Jazz Fest website.

Bonnaroo (Manchester, TN) June 11-14:

Without a major festival inside the perimeter, this is pretty much Atlanta’s biggest festival despite taking place about 3 hours away. it is also America’s greatest. I have been lucky enough to attend every single Bonnaroo they have ever thrown, and I plan to go back every year until it or me dies. We still have almost a month of rampant speculation to go (last year they announced the line-up on February 6th), but some of the pieces are already coming together. The big name rumoured for thsi year is Phish, and I would say that it is about 99% a sure thing that they are headlining this year considering their recent summer tour date announcements leave a big hole in the middle for the ‘roo. The two are a match made in heaven, so if this doesn’t turn out to be true, someone royally screwed up. Thanks to Inforoo, the Bonnaroo ultimate message board, here is a short list of rumours and confirmed acts complete with links to references:

Rumored:
–Phish
-The Dead
Spiritualized
-Bruce Springsteen
-Red Hot Chili Peppers
-The Crystal Method
-Girl Talk

Confirmed
-cccome?
-The Zac Brown Band
-Jessie Baylin
-Portugal. The Man
-Robert Earl Keen

Those of you planning on going this year, I would strongly urge you be ready to purchase tickets the second they go on sale as Phish headlining is going to make a quick sellout a strong possibility. Their presence is also going to make this one of the wildest ‘roos in years, so you won’t want to miss out.

More info at the Bonnaroo website.
Read our 2008 coverage of Bonnaroo.
Read our 2007 coverage of Bonnaroo.
Read my memories of 2002-2006 Bonnaroos.

We’ll be keeping up with all festival developments and announcements as they happen, and we will put together more posts covering 2009 festivals as more info comes available, but here is a list of the rest of the fests I’m highly anticipating:

Sasquatch! (The Gorge, George, WA) Memorial Day Weekend
Wakarusa (Ozark, Arkansas) June 4-7

• The 2009 line-up so far

Athfest (Athens, GA) June

• Our 2008 coverage

Corndogorama (Atlanta, GA) June

• our 2008 coverage

All Good Festival (Masontown, WV) July 10-12
Rothbury (Rothbury, MI) July
Pitchfork Fest (Chicago, IL) July

• Our 2007 coverage

Lollapalooza (Chicago, IL) August 7-9
Virgin Mobile Fest (Baltimore, MD) August
All Points West (Liberty State Park, NJ) August
Outside Lands Fest (San Francisco, CA) August
Bumbershoot (Seattle, WA) September 5-7
All Tomorrow’s Parties NY (Catskills, NY) September 11-13

• The 2009 line-up so far
• our 2008 coverage

Monolith Festival (Red Rocks, CO) September
ACL Fest (Austin, TX) October 2-4
CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival (New York, NY) October 20-24
Voodoo Music Experience (New Orleans, LA) Late October

• our 2008 coverage
• our 2007 coverage

The Fest (Gainesville, FL) Late October/Early November

• our 2008 coverage

Fun Fun Fun Festival (Austin, TX) November
Antipop Music Festival (Orlando, FL) November

• Posted by Davy Minor on January 13, 2009 at 11:00 am
• Tags: ATP, Big Ears Fest, Bonnaroo, Coachella, Guides, Harvest Of Hope Fest, Jazz Fest, Langerado, SXSW, Ultra, Winter Music Conference
  

4 Responses to “Ohmpark’s 2009 Festival Guide”

1. Anonymous Says: January 13th, 2009 at 8:32 pm

   Any good festivals going on in NY during the summer? Specifically June and July.

2. Clint Miller Says: January 13th, 2009 at 11:11 pm

   Not that I can think of right off the bat but check out ATP New York in September. We went this year and it’s definitely one of the best festivals I have ever been to. It’s curated by The Flaming Lips this year.

   http://www.atpfestival.com/atp/Events/ATPNewYork2009.php

   In August they may have All Points West (from the same people that do Coachella) again but nothing has been announced yet.

   http://www.apwfestival.com/

3. kimb Says: January 14th, 2009 at 1:32 am

   standing on a tower, world at my command, you just keep on turnin’, while im plaaayin in the band. if a man among you got no sin upon his hand, let him cast a stone at me for playin in the band! plllaaaayin..playin in tha band…

   sorry i love the idea of seeing the dead. personally, im kinda glad that junkie garcia isn’t around to ruin it for them anymore.

   that..was..a…joke.

4. Noble Says: April 1st, 2009 at 12:35 am

   Hello! The babes are here! This is my best site to visit. I make sure I am alone in case I get too hot. Post your favorite link here.

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