I am a thirty-year-old lover of many musical genres. I was raised on a hot stew of Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, The Eagles, Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox. I spent my teens ambling back and forth between alternative rock and a love-hate relationship with rap, boycotting but eventually coming to terms with homophobic lyrics; as well as the occasional purchase of a Basement Jaxx or Goldie EP. Today, I tend to look back rather than forward. I frequent soul parties and fend for rare disco-funk twelve-inches, but I always stay on point with hip-hop. There are so many bands and genres from decades past to get lost in I often neglect newcomers. I’m not some progressive indie-band genius but my friends are. Thanks to them I’ve added more to my list of all-time favorites like Death From Above 1979 or the Mars Volta. I’m looking forward to more “introductions” via this Lolla.
Friday
Noon-12:30p Drowners The Grove One of those bands whose look and sound reeks of “move to Brooklyn to start a band, meet babes, and hang out on rooftops,” but it actually comes off as genuine and romantic.
12:45pm-1:30pm IO Echo Bud Light Handpicked by Trent Reznor to open for Nine Inch Nails. Good enough for me.
2:10pm-2:50pm Brick + Mortar BMI This band delivers an impression of The White Stripes on a cocktail of uppers, steroids, and hallucinogens, attributing to their mix snare-drum-pacing and electronically formulated riffs.
3:15pm-4:15pm Jessie Ware Petrillo A must-see. A friend of mine put me on to her before the US release of her first album, “Devotion,” last summer. I was instantly enamored with the sound of her mournful voice. At twenty-eight years old, she writes all her songs while trusting fellow Londoners, producers SBTRKT and Joker, to handle the rest—akin to the working relationship between David Stewart and Annie Lennox. Maybe that’s why her music sounds to me like a renewed Eurythmics.
4:15pm-5:15pm Crystal Castles Red Bull Sound Select I have a feeling this is where it starts getting rowdy. Time to dance like no one’s watching.
5:45pm-6:45pm Modestep Perry’s Though very much dubstep, Modestep’s tracks are infused with lyrical “loops” evocative of vocal samples from early house EPs. If anything, I predict good people-watching.
6:15pm-7:30pm New Order Red Bull Sound Select No way am I missing the band that rose from the ashes of Joy Division.
7:25pm-8:25pm Hot Chip Lake Shore When in doubt, trust your friends. Not to mention, they would smack me if I didn’t go to Hot Chip.
8:15pm-10:00pm Nine Inch Nails Bud Light My hope for this set is that it’s loud, creepy and erotic.
Saturday
12:15pm-1:00pm The Bright Light Social Hour Petrillo If Donna Summer woke up next to a Hell’s Angel, The Bright Light Social Hour would be their drunkenly conceived baby.
1:10pm-1:50pm Beast Patrol BMI A fresh take on the good old rock ‘n’ roll band, with songs about heartache and past lovers, fronted by lonesome female vocals.
2pm-2:45pm Reignwolf Petrillo Reignwolf is said to put on quite the theatrical performance.
2:45pm-3:45pm Charles Bradley Bud Light Booking gigs at one time as a James Brown impersonator, soul singer Charles Bradley was given a second go by Daptone Records.
4:30pm-5:30pm Baauer Perry’s Baauer made pop-culture relevance with his “Harlem Shake” track. I’d like to see if he has anything else to offer.
5:45pm-6:45pm Foals Petrillo I like my Indie bands like I like my pillows—not too soft.
6:45pm-7:45pm Kendrick Lamar Bud Light Kendrick Lamar’s album on Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label “good kid, m.A.A.d. city” is a blessing to rap fans everywhere yearning for something so bangin’, so harmoniously good from start to finish that, from the moment of purchase no other music exists. His style is that of a genuine storyteller who brings you right into his feelings and memories, and doesn’t solicit for recognition by namedropping designers or hypothetical millions. If you listen, you will learn about growing up in Compton and the struggle to balance choice and consequence.
7:15pm-8:15pm Death Grips The Grove I expect to see moshing.
8:45pm-9:45pm Azealia Banks The Grove She’s a musical tastemaker and oh so adorable.
Sunday
Noon-12:40pm O’Brother BMI You’ve got to start somewhere.
1pm-1:45pm The Orwells The Grove
1:30pm-2:15pm Wild Belle Lake Shore I’m curious to see what she’s wearing.
2pm-3pm Angel Haze Perry’s Raykeea Wilson, aka Angel Haze, is slated to be rap’s new bad-ass. Her career started unassumingly on Tumblr, posting videos of herself rapping verses she’d adapted from poems. As her followers grew her video clips evolved into mixtapes, EPs and ultimately a record deal and anticipated full-length album, “Dirty Gold.” Only twenty-one, Raykeea has had less time to become familiar with rap and mainstream music due to her upbringing under the Greater Apostolic Faith whose strict religious principles isolated her. Now she can’t hold back. Her rhymes are tough, fast and shameless, reflecting on everything from pan-sexuality to the abuse she suffered as a young girl. She is eager to show her true self to the world.
3pm-4pm Lianne La Havas Lake Shore Because I can’t walk away from clarified butter. Her voice is amazing.
4pm-5pm Tegan and Sara Red Bull Sound Select I feel like I’ve been missing out on this band over the years.
4:30pm-5:30pm Art Department Perry’s
6pm-6:45pm DIIV The Grove A warm-up lap before The Cure.
6:30pm-7:45pm Vampire Weekend Bud Light Another band I’ve heard a lot of buzz about over the years, yet have never taken the time to listen.
7:15pm-8:15pm 2 Chainz The Grove A must-see. Trashy as it is, trap music is damn entertaining. The man rhymes “Versace” with, “Cheese on my broccoli.” Need I say more?
8pm-10pm The Cure Red Bull Sound Select If they could just play “The Head on the Door” from start to finish I’d be ready to die.
