It’s almost about that time again, music festival season. You see it in your emails, maybe on your Facebook or Twitter timelines. There’s a massive number of artists that will hit the stage and truly give you a new experience. Of course, you know about headliners like Kanye West at Governor’s Ball or Guns & Rose’s reunion in Coachella, but there will be new acts that’ll be on their festival runs. Going to a festival is a pretty cool, but don’t just go to see the headliners. We’re here to give you a list of artists to check out before you travel out and possibly run into these acts not knowing the eccentric sound that they have. Might even want to make you buy a ticket with more anticipation than the headliners.
Governor’s Ball – Big Grams
We had a lot of good music last year, but Big Grams seems to be slept on in many cases. But if you know about the members, you’d probably want to go to their performance. The collaborative trio includes Phantogram and Big Boi. Yes, Big Boi from Outkast. Big Boi raps over some sick beats created by the production duo, while also providing beautiful vocals on the track. There self-titled album is legit, even bringing in Run the Jewels for a track. We won’t know if RTJ will show up at to perform with Big Grams on a festival stage, but it can happen.
Coachella – Ibeyi
If you love Sade, there’s a good chance you’ll love Ibeyi. These two twins made one of the smoothest albums to listen in 2015. Not only are these two ladies talented singers, they can also play Spanish percussion drums as well. Although the Afro-Cuban sisters have been performing music from their critically acclaimed self-named debut since its release, we hope that Ibeyi play some new music. Maybe they’ll play something new at Coachella, possibly one of their biggest performances yet.
Governor’s Ball – Duke Dumont
This guy is gaining more momentum as time go by. Duke Dumont is a DJ with a deep house twist to him. He’s known for his Whitney Houston Sampled track “I Got U” and even supplied vocals for his latest cut “Ocean Drive.” We get the feeling he’s going to kill his set during Governor’s Ball. Recently, this British producer released his EP Blase Boys Club Part 1, so you you’ll probably some music off of that project with a bunch of electronic gems you’ll groove to like the crowd is an 80’s dance floor.
Sasquatch! Festival – Leon Bridges
If you’re looking for some a performance that’ll make you feel like you’re listening to a 60’s soul singer that just hopped out of a time machine, Leon Bridges is your guy. This young Texas native has made a huge come up on Soundcloud, giving young listeners a history lesson about a sound that many has never heard of. Bridges released his debut album “”Coming Home” in the middle of 2015, he also performed on Jimmy Fallon as well. If you’re looking for a performance to break out the blanket and vibe out to the environment, give him a shot.
Broccoli City Festival – Anderson .Paak
If you want to have a good time it’s always good to catch the big homie Anderson .Paak live and Rock Creek Social Club is bringing you just that. You can also expect to be highly entertained as their line up this year marvels at the line-up they had last year. When an organization can bring Erykah Badu out of the wood works last year and bring Future and Jhene Aiko to the city this year, you know it’s going to be a good time. What makes this festival special is their ability to bring the community together for a good time but also for the common good of the city people.
Earth Wind & Fire – Firefly Music Festival
It doesn’t matter how Earth Wind & Fire is, it doesn’t matter if their last album dropped damn near three years ago (because we’re not going to count their 2014 Holiday LP). This legendary music group has blessed generations upon generations of music lovers, and it doesn’t look like their stopping anytime soon. With so many classic hits in their catalogue the size of a textbook, Earth Wind & Fire will make you feel like you’re parents did if they heard them live back in the day. Not to mention, the music group has brought new acts on stage to perform. Last year, Chance the Rapper and Kendrick Lamar had the once in a lifetime chance to jam out on stage with Earth Wind & Fire at Bonaroo. Who knows? They might do it again this year at Firefly with D.R.A.M. or Goldlink, all the reason why you should be buying that tent for Firefly right now.
Bonaroo – Vulfpeck
So, if you’re going to Bonaroo, there’s a chance that you’ll run into Vulfpeck. This funk band straight out of Ann Arbor Michigan made news some years back after they took advantage of Spotify by releasing a blank album to garner revenue. Sounds petty right? Think again. The reason for doing this was to go on tour and perform for fans for absolutely free ninety-nine. Although their blank album, titled Sleepify, was taken off of the digital platform, we were still fortunately graced with their previous albums to get you interested in what they have to offer after hearing about the news. What makes vulfpeck so dope is that odd, yet raw sound you hear while listening to the band. It’s like listening to raw recordings of a live performance if said performance would be composed through the cult classic Napoleon Dynamite. This might sound very weird at first, but when you hear songs like “1612” or “Wait for the Moment” and hear the soothing voice of Antuan Stanley, you’ll see why we’re excited to see these guys at Bonaroo.
Firefly Music Festival – Goldlink
Remember we told you about Goldlink teaming up with Earth Wind & Fire? Well the young DMV rapper is definitely getting mentioned on this list. The reason being is that there will be a 99.9% chance that Link will be performing music from his debut album And After That, We Didn’t Talk. This will be the inaugural year for the young rapper to bring out his repertoire of songs for his fans who have been with him since The God Complex or new listeners who haven’t even heard of him before. Before Goldlink steps on the stage, listeners will get a live ass set from DJ Kidd Marvel to get the crowd ready for the epic performance. So you’re getting two for one!
Cape Town Electronic Music Festival – Petite Noir
Petite Noir has been making a lot of noise on the internet with his music. The Cape Town, Africa singer brings together electronic house music and African percussions together and add a hint of 80’s music with his strong vocals. Whether you’re on the move or just kicking back, Noir has an element of sound that is both relaxed yet groovy at the same time. Not only has this new artist released his debut project La Vie Est Belle (Life Is Beautiful) through Urban Outfitters, but he also managed to make a song with Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def. Petite Noir will be performing at the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival in his hometown, and we get the feeling that this performance will be far more enjoyable than some may actually think.
Gem & Jam Festival – Soulection Stage
2015 was a great year for Soulection, the California-based music collective has expanded after signing Goldlink, getting their beloved show on Apple Music’s Beats Radio, and turning up at a ton of shows in between. Each producer has a persona and style of music that knows how to get people dancing, mashing, crowd surfing and all types of ill sh*t. It only gets better with their own stage at Gem and Jam Festival in Tuscan, Arizona. The stage will feature Joe Kay, Soulection’s co-founder and owner, as well as acts from several members including Sango, IAMNOBODI, and The Whooligan. If you don’t know who we’re talking about, you should go on Soundcloud, look these guys up, and thank us later.
Ultra Festival – Carnage
If you really want a perfect combination of EDM and Rap, Carnage is just that. This dude managed to produce for several rappers including Migos, A$AP Ferg, ILoveMakonnen, Rich the Kid, not to mention Rick Ross. There is just something with his beats that’ll get rappers to crank over his beats. The Guatemalan DJ will be performing at this year’s Ultra Music Festival in Miami as a supportive DJ, according to the recently released “Phase One” lineup. Who knows though? He might show up with a one of his past collaborators. Miami’s not that far from Atlanta by plane.
Boston Calling – Vince Staples
This Long Beach rapper’s latest project Summertime 06′ was an album that can arguably be one of the best albums of the year, and this year he’s going to be performing at Boston Calling. The festival, held in the actual city of Boston, Massachusetts, doesn’t have a ton of artists, but each booked performance will fit their certain audience. Because of Vince Staples unique mixture of lyrical talent and fly production, his performance will be something very interesting to see in person.
