While summer is still several months away, many of the major music festivals have announced their artist lineups. To the West in California, there’s the iconic Coachella Festival, to the South is Bonnaroo and right here in the boroughs is the massive Governors Ball Music Festival. While the festivals pride themselves on the name and individuality of the acts on their lists, there’re plenty of artists making the rounds at all three festivals this summer. One of the biggest names, making their return to the U.S. is indie-pop outfit Florence and the Machine playing at all three festivals and punk/blues rocker Benjamin Booker. Electronica artists like SBTRKT, Flying Lotus and MØ all are also set on the lineup for the three festivals.
Coachella: April 10-12 & April 17-19
Located in Indio, Calif. the two-weekend festival has been known as the go-to music festival, this year especially because it is pulling all the stops for its lineup. While the bill is particularly indie-rock centric, the headliners range from the classics like AC/DC and Steely Dan, to modern legends like Jack White and even rap superstar Drake slated to play both weekends. Drake is in particularly good company with plenty of rap and R&B acts on the bill like once-collaborator The Weeknd, Wu-Tang members Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, Action Bronson, Lil B and controversial artists Azealia Banks and Tyler, the Creator.
Bonnaroo: June 11-14
Of the three festivals, Tennessee’s own Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival features the most classic artists and legends alive today. With names like Billy Joel, Robert Plant, Tears for Fears and even Earth, Wind & Fire, the festival promises a more diverse range of artists to appeal to music fans of all ages. However, one of the biggest stories to come out of the Bonnaroo lineup is the return of the once-ubiquitous Mumford & Sons, who left a slew of imitators in their wake since a hiatus back in 2013. While diversity is the emphasis, the presence of modern rappers is particularly minimal, but makes up in quality with a pre-sophomore album Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino and up-and-comer Dej Loaf.
Governors Ball: June 5-7
Right here in our own backyard at Randall’s Island is the New York’s Governors Ball. It has made apparent for the last three festivals that they have finally grasped their target demographic of 18-25 year olds. In 2015, the festival features a minimal amount of artists whose careers began before this century (i.e. Conor Oberst and “Weird Al” Yankovic). While previous lineups have featured older acts like Guns n’ Roses and Dinosaur Jr., this year promises to be one of the most modernized festival experiences possible. Alongside headliner Drake is a strong level of indie goddesses like Björk, Marina & the Diamonds, Charli XCX, St. Vincent and most notably Lana Del Rey making her hometown return to NYC. Recently, singer Labrinth had to cancel his appearance at the festival, and was quickly replaced by rap duo Rae Sremmurd.
