QRO returns to Blighty! Our North American Festival Guide is bigger than every for the sixth year in a row. Over the winter, QRO went Down Under for a third year. And now we cross the pond, bypassing the Olympics & the Diamond Jubilee (which have caused a lot of festivals to change their dates or cancel entirely), to take on the little country that oh-so-could, Great Britain! See last year's U.K. Festival Guide
Updated continuously throughout the year with new acts, dates, festivals & coverage
2012 has come up on us, and as long as the Mayans are wrong,. that means another year full of festivals across North America. Keep track of them all with our massive, constantly-updated year-round guide. See last year's Festival Guide
Total festivals with line-up: 108
Total festivals with dates:205
Updated continuously throughout the year with new acts, dates, festivals & coverage
When it's the winter of austerity in Europe & North America, it's summertime & the living is easy down in the southern hemisphere. So swing down to Australia & New Zealand & Festival Guide for Down Under (see last year's here):
1977 - "Sunshine"
Toronto-based 5-piece 1977 serves up surfy, synthy diamond-cut pop ballads. They've released an EP called So Is The Sea as a prelude to a full length LP due in 2012. So enjoy a little appetizer before the main course.
Most of these tracks are upbeat-ish, but I'm leading off with the weirdest, most melancholy song on the EP, "Sunshine," because that's how I roll. Feast on the infinite sadness, then segue on over to more whimsical "I'm Okay (There Will Come A Day)".
28 Degrees Taurus - "Silver Sunlight"
I met Jinsen Liu of 28 Degrees Taurus outside PA's Lounge about a million years ago. He was hanging out front of the first ever QRO Magazine showcase, along with Shoney Lamar. Thanks dudes for turning up -- because the head count at that show was frightful! Anyway, 28 Degrees Taurus has been chugging along in the Boston underground for years, a loveable scene fixture known for shoe-gazey pop stylings.
One or more of the band members have branched off into throwing fests, having revived the Boston area series Deep Heaven Now. Kudos! Any opportunity to build the sense of unity in the Boston scene is a good time.
Download the new EP Ecstatic Black Static at Bandcamp & find out more at Facebook.
On the whole,
80/35 delivered a solid two-day festival to a Des Moines crowd looking for a
bit of variety in a lineup.The
second day did leave me wanting a bit more diversity of sound from the chosen
bands on the two main stages.80/35 didn't have the biggest name acts, but turnout for the two days
was impressive.In it's fourth
year it seems 80/35 is now the music festival for Iowans and perhaps the
Midwest to attend.
Iowa, and even biggest city Des Moines, has long had trouble
getting bands, despite the state's historic reputation for hospitality, as acts
preferred to stick to the bigger cities in neighboring states, such as Chicago
& Minneapolis.Iowa might be
popular with presidential candidates and marriage-minded gays, but not so much
with touring musicians.
And so the non-profit Des Moines Music Coalition came
together to bring the music to the heart of Iowa, starting 80/35 Festival in
2008.Unlike most festivals in the
heartland, 80/35 isn't out on a farm, requiring road trips and camping, but
right in downtown Des Moines.And
it isn't a hippie jam joint or electronic DJ dance party, but rather a diverse
collection of acts from alternative to mainstream, hip-hop to folk, and even
jam to electronic.
What will the new year bring? If the 2009 festival season was an economic collapse-induced sub-par selection, last year was a major bounce-back. So what will 2011 be? Keep track all year long with our massive, constantly-updated festival guide. See last year's Festival Guide
Total festival: 223
Updated continuously throughout the year with new acts, dates, festivals & coverage
While Europe & North America freeze under packed snow, the Antipodes are enjoying their summer. The festival season is in high gear in Australia & New Zealand, and so is our Festival Guide for Down Under (see last year's here):
65daysostatic played Relentless Garage in London.
2:54
are just about to hit a massive wave.
Crass & catchy came to Madison in 3OH!3 and Hellogoodbye.
With all of the garage rock out there today, why aren't more
bands taking it a step further and going garage-road?
