80/35 Festival 2016 Preview

Smack in the center of the country, I-80 meets I-35 in Des Moines, the site of the 80/35 Festival, Friday & Saturday, July 8th & 9th....
80/35

80/35 Festival 2016 Preview

Smack in the center of the country, I-80 meets I-35 in Des Moines, the site of the 80/35 Festival, Friday & Saturday, July 8th & 9th:

 

FRIDAY, JULY 8th

Hy-Vee Main Stage

Nas, 9:15 pm

One of the most consistently strong rappers for more years than you realize has been Nas (QRO photos at a festival). His 1994 debut Illmatic has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, and follow-up It Was Written made him internationally famous (as did a ten-year feud with Jay-Z). More recently, he and Damien Marley of reggae fame & family collaborated both on record & live (QRO photos together at a festival), donating all the royalties to African charities, and in 2012 Nas put out his tenth studio album, Life Is Good. Yes it is for Nas.
Nas
LOTUS, 7:00 pm

Indiana’s LOTUS moved from self-described “jamtronica” into a more electronic & instrumental style – but is still a jam band festival mainstay (QRO photos at a festival).
LOTUS
Wolf Parade, 5:00 pm

Sometimes overlooked in the original ‘Canadian Invasion’, Montreal’s Wolf Parade (QRO live review) delivered a strong debut in 2005 with Apologies To Queen Mary, and kept that up with 2008’s At Mount Zoomer (QRO review) and 2010’s Expo 86 (QRO review). One reason the attention wasn’t as high was because it’s been diffused into not only the Parade (QRO live review), but also the acclaimed side-projects of singer/keyboardist Spencer Krug (Sunset Rubdown – QRO live review) and singer/guitarist Dan Boeckner (Divine Fits – QRO album review). There’s also that the band disappeared after touring Expo (QRO live review of performance shortly before break) – but thankfully they’ve returned in style this year (QRO recent live review), including at festivals (QRO photos at a recent festival).

Wolf Parade

Kum & Go Stage (Free Stage)

Jade Reed b2b Brad Goldman, 10:30 pm

Jeana Calvert, 9:30 pm

Craig Finn, 8:15 pmQRO photos

Dilly Dally, 6:45 pm

The Pistol Whippin Party Penguins, 5:45 pm

Courtney Krause, 5:00 pm

 

Craig Finn


Nationwide Stage (Free Stage)

Holy White Hounds, 8:15 pm

MarKaus, 7:00 pm

TIRES, 6:00 pm

The Smoothsayers, 5:00 pm
Holy White Hounds

 

 

SATURDAY, JULY 9th

Hy-Vee Main Stage

The Decemberists, 9:15 pm

Portland, Oregon’s The Decemberists (QRO photos at a festival) have been booming in recent years, from their showdown with Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report (QRO Music on Late Night TV) to 2009’s excellent magnum opus, The Hazards of Love (QRO review), 2011’s The King Is Dead (QRO review), which earned them a Grammy nom, and last year’s What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World. Oh, and they taught the children of Springfield Elementary on The Simpsons, plus appeared on the season finale of Parks & Recreation!
The Decemberists
Black Lips, 7:00 pm

A band better known for their live show than their records, that’s not just because of the relatively unimpressive recorded material like 2010’s 200 Million Thousand (QRO review) or 2011’s Arabia Mountain (QRO review), but also due to their crazy mishmash of genres and styles on stage (QRO live review). Atlanta’s The Black Lips’ wild live show includes everything from nudity to fireworks – and live animals (QRO photos at a festival). Des Moines should hopefully let the boys let ‘er rip (QRO photos outdoors), but be rest assured their rabidly loyal fan base will still be crying out for more (QRO photos outdoors at a festival), as they come to 80/35 (QRO photos at a festival) behind last year’s better Underneath the Rainbow (QRO review).
Black Lips
Jeff Austin Band, 5:00 pm

Progressive bluegrass mandolin player Jeff Austin was part of the core of the jam outfit Yonder Mountain String Band (QRO photos at a Des Moines festival last year), but took a leave of absence in 2013 due to the pending birth of his child. While his absence from Yonder has become permanent, he has since formed his own band, and last year released his own record, The Simple Truth.
Jeff Austin
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, 3:15 pm

Thao Nguyen (QRO interview) broke through in 2008 with We Brave Bee Stings and All (QRO review) and its fun, charming folk-rock, and followed it up the following year with Know Better Learn Faster (QRO review). After teaming up with Mirah for Thao + Mirah (QRO review), she returned to the Get Down Stay Down (QRO spotlight on) with 2013’s We the Common (QRO review) and this year’s A Man Alive (QRO review). Her live shows (QRO photos outdoors) are, if anything, more engaging (QRO live review), whether in a college student center (QRO photos), a massive converted warehouse (QRO photos), or an outdoor festival (QRO photos at a festival).



Also:

Druids, 1:30 pm

TWINS, 12:00 pm

Thao

Kum & Go Stage (Free Stage)

DJ RAJ and Strobe Trotters, 10:30 pm

80/35 welcomes back India-by-way-of-Iowa DJ RAJ, now with Strobe Trotters.
DJ RAJ
Also:

Dem Boyz vs RAGEthat, 9:30 pm

Lizzo, 8:15 pm

Lucky Chops, 6:45 pm

Colleen Green, 5:45 pm

Vic Spencer, 4:45 pm

Mikel Wright & The Wrongs, 3:45 pm

France Camp, 2:45 pm

Ravyn Lenae, 1:45 pm

Genome, 12:45 pm

Odd Pets, 12:00 pm

Dem Boyz


Lizzo


Nationwide Stage (Free Stage)

Green Death, 8:15 pm

MAIDS, 7:00 pm

MaZoo, 6:00 pm

SIRES, 5:00 pm

Goldblums, 4:00 pm

The Cardinal Sound, 3:00 pm

The Dead Line String Band, 2:00 pm

Easy Fruit, 1:00 pm

FRO, 12:00 pm
Green Death

 

 

For festival website, go here: http://2016.80-35.com/

Categories
Features

Album of the Week