In Bloom 2018 Preview

Houston’s Free Press Summer Fest has morphed and moved, coming to the spring, Saturday & Sunday, March 24th & 25th:

SATURDAY, MARCH 24th

Bud Light Stage Beck, 9:30 PM – 11:00 PM Beck (QRO photos at a festival) is back! Your favorite musical non-conformist (QRO photos at a festival) broke through in the mid-nineties thanks to songs like “Loser”, “Where It’s At”, and “Devil’s Haircut” off of early records Mellow Gold and Odelay (QRO deluxe edition review), mixing white boy funk with indie-rock and experimental – as well also delivering a stripped, soulful folk side to boot. After full-lengths 2008’s Modern Guilt (QRO review) and 2006’s The Information (QRO review), he took off time to work as a producer (such as on Thurston Moore’s Demolished Thoughts – QRO review – and Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks’ Mirror Traffic – QRO review), only releasing a few soundtrack tracks (like writing for the fictional band Sex Bob-omb in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – QRO soundtrack review) and a ‘song reader’. But he finally delivered a new studio album in 2014 with Morning Phase (QRO review) – and of course it was great. A perfect headliner for In Bloom (QRO headlining a festival), he comes after last fall’s release of Colors (QRO review), with all of his impressive career in tow (QRO live review).
Lil Uzi Vert, 8:00 PM – 8:50 PM Philadelphia’s Lil Uzi Vert got recognition from his debut single, “Money Longer”, and some top-notch mixtapes. And last fall his appeared on Billboard Hot 100 single “Bad and Boujee”, by Migos.
Grizzly Bear, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM Things have gotten very big for Grizzly Bear (QRO live review), surprising many who thought the humble, intricate Brooklyn outfit (QRO live review) was too complex for mass appeal (QRO photos headlining a festival). Yet mass appeal is what the group has gotten off of records Shields, Veckatimest, and last year’s Painted Ruins (QRO review), as their sonic beauty transcends (QRO photos). They’ve even played Colbert Report’s ‘ColbChella’ (QRO photos at ColbChella ‘012), which is surely a highlight in any act’s career (QRO photos at a festival).
D.R.A.M., 5:10 PM – 6:00 PM Shelley Marshaun Massenberg-Smith Does Real Ass Music as D.R.A.M. (QRO photos).
Also: Ugly God, 3:30 PM – 4:20 PM Ying Yang Twins, 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM Neil Frances, 12:30 PM – 1:20 PM Yoga, 11:10 AM – 12:00 PM
Ostara Stage Ganja White Night, 8:50 PM – 9:50 PM JudLip Sync Battle, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM Mija, 5:20 PM – 6:30 PM LOUDPVCK, 3:40 PM – 4:40 PM MELVV, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Say Girl Say, 12:20 PM – 1:20 PM Pearl Crush, 11:10 AM – 11:50 AM
Fauna Stage Cigarettes After Sex, 8:40 PM – 9:30 PM El Paso ambient pop Cigarettes After Sex come to Houston after last summer’s self-titled debut full-length.
H.E.R., 6:50 PM – 7:40 PM H.E.R. may stand for “Having Everything Revealed,” but Gabi Wilson has kept pretty anonymous under her musical alter ego, with four self-titled EPs out in the last two years.
Wolf Alice, 5:10 PM – 6:00 PM North London’s Wolf Alice (QRO live review) may have debuted in 2013 with single “Fluffy”, but they’re anything but, as they come to In Bloom (QRO live review) behind this year’s living-up-to-the-buzz sophomore record, Visions of a Life (QRO review).
Dhani Harrison, 3:30 PM – 4:20 PM If you’re gonna be the son of a famous musician, it’s pretty tough to beat being the son of George Harrison. Dhani Harrison debuted as a professional musician on his father’s final album, Brainwashed. Since then he has had his own band, thenewno2, worked with Joseph Arthur & Ben Harper as Fistful of Mercy (QRO photos), and even score music for TV shows. But last fall he released his first solo record, In Parallel, a rather disappointing and unexceptional piece. Also: Vodi, 1:10 PM – 1:40 PM Anchor North, 11:40 AM – 12:20 PM
Flora Stage Incubus, 9:30 PM – 11:00 PM A band that’s been more successful than you realize, for longer than you realize, is Incubus (QRO live review). Deftly balancing between styles and scenes, acceptable to both the mainstream and the indiesphere, Incubus (QRO photos) headline the Flora Stage behind last year’s eighth studio album 8. So catch Incubus (QRO photos) at In Bloom (QRO photos in Texas) – If Not Now, When? (QRO review).
Broken Social Scene, 7:40 PM – 8:40 PM Since being part of the indie-rock ‘Canadian Invasion’ over a decade ago, Toronto’s Broken Social Scene (QRO live review outdoors) have also become one of the most sought-after festival bands (QRO photos at a festival) in the alternative music arena (QRO spotlight on), whether indoors at industry showcases (QRO photos at a festival) – including the at home in Toronto (QRO photos at a Toronto festival) or outdoors at more traditional fests (QRO photos outdoors at a festival), to the point where they’re headlining (QRO photos headlining a festival). Fronted by singer/guitarists Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning (QRO interview), this giant collective includes The Apostle of Hustle (QRO spotlight on), Andrew Whiteman (QRO interview), musical mad scientist Charles Spearin (QRO interview) of Do Make Say Think (QRO photos at a festival), and a rotating female vocalist spot that’s included Emily Haines (QRO solo live review) of Metric (QRO live review), Leslie Feist (QRO live review), Elizabeth Powell (QRO interview) of Land of Talk (QRO spotlight on), and more. While the previous releases were ‘BSS Presents:’ albums focused on Drew (Spirit If… – QRO review) and Canning (Something For All of Us… – QRO review), 2010’s Forgiveness Rock Record (QRO review) was a return to the Broken Social Scene (QRO photos outdoors at a festival), and their live show (QRO live review outdoors) has included everything from Forgiveness songs like “Meet Me In the Basement” (QRO video) Spearin’s fascinating Happiness Project (QRO review) to the old ‘hits’ like “K.C. Accidental” (QRO video) and “Fire Eyed Boy” (QRO video) – as well as numerous guest stars (QRO photos). 2017 was a big year for the band (QRO photos at a festival), with Hug of Thunder (QRO review), a packed touring schedule (QRO photos), and more (QRO live review last year) – including more on stage, as there’s gonna be tons for the guest-packed new album (QRO photos at a festival), as they come to In Bloom.
Lil Dicky, 6:00 PM – 6:50 PM Middle class suburban Philly kid David Andrew Bird began rapping to get attention for his comedy, but fell in love with the music and made it his full-time gig as Lil Dicky with 2015 full-length debut Professional Rapper.
Also: The Frights, 4:20 PM – 5:10 PM STS, 2:50 PM – 3:30 PM Get A Life, 1:40 PM – 2:20 PM Velveteen Echo, 12:20 PM – 1:00 PM

SUNDAY, MARCH 25th

Bud Light Stage Martin Garrix, 8:30 PM – 10:00 PM At just over twenty years of age, Amsterdam’s Martin Garrix is already a major up-and-coming-and-already-there DJ.
21 Savage, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM Atlanta’s 21 Savage (QRO photos at a festival) became known off the back of two mixtapes, The Slaughter Tape and Slaughter King, and his EPs with Metro Boomin, Free Guwop and Savage Mode.
Sylvan Esso, 4:40 PM – 5:40 PM Durham, North Carolina indie-pop duo Sylvan Esso (QRO photos outdoors) have moved up very fast (QRO photos at a festival) since the release in 2014 of their eponymous debut full-length, with well-titled follow-up What Now (QRO review) out last fall. Never stop starting!
T-Pain, 3:00 PM – 3:50 PM Maybe no one is as ubiquitous as T-Pain (QRO photos at a festival), who’s been featured on over 50 chart-topping singles, and has ranged from Flo Rida’s “Low” to Lonely Island’s “I’m On a Boat”. He’s also something of a master of Auto-Tune, with extreme parameters to create distinctive vocals sound.
Also: Mikky Ekko, 1:20 PM – 2:05 PM – QRO photos EL LAGO, 12:20 PM – 12:50 PM Yoga, 11:10 AM – 12:00 PM
Ostara Stage Gramatik, 7:40 PM – 8:40 PM Gramatik (QRO live review) comes all the way from Slovenia (the part of the former Yugoslavia that also gave us Melania Trump…) to Houston, behind 2016’s Epigram (QRO review).
Also: SLANDER, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM London On Da Track, 5:20 PM – 6:10 PM Shiba San, 4:10 PM – 5:00 PM Jax Jones, 3:00 PM – 3:50 PM Young Bombs, 1:50 PM – 2:40 PM Tee Lerrane, 12:00 PM – 12:40 PM JERK, 11:10 AM – 11:40 AM
Fauna Stage BROODS, 7:30 PM – 8:15 PM New Zealand brother-and-sister duo BROODS (QRO photos at a festival) come to In Bloom (QRO photos at a festival) off of 2016’s sophomore full-length Conscious.
Twin Shadow, 5:40 PM – 6:30 PM With one of the best debut albums of 2010, Forget, produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear (see above), George Lewis Jr. (a.k.a. Twin Shadow – QRO photos) shot up on the hype meter. Turns out, the ‘80s new wave-influenced pop of the Dominican Republic born musician (QRO photos at a festival) actually lived up to its reputation. Sophisticated melodies and catchy hooks abound, the tracks of Forget easily transitioned from haunting poetics to infectious dance numbers (QRO photos at a festival), and he’s lived up to that level with later records Confess, Eclipse, and the brand-new Caer.
Houndmouth, 4:00 PM – 4:50 PM From somewhere others consider nowhere, New Albany, Indiana, Houndmouth (QRO photos in Middle America) have managed to make it by working the Americana rock road.
Craig Finn & The Uptown Controllers, 2:20 PM – 3:10 PM Exuberant frontman of The Hold Steady (QRO live review), Craig Finn (QRO photos) comes with his Uptown Controllers to In Bloom behind last year’s solo record, We All Want the Same Things. Also: Venomous Maximus, 12:10 PM – 12:40 PM Astragal, 11:10 AM – 11:40 AM
Flora Stage Queens of the Stone Age, 8:30 PM – 10:00 PM After the dissolution of the hard rock Kyuss, singer/guitarist Josh Homme formed what today might be the biggest ‘stoner rock’ band in the world, The Queens of the Stone Age (QRO photos at a festival). This is the kind of band that can put Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl back on skins, get contributions from Screaming Trees’ Mark Lanegan & Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and more. Maybe no record has matched Songs For the Deaf, but 2013’s …Like Clockwork (QRO review) has come the closest. They come to headline In Bloom after recovering from injury – and the release of their latest, Villains (QRO review).
Explosions In the Sky, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM There might not be a more important or beloved post-rock band that Explosions In the Sky (QRO photos at a festival). The Austin band (QRO photos at an Austin festival) basically introduced the epic, vocal-less concept that is ‘post-rock’ (QRO photos outdoors) into both the indie-sphere (QRO photos at a festival) and the wider world (QRO photos at a European festival) – and providing the theme song to Friday Night Lights – (QRO soundtrack review). They even made the Top Twenty on the Billboard charts with 2011’s Take Care, Take Care, Take Care (QRO review), and come to In Bloom on the back of 2016 follow-up, The Wilderness.
Highly Suspect, 4:50 PM – 5:40 PM Cape Cod rock trio Highly Suspect (QRO photos) come to In Bloom (QRO photos at a festival) behind two Grammy nominations in 2015.
MOON TAXI, 3:10 PM – 4:00 PM MOON TAXI (QRO photos at a festival) cross the dashed lines between indie, jam, progressive, and rock.
Son Little, 1:40 PM – 2:20 PM Catch the angular blues of Son Little (QRO photos), who comes to In Bloom (QRO photos at a festival) after last year’s New Magic. Also: Matt Maeson, 12:40 PM – 1:10 PM Birthday Club, 11:40 AM – 12:10 PM

For festival website, go here: https://www.inbloomfestival.com/