In addition to the couldn’t-be-getting-any-hotter Dirty Projectors to headline, there’s a solid line-up behind them, and Norman also rounded up the best of Oklahoma (& Austin) acts from the first two years to return. And the festival is more diverse than ever, with additional stages & showcases for the Little Rockers, local comedy, University of Central Oklahoma’s Academy of Contemporary Music, Oklahoma Electronic Music Consortium, poetry slams, spoken word & much more – and all for free.
With sixteen stages in downtown Norman, here’s a handy map of the wheres, with the who & when:
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SATURDAY, APRIL 24
The biggest addition to Norman ‘10 is a second day, as the festival stretches from all-day on Sunday to the evening of Saturday. Serving both as an appetizer for Sunday & a nice line-up in its own right, it’s a night on the town.
Sooner Theatre Stage (101 E Main St)
11:00 PM – Evangelicals: Headlining Day One of Norman is the best OK act since The Flaming Lips, Evangelicals (QRO live review). Expect much craziness as Evangelicals (QRO photos at a festival) rock their hometown – again (QRO photos at Norman ‘08) – with tracks off their last, The Evening Descends (QRO review), and hopefully some new material.
Latin Stage (Outdoors at City Parking at Gray St & Crawford Ave)
9:30 PM – Social Klash
Plus performances between bands by Norman’s own Prarie Folk Circus
Opolis Stage (113 N Crawford Ave)
12:00 AM – Octopus Project: It isn’t only Sooners returning for a second dip at Norman, as Austin’s Octopus Project come back (QRO photos at Norman ’08). One of the few instrumental indie bands that’s as riveting to watch as any with a singer, Octopus Project (QRO photos at a festival) bring a refreshing élan to post-rock electronica, such as last year’s Golden Beds EP (QRO review) to last month’s HEXADECAGON audio-visual project. They’re also known for their wide range of instruments (and the fact that everyone seems to switch around what they’re playing each time), from guitar to theremin. And they bring come class whenever playing outdoors (QRO photos), thanks to their suit & ties – and the Yvonne Lambert’s ballroom gowns.
11:00 PM – Colourmusic: Oklahoma’s Colourmusic (QRO photos at a festival) also return to Norman (QRO photos at Norman ‘08), to take the strange from a totally different angle, combining the sixties pop of debut full-length f, monday, orange, february, venus, lunatic, 1 or 13 (QRO review) with an energetic live show (QRO live review) – watch out for streamers! Or, in a word, "Yes!" (QRO video).
10:00 PM – Hush Hush Commotion
9:00 PM – Depth & Current
8:00 PM – Locust Avenue: Bringing some sunnier, neo-sixties sounds is Norman’s own Locust Avenue (QRO album review) – another act returning for a second year (QRO photos at Norman ‘09).
7:00 PM – Junebug Spade
6:00 PM – Kite Flying Robot
The Brewhouse Stage (110 W Main St)
Red Room Stage (114 W Main St)
Local Comedy Showcase – The comedy/music festival connection comes to Norman, with a local comics showcase hosted by BradChad Porter, of ‘Famous People Ignoring Me’.
ACM@UCO showcase – Before the laughs comes a showcase of the Academy of Contemporary Music at University of Central Oklahoma.
The Dreamer Concepts Stage (324 E Main St)
8:00 PM to Midnight: Oklahoma Electronic Music Consortium
Sonder Music Stage (225 E Gray)
Guestroom Records Stage (125 E Main St)
8:00 PM – Indian Jewelry: Houston’s Indian Jewelry have been making a name for themselves in the burgeoning new ‘chillwave’ genre, thanks to sonic experiments and seizure-inducing live shows.
7:00 PM – Psychedelic Horseshit: Out of Columbus, Ohio, Psychedelic Horseshit have taken the shitgaze genre to heart, whether in the name of their band, or of last year’s Shitgaze Anthems.
Michelangelo’s Coffee & Wine Bar Stage (207 E Main St)
Blackwatch Studios Stage (107 W Comanche – ‘round back)
11:45 PM – Bear Colony: Enough about Oklahoma & Texas – Arkansas comes in with their eight-person indie-rock collective, Bear Colony (QRO album review).
8:45 PM – Chase Pagan: Another Razorback at Norman is Mountain Home’s Chase Pagan, who recorded his sophomore release Bells & Whistles right at Blackwatch Studios in Norman.
Bill & Dees Stage (311 E Main St)
5:00 PM – Wild Moccasins: Norman Music Festival isn’t just a QRO-discovered favorite – they’re booking QRO-discovered favorites, like Houston’s Wild Moccasins (QRO live review). The collective of kids (who are older than they look, but are they at drinking age yet?…) are coming out with their debut full-length, Skin Collusion Past, with songs like "Calendar" (QRO video) to go with Microscopic Metronomes EP pieces such as "Fruit Tea" (QRO video).
SUNDAY, APRIL 25
Main Stage (Main St & James Garner Parkway)
9:30 PM – Dirty Projectors: What began as a solo project by songwriter David Longstreth has become so much more. His Dirty Projectors (QRO photos at a festival) have not only grown in size (with three female co-vocalists – QRO photos at a festival), but also acclaim, thanks to last year’s Bitte Orca (QRO review). Their arrhythmic stylings married to pitch-perfect harmonies take some getting used to, but many have (QRO photos at a festival), allowing for experiments like Rise Above, Longstreeth’s ‘reimagined’ back-to-front cover, from memory, of Black Flag’s seminal punk record Damaged, and recently performing their Getty Address top-to-bottom (QRO photos at a festival).
8:00 PM – Electric Six: If Brooklyn’s Dirty Projectors (see above) bring the sweet & harmonious to Norman, Detroit’s Electric Six bring the wild & raucous. Led by frontman extraordinaire Dick Valentine (QRO interview), Electric Six have some of the craziest concerts & crowds, whether in a classy setting (QRO live review), on a boat (QRO live review) or anywhere else (QRO live review). They’re also an incredibly prolific band, with a record a year for over five years now, like last year’s Kill (QRO review), 2008’s Flashy (QRO review) & 2007’s I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Becoming the Master (QRO review). But don’t worry – they draw from all of their ever-widening discography live, from newer numbers such as "Formula 409" (QRO video) – to even covering INXS (QRO video) to early classics "Gay Bar" & "Danger! High Voltage" (QRO video).
6:30 PM – The Sword: And bringing the metal is Austin’s The Sword (QRO live review). The heavy metal band has previously opened for the likes of Metallica (QRO photos on tour with The Sword) and Motörhead (QRO photos), but can more than hold their own. They’ve got a new record in the works for 2010, following last year’s Gods of Earth, so look out!
5:00 PM – Edan with guest Dagha: Norman Music Festival gets even more diverse as it brings in Boston rapper/producer Edan. His slow boil first erupted over in the U.K., but his mix of hip-hop and sixties psychedelica on Beauty and The Beat has gotten him acclaim in the States. And at Norman he’ll be joined by Beauty guest Dagha.
3:30 PM – Grupo Fantasma: From a very different side of Austin is the eleven-piece latin funk orchestra, Grupo Fantasma (QRO photos at a festival in Austin) returns to Norman. Legends in their hometown, from providing horns to Austin’s made-big Spoon (QRO live review) to appearing twice on Austin City Limits (QRO Indie on Late Night TV).
2:30 PM – Jabee
1:40 PM – Dead Sea Choir
12:50 PM – Mayola
12:00 PM – Gentle Ghost
Jagermeister Stage (Main & Porter)
9:00 PM – Leon Russell: True son of the Oklahoma soil, Leon Russell’s authentic mix of authentic Americana has been going for over half a century, and has played the likes of George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh, Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour, Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnics, and the 2010 Grammys as part of the Zac Brown Band.
7:00 PM – James McMurtry
6:00 PM – The Gourds
5:00 PM – Those Darlins: Tennessee Appalachian trio Those Darlins have managed to get serious attention in the indiesphere, thanks to connections like producer Jeff Curtin (QRO interview – of Family Time, and also producer of Vampire Weekend), or ukulele-ist Nikki Darlin being engaged to Deer Tick singer/guitarist John McCauley (he even popped the question while Darlin was guest-spotting on stage with Deer Tick – QRO photos). But the lovely ladies’ backwoods sound can more than hold its own, especially in middle of America.
4:00 PM – Li’l Cap’n Travis
3:00 PM – Hosty
2:00 PM – The HillBenders
1:00 PM – Chuck Allen Floyd
12:00 PM – Queen Of Monroe
Sooner Theatre Stage (101 E Main St)
7:00 PM – The Non + Cloud Collision Orchestra: Oklahoma City’s The Non burst out in a wave of experimental post-rock in 2007 with Paper City, and have followed it up this year with Tadaima. Now they team up with Cloud Collision Orchestra to wash over Norman.
6:00 PM – Unwed Sailor: Johnathan Ford may have formed Unwed Sailor in Seattle, but he was born in Oklahoma, and this Okie’s coming home for Norman. His rotating Unwed roster has included everyone from Pedro the Lion’s David Bazan to various members of Fleet Foxes (QRO album review) and Bear Colony (see above).
Opolis Stage (113 N Crawford Ave)
5:30 PM – Deerpeople
4:30 PM – Ghost of Monkshood: Norman’s psychedelic, intricate, exquisite Ghost of Monkshood return for a second year of the festival (QRO photos at Norman ‘08).
The Little Rockers Kid Stage (city parking lot just north of Main St in the 200 block)
For all the families at Norman, the littlest of rockers get their own space with science experiments (courtesy of Science Museum Oklahoma), face painting, ‘rock star hair spray’ ("You want the Justin Bieber or the Adam Lambert?…), temporary tattoos, arts & crafts & its own line-up:
The Brewhouse Stage (110 W Main St)
7:00 PM – Audra Mae
6:00 PM – Sherree Chamberlain: After nearly three years of work, Oklahoma City’s Sherree Chamberlain finally released her debut, A Wasp In the Room in 2009, and she’s returning to Norman (QRO photos at Norman ‘09), debut-in-hand.
Red Room Stage (114 W Main St)
8:00 PM – Eagle Claw: The Austin metal of acts like The Sword (see above) and Austin post-rock of acts like Octopus Project (see above) meet in Eagle Claw. ‘The Claw’ come as tour support for The Sword, but get to headline their own stage at Norman.
7:00 PM – Algebra
6:00 PM – Scales of Motion
5:00 PM – 8 Bit Cynics
4:00 PM – Hiphopotamus: Totally stole his name from Flight of the Conchords (QRO live review) – don’t let Rhymenoceros find out!
3:00 PM – Venus Bogardus
2:00 PM – Radio Deception
1:00 PM – Quantum Turbo
The Dreamer Concepts Stage (324 E Main St)
Michelangelo’s Coffee & Wine Bar Stage (207 E Main St)
Blackwatch Studios Stage (107 W Comanche – ‘round back)
(break)
Bill & Dees Stage (311 E Main St)
Spoken Word Stage (corner of Peters & Main St)