Bonnaroo 2016: Winners and losers
Mark E. Ortega
TheWaster.com
June 13, 2016

Bonnaroo in 2016 was the first year to see LiveNation’s full involvement, which meant better facilities (flushable toilets on site along with improved water-refill stations), but also a more expensive ticket than in year’s past. Attendance was reportedly down and it was quite noticeable, particularly during LCD Soundsystem’s Friday headlining set, which was a sparse crowd.

 There was a mild lightning storm scare that caused a delay Saturday, forcing Pearl Jam to take the stage an hour-and-a-half later than anticipated. Attendees were sent back to their cars until further instruction, and when the storm passed, people weren’t checked as they came back through the festival gates. This made the guy who brought a backpack full of Bud Lites back into the festival the true winner of Bonnaroo 2016. Here’s our rundown of the other top winners and losers at The Farm this year.

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Must-See Coachella Undercard: The Dead Ships — a ripe dose of rock ‘n’ roll for your soul

Must-See Coachella Undercard: The Dead Ships — a ripe dose of rock ‘n’ roll for your soul
Mark E. Ortega
Grimygoods.com
April 13, 2016

Los Angeles indie rock band The Dead Ships have had a helluva start to 2016.

They were added to the Coachella lineup around the time it came out. While trying to track down a contact number for the band and even having his Coachella family reach out to those that may have The Dead Ships contact number (including a text to our editor) — Paul Tollett, the man at Goldenvoice who curates the festival’s lineup, called the band’s manager and offered them a spot on Saturday’s bill. This was accomplished without a label or booking agent (but a lot of Grimy Goods love), quite the feat in today’s music landscape.

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Chet Faker misses mark at CRSSD Fest; Gorgon City, Tycho bring the fire

Chet Faker misses mark at CRSSD Fest; Gorgon City, Tycho bring the fire
Mark E. Ortega
Grimygoods.com
March 9, 2016

Sunday night, it was up to Aussie electronic artist Chet Faker to close the second spring edition of San Diego’s CRSSD Fest. ODESZA had set the bar high the night before with a rousing headline performance. Could Chet Faker aka Nicholas Murphy match the Seattle duo’s intensity the following night?

Unfortunately for those who stayed, Chet Faker fell short — though not all at a fault of his own. Sound issues plagued his entire set and there were many moments where you struggled to hear Murphy’s vocals.

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The Weeknd, Florence + The Machine, Cage the Elephant among chief Hangout Fest acts

The Weeknd, Florence + The Machine, Cage the Elephant among chief Hangout Fest acts
Mark E. Ortega
Grimygoods.com
January 20, 2016

Among the dozen or so festivals I covered for Grimy Goods in 2015, the beach-side Hangout Fest stood out as easily the most unique and definitely one of the most memorable of the bunch. When Beck’s fest-closing set ended last year, I was already making plans to come back in 2016.

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Shaky Knees lineup to feature At The Drive-In Reunion, Deftones, Jane’s Addiction

Shaky Knees lineup to feature At The Drive-In Reunion, Deftones, Jane’s Addiction
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 13, 2016

Atlanta’s Shaky Knees Festival announced its fourth-year lineup, with headliners Florence + The Machine, My Morning Jacket and Jane’s Addiction – who will be performing the album Ritual de lo Habitual in full. This year’s festival takes place May 13-15, moving sites again – this time to Centennial Olympic Park & International Plaza. Pre-sale tickets go on sale Wednesday, January 13 at 7 AM ET for $215. Once advanced tickets have sold out, regular 3-day tickets go up to $236 with single-day passes priced at $102.

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The Cure, Florence + The Machine, Alabama Shakes top Sasquatch! bill

The Cure, Florence + The Machine, Alabama Shakes top Sasquatch! bill
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
January 12, 2016

Robert Smith and The Cure will headline 2016’s Sasquatch! Music Festival at The Gorge in Washington. If that’s somehow not enough, Florence + The Machine, Alabama Shakes and Disclosure top the bill at the most laid-back camping festival I attended last year. The four-day festival takes place over Memorial Day Weekend from May 27-30. Tickets go on sale January 12 at 10 AM and are priced at $350.

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Grimes, Warpaint, Mac DeMarco save Beach Goth day 1, marred by disorganization

Grimes, Warpaint, Mac DeMarco save Beach Goth day 1, marred by disorganization
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
October 27, 2015

Beach Goth was a huge clusterf*ck, but it wasn’t without its high points.

Grimes, the multi-talented musician who seems to do everything herself, debuted four new songs on the first night of the two-day festival that took place at the Observatory in Santa Ana.

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Kendrick Lamar, surprise Killers set, Halsey and Death Cab for Cutie cap off Life is Beautiful

Kendrick Lamar, surprise Killers set, Halsey and Death Cab for Cutie cap off Life is Beautiful
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
October 1, 2015

The third-annual Life is Beautiful Festival in downtown Las Vegas saved some of their best tricks for last.

Kendrick Lamar topped off a weekend that included many memorable performances. Perhaps it was perfectly fitting that Kendrick — perhaps the hottest thing in rap today — would close out a festival that is clearly on the up and up in its third year. Kendrick’s live band was fantastic and the rapper brought his A-game.

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Duran Duran, Metric, Clean Bandit deliver top Life is Beautiful day two sets

Duran Duran, Metric, Clean Bandit deliver top Life is Beautiful day two sets
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 28, 2015

Day two of Life is Beautiful was the most jam-packed day of the downtown Las Vegas festival schedule-wise. It makes sense. People that drove in from LA or flew in from elsewhere get to enjoy a full day’s worth of music whereas the other two days are sometimes eaten up by traveling to and from home.

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Stevie Wonder, Hozier, Thievery Corporation and more mesmerize day one at Life is Beautiful

Stevie Wonder, Hozier, Thievery Corporation and more mesmerize day one at Life is Beautiful
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 28, 2015

Life is Beautiful was genius to book Stevie Wonder.

The downtown Las Vegas festival — now in its third year — kicked off the first day of their three-day festival with the first legacy headliner they’ve ever booked. It’s those types of acts that will make it stand out and also make it a destination festival rather than something just for the locals.

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6 Early-Day Can't Miss Life is Beautiful Acts

6 Early-Day Can't Miss Life is Beautiful Acts
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 25, 2015

In just its first two years, Las Vegas’ downtown music festival, Life Is Beautiful has served as the proving grounds for a number of acts that have gone on to mainstream success in the time since. In its first year in 2013, acts like HAIM, ZZ Ward, Charli XCX, Twenty-one Pilots and Robert DeLong delivered memorable early-day performances. Last year, it was The Orwells, The Preatures, Catfish & the Bottlemen, MO, and Milky Chance who got early-day starts.

This year, the festival starts later in the day and runs until later in the night, probably due to it moving from October to the much warmer September dates. Here are our recommendations on who to see once you get through the gates.

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The Killers, Grace Potter, Ben Harper and more close inaugural KAABOO Del Mar with a bang

The Killers, Grace Potter, Ben Harper and more close inaugural KAABOO Del Mar with a bang
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 23, 2015

The final day of the inaugural KAABOO Del Mar brought its largest crowd of the weekend as it was topped by a performance from The Killers, one of the biggest American rock bands out there today.

Brandon Flowers has been in heavy support of his solo record, with very few dates in the States in 2015 for his band. They recently performed at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, as well as a late-add show the night before in San Diego. Some fans told me how tired and hungover they were from a show that didn’t start until around midnight. This set would begin at 8:30 p.m. and end before 10 p.m.

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Zac Brown Band, Counting Crows, Spoon, The Roots highlight wide array of musical offerings at KAABOO Day 2

Zac Brown Band, Counting Crows, Spoon, The Roots highlight wide array of musical offerings at KAABOO Day 2
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 22, 2015

Day two of KAABOO Del Mar featured a diverse string of musical acts, from hip-hop to rock to electronic. One of the interesting things about this festival is how little of the latter two genres it offers.

Rodrigo y Gabriela made magic on the main stage with their Spanish guitars, blending flamenco with rock seamlessly. Despite the early heat, people were definitely being moved to dance by the rhythmic sounds of this awesome duo.

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5 Early-Afternoon Can't Miss Acts at KAABOO Fest

5 Early-Afternoon Can't Miss Acts at KAABOO Fest
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
September 14, 2015

The inaugural KAABOO Music Festival kicks off this upcoming weekend, Sept. 18-20 in beautiful Del Mar San Diego. The lone non-EDM festival will feature acts like No Doubt, The Killers, Slightly Stoopid, Ben Harper, 311 and other big name performances. But as with any music festivals, there’s a lot of value to be found in the early part of the day. Be sure to arrive early and discover some new music. Below are our selections for the 5 Early-Afternoon Can’t Miss Acts at KAABOO Fest!

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Solange hindered by late start, technical snafus at FYF Fest set

Solange hindered by late start, technical snafus at FYF Fest set
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 24, 2015

Solange Knowles was 20 minutes late to the Lawn stage Sunday night at FYF Fest and it took her an additional amount of time to get into the groove as she dealt with sound problems throughout the set.

At one point during her set, Solange walked off the stage before returning by saying how tough it was up there with the sound problems.

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The Jesus & Mary Chain cushion crowd's FYF Fest comedown

The Jesus & Mary Chain cushion crowd's FYF Fest comedown
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 23, 2015

Let’s be real. By the time Kanye West wrapped up his performance on the main stage at FYF Fest on Saturday, a lot of people in attendance were coming down from whatever high they were on. While for some it was the natural high of seeing a day’s worth of epic performances, there were definitely more than a fair share of people who were on something or another.

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Kanye West has FYF Fest crowd thinking, 'Frank who?' - hit-filled set joined by Rihanna and Travis Scott

Kanye West has FYF Fest crowd thinking, 'Frank who?' - hit-filled set joined by Rihanna and Travis Scott
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 23, 2015

There were a lot of people disappointed when Frank Ocean unexpectedly pulled out just a day before the first day of this year’s FYF Fest — myself included. Even when it was quickly followed up with the announcement that Kanye West would be the late substitute headliner, it wasn’t enough on its own to calm the disappointment of those who had bought tickets specifically to see the hermit Ocean.

I’d seen Kanye at a couple music festivals in the past year and was disappointed by the amount of time he spent lecturing the crowd or ranting in general. At FYF, Kanye instead delivered a hit-filled set that also saw Rihanna join the stage for a few brief seconds, as well as Travis Scott.

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Bloc Party livens up FYF Fest crowd with spirited mosh

Bloc Party livens up FYF Fest crowd with spirited mosh
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 23, 2015

Though not the full original lineup, Bloc Party proved Saturday at FYF Fest that they’ve got the same amount of spunk geared towards their live performances as they did when the epic Silent Alarm album first burst onto the scene in 2005.

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Alvvays cajoles big main stage FYF Fest crowd

Alvvays cajoles big main stage FYF Fest crowd
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 23, 2015

Nova Scotian lo-fi indie rockers Alvvays were unable to perform at Outside Lands in San Francisco a few weeks ago due to visa problems. Thankfully, those problems were cleared up before their FYF Fest performance Saturday on the main stage as they played to a massive crowd early on the festival’s first day.

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Savages royally slay FYF Fest performances

Savages royally slay FYF Fest performances
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
August 23, 2015

Fast-rising London post-punk band Savages had a difficult spot to fill at FYF Fest on Saturday night. They were competing with both Chet Faker and Bloc Party for attention, all of which helped setup the night for the evening’s headliner Kanye West.

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