Beck closes Hangout Fest with a bang -- is the beach-side fest the Coachella of the south?

Beck closes Hangout Fest with a bang -- is the beach-side fest the Coachella of the south?
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
May 19, 2015

The beach-side Hangout Music Festival saved the best for last on an action-packed Sunday night headlined by a greatest hits-type set from the GRAMMY award-winning Beck.

A wonderful weekend at Gulf Shores all came to a close with Beck wasting no time getting to the classics. My media wristband allowed me access to the VIP area, and one of the benefits of that at Hangout was being able to rest my feet in the stageside pool — something that was much appreciated after putting a lot of wear and tear on my dogs the whole weekend.

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Hangout Fest 2015 brings bands -- and DJs -- to the beach

Hangout Fest 2015 brings bands -- and DJs -- to the beach
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
May 14, 2015

Grimy Goods contributor Mark E. Ortega is embarking on a six-week music festival tour around the United States. After a stop at Shaky Knees in Atlanta, Mark’s next stop is Gulf Shores, Alabama for Hangout Fest. Here’s a preview of the festival below.

There’s that old saying about how you shouldn’t bring sand to the beach — but they never said anything about bands (or DJs). Hangout Fest is a unique festival in that it takes place right on the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with most people (myself included) staying in condos that are located near the festival entrance.

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The 20 Hottest Women in Indie Music (and then some)

The 20 Hottest Women in Indie Music (and then some)
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
February 18, 2015


As we noted in our 20 Hottest Men in Indie Music feature last month, it’s hard not to fall in love with a talented musician when they’re on stage giving you a memorable performance. Now it’s time to give the accomplished ladies their shine.

The 20 Hottest Women in Indie Music:

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Staff Picks: Grimy Goods Best Albums of 2014

Staff Picks: Grimy Goods Best Albums of 2014
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
December 19, 2014


1. Sharon Van Etten – Are We There (Jagjaguwar) 
This is clearly Van Etten’s best and most expansive work to date. On previous efforts, she stuck with a less is more approach but incorporated a much fuller sound on this release. The common use of a piano brings an added element, and Van Etten takes a more hopeful approach to dealing with heartbreak and moving on in many songs. There’s not a single weak link among the 11 tracks, which you can stream here.

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The Nine II Five: Volume Four

The Nine II Five: Volume Four
TheAudiologist.net
December 17, 2014




Remember mixed tapes? Mixed CDs? Recording songs off the radio? Nowadays, it’s too easy to try and make a playlist on subscription-based streaming sites that spiral out of control.

Every playlist I’ve made climbs to crazy numbers, sometimes into the hundreds. This can be nice, for many reasons. But there was a certain difficulty and passion that came all my life with making mixed CDs. There’s an art to it — being able to move from track to track without something feeling far too out of place.

925… It’s the area code where I grew up in northern California’s Bay Area. It also works as “nine-to-five”, commonly known as the working person’s grind Monday-through-Friday. I’m taking that number and using it as the formula for a mix I hope to continue creating every week.

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Ten Favorite Festival Sets of 2014

Ten Favorite Festival Sets of 2014
Mark E. Ortega
Medium.com
December 6, 2014

In 2014, I had the luxury of attending a solid number of music festivals, almost exclusively in coverage for GrimyGoods.com. I went to Coachella for the first time (life-changing, weekend two), as well as FYF Fest, Made in America Festival, Sunset Strip Music Festival, and made a return to Life is Beautiful in Las Vegas. I decided to put together my list of my ten favorite sets from across all of those festivals, a much tougher task than I initially thought it would be.

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Life is Beautiful day one capped by -- what else -- a Kanye rant

Life is Beautiful day one capped by -- what else -- a Kanye rant
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com
October 25, 2014


Downtown Las Vegas’ second-year music festival Life is Beautiful kicked off Friday capped by a typically awesome and rant-filled Kanye West set.

Now three days after being just two in its inaugural year, the festival has grown in more than just length of time. The festival grounds felt like they have doubled in size and there was a much larger international contingency than last year as well. Two British gals from London told me they came out to Vegas specifically to see Kanye.

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