Coachella Band Preview: Emo Nite

So January is almost over. Just like that, there’s 1 month down and 2 to go until Coachella. I hope you’ve been listening to your favorite artists or maybe some new ones you want to check out. There’s a handful of artists I’m pretty stoked to see this year, but I’m also pretty excited about checking out an act that I might not have to do much preparation for. That act is Emo Nite.

Emo Nite started in LA in late 2014. It began when friends Babs Szabo, T.J. Petracca, and Morgan Freed wanted to host an emo themed bar party with their friends. The friends initially met and bonded over their love of emo music and growing up in the emo/pop-punk scene. They made a facebook group for their event and 500 people showed up. They tried again and the same thing happened. A lot of people love emo music so Emo Nite became a thing.

Over the past 5 years it has began touring around the country and playing other festivals like Life Is Beautiful and Firefly to name a few. The group has recruited guest DJs from emo and pop punk bands to come to Emo Nite like Blink-182’s Travis Barker, All Time Low, Good Charlotte, The All-American Rejects, Circa Survive’s Anthony Green, and Andrew McMahon of Something Corporate, Jack’s Mannequin, and Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness. They’ve even had non-emo artists like Halsey and Post Malone come out.

I’ve been to emo nights before (I’ve actually gone to 3 over the last year!), but never the official Emo Nite. I’m stoked to go at Coachella though. After the hype and rumors surrounding My Chemical Romance playing Coachella this year and then ultimately the band not being on the lineup, I think Emo Nite will help fulfill that void for everyone who expected to sing “Welcome to the Black Parade” with Gerard Way. Also this is Emo Nite at Coachella, a festival synonymous with epic guest appearances. I think we’ll be in for some great surprises at their set. Maybe a member or two of My Chemical Romance shows up? Or who knows who could be there? It’s definitely not worth it to sleep on Emo Nite though, especially if you were ever a fan of emo music.

I can’t even come up with a great guess on when or where Emo Nite will be. I would guess either Gobi or Mojave. I would also hope in the evening, but I think set time/stage possibilities really depend on what’s going to happen at Emo Nite and that we won’t know until the schedule comes out in the days before Weekend 1. Emo Nite is a tough one to prep for because let’s be honest, you’re only going to Emo Nite if you like/liked emo music and if you do or did, you’ve probably spent most of your teenage years prepping. Instead of giving you a bunch of songs to listen to, I’m gonna leave you with some bands you’ll probably hear at Emo Nite. Prep if you want, re-visit some of your favorite songs, or show up and have all the old lyrics come rushing back to you. Do whatever you want except don’t sleep on Emo Nite!

1. Dashboard Confessional
2. Brand New
3. Taking Back Sunday
4. Fall Out Boy
5. Panic! At the Disco
6. My Chemical Romance
7. All Time Low
8. Something Corporate
9. Green Day
10. Blink-182
11. Good Charlotte
12. Simple Plan
13. The Starting Line
14. Forever the Sickest Kids
15. Bayside
16. Jimmy Eat World
17. Saves the Day
18. Say Anything
19. The Get Up Kids
20. Death Cab For Cutie

 

Coachella Band Preview: Rage Against the Machine

Week 2 in Mexico and I’m back with another Coachella Band Preview. It’s kind of funny actually. This is my 6th year of doing band previews for Coachella. When I first started, most acts I previewed were bands. Now it feels like this week’s preview is one of the only bands I’m previewing this year. A lot of the other acts I’m interested in are DJs and singers. It makes me sad, yet hopeful there will be a Coachella when I’m back to previewing bands. For now let’s take a look at legendary political rock band and inaugural Coachella performers, Rage Against the Machine.

Rage Against the Machine formed in 1991 in Los Angeles, California. The band is comprised of lead vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1992. The album went on to critical and commercial success. It includes their most well-known song to date “Killing in the Name” and earned them a spot at Lollapalooza in 1993. They released two more albums Evil Empire (1996) and The Battle of Los Angeles (1999). After the release of their cover album Renegades in 2000, the band broke-up over creative difference with de la Rocha.

In the years following their break-up, the remaining members united with Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell to form the band Audioslave. Audioslave released several albums in the 00’s before breaking up in 2007. That year brought back Rage Against the Machine though. The band reunited to play Coachella. They stayed together for a few years after playing shows and festivals worldwide. Now 20 years after their last album, they’re reuniting at Coachella again. There’s also a rumor that they’re planning a tour in 2020, so maybe Coachella won’t be the only place where you can see RATM this year.

Their music is well-known for it’s unique hip-hop style of rock/metal music. Like their name describes, it’s also very well-known for being politically progressive. De la Rocha’s vocals are where the hip-hop influence comes in to their music as well as in Morello’s guitar technique. However the sound itself is very rock and metal heavy.

Rage Against the Machine headlines the main stage on Friday night. You can expect moshing. You can expect a wild time. You can also expect Coachella at its roots. Rage Against the Machine is one of the only legacy/rock acts to play the festival this year, which makes it a special set for old school Coachella fans. I’m pretty stoked myself. One of my high school friends introduced me to Rage Against the Machine shortly after I graduated. Although I’m not familiar with all of their songs, I know the big ones and I’m excited to see Rage Against the Machine play. Hopefully I’ll be able to get to the festival to see it. With the political climate in America these days, Rage Against the Machine is just what we all need to take out any frustrations we have. Before you head to the pit Friday night, here’s a few songs you might want to check out first:

1. Killing in the Name
2. Bulls on Parade
3. Guerrilla Radio
4. Testify
5. Wake Up
6. Know Your Enemy
7. Sleep Now in the Fire
8. Take the Power Back
9. Bullet in the Head
10. How I Could Just Kill a Man (Cypress Hill cover)

Coachella Band Preview: Lost Kings

Greetings from Mexico! I’m back down south of the border working for the next two weeks, but don’t worry this is just the Coachella pre-game. We’re one week closer to the most wonderful time of year and this week I’m previewing the electronic duo Lost Kings.

Lost Kings are comprised of Robert Abisi and Nick Shanholtz. The duo, both LA transplants originally from Boston (Abisi) and Baltimore (Shanholtz), formed in 2014. Their name comes from feeling lost after moving to Los Angeles and how they had goals they wanted to accomplish. They gained popularity through their remixes of music from artists such as Imagine Dragons, Halsey, Vance Joy, Echosmith and Disclosure to name a few. Their remix of Disclosure’s “Latch” featuring Sam Smith gained them the most attention when it replaced the original on Sirius XM’s BPM, a Dance/Electronic channel. Once they dropped their first EP The Bad in late 2015, it also gained popularity pretty quickly. A few months later in March 2016, they dropped their second EP The Good. They were signed to Disrupter/RCA Records in the fall of 2016. They credit their success to streaming sites like SoundCloud and Spotify as well as the music aggregator Hype Machine.

Their style of music fits under the progressive house style of electronic music. The duo has stated that they don’t want to be classified inside a specific box when it comes to music style. This is why you might be able to group them into other styles of house music such as melodic or bass house. Their collaborations make their tracks seem like they’re part of that electronic/pop crossover spectrum though.

Lost Kings play Friday at Coachella. I’d expect them to be at Sahara. There aren’t a ton of bigger name electronic artists playing Friday so who knows when their set time will be. I personally am hoping for a late time or I won’t be able to catch their set. I have this feeling like they’ll end up in a late afternoon-early evening slot. You have plenty of time to listen to their music prior to Day 1 of Coachella so here’s the list of what you should check out:

1. You (ft. Katelyn Tarver)
2. Phone Down (ft. Emily Warren)
3. First Love (ft. Sabrina Carpenter)
4. LA & The Parties (ft. Sevyn Streeter)
5. Quit You (ft. Tinashe)
6. Something Good
7. When We Were Young (ft. Norma Jean Martine)
8. Marathon (ft. Cosmos and Creatures)
9. Bad (ft. Jessame)
10. Ain’t The Same (ft. CXLOE)

Coachella Band Preview: Lana Del Rey

Of course I’m starting off my band previews with the artist I’m most excited to see perform at Coachella. Ever since Lana played Coachella in 2014 amidst a stacked lineup of some of my favorite bands and artists, I’ve been waiting for the day I would get to see her play the southern California music festival. She’s been one of my favorite artists for about 8 years now. Finally the day has come where I can say here’s what you need to know about Lana Del Rey.

Lana Del Rey came onto the music scene in 2012 with her debut album Born to Die, but she wasn’t really new to the music scene at the time. She had been singing under the name Lizzy Grant (her real name is Elizabeth Grant). Since 2012, she’s released 5 albums, 1 EP, and has also released music for movie soundtracks like “Young and Beautiful” for 2013’s Great Gatsby, “Once Upon A Dream” for 2014’s Maleficent, and most recently her Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus collaboration “Don’t Call Me Angel” for the latest Charlie’s Angels remake. I’ve written about Lana Del Rey on this blog before. I’ve written about her and reviewed her last 3 albums, Honeymoon, Lust For Life, and most recently Norman Fucking Rockewell!. Normally if I’ve written about a Coachella artist before, I combine those I write about into one big post closer to the festival. This year, since there’s only a few artists like that and an even smaller selection to preview than in years past (what can I say the music I’m into is just not being played at Coachella this year!), I figured I’m gonna preview everyone individually even those I’ve written about before.

Lana Del Rey has only ever played one other Coachella. In the 6 years that it has been since the last one, she’s put out 4 more albums. Her haunting vocals and baroque/dream pop style of music is a huge mood for the festival though. It fits the Coachella atmosphere so well. She’s already told us she’ll be playing Sunday evening right before headliner Frank Ocean, which means she’s got that early evening main stage spot locked. This means we probably won’t get that ideal sunset set for her west coast jams. Her now somewhat large discography means she’ll have a large selection of tunes to play this spring. I’m hoping I finally get to hear her Coachella-inspired song “Coachella – Woodstock On My Mind” at the festival that brought it to life. I’m also hoping she mixes in some of her older hits as well since her first album was one of my favorites of the last decade. She also claimed she’s bringing all of her friends, meaning there will be plenty of special guests. The Weeknd, Stevie Nicks, A$AP Rocky, and Sean Lennon have all made appearances on her records. Any one of them could be a likely guest of Lana.

We have 3 months to wait and see what her Coachella set will be like, but just know it’ll probably be packed and worth the 6 year wait. She could have easily headlined this festival so expect almost a secondary headlining performance from the artistic queen. Sunday evening will surely bring the heat this year. I’m sure I’ll be “feeling like I’m fucking crazy” by the time she performs, but I can’t wait for “ride” Lana Del Rey will take us on.

Here are just a handful of songs you should know:

1. National Anthem
2. Ride
3. Mariners Apartment Complex
4. Summertime Sadness
5. Coachella – Woodstock On My Mind
6. Lust For Life
7. West Coast
8. Born to Die
9. Young and Beautiful
10. Video Games
11. Love
12. Blue Jeans
13. Doin’ Time
14. hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have – but I have it
15. Beautiful People Beautiful Problems

 

 

Coachella 2020 Lineup Review

The countdown to Coachella 2020 is officially here! After spending yesterday feeling like the lineup wasn’t going to come, the Coachella twitter came alive around 8:30 p.m. EST. Then, I knew it was coming. They started tweeting out artists playing the festival by retweeting tweets from years ago from the artists playing the festival or from casual twitter followers mentioning artists playing the festival and adding their own comments. Then around 10:05 p.m. EST, the lineup dropped.

After 2014, I used to hope mercilessly for a similar great lineup every year. When finally after 2018’s lineup disappointment, I stopped expecting great indie rock lineups. I feel like this year’s mix of music has hardly any indie rock/indie pop. It’s really disheartening. I looked at the 2011-2014 lineups last night in reverse order. It was incredible. When I looked at 2011 I was incredibly shocked at how much these festival lineups have changed over the last 10 years. 2011 was the year I was introduced to Coachella because Foster the People (who I was introduced to around the same time) was on the bill. I feel less disappointed than I did in 2018 because I know I’ll still have a great time at the festival and there are a few artists who I’m very excited to see play Coachella.

First and foremost though, the Coachella 2020 lineup as follows:

The Headliners: Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott, Frank Ocean

As typical, over the past few weeks these were the three names rumored to be headlining the festival. I knew about Travis Scott for almost a year due to some inside industry sources. I was hoping there might be another Tame Impala-esque headliner but not the case this year. Out of these three, I’m most excited for 90’s rock band, Rage Against the Machine. They played the first ever Coachella in 1999! I know a few of their songs, as most people do. Plus, I’m not sure if there’s any other way I’d ever see them. I’ll definitely be re-listening to their stuff in preparation for their Friday night set. Travis Scott has been headlining festivals over the past few years so Coachella was one of the next steps. It’s not his first time in Indio either after he played the festival in 2017. He’s even hosted his own ASTROWORLD festival the past 2 years in Houston, Texas. Frank Ocean hasn’t played Coachella in 8 years. This time he makes his return as a headliner. He doesn’t tour either, which makes his festival appearances all the more special. He headlined Panorama back in 2017 when I worked it. I never got into him but I heard him play there, which is apparently more rare than I realized. Frank Ocean’s R&B/hip-hop style isn’t my cup of tea, but he’s got a large following of fans that are stoked to see him headline Coachella.

The Other Highly Billed Performers: Calvin Harris, Run the Jewels, Rex Orange County, Megan Thee Stallion, BIGBANG, Flume, Thom Yorke (Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes), Disclosure, 21 Savage, Danny Elfman, DaBaby, Summer Walker, Lana Del Rey, Lil Uzi Vert, Daniel Caesar, FKA Twigs, Marina, Louis the Child, Ari Lennox, BROCKHAMPTON, Big Sean, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizards, City Girls, Lewis Capaldi, Madeon, Charli XCX, Lane 8, GRiZ, Anitta, Caribou, Joji, Testpilot, Swae Lee, Black Coffee, Cuco, Jai Wolf, Roddy Ricch, Yaeji, Koffee, Tchami, Dixon, Fatboy Slim, Banda MS, Lil Nas X, Mura Masa, Duck Sauce, Jessie Reyez, SLANDER, Denzel Curry, J.I.D.

The two artists I’m most excited for this year are in this mix. Both could have easily headlined this festival and both were the first name under the headliner on their respective days.

Lana Del Rey, one of my favorite artists, will be back this year for the first time since 2014. After dropping one of her best albums this past year (Norman Fucking Rockwell!) thanks to the help of famed songwriter/producer Jack Antonoff, Lana deserves to be back at Coachella. Hopefully my dream of hearing Lana play “Coachella – Woodstock On My Mind” at Coachella will come true!

Flume, the first electronic artist I could ever say I liked, is also playing. Flume has really exploded over the last 5 years. He’s played Coachella before but this year he’s back in his biggest spot yet and with new music. Last year he dropped his mixtape Hi I’m Flume and the hit electronic single “Rushing Back” with Vera Blue. Who knows if he’ll release any more new music in the lead up to Coachella, but it’s safe to say Flume is back this year after a few shows and festival stints in 2019.

I’m also pretty excited for electronic DJ Jai Wolf. I was able to watch some of his Made in America set in 2018, but I’ve never seen him other than that. I’ve been into his music for the past few years as well. His cred has really gone up in the last few years too earning him a second line spot on the Coachella lineup.

Three years ago, composer Hans Zimmer played Coachella with a full orchestra coming in to support his set of movie magic. I’m expecting a similar performance from composer Danny Elfman. I’m also expecting to hear the entirety of A Nightmare Before Christmas. I feel like sets like this are so unique that you should try to catch them because it’s doubtful you may ever get another chance to witness something like it.

90’s EDM artist Fatboy Slim is also a part of this year’s lineup. It’s not his first time soaking up the Coachella vibes either. His set should be filled with classic dance jams and should also be a ton of fun. I’m definitely gonna try to catch it if I can.

Former Coachella headliner Calvin Harris is also included in this mix. He last played the year I attended in 2015. I remember hearing a lot about Calvin Harris in the early 2010’s but I feel like his hype has since dropped. His biggest hit since he last performed has to be 2018’s “One Kiss” with Dua Lipa and 2016’s “This Is What You Came For” with Rihanna. A lot of people are already hoping he brings out Rihanna as a guest.

Some other big names from this list are hip hop duo Run the Jewels, rising rap star Megan Thee Stallion, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, electronic duo Disclosure, rising pop star Lewis Capaldi, rapper Denzel Curry, and one of 2019’s most famed newcomers Lil Nas X. The biggest shocker of this year’s lineup was the exclusion of My Chemical Romance who was rumored to be playing the festival for weeks especially after their reunion show at Goldenvoice venue the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles. Many people, myself included, anticipated Coachella as being the second return of the band. Maybe MCR will be a part of the festival though? They could always come on as a guest of an artist.

The Rest: Chicano Batman, Omar Apollo, Kim Petras, IDLES, Daphni, The Martinez Brothers, Pink Sweat$, Peggy Gou, Hatsune Miku, TNGHT, Rich Brian, Damian Lazarus, Princess Nokia, slowthai, YBN Cordae, TOKiMONSTA, The Chats, NIKI, Malaa, PUP, The HU, The Regrettes, Friendly Fires, Sleaford Mods, Erick Morillo, Cashmere Cat, Beach Bunny, Tiga, Amyl & The Sniffers, Amber Mark, Code Orange, L’Impératrice, Kyle Watson, VNSSA, Lost Kings, Jayda G, Giselle Woo & the Night Owls, Melé, ela minus, Kynda Black, Hot Chip, Carly Rae Jepson, DJ Koze, Floating Points, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, BADBADNOTGOOD, Pabllo Vittar, MIKA, ANNA, Snail Mail, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Steve Lacy, Weyes Blood, Masego, Orville Peck, Chelsea Cutler, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Matoma, 100 gecs, black midi, Nilüfer Yanya, Chris Liebing, Raveena, Sasha Sloan, beabadoobee, Ezra Collective, Inner Wave, Emo Nite, girl in red, Aya Nakamura, Sama’, Beach Goons, Fontaines D.C., The Murder Capital, Paco Osuna, Mannequin Pussy, The Comet is Coming, Whipped Cream, Anna Calvi, GG Magree, Ellen Allien, ONYVAA, DJ Lord, Sara Landry, Ленинград, Epik High, Duke Dumont, Lauren Daigle, Conan Gray, Bedouin, Bishop Briggs, (Sandy) Alex G, Big Wild, Alec Benjamin, Noname, YUNGBLUD, Dave, SebastiAn, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Emotional Oranges, Channel Tres, Crumb, Doja Cat, Ed Maverick, Ali Gatie, Hayden James, Skegss, Monolink, Dom Dolla, Satori, Black Pumas, Sampa the Great, Altın Gün, Luttrell, Nathy Peluso, Olivia O’Brien, Mariah the Scientist, Viagra Boys, Cariño, Adam Port, Guy Laliberté, Detlef, Sahar Z, also featuring 88rising’s Double Happiness

As per the usual, there’s several great artists in this mix of the names in tiny font on the lineup. The one that stands out the most for me is Bishop Briggs. I fell in love with Bishop Briggs music in late 2017. I felt like I missed out on her all summer as she played the festival circuit. Since then I’ve been able to catch her performances the last two summers, at Electric Forest in 2018 and at Bonnaroo last summer. I’m extremely excited to see her perform at Coachella though. She’s fantastic and always brings so much energy to her sets.

Hayden James is another artist I’m super stoked for. His song “Numb” was my most listened to song in 2018 and I saw his Electric Forest sets that summer as well. He released his debut album over the past year and his only Coachella performance happened at the Do Lab so this is definitely progress for him.

A few other great ones from this list are Lost Kings, Matoma, and Hot Chip. I’ve wanted to get into Hot Chip for years since their style is a lot like LCD Soundsystem. I just always forget about them because they’re not really on the scene much anymore. Them being on the Coachella lineup is going to push me to listen to them a lot in the next few months so I can be ready for their Coachella set. Matoma’s “Old Thing Back” remix was one of the first electronic songs I liked. I actually listened to it on my drive to Indio on the way to my first Coachella in 2015. I’ve never seen him perform either so I’ll really be looking forward to hearing Matoma’s Saturday set. One of Lost Kings first songs, “You”, was one of my favorite songs in 2016. I’ve listen to a few of their songs here and there since then too so I’m super stoked they’ll be a part of Coachella this year. Depending on their set time, I may not be able to see any of their set, but it’s still pretty cool that they’ll be performing.

Some other artists I’m hoping to get into in preparation for this year are electronic/pop singer Chelsea Cutler, punk band Mannequin Pussy, and alternative/pop-punk/scene artist YUNGBLUD. Also Carley Rae Jepson of “Call Me Maybe” fame will be playing this year so that might be a fun set to see. I’ve also heard great things about Emotional Oranges  and Sasha Sloan who has sang on Odesza and Kygo tracks that I’ve liked.

One of the most unusual/wonderful names on this part of the lineup is Emo Nite. Emo Nite LA is playing Coachella. How is that even a thing?! Emo Nite isn’t a band, artist, or DJ. It’s just an emo music party. I’m probably wrong about this but I feel like when the My Chemical Romance rumors started, Paul booked Emo Nite to try to make up for it! HA! It seems like great reasoning but I’m sure they were booked for a while. Maybe Emo Nite is just code for My Chemical Romance and the band will suddenly appear. I’m still pretty stoked about it and am definitely gonna try to go to Emo Nite.

So that’s it. Coachella 2020 is finally on the horizon and we have 3 months of prep to do. I feel like I have a ton to do and plenty of bands and artists to learn more about. As the years progress, I feel like Coachella is getting further and further away from the music I love and what the festival used to be. The atmosphere is still the best there is though. I also still have hope that one of these years the lineup is going to shock me. It might not be this year, but that just means I’m probably going to find a love in a lot of these acts just as I did last year with Maggie Rogers, Lizzo, and Dermot Kennedy.

You can look forward to band previews each week. I’m going to be working in Mexico again this year over the next two months but Coachella previews will be coming regardless. It’s always been my favorite thing to blog about from January to April and I won’t let anything stop it. So now it’s time to start listening. I already have. It’s Coachella SZN Baby! Let’s get this desert party started!