gary clark jr.

Janelle Monáe, Gary Clark Jr. & More to Perform at Inaugural ‘I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll’ Festival

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janelle

GANGGANG, creators of the BUTTER Fine Art Fair, and Forty5, the live entertainment company behind The Vogue Theatre and Rock the Ruins, proudly present the I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll Festival. Set to be Indiana’s first one-day Black rock festival, the event aims to pay homage to the genre’s true origins, celebrate the ongoing legacy of Black rock, and promote equity within the music scene.

Taking place on Saturday, May 18 at The American Legion Mall in downtown Indianapolis, the festival boasts an impressive lineup featuring Janelle Monáe, Gary Clark Jr., Robert Randolph Band, Joy Oladokun, Meet Me @ The Altar, and Inner Peace.

“We are doing this to celebrate the significance of Black artistry in rock music, a sound with direct ties to the rhythm and blues of Black people,” said Alan Bacon, GANGGANG co-founder. “This festival is about the longstanding presence of Black artists and authorship in rock ‘n’ roll as much as it is about racism, cultural appropriation, and economic justice.”

IMRR lineup Announcement 1.10.2024
IMRR lineup Announcement 1.10.2024

Presale tickets, starting at $75, will be available on Thursday, January 11 at 10 am, with general ticket sales opening on Monday, January 15 at 10 am on imaderocknroll.com. In the lead-up to the festival, GANGGANG and Forty5 will co-present Sonic Stories, a series of rock music listening sessions and screenings in February, March, and April, spotlighting local and regional voices and fostering conversations about race, music, and culture.

“GANGGANG and Forty5 are aligned in our mission to bring people together and build community by way of the arts,” said Forty5 CEO Jenny Boyts. “We are proud to be a part of producing this important series of events and look forward to bringing this amazing collection of artists to Indy, who will drive important conversations, create space for joy and celebration, and ultimately inspire us all.”

For additional festival information, advance ticket notifications, and to sign up for the I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll email newsletter, visit www.imaderocknroll.com. Don’t miss the chance to be part of Indiana’s historic celebration of Black rock at this groundbreaking festival.

The post Janelle Monáe, Gary Clark Jr. & More to Perform at Inaugural ‘I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll’ Festival first appeared on The Source.

The post Janelle Monáe, Gary Clark Jr. & More to Perform at Inaugural ‘I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll’ Festival appeared first on The Source.

Red Bull Soundclash Returns With Babyface Ray, Larry June, And A New Twist

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redbull soundclash ray and larry
Red Bull

California’s Bay Area and Detroit have always been spiritually linked in hip-hop. Because of a mid-80s migration pipeline that sent frozen-toed Michiganers west for the sunnier climes provided by the Golden State coastline, the two music scenes share a lot in common. From a love of car culture to the off-kilter swing flow that has become common in both cities’ regional sounds, the Bay and Detroit have provided plenty of artists whose origins could just as easily land in one or the other — think MC Breed or any number of newer Motown rappers like Icewear Vezzo and Payroll Giovanni.

Soon, though, those two sides will find themselves embroiled in a friendly competition, courtesy of Red Bull and the Red Bull SoundClash. The fan-favorite battle event is returning this year with a traveling schedule that’ll see two rising rappers — Detroit’s Babyface Ray and San Francisco’s Larry June — face off in each other’s hometowns. They’ll each have an opposing stage and the winner will be determined by crowd reactions via a decibel reader. The cool part is, because of the Bay/Detroit connection, there might not be much of a hometown advantage for either.

In addition to those two battles, a third will take place in Houston featuring a unique cross-genre clash between modern-day blues man Gary Clark Jr. and chopped-and-screwed aficionado Paul Wall. That should be interesting in its own right, thanks to the odd blend of music styles from both Texas natives.

The schedule can be found below, and you can find more info here.

10/15: Babyface Ray vs. Larry June – Detroit
11/3: Larry June vs. Babyface Ray – San Francisco
11/10: Gary Clark Jr. vs. Paul Wall – Houston

Diplo And Swae Lee Shake, Rattle, And Roll With ‘Tupelo Shuffle’ From The ‘Elvis’ Soundtrack

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The soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Elvis biopic continues to show off its unexpected eclecticism with another new song from Diplo and Swae Lee titled “Tupelo Shuffle.” The song also features Gary Clark Jr. and the film’s star Austin Butler and is built atop an interpolation of Elvis Presley’s 1954 cover of Arthur Crudup’s 1946 blues hit, “That’s All Right Mama” (Clark plays Crudup in the film). The upbeat, bluesy sample is different from anything we’ve ever heard from either Swae Lee or Diplo and evokes the loose-limbed energy of a juke joint at its highest spirits.

It’s a prime example of the kind of reinterpretations of the Elvis hits and deep cuts found elsewhere on the soundtrack. The previously released Doja Cat single, “Vegas,” likewise uses an interpolation of Elvis’ 1956 rendition of Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog” to dismiss a wannabe lover. Meanwhile, the soundtrack is also set to feature such eyebrow-raising additions as Denzel Curry, Eminem, Jack White, Kacey Musgraves, Maneskin, Nardo Wick, Stevie Nicks, and Tame Impala.

While the soundtrack selection is a big look for Swae Lee — who’s become somewhat of a go-to for these things (see: Into The Spider-Verse and its smash single “Sunflower” or Shang-Chi‘s “In The Dark” with Jhene Aiko) — he’s apparently looking forward to getting back to his old Rae Sremmurd shenanigans with brother Slim Jxmmi for Sremm4Life soon.

Listen to “Tupelo Shuffle” above.

Okeechobee’s 2022 Festival Lineup Features Tame Impala, Porter Robinson, Megan Thee Stallion, And More

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After taking a break in 2019, Florida’s Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival was one of the last festivals to fully run its course in 2020 before the pandemic shut down the music world for over a year. Okeechobee wound up skipping the 2021 festival season, but thankfully the Florida showcase will be back in 2022. On Tuesday, organizers revealed their full lineup.

Okeechobee will return to Sunshine Grove during the weekend of March 3-6, 2022 to celebrate the festival’s fifth anniversary. Tame Impala, Porter Robinson Megan Thee Stallion, Rezz, and Griz are among the bigger names. Others include Denzel Curry, Jungle, Gary Clark Jr., Ashinko, Flying Lotus, Troyboi, Jai Wolf, Four Tet, Caribou, The Glitch Mob, Clozee, Smino, Coi Leray, Mt. Joy, BIA, Sven Vath, Tobi Lou, Chiiild.

After announcing the festival’s 2022 dates back in June, Pasquale Rotella, the founder and CEO of Insomniac Events (one of the companies behind the festival), shared their excitement about their return. “After this long year, I couldn’t be more excited to return to Sunshine Grove and be back in nature with all my Okeechobee friends and fam,” Rotella said in a statement. “This festival is all about music, camping out, and making s’mores while dancing in a jungle, grass fields, and on a beautiful beach. It was the last festival I attended before the pandemic hit so I can’t wait to be back!”

You can check out the full lineup for Okeechobee’s 2022 showcase in the post above.