Vince Staples is our favorite XXL Freshman this year and he has been keeping busy. Not only is he about to drop his debut album, Summertime 06′, this summer, but he has a supporting role in a new movie with A$AP Rocky. While we don’t hear anyone questioning XXL for their selection of Staples this year, Vince’s new XXL freestyle shows why he is definitely worthy of the accolade.
On Sunday we wrapped up our amazing experience during our first year at Bonnaroo. The weekend at The Farm was amazing, as music fans saw performances from Raury, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, Alabama Shakes, Florence + the Machine, and many more! While we already posted a small selection of our favorite photos, to further share our experience with our readers, we will be posting new photo galleries from Bonnaroo until we run out.
Check out our second Bonnarooo Photo Series piece this year, of Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers’ energetic performance below (interview coming this week)!
On Sunday we wrapped up our amazing experience during our first year at Bonnaroo. The weekend at The Farm was amazing, as music fans saw performances from Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, Alabama Shakes, Florence + the Machine, and many more! While we already posted a small selection of our favorite photos, to further share our experience with our readers, we will be posting new photo galleries from Bonnaroo until we run out.
Check out our first Bonnarooo Photo Series of the year, of Raury’s performance below.
Original to herself and her craft, Halsey is a 20-year-old on the rise. Hailing from Brooklyn, Halsey’s list of accomplishments are already piling high, and continuing her success, Halsey was invited to join Imagine Dragons for their North American “Smoke + Mirrors” tour. This tour is a big jump for the singer, who is about to release her debut studio album Badlands later this summer, as Halsey has gone from nightclub and small venue performances to now performing for packed arenas.
For her Chicago set last night, Halsey performed many songs from her recent release EP, Room 93, while she also featured songs from her upcoming album. Halsey’s performance was greeted with a large crowd in attendance just for her. Her gripping voice was accompanied with her suggestive powerful lyrics. We spoke to Halsey after her performance, to see if she enjoyed the Chicago crowd as much as the Windy City enjoyed her set.
“Chicago is my favorite city to perform in,” Halsey told us. “The crowd is highly respectful, I don’t know if it comes from being in a place that’s so heavy populated and full of divert. The kids here are less entitled, they want to come and hear the music, there not here to grab a fucking selfie. They just really embrace what I’m here to do that’s why I love returning hear. I think it’s an incredible mentality for music lovers to have.”
Halsey also had nothing but great things to say about her fans. “The fans are pretty intense and authentic and I love each and every single one of them to death. Something we struggle with me being a musician rather than a personality because a lot of kids relate to me and that’s a beautiful thing but at the end of the day I’m an artist and I’m here to perform.” And if you didn’t get to catch her performance last night, don’t worry because you will definitely have another chance real soon (find a tour date near you at Halsey’s website). “My fans are incredible, they sold out my headline tour for me. I’m so excited to get back on the road and go see them across the in U.S. in a couple of months in a tour for the album. It’s going to be amazing, nothing is better than playing a headline show because every single person is there for the exact same reason, which is you.” And while it isn’t a headlining set, we can only imagine that Halsey is excited to return in just a couple months for Lollapalooza.
Metric
Canadian indie rock band Metric opened up for Imagine Dragons. Enthusiastic lead vocals from Emily Hanies provided the energy to the crowd for their performance. Hanies’ free spirited and relaxed demeanor provided for a spirited feel, as the band brought the crowd to a new wave celebration. On tour to help support their upcoming sixth studio album release Pagans in Vegas (which is set to debut in late September), Metric provided Chicago fans a look inside what’s to come.
Imagine Dragons
From the start Imagine Dragons created a nonstop thrill ride that had everyone out of their seats. The live performance could have been measured by the sheer intense atmosphere created. Not often does a live performance live up to the studio quality that were used to, but Imagine Dragons surpasses that expectation by giving a chill defining live performance. The band performed all their top songs, with a set list that included: Deamons, Forever Young, Bet my Life, of course Radioactive, and many more. With Radioactive closing the show, the thousands of fans that filled in the Allstate Arena during a massive thunderstorm together, for a rock anthem sing-along.
To close the night, lead singer Dan Reynolds finished the show by thanking everyone for attending when they instead could have been watching the Chicago Blackhawks play the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Stanley Cup. He also announced when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup as he put on a Blackhawks cap.
Go Imagine Dragons, Go Halsey and Metric, and Go Hawks!
We just got back from Bonnaroo 2015 and wow did our first year at The Farm not disappoint! Fans not only saw performances from some of music’s biggest names, like Kendrick Lamar and Mumford & Sons, but Manchester, TN also saw sets from some amazing emerging artists (Raury, Sylvan Esso) and even a few surprises (Jon Hamm and Zach Galifiankis?!). From Childish Gambino to the Piano Man, Bonnaroo had something for everyone this year.
The Childish Gambino drought may be coming to an end. The rapper/writer/creative hasn’t released any new music since his STN MTN / Kauai Mixtape-EP last fall, but when Donald took the Bonnaroo stage this weekend, he premiered a brand new untitled track. The song doesn’t have any rapping on it, but instead features layered melodies and crooning that sounds super Prince-y. The refrain seems to feature the lyrics “I’m in love when we are smoking that la la la la”.
Whatever this is from, we can’t wait to hear the full version. Watch the performance below.
Late Sunday night, Vince Staples decided to drop another single from his debut album, Summertime ’06. The track entitled “Get Paid” features female guest vocalist Desi Mo who provides backing vocals and a hook, while Vince spits relentless bars over a sinister sounding instrumental that takes inspiration from Clipse and The Neptunes. With yet another excellent single, Vince’s Def Jam debut is shaping up to be one of the most promising albums of the year.
Check the track out below, and buy Summertime ’06 when it hits stores June 30th.
After a very experimental phase that led to the LP Retro Hash, it seems that Roth is switching it up yet again. Well, returning rather. He dropped the official audio for a new track, “That’s Cute” which is produced by long-time collaborator, Chuck Inglish. Asher comes through with bar after bar of boastful, witty lyricism and wields his words as though they are artillery. The final product turns out to be a shining light for fans of the college-loving rapper. He also provided the subtle comment on soundcloud that more music is on the way. Check out the new track below.
Well, it looks like the Lil Wayne train may finally be moving. After the much publicized postponement of Tha Carter V, Wayne’s newly announced Free Weezy Album might be seeing daylight thru Roc Nation. Numerous tweets and reports indicate that Wayne has announced his new allegiance at Summer Jam KMEL in Oakland. Peep the tweets below after the jump.
Bonarroo is no stranger to surprise guests on stage, but this year might have yielded one of the most strange yet fulfilling collaborations yet. During Earth, Wind & Fire’s set Friday night, Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper came out to freestyle with the band on stage. Peep the must see clips after the jump.
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