Boston Calling 2014 Reveal Line-Up

Festival season is in full effect now and another one has just announced its lineup.

Boston Calling has announced the artists that will be taking the stages at this year’s event. The show, which will take place during the weekend of September 5-7 will include headlining acts such as The Replacements, Lorde, The National, Nas and the Roots, Childish Gambino, the 1975 and many more. The full lineup list can be seen below.

By the time Boston Calling is set to begin, many of the artists on the list would have already performed at several other festivals that have taken place during the Spring and Summer. This past weekend, Lorde and The Replacements took the stage at Coachella for the second time.

Unlike Lorde, The Replacements got a little help from Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong on vocals due to Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg suffering from a reported back injury. Here’s hoping that by September he’ll be able to perform.

Replacement’s manager, Darren Hill, revealed that the reconstructed band have been asked to play almost every festival this year, but have been choosy about which to do. Hill admits the band decided on Boston Calling because of the connection that they have to the scene.

“The Replacements always had an affinity, a really strong connection, to Boston and the Boston scene,” said Hill. “I’m sure you can expect a surprise in Boston.”

Pre-sale tickets for the three-day show will go on sale beginning Thursday through Ticketmaster. Three-day general admission passes will run you $150 while the VIP passes cost $250.

Watch the official announcement from festival organizers.

Coachella Release Full 2014 Line-Up

Variety broke the big news last night who the headliners for this year’s Coachella would be and now it looks like one of the biggest rumors has been confirmed.

Late last year, rumor had surfaced that OutKast would be reuniting and the place for this reunion to happen would be Coachella; cut to last night when the reports were confirmed.

Also joining OutKast as headliners are the Arcade Fire, coming off a great year and Muse. Other big names heading to California for the two weekend long festival are such big names as Queens of the Stone Age, Skrillex, Beck, Pharrell Williams, Lorde, Calvin Harris, Disclosure, Lana Del Rey, the Replacements, the Knife, and Motörhead.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival will take place in Indio, California during two weekends, April 11 through 13 and a repeat on April 18 through 20.

And like the tweet sent out by the official Coachella Twitter, “Share it like a Polaroid picture.”

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees Announced

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced today those lucky nominees for the class of 2014. This year’s list includes Hall and Oates, Nirvana, The Replacements, KISS, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, LL Cool J, N.W.A, Link Wray, the Meters, Linda Ronstadt, Cat Stevens, Yes and the Zombies.

The lucky nominees that get the most votes by the end of the voting period will get the honors of being inducted into the hall of fame. For the second year, the public has been given the chance to also vote alongside artists, historians and music industry insiders of the Rock Hall voting body.

For those that would like to have their voices heard and vote for their favorite nominees, Rolling Stone’s website is currently playing host for the public. According to Rolling Stone, “the top five acts will comprise a “fan’s ballot” that will count as one of the more than 600 ballots that determine the Class of 2014.” Fans have until December 10 to get their vote included in those ballots.

To be eligible for this year’s ballot, those that ended up on the bill had to have released their first single or album in 1988 or earlier than that. If some of the nominees look like they have been nominated once before, many of them have had the honor bestowed on them before.

While some may have seen the ballots once before, some of the nominees such as Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, the Replacements, Linda Ronstadt, Link Wray, Cat Stevens, Yes and the Zombies are getting their names on the ballots for the first time. For those the feel like arguing about Peter Gabriel then yes, he was inducted in 2009 as a member of Genesis.

On a side note, Nirvana is the only act this year to land on the ballot during their first year of eligibility. Their cover of “Love Buzz” by Shocking Blue was their first single, hitting stores in late 1988.

The Replacements Announce Full Line-Up

When it was announced that the Replacements would be performing at this year’s Riot Fest, fans began to wonder who would be back in for the shows. Yesterday, it was reported that drummer Josh Freese will be behind the kit alongside Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson.  Guitarist Dave Minehan will also joining the rest of the band taking the place of  the late Bob Stinson.

The newly reassembled Minneapolis-based band will be returning to the stage for the first time since 1991. Like reported earlier, they will be one of the headlining bands at Riot Fest, with sets scheduled for Aug. 24-25 for the Toronto installment, Sept. 13-15 for the Chicago installment and Sept. 21-22 for the Denver installment.

In the post-Replacement era, Freese had collaborated with Westerberg on several occasions. Freese played drums on the two new Replacements songs with included 2006’s “Don’t You Know Who I Think I Was.” At that time, it was the only new music Westerberg and Stinson released under the Replacement names since the disbandment.

Recently, Freese was on tour with Sublime with Rome who had been out on a Summer tour throughout the US. Sublime with Rome are also on the Riot Fest bill which means that the sticksman will be playing double duty during the festival.

Westerberg and Stinson teamed up last year with Westerberg’s guitarist, Kevin Bowe and drummer Peter Anderson to record a six-song LP to benefit Slim Dunlap, a one-time guitarist for the band, who had been recovering from a severe stroke. The LP was titled Songs for Slim and was released back in March. It went on to raise a reported $100,000 for the cause.

The news was first reported by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and then confirmed other sources. As of now, the only dates that are official for this reunion are those that are a part of Riot Fest; after that the rest is unknown.

Denver Riot Fest Line up Revealed

With Riot Fest right around the corner, the festival have announced the line up for the Denver installment. The line up includes the first reunion in 22 years for the Replacements as well as Iggy and the Stooges, the return of Blink-182, Rancid, Brand New and AFI.

Other bands that have been confirmed to be performing at the festival include: Public Enemy, Airborne Toxic Event, Bad Religion, Minus The Bear, Alkaline Trio and Breathe Carolina.

The Riot Fest and Sideshow will take place in Byers, CO on September 21 and 22, so you better hurry and get your tickets, two-day passes are currently on sale here.

Check out the flyer for the full event.