Hangout Music Fest announces their 2014 lineup

Photo courtesy of Hangout Music Fest

It looks like Hangout Music Fest can officially join the, "we've got Outkast playing at our festival" club, as the Alabama based festival announced their 2014 lineup this morning. Headed up by acts like The Black Keys, The Killers, Jack Johnson and everyones favorite reunited hip-hop duo, Hangout Music Fest boasts an impressive array of genre-spanning acts for their May festival. Taking place on the Gulf Shores of Alabama from May 16-18, Hangout Music Fest has had a tradition of pulling in acts from all areas of the musical spectrum, dabbling in equal parts hip-hop, bro-rock, EDM, and indie rock.

Also joining the marquee headliners are groups like Queens of the Stone Age, Pretty Lights, The Avett Brothers, Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips and more. Some of these acts are popping up for the first time on the 2014 festival circuit, making Hangout stand out amongst a crowded scene. 2014 standards also fill-in the lineup, acts like Chance The Rapper, Portugal The Man, STS9, Childish Gambino and Wiz Khalifa. But the best parts of this lineup lie in the fact that there's a few acts that will be hitting the Alabama beaches that we haven't seen much of on the festival circuit thus far this year. The aforementioned Modest Mouse and Conor Oberst make Hangout a solid choice for summer festivalgoers.

Listen to "CS60," a new track from BADBADNOTGOOD

Canadian jazz trio BADBADNOTGOOD has gained quite a bit of notoriety for their jazz-centric covers of well-known hip-hop tracks, as well as their work with Odd Future members like Tyler, The Creator and Frank Ocean. With production credits on Earl Sweatshirt's Doris and Danny Brown's Old in 2013, the group has been swiftly rising through the ranks of the hip-hop world. That makes their forthcoming album III one of their most anticipated releases to date. A few days ago the band shared an mesmerizing new track from the forthcoming album entitled "CS60."

"CS60" finds the band treading into unheralded levels of sonic exploration, clocking in at just under seven minutes. The track deviates from their norm, trading in hook heavy covers and jazzy instrumentation for a more experimental and atmospheric style of music. A few head-bob worthy refrains pop in and out of the mix, but most of the track runs deep with densely packed percussion and smooth textures that emanate eerie vibes. Gone are the days of balls-out Gucci Mane covers, instead BBNG seems to have found their footing in brilliantly paced, excellently structured tunes.

III will be released later this year on the L.A based label Innovative Leisure. Check out the track below:

  

Album Review: "Give The People What They Want" by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Give The People What They Want was released
on Jan. 14 on Daptone Records

It's been one hell of a year for Sharon Jones. 2013 was set to be the release of the highly revered soul singer's sixth album with the Dap-Kings, Give The People What They Want, but instead Jones found herself sidelined for the better part of the year due to a hard bout with cancer. The album was pushed back and the usually headstrong, all-out soultrain was de-railed for what many thought would be a long period of time. But sure enough Jones' resilience shone brighter than ever before, although her chemo just ended on Dec. 31 Jones is already set to return to tour in February. Last week Jones and the Dap-Kings took to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon for a dazzling performance and today marks the release of the long-awaited album Give The People What They Want.

And as if anyone had any other expectation, Jones and the Dap-Kings have done just that. Give The People... is a riveting display of the guttural yet smooth soul that has propelled the group to international acclaim. Although the album was written and recorded before Jones' diagnosis, the album feels like a triumphant statement proclaiming that nothing will stop this old soul revival from turning the clocks back to when Motown ruled the world.

Raleigh's 2012 Hopscotch Festival Announces Lineup

The Roots are one of the headliners at the third
annual Hopscotch Music Festival, Sept 6th-8th.

Those of you who've been reading Myxem for a while know that we're huge proponents of the annual Hopscotch Music Festival in downtown Raleigh, NC and have been anxiously awaiting this year's lineup. Well, at approximately 12:01AM on Wednesday April 18th, that wait was over. This year's festivities will be headlined by hip-hop all-stars (and Jimmy Fallon's favorite co-workers) The Roots, legendary noise pop pioneers The Jesus & Mary Chain, and influential introverts Built to Spill. Also of note: the one-of-a-kind solo set from John Darnielle (a.k.a. the Mountain Goats) consisting of 50% acoustic Mountain Goats rarities and 50% heavy metal songs covered on a grand piano, Matthew E. White performing his currently unreleased 5-track album with a gospel choir and full string section, and what is certain to be an electrifying performance from quirky Pittsburgh MC Danny Brown. Also, according to the official press release, "New York guitarist Ben Greenberg, who performs as Hubble, will offer the world premiere of a piece called Lag, in which he uses the Internet as a delay pedal." Not sure how exactly that will work, but I'm excited to find out.

3-Day Wristbands and VIP wristbands are on sale now for $110 and $165 respectively, with single day passes and City Plaza tickets going on sale in July when the performer schedule is announced. Check out the full lineup after the jump and be sure to check out the festival website for details and ticket information.