Mysteryland Announces Line-Up for its First USA Festival

Last summer, it was announced that one of the largest electronic music festivals in the world would finally make its debut in the good ol' USA. This Memorial Day weekend, Mysteryland, which has been going strong in its home country of the Netherlands since 1993, will be taking residence at the hallowed site in Bethel Woods, NY where the original Woodstock was once held. Dutch promotion outfit ID&T made their first major mark on America last September when they hosted TomorrowWorld, the US version of the legendary TomorrowLand held each year in Belgium, in Atlanta to rave reviews (that pun was terrible, I'll show myself out).

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.

Bonnaroo Announces 2012 Comedy Lineup

A few short months after dropping a stellar list of bands for 2012's Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival (including Radiohead, the Beach Boys, Bon Iver, Phish, Skrillex, Das Racist, tUnE-yArDs, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers just to name a few), the folks behind the four-day affair in Manchester, TN announced their hotly anticipated comedy lineup, which has been a festival mainstay since 2005. This year's roster of funny folk does not disappoint. We already knew Aziz Ansari would be performing since his name was announced with the initial offering of bands, but he will now be joined by comedy greats such as Steven Wright, Brian Posehn, and "World Champion" Judah Friedlander (perhaps best known as supernerd Frank on 30 Rock). The festival's official website promises more names have yet to be announced, but be sure to check out the full list so far after the jump.

Hopscotch '11 - Day Two Review

TOW3RS at The Hive were definitely a
highlight of the Day Party lineup.
Photo courtesy of The Bottom String

After the incredible first day, featuring obvious highlights Empress Hotel and Dinosaur Feathers, we awoke Friday with that festival feeling, the mixture of weariness and palpable excitement. After all, we had lined up a pretty big day and it was by no means disappointing.

Terry and I had been pretty excited about Shit Horse, so our first stop of the day was Odessa Fest at King's Barcade. Their set was all of the incredibly well-done, weird rock we'd come to expect and set the day off on the perfect note. While at Odessa Fest, we also caught Wesley Wolfe's vinyl cutting demonstration, which was definitely a pretty neat spectacle. The singles Wesley cut at the demonstration were later auctioned off.

From Odessa Fest, we headed to The Hive for Diggup Tape's Rooftop. We caught a stellar set from TOW3RS in what was only their second live performance and actually their first with that lineup. They stand-out as a highlight of the day, their preternatural skills in songwriting and musicianship set my expectations for the band high, and I wait with bated breath for their release.