Pete Freedman
Eight Upcoming Festivals Not Named Suburbia That You Need To Know About.
We just about two weeks removed from the not-quite-as-awesome-as-anyone-had-hoped-but-hey-maybe-our-expectations-were-just-out-of-whack lineup announcement for Live Nation's Suburbia Music Festival in Plano — for which, we'll remind you, the suburb paid in excess of half a million big ones — and, though that reveal may have led the way in many regards, it appears as if was but an appetizer.
Meaning? Plenty of brand-spankin'-new festival news abounds this week. That's right, folks: Festival season has returned.
Here's what you need to know about eight other upcoming festivals not named Suburbia (you can find out all you need to about that May 3 and 4 offering right here) — some of which we've already teased and some of which are completely new.
Let's dive right in, chronologically.
Thin Line Festival. (2/12 – 2/16.) Like a little film with your music? Sure, we've mentioned it before, but Denton's Thin Line Festival is aiming itself right at you. Sebadoh is headlining, and a bunch of locals — among them Booty Fade, Daniel Markham, Jenny Robinson and Fungi Girls — are playing support at various venues across the college town. The previously film-exclusive event is charging $150 for all-access passes, and $75 for music- or film-only passes. Just wanna see Sebadoh? If you hurry, you can score pre-sale tickets to just that show for the low cost of $15 right here.
Untapped Fort Worth. (3/8.) We teased this one back in December, when Spune Productions, the entity behind this annual beer-meets-music deal, announced that this year's lineup would feature performances from The Joy Formidable, Allen Stone, The Felice Brothers, Quaker City Night Hawks and more. Well, just week, they revealed the final, fully complete lineup of performers for 2014's Panther Island Pavilion-hosted affair: The bill will now also feature indie-pop darling Kate Nash and area hip-hop favorites Sam Lao and -topic. Tickets to this 200 beer-boasting deal are currently running $26 to $60 right here
South by So What?! (3/14 – 3/16.) Again, we've mentioned this one before, so consider this courtesy: Third String Productions' annual, multi-day, pop-punk-inclined, SXSW-aping offering goes down at Grand Prairie's QuikTrip Park with a doozie of a bill featuring, among others, Taking Back Sunday, The Used, Asking Alexandria, August Burns Red, Of Mice & Men, The Devil Wears Prada, Between The Buried & Me and The Story So Far. Tickets are still on sale and range from $45 for a single-day pass to $320 for a VIP deal. More ticket information can be found here.
Spillover Festival. (3/16.) As we mentioned in early December, Parade of Flesh's seventh annual “Sunday after SXSW” deal takes over two venues in Deep Ellum this year (Club Dada and Three Links) for an all-day offering featuring no fewer than 24 performers, plus an appearances by the Third Man Records mobile record store. Among the more interesting acts appearing on the now-final bill: Ty Segall, Dum Dum Girls, Diarrhea Planet, Har Mar Superstar, Astronautalis, Cerebral Ballzy, The Coathangers, Japanther and Oberhofer. In other words: This is far and a way the most interesting festival on the horizon, at least band name-wise. Tickets start at $19.99 right here.
March Madness Music Festival. (4/4 – 4/6.) Even if you're not a sports fan, there is, turns out, reason to care about the fact that college basketball's annual championship tournament is hosting its final games in Arlington this year: On April 4, 5 and 6, the NCAA will host its annual, three-day March Madness Music Festival closer to home here in Dallas, right where the hallowed Reunion Arena once stood. Press material promises the event will be “filled with music, food and fun, and will feature national and regionally known musical acts.” Given that the sponsors for this one include AT&T, Coca-Cola Zero and Capital One (hosting a “block party,” a “countdown” and a “JamFest,” respectively, over the weekend), there's enough money being sunk into this deal to potentially mean that some notable “national” names will be performing. No word yet on anyone specific, though. Nor tickets, for that matter.
JMBLYA. (5/2.) After an initial run that we deemed “a resounding success,” the team at ScoreMore, has announced that its culture-mashing, EDM-meets-hip-hop Jambalya Festival is returning to Dallas with a shortened name for a second helping on Friday, May 2. There's at least one notable change to this year's offering, though: As opposed to the South Side complex confines within Jambalaya was hosted in 2013, the 2014 version will be taking place outside, at Main Street Garden Park, from 3 to 10 p.m. on Friday, May 2. The one-day, travelling fest, which also goes down in Austin, is upgrading its locale down in the capital region, too: Whereas last year's event down there took place at the Austin Music Hall, this year's Austin event will also take place outside, at New Braunfels' WhiteWater Amphitheater, the day after the Dallas deal. Last year's lineup, you may recall, featured Tyler the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, Big Boi, RL Grime, Zeds Dead and others. This year's bill has only been announced to a degree thus far, though. As a promotional tool, ScoreMore is only releasing a handful of performers at a time, with ticket prices rising with each announcement. On Monday, organizers announced the first round of performers — Cashmere Cat, DJ Drama, The Underachievers and Denzel Curry — and tickets at a $25 rate (available here). On Wednesday, more acts will be announced. Come Friday, the whole bill will be revealed, and ticket prices will continue to jump, with VIP packages topping out at $149.
Homegrown Fest. (5/10.) We've called it “the single best day of the year in Dallas” in the past, and we stand by that sentiment. Unfortunately, there's not too, too much to stand on as far as news for this year's version of the festival goes. Here's what we do know, though: For its fifth annual run, Homegrown will return to its Main Street Garden Park home — just a week after JMBLYA this time around, it's worth noting — on Saturday, May 10. No word yet on the lineup or any ticket information, but organizers say that information should be coming in early February. Meaning, like, next week. So keep an eye out.
Pegasus Music Festival. (6/21.) Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising, but it is: In the wake of Live Nation announcing the Suburbia lineup, that company's biggest national competition, AEG Live, announced a Dallas suburb-set fest of its own. But unlike Suburbia, which will be a full-scale, multi-stage, outdoor event, AEG's Pegasus Music Festival will go down within the confines of Grand Prairie's Verizon Theatre. At this point, we also know the following: It will go down on Saturday, June 21; the lineup will be announced on Monday, February 17; tickets will go on sale on Friday, February 21. We also know that Fort Worth booking entity Ghostlight Concerts is involved in at least some capacity.
…and there you have it. Pencil in your calendars, folks.
Cover photo by Dominique Goncalves.
