Photo by Evan Olea
One of the many beauties of Chicago’s local music scene is that there really is something for everyone. From pulsating EDM to blaring metal, to even chilled out acoustic, the city and its surrounding areas offer a variety of sounds able to satisfy almost any musical craving. Behind many of these shows is Out of Context Productions; and their next event is perfect for those looking to dance, cry, and nod along all night long.
Coming to Gman Tavern in Chicago will be Slow Caves, Laverne, and Uma Bloo - three groups that all offer their own unique spin on the indie rock genre. Here’s a bit of what can be expected from each of the artists on Wednesday, June 20th.
Kicking off the night will be Chicago singer-songwriter Uma Boo. Her songs offer meditations on vulnerability and the strength within femininity. Uma Bloo has been crooning to audiences’ hearts on many of Chicago’s iconic stages recently (Tonic Room, Subterranean and Burlington Bar just to name a few) and is sure to open the night with an emotionally stirring performance.
Fans of The Kinks, The Pretenders, and Bruce Springsteen will enjoy the sounds of Laverne. The band brings an upbeat and dancey style of guitar-pop that is sure to bring a great time. Their newest release “Live at the Whistler” gives a slight glimpse into what this band is like live, and it’s immediately apparent that these guys are all about having a good time.
Closing out the night is Colorado band Slow Caves. A band that is anything but slow, and is quick to establish that their sound is full of catchy pop hooks. The band offers a relaxed yet fun and vibey sound, reminiscent of 90’s jangle, 80’s synth, and surf rock. And since this band has opened for bigger acts such as Cold War Kids, St. Lucia, and Cake, it’s pretty easy to see why this fun band is rounding out an indie-filled jam fest.
Interested in checking out what these groups are about? Out of Context has put together a playlist featuring songs from all three acts! Here is just a bit of what may be heard at Gman Tavern:
Can't get enough Middle Kids? Revisit our interview with them here.
Sir Sly was on one of the stages effected by the rain delay, but they got things moving quickly, only starting about ten minutes late, rewarding the patiently awaiting tent by opening with an unreleased new song called "Welcome The Pressure." "This has been the year of our dreams," frontman Landon Jacobs told the crowd, mentioning that this was their very first Bonnaroo and that they'd had so many great opportunities this year. Sir Sly has had a recent much-deserved streak of success following the release of their sophomore album Don't You Worry, Honey; the album showcases a raw vulnerability in Jacobs' lyrics, which reveal the hardships of a divorce and losing his mom to brain cancer, and the growth that the trio has shown in their sound and production. During their live show, all of that mixed with Jacobs zealous stage presence makes for an unforgettable show. At their Roo set, Jacobs moved around the stage to jam with his bandmates Jason Suwito and Hayden Coplen, and even climbed up the stage truss at one point. The band let their enthusiastic audience let them know how appreciative they are of their support, with Jacobs saying, "This reconfirmed the choice I made years ago to finish this album instead of sticking it out with someone who didn't support my dreams," referring to his decision to pursue music instead of staying in his marriage. It was clear that the crowd at Bonnaroo were very happy he made that choice, too.
London soul collective Jungle hit the Which Stage in the evening with the sun shining, almost making us all forget that it had stormed earlier that day...if it hadn’t been for the giant mud pits around that stage. Fans made the most of it though, sliding around barefoot in the mud to move along to the cool, groovy tunes provided by Jungle. Jungle's mix of chilled out and funk vibes paired perfectly with the mood on the last day of Roo, allowing for fans to relax a bit after three long days of music and festivities. The group also played several new songs, like "Happy Man," "Cherry," and "House in LA," which all follow up their 2014 debut album.
British singer songwriter Dua Lipa has quickly become one of the biggest names in international pop music over the last year, with collaborations with the likes of Calvin Harris and Sean Paul. Naturally, she drew a massive crowd at the What Stage for her evening set, with flocks of fans eager to get in any last chance to dance this weekend. As expected, Dua brought the dance party, providing all of the bangers and by bringing along her crew of backing dancers and singers. Opening with "Blow Your Mind (Mwah)," the set kept moving with hit after hit, like "Be The One" and "Hotter Than Hell," which had the crowd singing along to the catchy choruses.
Some ardent fans had been waiting all day for a chance to get in the main pit for The Killers' headlining slot. By 10:20 PM, the long wait was over when the band hit the decked out stage, with frontman Brandon Flowers looking sharp as usual in a flashy red suit. The energy of the huge crowd immediately peaked when the opening chords of "Mr. Brightside" rang out into the field, fans losing their minds, jumping and dancing around for the entire song. It's rare that a band starts their set with their biggest hit, but the bold move got the crowd immediately amped up and ready for the remainder of the set that featured a dynamic mix of The Killers' discography. About two songs in, Flowers brought up the quote from Evel Knievel that people come to see the attempt, not the perfect landing, and that they'd be giving it their all to put on a rock'n'roll show. As promised, The Killers gave it their all for the final set of the entire weekend, ending the weekend on a high note.
POND took the stage bright and early on Saturday afternoon, breaking in the This Tent with their psych rock jams and laid back attitudes. The band let the crowd know that their Bonnaroo performance was the very last show of their recent US tour before they return home to Australia, and they definitely went out with a bang. Frontman Nick Allbrook began the set on the right foot, immediately jumping into the audience to crowd surf during the second song. From there on, the energy remained high, with Allbrook sauntering around the entire stage, jumping down at certain points to go up to the fans at the barricade. The crowd’s energy remained right up there with the band’s, with everyone dancing and singing along despite the extreme heat.
POND Frontman Nick Allbrook
Chicago Producer and singer songwriter Knox Fortune has garnered buzz for his work with rapper Joey Purp, but more notably for singing the hook on Chance The Rapper’s song “All Night.” Naturally, when rumors surfaced on Friday that Chance The Rapper had been spotted around the Bonnaroo campgrounds, some clever fans began to speculate whether or not Chance might join Knox Fortune’s set to bring their collaboration to life. Sure enough, towards the end of Knox’s afternoon set at the That Tent, some lucky fans were able to witness a rare special performance of the track when Chance came onstage to perform his verses. Chance hasn’t made any other pop up appearances onstage this weekend, so this may have been the only chance to catch him (pun intended).
Knox Fortune at The That Tent
British singer songwriter Rory Graham, aka Rag’N’Bone Man, combines his raw, bluesy vocals with soulful pop melodies to craft addictively catchy songs that made for a great sing along during his set. The success of his single “Human” from his debut album also of the same name attracted hoards of fans to the This Tent for his evening set. During his set, Graham displayed his humble nature, often thanking the crowd for turning up and making self-deprecating jokes. He told the crowd that playing festivals in the states can be quite daunting since he always thinks no one “knows who the fuck I am,” and he seemed genuinely touched at how many people turned up to watch him. All of the fans who showed up were treated to stripped down introductions and intricate arrangements of Graham’s songs, as well as some laughs when he chatted between tunes. “I apologize for my dancing,” Graham said, recalling a time someone wrote a review of his show saying he was good, but his dancing is awful. We’re all for his dancing here though since Bonnaroo is about radiating positivity.
Rag'n'Bone Man at the This Tent
Our pals in Post Animal made their Bonnaroo debut last night to an overflowing and hyped up crowd at the Who Stage. Although their set time clashed with some other major shows, including Bon Iver’s first set, fans still flocked to see their second ever festival performance, following last month’s debut at Shaky Knees in Atlanta. Throughout the past couple of years, the group has beefed up their live show, honing in on their song transitions and arrangements to make for a special experience of their songs that you can only get at their live shows. Their efforts to put on a smooth and engaging show didn’t go unnoticed by their enthusiastic crowd, who immediately opened up a mosh pit and crowd surfed throughout the 45 minute set. One audience member brought a blow up doll with them, which surfed above the crowd and even ended up on stage at one point. Post Animal has never been known to put on a tame show, but last night was definitely one of the wildest. You can catch their next major festival performance later in the summer, when they take the Lollapalooza stage for the first time.
When Bon Iver’s first set of Saturday night consisted mostly of songs from the album 22, A Million, fans began to speculate that the later set would include some of the classics from the earlier days. However, Justin Vernon took a completely different approach by turning the set into a collaborative performance piece. The collaborative vision closely tied into the mission of Vernon’s hometown festival in Eau Claires, Wisconsin, which frequently features surprise sets and crossover between bands and artists during their shows. Not only did the Bon Iver show last night have special guest appearances, but dancers also accompanied the music for certain songs. Coupled with the intricate lighting design, the dancers tied together the show’s production level. As for the musical guests, Vernon first invited Francis and the Lights early on in the set, before welcoming him back to perform their hit “Friends”…with both Vernon and Francis joining in on the dancing. Other guests included Moses Sumney and Sylvan Esso, with the latter coming out on stage to perform “Flume” with the band, as well as their own song “Coffee.” Vernon even invited Parkland survivor Aalayah Eastmond out to speak about gun control, adding some activism into the set. Overall, the show was completely unique to most Bon Iver shows you’d catch, which made for the perfect ending to Bonnaroo’s third day.
Tons of Bonnarooians flocked to Centeroo early on Friday to catch Japanese Breakfast's set that was scheduled for 2:15 PM. Although the set got off to a late start, actually starting around 2:30, fans waited patiently, cheering and clapping through the last minute sound check. Front woman Michelle Zauner started off the set stationary with her guitar, but a couple of songs in, she roamed the stage sans guitar to get closer to the audience and work the entire crowd. As Zauner sang through songs on her 2017 album Soft Sounds From Another Planet, the crowd sang along loudly, getting Bonnaroo Day 2 off to a great start.
Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast
"This [song] is older than most of y'all. You guys are younger than this song, and you know it. That's weird," Sheryl Crow addressed the overflowing audience at her early evening set at the What Stage, who had been singing along all the words. Although the hits Crow played during her Friday set may have been from years ago, that didn't stop the diverse audience from knowing them all, and she started strong with epic sing alongs like "If It Makes You Happy" and "Every Day Is A Winding Road." Crow's stage banter remained strong throughout her entire set, with her teasing both her participation in the Super Jam and a surprise guest appearance. After pointing out a Tom Petty sign one of the audience members was holding up, Crow asked for the fan to pass it to her, and she held it up, reminding everyone to come see the Super Jam tribute to Tom Petty later that night. "Y'all have a big weekend ahead of you," Crow said. "I just met someone who is gonna be on the stage later, but it's not announced. I would leak it, but I haven't had anything to drink yet." Maybe tonight we'll find out who the unannounced performer is, but Crow never did end up leaking it during her set.
Paramore hit the What Stage after Sheryl Crow, taking the stage to eager audience members, who were all excited to finally see the Nashville band on the Roo stage. "Right in our backyard and we never came to see you," lead singer Hayley Williams said to the Friday evening crowd, addressing the band's absence from the festival thus far. Although Paramore fans might have been waiting years to see the band on the farm, Williams and the band more than made up for it with a mix of songs from throughout their discography, Williams' powerhouse vocals that stayed strong despite her constant dancing and jumping, and the performance of a Halfnoise song (drummer Zac Farro's other project). The band also took the time to use their platform to promote positivity between their songs, Williams addressing the death of Anthony Bourdain, as the news had broken earlier that day. "I see a lot of smiles, and that's really nice to see in 2018," Williams said, continuing on to say that the news these days is usually pretty awful, but dancing and music has the ability to bring people together and add something positive to all of the negative news of the world. Paramore's set definitely acted as the perfect mood booster and distraction on a day that had begun with some heavy news for the entertainment industry.
Like Paramore, Nashville duo Okey Dokey also played their first Bonnaroo as this project, but lead singer Aaron Martin told the audience that this was his fifth time at Bonnaroo. In celebration of Okey Dokey making it to Roo, the pair invited a bunch of their musical friends to join them on The Who Stage. Liz Cooper of Liz Cooper & The Stampede joined the band on stage for the entire set, playing different percussion instruments (including a banana shaker), but towards the end of the set, she sang a duet with Martin. Rayland Baxter, who would later be joining in on the Tom Petty Super Jam, also joined this sort of mini Super Jam, singing the song he had written with the group. Brad Shultz and Nick Bockrath of Cage The Elephant even hopped on stage to play guitar for a couple of songs.
Okey Dokey Featuring Liz Cooper
Every year, Bonnaroo puts on a Super Jam featuring a line up of musical guests performing at the festival throughout the weekend. This year, the Super Jam paid tribute to Tom Petty, which meant the entire crowd screamed along the entire time as the band played through hit after hit. The core band that played the entire two hour set included Patrick Hallahan, Tom Blankenship, Pat Sansone, Craig Pfunder, Daniel Creamer, and The Watson Twins, and the special guests ranged from artists just starting out to veteran rockstars. Bonnaroo first timers FRENSHIP and Durand Jones and the Indications joined early on in the set to play "Refugee" and "You Wreck Me," with legend Sheryl Crow following shortly after to sing "American Girl." The massive crowd that had flocked to the This Tent for the jam had dwindled slightly towards the end of the set, but the tent remained packed until past 3AM, with special guests like Matt Shultz (Cage The Elephant), Vanessa Carlton, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), and Sameer Gadhia (Young The Giant) anchoring out the set with songs like "Breakdown," "Learning to Fly," and "Free Fallin'." The artists that contributed all sounded incredible together, paying a beautiful homage to Mr. Tom Petty.
Super Jam closing out the This Tent on Friday
British singer songwriter Jade Bird hit the ground running during her first US festival appearance by not only playing a late night set at The Who Stage, but by playing a stripped down set at Coleman's The Campout experience out by plaza four. Jade's raw vocal power and fiery spirit shone through just as much at the early afternoon set as it did during her main performance. The enthusiastic Thursday night crowd welcomed Bird with open arms as she played through songs on her debut EP like "Good Woman" and "Cathedral," as well as a couple covers of songs by The Pixies and Kate Bush. Bird's performance of her popular single "Lottery" acted as the highlight of the set, the crowd all singing along to the belter of a chorus. "I've been Jade Bird and you guys have been the best audience I've ever had," Bird said at the end of her show.
Jade Bird at the Coleman Camp Out experience
Self-proclaimed really nice guy Ron Gallo and his band packed the tent for their energetic early evening set at the That Tent. Gallo displayed his usual quirky antics during the show, incorporating a trumpet into their songs, introducing his band and himself in a monotone voice as he read off a piece of paper, and saying "sorry" a bunch of times mid-song. Although the live band is usually a trio with Joe Bisirri on bass and Dylan Sevey on drums, the group was joined by the band's tour manager on keys yesterday and during the last song, the band added an impromptu new member. Gallo invited an audience member onstage to play his guitar, ending the set on a high note.
Ron Gallo and his newest band member
Los Angeles duo James Sunderland and Brett Hite, better known as FRENSHIP, played their first Bonnaroo last night to an eager crowd at the This Tent, and they were shocked at the Thursday turn out. "Nobody comes on a Thursday," Sunderland said in awe of the overflowing tent, which was full of fans singing the lyrics back to them. In addition to playing their popular tracks like "Carpet" and "Capsize" from their first EP, Hite and Sunderland treated the crowd to some of their newer singles like "LOVE Somebody" and "MI Amore." The duo also made sure to dress their best for their Bonnaroo debut by wearing matching pants. "We're wearing the same damn pants. We wore the same pants for you, Bonnaroo," they admitted. The audience was so enthusiastic that they started a "take them off!" chant about the pants, and Sunderland made a promise that they would take them off by the end of the set if the audience promised to stay with them through their entire career. True to their words, during the final song "1000 Nights," Sunderland took his pants off, ending their set with another memorable moment.
James Sunderland finishing FRENSHIP's set sans pants
Soul outfit Durand Jones and The Indications delivered the smoothest set of Thursday, bringing their full, rich big band sound to the That Tent. The band displayed incredible chemistry and musicianship as they played through their hour long set, horns and woodwinds complementing the sheer power Durand Jones' vocals. Their groovy, R&B songs have a retro quality to them, but their tight sound and Jones' showmanship put a refreshing spin on a vintage sound. Drummer Aaron Frazer also displayed his incredible multi-tasking skills when he lent his vocals to a few of the songs during the set. The group will take part in the "Into The Great Wide Open" Superjam tonight, so if you missed them on Thursday, make sure you catch them during this all-star packed set tonight.
Durand Jones and The Indications Bringing Soul to The Farm
If you're camping at 'Roo, you might have noticed the permanent party set up in Plaza 9, which has been curated by none other than Cage The Elephant's Matt Shultz. The set up in Plaza 9 includes birthday decorations to celebrate Roo Day, as well as pop up experiences with some of the performing artists; like karaoke with Okey Dokey, watercolor painting with Lissie, DJ sets, and yoga. Thursday at Plaza 9 ended with a huge bang when Cage The Elephant played a surprise full show, which they had teased with a now deleted Instagram post. If you weren't in the know for the secret show, you can also catch Shultz and his bandmate Nick Bockrath partaking in the "Into The Great Wide Open" Superjam tonight.
Cage the elephant surprise bonnaroo set it’s good to be back on the farm pic.twitter.com/7gX4p01plh
— Jacob (@JacobShebek) June 8, 2018
