When the lineup for the 2013 edition of the Hangout Music Festcame out last month, event organizers promised a third headliner would be announced to join Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Kings of Leon a top the bill. Today, it’s been revealed that legendary performer Stevie Wonder is that third headliner.
Wonder is expected to close out the three-day festival that takes place on the beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama on May 17 - 19. General admission tickets are currently available for $229 plus fees. Other additions to the lineup include Big Gigantic, Yeah Yeahs Yeahs, Baauer, Wild Feathers, Ra Ra Riot, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Holy Ghost!, Afrojack and Imagine Dragons.
I will die happy because I have boogied down fifteen feet from Stevie Wonder. I have studied the rips and tears in his clavinet. I have seen his tech guy’s afro shake in the lights as he polished Stevie’s harmonica. I have heard Stevie tear into the wah-wah glory of Higher Ground, then jokingly switch to the syrupy synth of Celine Dion albums, then push the Scope Arena–which opened a year later than nearby Hampton Coliseum–into the Troposphere. I have felt the B-section of Sir Duke snake down onto the floor harder than Zeppelin, fiercer than Rage and crisper than a thousand DJs with a thousand Macbooks. I’ve seen the 62-year-old soul man almost break down and cry before changing gears and rocking the packed hockey arena out into the streets.
[Photo by Sarah Kleinman]
This election eve campaign concert had the feel of a New Year’s Eve show at Madison Square Garden. With Wonder not touring right now, the thousands upon thousands of people waiting outside in the cold knew they were in for something special. Walking up I heard a jammed out version of Signed, Sealed, Delivered. At first I thought organizers had hired a tight-as-hell Stevie cover band to warm up the crowd, but this was the soundcheck from inside. Speakers were placed around the outside of the arena, and screens were put up later for the countless who didn’t get into the free show. During the soundcheck Stevie allowed his guitarist to open the hose a bit, which didn’t happen during the show. However, Wonder’s band for this one-off gig was as tight as any he has assembled–nay, as tight as any band any mortal has ever assembled.
Today marks UN Day, aka the 67th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations Organization. To celebrate the occasion, the UN has put together a concert called “A Message For Peace featuring Stevie Wonder” which will take place tonight between 7PM and 9PM ET in the General Assembly Hall at UN HQ in NYC. The concert will be webcast live BELOW and then will be broadcast on a slew of TV stations including Palladia, BET and VH1 Classic on February 23rd at 7PM ET.
Stevie has called upon a slew of his famous friends to perform with him tonight including Sting, Paul Simon, Wyclef Jean, Elle Varner, Bebe Winans, Susan Sarandon and Malcolm Jamal Warner.
The stars came out in force at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Thursday night for the Children’s Benefit Concert to benefit Paul Simon’sChildren’s Health Fund. Joining Simon in performing at the famed venue were Stevie Wonder, Steve Martin, Sting and his wife Trudie Styler, Aaron Neville, Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson as well as a slew of famous presenters including Oprah Winfrey, Tina Fey, Spike Lee and Hillary Clinton.
The emotional high point of the night was when Paul Simon brought out his daughter Lulu who sang Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and for a duet with her father on the fitting Father and Daughter. Simon also sang You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly with wife and Lulu’s mother Edie Brickell, performed Late In The Evening with Ruben Blades, Sting singing Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better with wife Trudie Styler that even referred to their tantric sex sessions and a Loves Me Like A Rock finale that featured Sting, Stevie Wonder, Aisha Morris, Vince Gill and James Taylor.
We came across a number of videos from this fantastic evening…
Bonnaroo can be such an exhausting adventure and Saturday was no exception. With a heat index nearly to 100, one had to do whatever could be done to avoid the heat. Sitting at the main stage waiting for the legendary Jimmy Cliff to perform I could feel the sweat just dripping of my face and for that matter, everywhere else on my body.
[Jimmy Cliff]
Nevertheless, it was an opportunity of a lifetime to get to see the reggae legend from Kingston, Jamaica perform only a few yards away. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame member got things kicked off with a great version of You Can Get It If You Really Want. His set also included a fantastic cover of Yusuf Islam’s (aka Cat Stevens) Wild World. The set was very politically infused, with Jimmy discussing the oil spill in the gulf and that led into a song about global warming. Cliff later changed the lyrics of his own song titled Vietnam to make it relevant about the war in Afghanistan.
Up next was one of my favorite and most anticipated performances of the weekend – Mumford and Sons. I was extremely surprised and impressed by how many people were in attendance at this show, particularly because the Avett Brothers had an almost identical time slot. You could feel that the crowd was hungry for the performance, as they sang along to every single song. The band opened with Sigh No More and immediately went into The Cave. The vocals on Awake My Soul were particularly poignant. The surprise of the show was the appearances of Dave Rawlings, Gillian Welch and members of Old Crow Medicine Show to perform the band’s own Roll Away Your Stone and then a rip-roaring version of OCMS’s Wagon Wheel.
READ ON for more from Jennifer on Saturday at Bonnaroo…
Back in 2002, the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival’s inaugural edition played host to around 50 mostly jam-oriented bands across four stages on a 700-acre farm about an hour southeast of Nashville, TN. Now in its ninth year, the fest which has cemented itself as arguably the premier North American music festival, will have almost that many acts playing on its first day alone with thirteen different tents and stages for music, comedy, movies and more. As has become the norm around these parts we will once again be dedicating a number of posts this week exclusively to all things ‘Roo.
It seems as if with each passing year it becomes more and more interesting to see just who fest organizers will tap for their headliner slots. This year the folks at Superfly nabbed a genuine legend to hold down one of those slots as Stevie Wonder, who only occasionally plays live and has only toured once over the last decade, will hit the What Stage at 8:30 PM on Saturday for a two-hour set. We’re not quite sure what to expect from Wonder, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a heavy dose of his early ’70s output. Check out this funky as hell performance of Superstition -> Maybe Your Baby, both from Talking Book, from this 1972 live performance…
With Jay-Z going on directly after Mr. Wonder on Saturday night, we’re hoping the two plan on collaborating at some point during the evening.
Last week, our guest Cover Wars author Andy Kahn mentioned that many people incorrectly think that Jeff Buckley penned Hallelujah when in fact it is the work of Leonard Cohen. Similarly this week, I’m sure there are a large number of people who think The Band wrote Don’t Do It when in fact it was originally recorded by Marvin Gaye in 1964. Alright, I’ll admit it – I was one of those people until somewhat recently. This song was written by the legendary songwriting team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, more on them later.
The Contestants:
The Band released this under the name of simply Don’t Do It, not exactly sure why they dropped the “Baby Don’t You”, maybe one of our readers knows. This was first released on the live album Rock of Ages which was recorded during the last four days of 1971. Don’t Do it was also on the live release The Last Waltz recorded in 1976. A studio version was released by way of a bonus track for the 2000 Deluxe Edition of Cahoots, an album by The Band from 1971. Source: Rock Of Ages
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Happy Thanksgiving. The encore from The Last Waltz:
READ ON for the scoop on the rest of this week’s contestants…
From the first time I heard Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground and Superstition, I’ve always been a huge fan of the clavinet. This electric keyboard manufactured by the Hohner company produces a funky sound that adds plenty of life to any song in which it is used. Since its introduction in the ’60s, the clav has been used in dozens of classic rock, funk, disco and reggae songs. It’s even turned up in the setup of many jamband keyboard players including JoJo Hermann of Widespread Panic and Page McConnell of Phish.
This week’s B List looks at the ten best clav-fueled songs from the ’60s and ’70s. Part two of our look at the clavinet will focus on more modern tracks that use this keyboard, but that’s for a later date.
For now, let’s look at ten classic clavinet-fueled songs…
10. Higher Ground – Stevie Wonder
When most people hear the traditional clavinet sound, they think of Stevie Wonder’s work on both Higher Ground and Superstition. Without a doubt, Stevie put this keyboard on the map. Above, we’ve got a clip of Stevie and Wonder Love tearing it up live in 1973.
READ ON for nine more classic clavinet-fueled songs…
Most of our readers will probably be in Indio on October 29th and 30th, but if you won’t be seeing Phish at their first festival since Coventry, you should think about heading to the Big Apple for one of the most ridiculous lineups ever assembled. Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, U2, Paul Simon, Metallica, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Friends and Simon and Garfunkel will all perform at Madison Square Garden over the course of those two days for a benefit to create a permanent endowment for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
[Paul Simon & Bruce Springsteen @ MSG in 1987]
The concerts will be taped for a special on HBO to air in November and will be produced/directed by Joel Gallen who puts together the Rock Hall induction ceremonies each year. Tickets will go on sale to AmEx cardholders on July 27th before the rest of us schlubs get a shot on August 3 at 9AM. The prices for ducats range from $79 all the way up to $2,504.50.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Friends, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder will perform on October 29th, while Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Metallica and U2 will take the stage on October 30th. There’s been promises of guests and collaborators so this lineup may only be the beginning. Which night would you rather see?
This week features six artists competing for the best cover of Stevie Wonder’s Boogie On Reggae Woman. This song comes to us off the 1974 record Fulfillingness’ First Finale. Here’s a look at the contenders:
Addison Groove Project: As you may recall, this now retired (but is any band ever really retired?) funk-fusion outfit from Boston has previously been mentioned on Hidden Track, by me, and about this song. AGP got a mention in my Top Ten Big Red sit-ins.
Legion Of Mary: LoM was Jerry Garcia’s side-band from 1974 to 1975 and featured Garcia, Merl Saunders (Keyboards, Vocals), John Kahn (bass), Martin Fierro (Saxophone, Flute) and Ron Tutt (Drums). This track comes to you from a ’74 show in Berkeley, Merl takes vocal duties, but Garcia’s guitar work starting around the 6 minute mark is definitely worth hearing. READ ON…
We’re less than two weeks from the start of Lollapalooza 2008, and we’ve got two exciting pieces of news to share about the three-day blowout. First, rumors are swirling about an Obama appearance at the festie. Could this be his playing saxophone on Arsenio Hall moment? Also, for those of us who can’t make it out to Chicago we can watch highlights from Grant Park on Fuse.
Now let’s take a look at what went down this weekend:
Stevie Wonder discusses his latest tour, Barack Obama and more
Check out a photo of Phil Lesh’s epic new bass [via Philzone.com]
David Bowie put together a list of his favorite songs that he wrote for Sunday’s Daily Mail. Instead of picking his greatest hits The Thin White Duke dug deep through his catalog for some choice cuts including The Bewlay Brothers, Win and Teenage Wildlife. We’re just glad that Life On Mars made Bowie’s list.
Let’s see what else is happening on the first day of this shortened week…
The Police bade an emotional farewell to their UK fans at Hyde Park
It’s been awhile since we’ve given you a festival announcement around these parts, but old habits die hard and we thought the inaugural New American Music Union Festival was worth mentioning. The fest which is set to take place in scenic Pittsburgh, PA on August 8th and 9th is being curated by RHCP’s lead singer Anthony Kiedis and will feature an impressive roster which will include Bob Dylan, The Raconteurs, Spoon, Black Mountain and more.
Rounding out the lineup will also be fifteen bands from various colleges around the country who will be competing for free studio time.
If heading to the ‘Burgh for a festie and a tasty sandwich at Primanti Brothers isn’t for you, then maybe one of these recently announced tours will be:
Madge is charging a boatload for tickets to her Sweet & Sticky tour (begins: 08/23)
Old school jambanders Blues Traveler hit the road (begins: 05/17)
G. Love and of course the Special Sauce line up a late summer run with the John Butler Trio (begins: 08/01)
Finally, earlier this year Tina Turner made her return to the stage with one of the better performances at this year’s Grammy’s – frankly it seemed like Beyonce had a hard time keeping up. Well the reinvigorated 68 year-old Turner announced earlier this week that she’ll be hitting the road this fall for arenas dates for the first time since 2000. I’m sure there’s a joke about Ike somewhere, but we’ll leave that up to you Mad Libs style to fill in. Take your best shot…
After a successful return to the road last year, Stevie Wonder is gearing up for another summer tour. So far only four gigs have been announced, be we agree with Brooklyn Vegan that these dates are the tip of the iceberg. Tickets for the Jones Beach show go onsale this Saturday at 10AM.
I had to miss Stevie’s epic show at MSG complete with Tony Bennett and Prince cameos due to a wedding in November, so this is my shot at redemption.
May 2 – Jazz Fest, New Orleans LA
June 18 – Jones Beach, Wantagh NY
June 26 – Summerfest, Milwaukee WI
June 28 – Grant Park, Chicago IL
After nearly 20 years the holy grail of electric basses, Jaco Pastorius’ Bass of Doom, turned up in New York City recently. Bass Player Magazine’s Chris Jisi got to play the magnificent beast along with Will Lee, Victor Wooten and Victor Bailey. Jisi writes the most interesting tale of the Bass of Doom for Bass Player’s website. [via Yair]
Let’s take one final look at what’s happening this week:
The Samples enter the realms of the jam band graveyard
Jane’s Addiction will reunite for this year’s NME awards
iClips brings us the Mother Hips and New Monsoon on Saturday night
The Trey Anastasio Band’s Russ Lawton won’t slow down
Stevie Wonder heads a strong Taste of Chicago lineup
Finally, kudos to the Golden Voice team for coming up with a last minute addition that’s sure to please the Coachella crowd. Prince has finally been confirmed as the true headliner of this year’s festival.
, from this 1972 live performance…
