Thursday 6 July 2017

Fantasy Festival #1: The Epic Festival - Lineup

Vagabon: Vagabon, aka Laetitia Tamko, hails from New York and released her debut album, Infinite Worlds, earlier this year. You can read about her in W Magazine, and you will find her music over on Bandcamp. She makes sprawling, raw indie rock with authenticity and heart.

Gothic Tropic: Cecilia Della Peruti hails from Los Angeles, and there seems to be some dispute online as to whether Gothic Tropic is Peruti alone, or whether Gothic Tropic is a band. The debut album, Fast or Feast, was released in the UK back in May. I was charmed by the bands set at The Castle as part of the Manchester leg of Dot To Dot at the end of May, and the album is an indie pop classic, with a sheen of California post punk pop and the intricacies of Adult Net. You can read about Gothic Tropic on DIY Mag.

Laura Gibson: Laura Gibson is a quietly established singer/songwriter who, until fairly recently, was based in Portland, Oregon. Her current, and third, album, Empire Builder, was released in 2016 and reflects the stark and understated nature of her songwriting. She is playing some UK dates in August.

Lily & Madeleine: Lily & Madeleine are two sisters from Indiana who play sophisticated folky pop. Their current album, Keep It Together, was released last year to critical acclaim, and they are currently touring the US in support to John Mellencamp.

Neko Case: Coming on like the lovechild of Patsy Cline and Gene Vincent, Neko Case makes gorgeously evocative Americana. She is one third of Case/Lang/Veirs, and also plays with The New Pornographers. She has released so many solo albums now that I have actually lost count and is resident in Canada. Her most recent solo album is the very presciently titled The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You and she has just come back from a short tour with The New Pornographers.

Bat For Lashes: Natasha Khan, aka Bat For Lashes, released her debut album, Fur and Gold, in 2006. Two Suns, which followed in 2009, included the haunting 'Daniel', and brooding 'Sleep Alone'. The Bride, which was released last year, is her fourth album. Her songs are both haunting and beautiful, always atmospheric and gorgeous.

Stevie Nicks: There is the Stevie Nicks who is a member of Fleetwood Mac, and then there is Stevie Nicks the solo artist. My friend, David Wilkinson, has a theory as to why so many hipsters like the McVie/McVie/Fleetwood/Nicks/Buckingham lineup of Fleetwood Mac: he puts it down to the success of Tango In The Night in the mid-late 1980s, when the hipsters were children, meaning Fleetwood Mac serve as a sort of musical comfort blanket for them. Solo Nicks tends to be more rock, a bit harder, a bit tougher, a bit more visceral. She is playing British Summer Time festival at Hyde Park on 9th July as the main support to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and will then be touring the US.

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