Last year's inaugural SoundTown Music Festival in Somerset, WI was a delightful experience, despite being a little underwhelming. The festival itself was well-executed. The event is very affordable and in close proximity to the Twin Cities. Last year featured a good mix of national and local artists, bolstered by headliners The Flaming Lips. Decent camping area. Plenty of good food and beer. Other attractions, such as tubing on the Apple River, to keep festival attendees busy. The one catch was that it was severely under-attended. While the small crowds made the fan experience very comfortable and pleasant (almost too much so), it didn't necessarily instill confidence in the sustainability of the festival. However, the festival management maintained that they had their sights set on the long term prospects of the event. Now, with SoundTown in its second year, it's reassuring to see that they are holding true to their promise, and taking the next step towards making it a festival with staying power.
This year's SoundTown is happening on July 27-28 in Somerset, WI. The lineup was announced this morning, and it features more prominent national artists than last year, in addition to the strong contingent of local performers. The big names on the bill are Weezer, Florence + The Machine, Jane's Addiction (fresh from their venue-opening concert at new and troubled local venue The Brick), Common, Girl Talk, Mayer Hawthorne and more.
As for the hip-hop acts booked so far, the festival kept things consistent with last year and went for quality over quantity. Confirmed acts thus far are Common, along with locals MaLLy and More Than Lights. It would be nice to see some more acts make the bill, especially considering the multitude of immensely talented artists who call the Twin Cities home.
Check this link for ticket information for the festival.
Continue reading to see the rest of the lineup. I will update the list as more performers get announced.
