80/35 Reveals Initial Lineup

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I went to the inaugural 80/35 Festival in Des Moines way back in 2008. The headliners were The Roots and The Flaming Lips, and since it was 4th of July weekend, it was capped off with a fireworks show. Since that year I’ve felt like the lineups have all been a step backwards, not coming close to the bands that played the first-one exception being 2013 when David Byrne & St. Vincent headlined one night, and Wu-Tang Clan the other. That’s all changed with yesterday’s announcement of the headliners and some of the others playing (but not the full list).

Wilco will headline Friday night, and Weezer on Saturday. That’s a one-two punch I can get excited about. Wilco are on their 20th anniversary tour right now, and showing no signs of slowing down. Weezer have some of the best rock songs around, and it’ll be great to hear stuff from the Blue album and Pinkerton as well as some of their more recent hits. For the price of a two-day pass ($59), you get a lot of bang for your buck.

They also announced Jenny Lewis, Run The Jewels, Talib Kweli, Lettuce, Cloud Nothings, Empires, St Lucia, The Kickback and many more. They’ll be announcing a second wave later, but I think you have all the info you need to pick up a ticket for the July 10th and 11th fest. Holding it on only Friday and Saturday is smart, and if you’re used to three-day fests I think you’ll appreciate not being completely exhausted when the whole thing is over.

You can buy passes here.

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