Radiohead, Jack Johnson headline Golden Gate Park Concert - (outside lands festival, golden gate park, outside lands, outside lands concert)

This looks like one amazing festival happening in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

Sixty-four bands, six stages, 60,000 concert-goers expected each day — that’s the gist of the inaugural Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival set for this Friday through Sunday in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

Somehow Golden Gate Park — from the heyday of Hippie Hill to the totally free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival — never really got in on the grand-scale festival business.

When Radiohead takes the stage at the inaugural Outside Lands Festival on Friday, Aug. 22, it’ll be the first time a band has played in a sanctioned performance after dark in the park.

“The headliners of the caliber of Radiohead and Tom Petty want to be able to play with their production and a large part of that production is lights,” said Allen Scott, vice president of Bay Area promoter Another Planet Entertainment. “To have a truly world-class festival you have to go into night.”

Three years in the making — the end result of dozens of meetings with city, park and neighborhood officials — the first “multi-day ticketed festival” ever held in the park is a joint venture between Another Planet and Bonnaroo promoter Superfly Presents, based in New Orleans.

Headliners Radiohead, Tom Petty and Jack Johnson top a 64-band lineup that lands all over the genre map: Beck, Wilco, Ben Harper and Primus give way to the international flavors of Café Tecuba and Manu Chao. Lyrics Born, Lupe Fiasco and The Mighty Underdogs put hip-hop on the bill. You want old-school? Steve Winwood keeps the ’60s and ’70s alive.

A quarter of the acts are local bands, with The Coup, Goapele, Sila & the Afrofunk Experience, Two Gallants, Sean Hayes all landing prized slots.

Instead of burgers and dogs, the gourmet spread taps local restaurants like Maverick, Eos and Gordo’s. The wine comes from 20 local wineries.

Jumping through hoops with park and city officials, promoters have worked out special deals with BART and Muni to provide plenty of rides to the festival.

“Radiohead was looking for opportunities like Outside Lands to play in a city proper and for them, public transportation was a very important element to where they were playing on tour this year,” said Scott.

But, getting back to the main draw — live outdoor music on parade all day (and night) — perhaps it was festival veteran Steve Winwood who summed it up best:

“I think the decline of the record industry in many ways is quite good for the health of music. Because I think it gives people other roots and other avenues to get their music across, such as festivals and live music.”

2008 Seattle Hempfest Line-up

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SEATTLE HEMPFEST CLICK HERE

Share Parker Memorial Main Stage
Saturday - August 16, 2008 11:00 Tim Pate 11:45 Magic Black-Ferguson 11:50 Elvy Mussika 11:55 Sandee Burbank 12:00 Ricker, Seattle's #1 DJ 12:25 Paul Richmond 12:30 Charlie Commeree 12:35 Sarah Newton 12:40 Richard Cusick 12:45 Madeline Martinez 12:55 Ed Rosenthal 12:50 Dominic Corva 1:00 Jim Page 1:35 Kris Krane 1:40 Lee Newbury 1:45 David Guard 1:50 Alexis Baden-Meyer 2:00 Mos Generator 2:35 Philippe Lucas 2:40 Douglas Hiatt 2:45 Martin Martinez 2:50 Scotto Moore 2:55 Richard Cusick 3:00 Herbivores 3:35 Dominic Holden 3:40 Philippe Lucas 3:45 Mikki Norris 3:50 Chris Conrad 3:55 Mason Tvert 4:00 Keith Stroup 4:05 Allen St. Pierre 4:10 Rick Steves 4:15 Vivian McPeak 4:20 All Hail the Crown 4:55 Adam Eidinger 5:00 Mike Corral 5:05 Vains of Jenna 5:40 Roland A. Duby 5:45 Angel Raich 5:50 Gregory Carter 5:55 George Rohrbacher 6:00 The Galaxy Machine 6:35 Dr. David Bearman 6:40 Phil Smith 6:50 Doug McVay 6:55 Joanna McKee 7:00 Brothers of the Baladi 7:45 Closing Ceremonies	Sunday - August 17, 2008 11:00 Tim Pate 11:45 Dale Rogers 11:50 Ed Rosenthal 11:55 Reverend DeMaris Strohm--Hughes 12:00 Laptop Battle 12:35 Violet Victoria 12:40 Don Wirtshafter 12:45 Russ Belville 12:50 Sunil Aggarwal 12:55 Dr. Gregory Carter 1:00 Jen Ambrose 1:35 Ed Forchion 1:45 Lee Berger 1:50 Omar Figueroa 1:55 John Conroy 2:00 Kim Manning 2:35 Dr. Frank Lucido 2:40 Valerie Corral 2:45 David Nott 2:50 Scotto Moore 2:55 Dominic Holden 3:00 Dat Fiya 3:40 Jack Herer 3:45 Debby Goldsberry 3:50 Steve Levine 3:55 Alison Holcomb 4:00 Rob Kampia 4:05 Rick Steves 4:15 Vivian McPeak 4:20 Flowmotion 4:55 David Frankel 5:05 Hip Hop - Outtasite, Laura "Piece" Kelley Shyan Selah 5:45 Angela Goodhope 5:55 Ngaio Bealum 6:00 Hip HopTotal Devastation Choklate Salem 6:40 Reefer Madness 7:00 L.D.T. Mo Thugs (Layzie Bone, Thin C, Dre ghost) 7:45 Closing Ceremonies
Hemposium Music Stage
Saturday - August 16, 2008 11:00 Panel - Industrial Hemp: What it Can Do for America Alexis Baden-Mayer Adam Eidinger David Frankel Summer Star Haeske Steve Levine Don Wirtshafter 11:50 Panel - State of the State: Washington's Medical Marijuana Law Sunil Aggarwal Douglas Hiatt Alison Holcomb Dominic Holden Dale Rogers Dennis Moyers Steve Sarich 12:40 Panel - Ask Your Doctor if Medical Marijuana is Right for You Dr. Gregory Carter Dr. David Bearman Dr. Frank Lucido Roger Roffman Sunil Aggarwal 1:35 Panel - Patients out of Patience: How to Obtain your Medicine Sunil Aggarwal Valerie Corral Philippe Lucas Martin Martinez Jeremy Miller Sean Willy Dale Rogers 2:25 Lazie Bone (L.D.T. Mo thugs) 2:40 Rick Steves 3:10 Hemp Fashion Show 4:00 Jim Page 5:00 Olivia de la Cruz 6:00 Tim Pate 7:00 Dirty Bird	Sunday - August 17, 2008 10:30 Panel - Cannabis and Spiritual Freedom Sunil Aggarwal Reverend Levon Lion Doug McVay Reverend DeMaris Strohm-Hughes 11:00 Panel - Looking Forward in Cannabis Reform David Frankel Alison Holcomb Dominic Holden Rob Kampia Kris Krane Mikki Norris Allen St. Pierre 11:50 Panel - Pot Pride Magic Black-Ferguson Debby Goldsberry Mikki Norris Keith Stroup Ed Forchion Sarah Newton 12:40 Panel - Marijuana Mythbusters Ngaio Bealum Chris Conrad Doug McVay David Guard Roger Roffman Mason Tvert Dominic Corva 1:35 Panel - Marijuana and the Media Russ Belville Dominic Holden Scotto Moore David Nott Phil Smith Mason Tvert 2:20 Panel - Industrial Hemp: What it Can Do for America Adam Eidinger David Frankel Jack Herer Steve Levine Chris Conrad George Rohrbacher 3:10 Hemp Fashion Show 4:00 The Misery Love Company 5:00 Jerin Faulkner 6:00 James Hilborne 7:00 Jill Cohn
Ralph and Judith Seeley Memorial Stage
Saturday - August 16, 2008 11:00 Tribal Voices 12:00 Thaddeus Spae 12:35 Jon Levesque 12:40 Reverend Levon Lion 12:50 Rachel Kurtz 2:55 Lee Berger 1:00 Michal Miller Band 1:35 Monte Levine 1:40 Magic Black-Ferguson 1:50 Russ Belville 1:55 Ed Forchion 2:00 Paula Maya 2:40 Steve Levine 2:45 Valerie Corral 2:50 Doug McVay 2:55 David Guard 3:00 Monte Ray & the Truth 3:35 Dr. Frank Lucido 3:40 Jack Herer 3:45 Debby Goldsberry 3:50 David Frankel 3:55 Angela Goodhope 4:00 Alison Holcomb 4:05 Jeffrey Steinborn 4:10 Rob Kampia 4:20 Billy and the Dusty 45's 4:55 David Nott 5:00 Kris Krane 5:05 Niyah 5:45 Madeline Martinez 5:50 Dale Rogers 5:55 Sarah Newton 6:00 Jahson Ites 6:35 Jeremy Miller 6:40 Dennis Moyers 6:45 Sean Willy 7:00 Martin N' Terri	Sunday - August 17, 2008 11:00 Tribal Voices 12:00 Daisy Chain 12:40 Ed Rosenthal 12:45 Charlie Commeree 12:50 Alexis Baden-Mayer 12:55 Roland A. Duby 1:00 Los Marijuanos 1:35 Keith Stroup 1:40 Joanna McKee 1:45 Angel Raich 1:50 Kris Millegan 1:55 Sandee Burbank 2:00 Handful of Luvin' 2:35 Elvy Mussika 2:45 Dominic Corva 2:50 Mason Tvert 2:55 John Conroy 3:00 Superficials 3:35 Lee Newbury 3:40 Mike Corral 3:45 Phil Smith 3:50 Douglas Hiatt 3:55 Martin Martinez 4:00 Allen St. Pierre 4:05 Dominic Holden 4:10 Chris Conrad 4:15 Mikki Norris 4:20 Sol Jibe 4:55 Don Wirtshafter 5:00 Violet Victoria 5:05 The Aaron English Band 5:40 Richard Cusick 5:45 George Rohrbacher 5:50 Omar Figueroa 6:00 Acorn Project 6:35 Sunil Aggarwal 6:40 Adam Eidinger 6:45 Dr. David Bearman 6:50 Paul Richmond 7:00 Puget Sound System
Peter McWilliams Memorial Stage
Saturday - August 16, 2008 12:00 Unhailoed 1:00 Mechanism 1:35 Roland A. Duby 1:40 Reverend DeMaris Strohm-Hughes 1:45 Omar Figueroa 1:50 Adam Eidinger 1:55 John Conroy 2:00 Equilibrium 2:35 Debby Goldsberry 2:45 Chris Conrad 2:50 Dominic Corva 2:55 Mikki Norris 3:00 Counterfist 3:35 Mike Corral 3:40 Phil Smith 3:45 George Rohrbacher 3:50 Angel Raich 4:00 Leo Starwind & the Raft 4:35 Richard Cusick 4:40 Jack Herer 4:45 Dave Frankel 4:45 Rob Kampia 4:50 Dominic Holden 4:55 Rob Kampia 5:00 Holophrase 5:35 Steve Levine 5:40 Russ Belleville 5:45 Sunil Aggarwal 5:50 Ed Forchion 6:00 Riverbend 6:35 Kris Millegan 6:45 Charlie Commeree 6:50 Don Wirtshafter 6:55 Violet Victoria 7:00 Enkrya	Sunday - August 17, 2008 12:00 Alligator Pears 1:00 Forced Elegance 1:35 Rachel Kurtz 1:40 Jon Levesque 1:50 Angela Goodhope 1:55 Jeffrey Steinborn 2:00 Deviate 2:35 Douglas Hiatt 2:40 Martin Martinez 2:45 Sean Willy 2:55 Monte Levine 3:00 The Outfit 3:35 Doug McVay 3:45 David Guard 3:50 Dr. Frank Lucido 3:55 Keith Stroup 4:00 Hunab Ku 4:35 Kris Krane 4:45 Magic Black-Ferguson 4:50 Dale Rogers 4:55 Valerie Corral 5:00 Xanther 5:35 Sandee Burbank 5:45 Jeremy Miller 5:50 Dennis Moyers 5:55 Lee Berger 6:00 Red XIII 6:40 Lee Newbury 6:45 Madeline Martinez 6:50 Alexis Baden-Mayer 7:00 Sex and Violins
DanceSafe Electronic Music Stage
Saturday - August 16, 2008 11:00 Skoi Sirius 12:15 Aksion 1:30 Rob Noble 2:45 Jeffrey Steinborn 2:50 Jimini Cricket 4:00 Truckasauras 5:15 Philippe Lucas 5:20 Kadeejah Streets 6:30 Nordic Soul	Sunday - August 17, 2008 11:00 DJ SoulKid 12:15 CTL ALT DLT 1:30 novaTRON 2:35 Kris Krane 2:40 Noisemaker 4:00 Michael Manahan 5:15 Alison Holcomb 5:20 Recess 6:30 Amanita

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SEATTLE HEMPFEST CLICK HERE

Shelby Lynne Interview and Pictures

	It's 108 degrees Fahrenheit outside her home in Palm Springs, but over the phone Shelby Lynne is as cool as can be. Which is exactly what you'd expect, given the tenor of her recent recordings. After some initial fame as a mainstream country singer, Lynne reinvented herself with her 1999 album I Am Shelby Lynne. Her new sound was more soulful, had a harder edge, and was much, much deeper. It brought her reams of critical acclaim and a Grammy Award, although she never really did Britney numbers, saleswise. But she solidified her fan base with solid albums like Identity Crisis in 2003 and Suit Yourself in 2005. Lynne's records tend to be worlds unto themselves, but she really outdid herself on her latest LP, Just A Little Lovin', a tribute to the late British pop-soul singer Dusty Springfield. Covering songs by one of the most soulful singers in pop history is a daunting task, but Lynne succeeds by stripping the songs down and delivering them in a hushed, intimate manner, like she's playing a small jazz club in the wee small hours of the morning.
"If a song is worth a damn, you don't need to make it fancy," reasons Lynne, who will be appearing at the Burnaby Roots and Blues Festival Sunday at Deer Lake Park. "The song will do the work for you, you just need to be in service of the song, and that's what we did, you know. Just let the great melodies and the beautiful lyrics take us where we wanted to go. That's as simple as it is. A great song stands through many many years and many many artists and many many singin's and many different versions. If it can still stand up and you treat it right, it'll work for ya, yeah." Some of the covers are well known (I Only Want To Be With You, You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, The Look of Love), others are a little more obscure (Breakfast in Bed, Willie and Laura Mae Jones). But Lynne gets to the emotional core of each one, simultaneously paying tribute to Dusty and making the songs her own. One of the highlights is a spellbinding version of I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore, a tale of heartache and betrayal written by Randy Newman. The lyric is sung by a woman whose man may be having an affair -- at least that's what the neighbours are saying, which the woman can hear through her paper-thin apartment walls. Lynne's vocal is so forlorn, so lonely, it's simply heartbreaking. "That's the song that [I heard where] I fell in love with Dusty," she says. "I love the whole Dusty in Memphis record, I love Son Of a Preacher Man and all that stuff, you can't beat it. But Randy Newman in that frame of mind just blows me away." Many of the songs have great storylines. She is totally into another song that was recorded during the Dusty In Memphis sessions, Willie and Laura Mae Jones. It was written by swamp-soul cult hero Tony Joe White, who also wrote Polk Salad Annie and Rainy Night in Georgia. "Tony is one of the great storytellers we have, of all time," she says. "He can really paint a picture of the story he's telling. It's always nice to get a visual, you can really see the story play out as you sing it. And those are fun to sing. I like tellin' a story in a sung way, and he just writes those kind of amazing songs. He just happens to be a friend of mine. We've written a couple of songs together, and we really relate to each other." Oddly enough, the first version of Willie and Laura Mae Jones that Lynne heard was by Waylon Jennings -- Springfield's version sat in the vaults for a couple of decades before it was unearthed on a Rhino Records reissue of Dusty in Memphis. But Springfield's version was the definitive one. "She has such a kind of sultry way of tellin' a poignant story," says Lynne. "That's the great thing about Dusty, she could tell a story. A great interpreter can always make you believe what they're saying, and that's one of the things that sold me about Dusty's singin'. Her heart, her soul believed what she was singin'. That's what makes great singers." Your Ad Here Lynne turns 40 on Oct. 22, which means she was barely born when many of Springfield's hits were recorded. Growing up in in Frankville, Ala., she never really heard much Dusty -- her first exposure to You Don't Have To Say You Love Me was on a live Elvis Presley record. But when she finally discovered Dusty in 1997, she was hooked. Still, the idea to do an album of Springfield covers wasn't her own. It was a suggestion by Barry Manilow. "We've been friends for several years," she relates. "He lives here in the desert. We're musician friends, and he's a wonderful, wonderful man, I really admire him." She didn't act on the idea for a couple of years, but when she finally suggested it to Capitol Records, they were enthusiastic. She decided to record it at the fabled Capitol Records building in Hollywood, a mid-century modern masterpiece which resembles a stack of records. She recorded it live in the studio in five days with a quartet. It was all old school -- it was recorded to tape, not done digitally, and was produced by Phil Ramone, a music legend who did everything from Astrud and Joao Gilberto's The Girl From Impanema to Dionne Warwick's Do You Know The Way To San Jose and Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. "I like his style," she says. "He's really calm, he's the ultimate gentleman. He dug what I brought to a song, and I really needed someone to understand what I wanted to do with this record. I could hardly find some young sprite that would understand my way [of doing things]. First of all I have to do all analogue, I like to use tape. I need to have cats around who can still do that."
	Everything clicked in the studio, but one thing was amiss. Even though they were recording in the same building as her record company, no-one came down to check out the sessions. That's because Lynne was recording the very week Capitol Records was going under. "I kept wondering why nobody upstairs was coming downstairs to see what I was up to," she says. "It was because they were exploding. There was no secret, we knew for awhile that Capitol was kind of falling apart. I kind of already knew I was going to call Luke [Lewis at Lost Highway records] and say 'You're gonna dig this.' I didn't waste any time, I cut that record and sent it to him. Just took my chances with people gettin' mad [at Capitol]. "But I didn't give a damn at that point. I've been jerked around so many times. And I'm not whinin', and I'm not cryin'. Labels are just good for about a two-year warranty, and then you're screwed." Lost Highway did indeed love the album, and it came out on that label. It hit number 41 in the Billboard Top 200 album chart in the States, the highest chart position Lynne has ever achieved. A record done out of love and respect, with no thought of commercial appeal, wound up being one of her biggest commercial successes.

Musikfest

City residents won't have to wait another 25 years for a Musikfest milestone.

Major changes are already in the works for the annual festival.

The headliners stage relocation in 2010 from Sand Island to a $53 million media and cultural center on former Bethlehem Steel Corp. land is expected to expand the festival's attendance, band-booking ability and South Side presence.

RiverPlace's relocation to a larger stage at what will be known as SteelStax will allow Musikfest to attract different artists, said Kim Plyler, spokeswoman for ArtsQuest, which runs the annual 10-day event that begins today -- its 25th anniversary.

Some musicians won't play at the 6,500-seat RiverPlace because they only play at larger venues, she said.

The new headliners stage at SteelStax will have 8,000 seats.

"The bigger the space and the more seats you have, the different types of artists you can bring in," Plyler said. "I wouldn't say bigger names but different names."

Musikfest experienced such a boost in 2000 when the headliners stage moved from a smaller stage in the Colonial Industrial Quarter to Sand Island, Plyler said.

The move to SteelStax will also add more South Side venues to Musikfest. Currently Zoellner Arts Center is the only festival stage south of the Lehigh River.

The headliners stage will be a second venue and ArtsQuest officials also plan to use another SteelStax site for Musikfest, Plyler said. Music Park, an outdoor music venue that will be built in remains of Steel's Iron Foundry Building, will be able to hold 2,500 people.

Whether more festival venues move to the South Side is undetermined, Plyler said.

"The community will decide that," she said.

The South Side would welcome a bigger part in Musikfest, said Roger Hudak, chairman of the mayor's South Side Task Force. Having more festival venues there would benefit neighborhood businesses, he said.

Also Musikfest is really at a maximum capacity at its Center City locations, Hudak said.

"It can't get any bigger there," he said.

Plyler agreed that the Center City venues can often be very packed.

"I think SteelStax will definitely expand the draw for the festival," she said.

Another future draw for Musikfest might be SteelStax's neighbor -- Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem that is scheduled to open in July 2009. ArtsQuest and city officials predict Musikfest and the casino will be mutually beneficial.

The casino is estimated to bring up to 5 million people to Bethlehem each year, Mayor John Callahan said. The major tourist draw will likely introduce more people to Musikfest, he said.

"And Musikfest will drive traffic to the casino," Callahan said.

Musikfest is a major tourist draw of its own, Plyler said.

"I think Musikfest will be an added benefit for the casino because we attract more than 1 million people each year," she said. "It would be nice if there could be some cross promotion to the casino's patrons to introduce them to Musikfest."