A stellar line-up has been announced for the Firefly Music Festival 2014. Foo Fighters and Jack Johnson are set to headline, along with hip-hop funksters Outkast. Other rock artists on the epic bill include Weezer, Third Eye Blind, Imagine Dragons, Arctic Monkeys, Band of Horses, The Lumineers, Young The Giant, Cage The Elephant, City and Colour, The Airborne Toxic Event, Portugal. The Man, Twenty One Pilots, Sleigh Bells, Iron & Wine, New Politics, The Wild Feathers, Amos Lee, Walk Off The Earth, and more. The 3-day festival is set to take place June 19-22 at The Woodlands in Dover, DE. Tickets go on-sale on January 20 via www.FireflyFestival.com
Foo Fighters are still enjoying the massive success of their latest album, 2011’s Wasting Light. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and was produced by Butch Vig, who produced the legendary Nirvana album, Nevermind. Keeping with the desire to create a rawer and heavier album, Grohl decided to record it in his garage in Encino, CA. The disc went on to earn the band five Grammy Award nominations, including Album of The Year. The album won the award for Best Rock Album, and the song “White Limo” won Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, and “Walk” won both Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song. Foo Fighters walked away with a fifth Grammy that night – the award for Best Long Form Music Video for Back and Forth, a documentary about the recording of the album. To support the record, the band hit the road on the Wasting Light World Tour from December 2010-September 2012. Foo Fighters recently played a special one-off show on December 13, 2013 in Mexico City, Mexico. This concert marked the band first trip to the country. In the last year, Dave Grohl directed Soundgarden’s video for “By Crooked Steps”, recorded drums on the new Queens of The Stone Age album, …Like Clockwork (heavily praised as one of the best albums of 2013), produced Ghost B.C.’s latest EP, If You Have Ghost, directed his first documentary, Sound City, and collaborated with Zac Brown Band on their country rock EP, The Grohl Sessions, Vol. 1.
Imagine Dragons released their debut album, Night Visions, in September 2012.
The disc debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200, as well as peaking at #1 on Billboard Alternative Albums and Billboard Rock Albums. It sold over 83,000 copies in it’s first week of sales and in just a year, it’s been certified platinum. To support the record, the band set out on a fall tour in 2012 with Awolnation and in 2013, they embarked on the 145-date Night Visions World Tour. Included in the run were stops at Isle of Wright Festival, Rock am Ring and Budweiser Made In America Festival on Labor Day Weekend in Philadelphia, PA alongside Nine Inch Nails, Queens of The Stone Age, Phoenix, The Gaslight Anthem, Fitz & The Tantrums, and more. Imagine Dragons have been nominated twice for Best Rock Video at the MTV Video Music Awards (2012 and 2013). The band has been nominated for 4 People’s Choice Awards, set to take place on January 8, 2014. Imagine Dragons won the award for Favorite Alternative Music Artist at the 2013 American Music Awards. They were also nominated for Favorite Band/Duo/Group and New Artist of The Year.
Young The Giant formed in 2004 in Irvine, CA. After gigging and writing for five years, the band inked a deal with Roadrunner Records in 2009. They spent 2010 writing music for their major label debut and touring with Minus The Bear, plus a few one-offs with Neon Trees. On October 26, 2010, the band digitally released their self-titled debut album. A physical released followed on January 25, 2011. The record peaked at #42 on the Billboard Top 200 and #2 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart. In March, the band headlined the Billboard Showcase at South By Southwest Festival in Austin, TX and in August, they performed at the MTV Video Music Awards. Two days later, the band embarked on a U.S. tour supporting Incubus. In September, the band stopped off to play the Austin City Limits Music Festival and in November, they aired an episode of MTV Unplugged. In August 2012, they served as one of the headliners of Musikfest 2012 in Bethlehem, PA. Young The Giant have begun work on their sophomore effort and have enlisted the services of producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Paramore, Neon Trees, M83, Tegan and Sara, The Naked and Famous). The album, Mind Over Matter, is due out on January 21 on Fueled By Ramen via Atlantic Records.
Arctic Monkeys debuted in 2006 with their first album, Whatever People Say I Am,
That’s What I’m Not. The disc quickly shot to #1 on the UK Albums Chart and became the fastest-selling debut album in British music history. The follow-up, 2007’s Favourite Worst Nightmare, also hit #1 and won Best British Album at the 2008 BRIT Awards. It debuted at #7 on the Billboard Top 200 in the U.S. That same year, the band played the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, TX. The year 2009 saw the band release their third LP, Humbug. Produced by Josh Homme of Queens of The Stone Age, it debuted at #1 in the UK and #15 in the U.S. A week after the album’s release, the band headlined the Reading and Leeds Festival. The band’s fourth album, 2011’s Suck It and See, gave the band their fourth consecutive #1 hit on the UK Albums Chart. In support of the album, the band embarked on a massive arena tour with The Black Keys. Arctic Monkeys recently released their fifth studio effort, AM. The album once again came out of the gate at #1 on the UK Albums Chart, and #6 on the Billboard Top 200. – by Matt Bishop
