Artist Review (Forecastle Preview Edition): Wye Oak

Fans of Walking Dead might recognize Wye Oak. Their single "Civilian" from their 2011 LP, Civilian, was played during the trailer of the show's second season. However, for those who don't watch The Walking Dead, this band might be new to you, as they were new to me until I saw them on the Forecastle lineup.

Wye Oak is a duo indie folk/rock band out of Baltimore, MD consisting of Andy Stack (drums, keyboards, and backup vocals) and Jenn Wasner (vocals and guitar). Wasner's vocals and guitar playing style reminds me a lot of bands, such as Beach House and Modest Mouse. The overall genre is reminiscent of Pavement, Wilco, Sonic Youth, and The Pixies. So, if you like soft vocals, heavy guitar, and catchy drum beats mixed with early indie rock influence, this band is for you.

This band likely already has a strong fan base and after checking out Civilian, I am hoping to get a chance to see their live performance if I can squeeze them into what is already a packed Saturday during Forecastle.

Holy Holy

Dog Eyes

Civilian

Doubt

Artist Review (Forecastle Preview Edition): Justin Townes Earle

As my first pick for the "Artist Review" Forecastle edition I chose a newly discovered (for me, at least) Americana/Country singer, Justin Townes Earle. Set to play the second day of Forecastle (Saturday), Earle has a traditional Country/ Folk sound with strong, heartfelt lyrics similar to that of Country legends (Merle Haggard, Kriss Kristofferson, and Steve Earle).

The son of Steve Earle, Justin was born into the music lifestyle and grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, so naturally Justin has strong roots with traditional country music. However, unlike Steve Earle's Texas-style country music, Justin's style is more mixed with folk, blues, and southern rock. This fusion of genres is what makes Earle's music appealing to me and although he has had rough patches in his music career, I am looking forward to seeing him live on a warm mid-summer day.

Harlem River Blues

One More Night In Brooklyn

Wanderin

Slippin' and Slidin'

Forecastle Music Festival 2012 Lineup

For people living in central Kentucky and southern Indiana, Forecastle is the closest and best music festival in the area. Over the past decade, in the heart of Louisville, Forecastle has become one of the best outdoor festivals in the country and to celebrate its 10 year anniversary, one of Louisville's most successful bands, My Morning Jacket, will be headlining and collaborating the festival's lineup.

Yesterday the lineup was released with many great bands set to play at the festival, headlining each night will be Bassnectar (Friday), My Morning Jacket (Saturday), and Wilco (Sunday). The rest of bands are a great mix of popular alternative Pop/Rock (Sleigh Bells, Beach House, Atlas Sounds, Andrew Bird, Dr. Dog, Deer Tick, etc.), Folk/ Classic Country (Ben Sollee, Justin Townes Earle, The Head and The Heart), Techno/ Electronic (Girl Talk, Washed Out, Flying Lotuc, etc.), Blues/ Soul (Galactic, Stax! Soul Revue, Charles Bradley), Heavy Metal (Clutch) and Rap (Atmosphere).

Here is the complete list...

There are currently 3 Day tickets available for $144.50 (soon to be $159.50).

Single day tickets for $49.50 will go on sale this Friday (March 2nd).

VIP 3 Day tickets and 1 Day tickets are available as well ($350.00 and $150.00).






















I plan on writing up on some of the bands playing at the festival over the next few months, so stand by for some in-depth reviews on bands you may not know about but might be interested in seeing at the festival this year.

I hope everyone who wants to make it out to Louisville, Ky July 13-15th for this fantastic festival gets a chance.