Maná To Headline H20 Festival in Dallas

This is a big announcement… If you know Latin Music, you know how huge Maná is…

Univision Radio, the leading radio network serving Hispanic America, today announced that Latin Rock superstars Maná have been added as headliners of the H2O Music Festival taking place in the Cotton Bowl on June 9. Maná’s special appearance at the H20 Music Festival in Dallas marks the final U.S. performance of their record-breaking Drama y Luz tour.

Maná are the world’s leading Latin Rock band – earning four Grammy and seven Latin Grammy Awards, while selling over 40 million albums across a career spanning three decades. In an Arts section COVER story today, The New York Times heralds Maná for “Redefining the Meaning of Crossover,” declaring the group: “has a mass appeal nearly unrivaled in the Latin pop world.”
(http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/arts/music/latin-pop-group-mana-draws-adoring-crowds.html?ref=music )

The lineup to H2O Dallas also includes Tiësto, Juanes, Snoop Dogg, Calle 13, Gym Class Heroes, Prince Royce, Weezer, Paulina Rubio, Damian

Marley, Duelo, YelaWolf, Paty Cantú, Ozomatli, Intocable, Ramon Ayala and Bobby Pulido, plus additional acts that will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets to the H20 Music Festival can be purchased for as low as $30 from www.H2OMusicFestival.com

“Univision Radio is proud to launch the H2O music movement with this festival in Dallas,” said Jack Hobbs, executive vice president of Sales, Univision Radio. “We are focused on providing our young audience – the Hispanic 2.0 listener – with music that reflects their bicultural, bilingual lives.”

The venue inside the Cotton Bowl will feature several rotating stages, with local and emerging artists and some of today’s top names in music. Additional festival events include a vendor village featuring festival and artist merchandise, a lifestyle area, multiple watering holes, cool down tents, gaming areas, family areas, plus food and beverage, and more.

Univision Radio DJs will also be on hand throughout the night mixing music as a transition between acts to keep the momentum going throughout the night. In addition to Univision’s support of the festival series on a national level, Univision television and radio stations in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio are supporting the H2O Music Festival.

A showcase of local artists and unique experiences will kick off the excitement, starting in early afternoon, in the plaza of the Cotton Bowl.

The second H2O Music Festival will take place in Los Angeles on August 25 at the Los Angeles State Historic Park, featuring artists like Alejandro Sanz, Paulina Rubio, Snoop Dogg, Chino y Nacho, Alex Cuba, Romeo Testa, plus additional acts to be announced in the coming weeks.

The official lifeline for up-to-date H2O Music Festival announcements and artist confirmations will be made available at:

www.H2OMusicFestival.com
www.Facebook.com/H2OMusicFestival
And on Twitter via @H2OMusicFest.

Friday at Bonnaroo

Kings of Leon.  Daryl Hall and Chromeo.  Tenacious D.  The Flaming Lips performing Dark Side of the Moon.  Kid Cudi.  The Crystal Method.  Steve Martin.  Conan O’Brian…. Are you kidding me?  Bonnaroo’s Friday was super jam packed with amazing acts throughout the day.

Admittedly, I’m not the biggest fan of Kings of Leon.  I do like their newest album, and a few other tracks, but had never gotten into them like B has.  “Kings of Leon is going to melt my face,” B said.  Hey, at least they’re not Dave Matthews… Oh.  Wait, they’re here too.  Oi.  On the other hand, I’ve been very intrigued by the odd pairing of Daryl Hall and Chromeo.  Hall and Oates is a band that you tend to forget about the legion of hits that they had put out over the years, until you hear them and think, ‘oh yeah… they wrote that too!’

So, back to the festival…  The heat has been brutal, the people have been crazy, and the music has been superb.  Friday’s action was non-stop with Conan O’Brian kicking off the day to thousands of people.  No, not just the lucky ones who made it into the tent, but to 10,000+ people watching him on the Lunar Stage screen.  It didn’t make any sense that he didn’t perform on the main stage.  His crowd would have been larger than Chris Rock’s.  Conan’s show was a mix of music and standup, which would have gone very well on a large stage.  Oh well.  The Train isn’t the show promoter.

Nas and Damian Marley tore it up midday.  They had a solid balance of solo songs as well as tracks off of their album.  We then swung over to She and Him, which had an enormous crowd.  Zooey can definitely sing her ass off.  There was a great chill vibe flowing through the crowd. Maybe it was the huge green cloud surrounding the tent.

Later, we headed to the Tenacious D set.  I was a bit skeptical about how they’d sound live, but they certainly proved me wrong.  The Kage Man and Jack Black can tear it up.  The show was extremely high energy, and the whole crowd was very into it.  Jack can sing much better than I had originally remembered.  I was extremely impressed with the entire show.

Next up were B’s boys, Kings of Leon…. (To be Continued)

Nas & Damian Marley – Distant Relatives (B – 6.4/10 M – 8.1/10)

You can easily acknowledge the underlying themes: roots, unity, African pride, championing tomorrow’s leaders, etc. (topics they certainly don’t beat around that bush about).  I don’t doubt that the duo are very passionate about the subject matter. Unfortunately, my impression is that Distant Relatives was recorded with only those common interests in mind, without taking into serious consideration how the two artistic styles would mesh.

Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley – Distant Relatives (6.4 out of 10)

Maybe my expectations were too high; I mean, Damian Marley, spawn of my favorite musician ever (Robert Nesta Marley), and Nas, tied for my favorite rapper ever (big ups to Biggie Smalls).  What’s not to get excited about?!  I’ve already seen the duo live and I thought the show was great.  Something gets lost in translation on the album though.  You can easily acknowledge the underlying themes: roots, unity, African pride, championing tomorrow’s leaders, etc. (topics they certainly don’t beat around that bush about).  I don’t doubt that the duo are very passionate about the subject matter. Unfortunately, my impression is that Distant Relatives was recorded with only those common interests in mind, without taking into serious consideration how the two artistic styles would mesh.  Frankly, it all just sounds a little contrived.  And, while I do feel like Nas is (glaringly) the more talented of the two, neither artist can solely take the blame for the lack of cohesion in the album, because, in their own individual way, they both show up.  Frequently, the two simply don’t fit together within the confines of the songs (when Nas starts rapping over the top of some of the pure reggae tracks, it just sounds, for lack of a better word, silly).

– B.

Second Opinion -  Sorry King B.  I’ve gotta disagree on a few points.  I didn’t get to check out the Nas/Marley set at Rothbury, but I heard good things.  I’m also not the biggest hip hop head in the world, but Nas is the man.  Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock was a killer album, so I also had high hopes for Distant Relatives.

The vibe isn’t overly reggae, nor is too hip hop driven.  The Afrocentric album is in your face, and it works for the most part.  The pair trades off vocally in a primarily seamless fashion, though some tracks seem a bit off.  The use of Stephen Marley’s smooth delivery is an excellent (and IMO, underused) compliment to the album.  There are a few spots where the lyrics are kinda half-assed.  You’ll know it when you hear it.

As a whole, I’ve really enjoyed Distant Relatives.  Albeit a few lyrical cringes, I’ve been rockin’ this album out a lot since we got our hands on it.  I have a feeling that the crowds will be flocking to their sets, especially since people can be more familiar with their music through the album.

(8.1 out of 10)

- The Train

Related articles:

• Q&A: Nas and Damian Marley on Distant Relatives (arts.nationalpost.com)
• Singer Kelis and rapper Nas finalize divorce in LA (pbpulse.com)

Single Day Tickets for Mile High Music Festival Now Available

Single Day Tickets for Mile High Music Festival
Available for a Limited Time Only, and Only at www.kbco.com
On Sale Beginning Saturday, May 8 at 10am MDT

Mile High Music Festival’s 2010 Lineup features Dave Matthews Band and Jack Johnson
Weezer, Steve Miller Band, My Morning Jacket, Slightly Stoopid,
Atmosphere, Phoenix, Train, Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley,
Jimmy Cliff, Keane, Bassnectar, Cypress Hill And Many Others

August 14 and 15
On The Fields at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park

Mile High Music Festival announces the release of Single Day Tickets, only through radio partner KBCO’s website, and only for a limited time. Single Day Tickets will be available for $97.30 (with no additional fees or charge) beginning May 8 at 10 am MDT, through May 31 at 6pm MDT, at www.kbco.com.

Now in it’s third year, the Colorado festival returns to The Fields at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on August 14 and 15. Headliners Dave Matthews Band and Jack Johnson will be joined by more than 40 diverse acts including Weezer, Steve Miller Band, My Morning Jacket, Slightly Stoopid, Atmosphere, Phoenix, Train, Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Keane, Bassnectar, Cypress Hill, Z-Trip, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band, Drive-By Truckers, Railroad Earth, Ozomatli and many more. Visit www.milehighmusicfestival.com for the complete lineup.

A relative newcomer on the national festival scene, Mile High Music Festival has already become a summer tradition for Colorado residents and for music fans from coast to coast. The festival grounds, with its remarkable views of the Denver skyline and Rocky Mountain Front Range, is the perfect backdrop for this diverse, lively, and distinctly Colorado music and arts festival.

TICKET INFO:

2010 Mile High Music Festival Ticket prices follow. No additional charges or fees apply!

Mile High Music Festival Single Day tickets will be available for $97.30 for a limited time (May 8 through May 31 at 6pm MDT) only at www.kbco.com .

Two Day Passes are on sale now for $175.00 while supplies last. Once this price level of tickets are sold, the cost will be adjusted to $200.00 for a two-day pass. Two-day passes available at www.tickethorse.com.

VIP Passes, Hotel Packages and Layaway options are available. Visit www.milehighmusicfestival.comfor more information.

Single day tickets go on-sale on Saturday, May 8 at 10:00 am MDT at www.kbco.com

Visit www.milehighmusicfestival.com for full ticketing and lineup details.

Mile High Music Festival is produced by AEG Live Rocky Mountains, Kroenke Sports Enterprises, and Starr Hill Presents.

Related articles :

• Mile High Fest Lineup: DMB Johnson, MMJ, Trucks, DBTs, RRE (jambase.com)