Very Big Announcement(s) Coming Soon?

This Wednesday is Earth Day, and it may bring with it the announcement of the potentially huge Live Earth: Road to Paris event. The picture for that event is getting even clearer, and we've updated our lineup predictions here. In the meantime, you can join an intended 1 billion people demanding climate action by signing the petition at liveearth.org.

Additionally, now that April 20 has come and gone, the Grateful Dead appear to have sold out their Fare Thee Well event in California and announced nationwide theater simulcasts, and Phil Lesh has announced a concert at Central Park Summerstage in September - we were right that he would play the venue this year, but wrong about the month - watch for the additional shows we've forecasted to be announced very soon. However, as we've said all along, we've never been entirely sure that the tour will happen in June. If it is not announced within the next week or so, look for a similar tour hitting New York, Colorado, and more to happen later this year, probably around late September and early October.

Austin City Limits Festival 2015

We expect the lineup for 2015's Austin City Limits Festival to be announced within days, and once again ACL threatens to be one of the last but far from the least of the major festivals. Here are our abbreviated predictions for the headliner lineup and some of the bigger names on the undercard...

Headliners

Paul McCartney (or maybe Elton John)

AC/DC (or maybe Metallica)

Foo Fighters

Mumford and Sons 

Florence and the Machine and/or My Morning Jacket

Kendrick Lamar and/or The Weeknd (but don't count out Drake or Kanye West)

Bassnectar

Undercard

Alabama Shakes

alt-J

Angus and Julia Stone

Banks

Ben Harper

Dillon Francis

Father John Misty

Future Islands

Gary Clark, Jr.

George Ezra

Glass Animals

Hozier

Of Monsters and Men

St. Paul and the Broken Bones

Stromae

Sturgill Simpson

Sylvan Esso

TV on the Radio

Twenty One Pilots

The War on Drugs

and a few maybes: Alesso, A$AP Rocky, Charli XCX, Chet Faker, Cold War Kids, fka Twigs, Kygo, Tove Lo

New York, Got the Ways and Means - More Dead to Come!

As we predicted, the Grateful Dead have announced two additional shows at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, south of San Francisco, on June 27th and 28th. Now what about those additional tourdates we predicted that were not announced with them? Well hold on, Dead fans, more are coming!

To be sure, the Santa Clara shows will be the only additional shows to feature the "Fare Thee Well" lineup featuring all four surviving members of the Dead with Trey Anastasio. But, as said previously, we expect additional shows featuring a slightly different lineup to be announced later this month, and that they will include some or all of the following previously-mentioned dates:

6/13 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Manchester, TN 

6/15-16 Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA

6/18 Live Earth: Road to Paris, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

6/19-21 (2 shows) Citi Field, New York, NY

6/22-25 (3 shows) Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO

These shows will feature at least two and probably three members of the Dead - Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, and perhaps Mickey Hart - but in most or all cases not the fourth member, Phil Lesh, who will be replaced by a rotating cast of Dead-inspired fill-ins. Anastasio will also be absent from most of these shows, we believe, though keyboards will remain handled by one or both of the Fare Thee Well team of Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti. 

So who else will fill Garcia (and Lesh)'s big shoes? Bonnaroo, which reportedly unsuccessfully offered $3 million for an appearance by the full Dead, might instead land a Lesh-less lineup with members of Southern favorites like the Allman Brothers, the Black Crowes, and Widespread Panic filling in as part of a "superjam". If the band plays smaller shows in Philly and perhaps elsewhere in the Northeast, meanwhile, look for a smaller-time lineup that may feature Weir and Lesh's Furthur sideman John Kadlecik on lead guitar, backed by members of his Golden Gate Wingmen band, which includes Chimenti. As for Colorado we are more confident of a stand there than an appearance at either of the above, and expect the Red Rocks lineup to feature pop star John Mayer (who may feature in earlier shows as well), Phish's Mike Gordon, and long-time Dead-world guitarist Steve Kimock. 

The New York area is the only additional location that might see an appearance from all four members of the band, more likely at the big Live Earth event than at any shows that may follow over the weekend. We expect Mayer to join the band at Live Earth and perhaps Citi Field as well, though again we would not be shocked if Anastasio joined there too. If Lesh does not play New York, we could see the bass being handed to Aaron Dessner of Brooklyn's The National.  

And that may not be all. As we have said for weeks, we expect more tribute events akin to May's "Dear Jerry" concert in Maryland to take place this year, including after the Soldier Field shows. While we are relying very heavily on our spidey sense for this one, we believe that one of these may be an all-star tribute to the Grateful Dead at New York's Central Park Summerstage on June 22, possibly featuring Phil Lesh and Friends, plus big names like Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Sean Lennon, Los Lobos (whose David Hidalgo could appear on guitar at one of the Dead events), Dwight Yoakam, the Indigo Girls, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Todd Snider, one or more members of Sonic Youth and The National, and more.

One final note on all of the above. Some have expressed great skepticism about the notion that additional dates will be announced. We note that similar skepticism was expressed before the Santa Clara shows were announced, and even before the Soldier Field shows we predicted became public. We make no promises and acknowledge an element of guesswork in our predictions, but we do not post them without serious indications that something of the sort is in fact going to happen. While we won't share precisely what we've been told, or by whom, we will note a few supporting tea leaves, including the fact that Hornsby has recently canceled performances planned for June 19th-26th, that Gordon's recently-announced solo tour includes a conspicuous break from June 22nd-25th, that Kadlecik and Chimenti warm up together in the Northeast the weekend of the 12th-14th, and that many of the artists above have rehearsed with one or more members of the Dead in recent weeks. 

Look for various additional shows above to be announced within the next few weeks, perhaps as soon as tomorrow, but more likely after the Santa Clara shows sell out. The week of April 20th seems like a good bet.

Central Park's Summerstage and More in 2015

New York City's Summerstage is set to announce its 30th anniversary lineup of mostly free performances at Central Park's 5000-capacity Rumsey Playfield (among other locations thorughout the five boroughs) this Wednesday. 

Below, we've put together a list of the top-billed acts at shows we anticipate at Summerstage and elsewhere in Central park this Summer (with by-admission benefit shows marked $). Note the potentially huge June 22nd gala, and read down to the end for possibly the biggest event of all.

[Updated 4/7-8]

5/18 Tedeschi Trucks Band

5/19 Mastodon $

6/6 Blue Note Jazz Festival featuring Me'shell Ndegeocello and Roy Hargrove

6/7 Emmanuel Jal

6/12? NPR's Ask Me Another

6/13 Soul Rebels Brass Band

6/13 New York Mississippi Picnic (on Dead Road between the Meadow and Bandshell)

6/14 John Prine?

6/15 Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series

6/?? Ibeyi? and Hollie Cook?

6/17 Lindsey Stirling $ 

6/17 New York Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert, with Joshua Bell (on the Great Lawn)

6/17 New York Philharmonic conducted by Charles Dutoit, with Renaud Capucon (on the Great Lawn)

6/20 or 7/26 Caribou 

6/21 Fete de la Musique/Make Music NY (throughout the park)

6/22 City Parks Foundation gala tribute concert (potentially featuring Paul McCartney, Robert Plant and many more) $

6/23 The Knights (at the Bandshell)

6/24 The Kooks with Atlas Genius $

6/?? BattleFest Nation and screening of Flex is Kings

6/27? The Felice Brothers with the Barr Brothers

6/28 Lucinda Williams?

6/29 Ingrid Michaelson with Jukebox the Ghost $

6/30 Ensemble LPR and Simone Dinnerstein (at the Bandshell)

7/2 Laurie M. Taylor/Soul Movement

7/5 or 12? Body/Head, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger 

7/7-11 Latin Alternative Music Conference presents Systema Solar, Nacao Zumbi, and more

7/14 Boston Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players (at the Bandshell)

7/15 George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic

7/18? New York City Ballet?

7/19? Lake Street Dive, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn?

7/21 Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (at the Bandshell)

7/22 Milky Chance with X Ambassadors $

7/25 Bombino

7/26? Rock Steady Crew anniversary featuring Masta Ace?

7/27 Dawes, First AId Kit $
7/28 Rise Against $

7/29 Philadanco, TU Dance

8/1 Dr. John

8/2 Brasil Summerfest

8/4 Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center? (at the Bandshell)

8/5 Father John Misty with Angel Olson $

8/8 Gilles Peterson, Afrika Bambaataa

8/8 Great Jazz (on the Great Hill) 

8/?? Elvis Costello?

8?/?? Common?

8/15 or 16 Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings?

9/24 Walk the Moon $

9/26 Global Citizen Festival feat. Coldplay, Pearl Jam? and more (on the Great Lawn)

Stones Unzipped, with the Dead on deck

The Rolling Stones have finally announced their Zip Code tour of North America. Here at the Festival Forecaster, we not only gave you all of the tourdates in advance, we were also the first to reveal the location plus date of many of the shows, including Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, Kansas City, and Minnesota, many of which we listed several weeks before the band themselves did. Rather than simply pat ourselves on our back, though, we now have more information for you!

This "Zip Code" tour is so named not just for its visits to smaller cities, but also for its musical theme - the band's classic Sticky Fingers album, with its famous zippered cover, set for a rerelease the day after the tour opener. While we don't expect the band to play the album in its entirety on the tour, we do think that they may do so at a warm-up show in Los Angeles that we expect to be webcast and taped for later dvd release. 

We still expect the Los Angeles show (or shows) to take place in the week before the San Diego tour opener, around May 20th, and believe that it will occur at either the historic Shrine Auditorium, which has hosted the Academy Awards and the Grammys and is home to North America's largest proscenium stage, or at the nearly as large Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, which hosts the American Music Awards and is owned by the Stones' tour promoter, AEG Live. If the Stones prefer a more intimate setting, they may opt instead for AEG's smaller Club Nokia or the historic United Artists Theatre at the Ace Hotel downtown. Further details may be forthcoming later this month. 

And we don't think LA is all. We think the Stones will play more and possibly even smaller shows (we don't expect any additional large stadium dates) in and around the tour, including in or near big cities Chicago (a surprise club show between San Diego and Columbus on May 27th or 28th?), New York (the Live Earth Festival at MetLife Stadium on June 18 and perhaps additional shows at historic Forest Hills (tennis) Stadium at the end of the tour, circa July 18th-26th), and Toronto (an appearance at famous Massey Hall before or after the New York shows, perhaps?). We also wouldn't be shocked if the band made a surprise appearance in New Orleans between Orlando and Nashville. 

We also have more news on the upcoming Grateful Dead concerts this Summer. In our last discussion, we forecast additional events featuring some or all members of the Dead both in June and later this Summer and Fall. While we still anticipate additional anniversary events of some sort later this year, including at Summer festivals like Lockn' and perhaps The Peach (but not Outside Lands), we are now growing more confident in the possibility of a short cross-country tour in June, leading up to the July 4th weekend. 

As said before, we have some confidence that there will be "Grateful Dead" concerts the weekend before Chicago at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area, likely involving most or all of the same lineup featuring Phish's Trey Anastasio, the Dead's Phil Lesh, and Bruce Hornsby. If there are additional shows preceding those events, however, some or all may involve a slightly different lineup with different guitar, bass, and keyboard players. Assuming the deal goes down, we think the schedule will look something like this: 

6/13 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Manchester, TN?

6/15-16 Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, PA?

6/18 Live Earth Festival, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ 

6/19-21 (2 shows?) Citi Field, New York, NY

6/22-25 (3 shows?) Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO

6/26-28 (2 shows, probably the 27th and 28th) Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA

We expect the Levi's Stadium and possibly additional shows to be announced very soon.

Live Earth: Road to Paris - 2015 (and the Planet)'s Biggest Concert

We've been dropping references for weeks now to this year's special Live Earth: Road to Paris concert, set to take place on six continents on June 18th, and now it's time to turn our attention to the full details. 

This mega-event, organized in cooperation with the United Nations and Al Gore's Climate Reality Project, transcends the concerns of our simple music blog, intended as it is to draw attention to this December's climate talks in Paris, perhaps world leaders' last best chance to reach an international climate accord saving humanity from the worst effects of global warming. But the concert, also co-organized by super-connected musical bizzer Pharrell Williams and Live Nation, is also shaping up to be the biggest event of this or many years. 

The massive 24-hour concert spectacular will be "anchored" from New York (MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ) and Paris (Stade de France), but the event will span the globe, with additional concerts in Australia (Sydney's Allianz Stadium), Brazil (Rio's Copacabana Beach), China (Beijing National Stadium), South Africa (Cape Town Stadium), and even Antarctica, where a band of resident research scientists will perform via satellite.

The New York lineup looks like it will lean heavily on the biggest names in classic rock (and country and hiphop), targeted to a baby boomer American audience, while Paris looks set to feature more of a younger, global pop sound, potentially including a very big local name - Pharrell's friends in Daft Punk. 

Here are some of the names we expect to be featured as part of this very, very big show [Updated 5/17]:

New York - Alicia Keys, Amos Lee, Angelique Kidjo, Billy Joel, Brad Paisley? Bruce Springsteen? Crosby, Stills, Nash, and (but separately?) Young, David Gray, Garth Brooks, members of the Grateful Dead with John Mayer, Jimmy Buffett, John Fogerty? Jon Bon Jovi, Kings of Leon? Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, Melissa Etheridge? Paul McCartney, Rascal Flatts? Robert Plant, the Rolling Stones, The Roots? Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, U2, Van Morrison

Paris - Ariana Grande? The Black Keys? blur? Chic feat. Nile Rodgers, Daft Punk? Duran Duran, Foo Fighters, Kanye West, Maroon 5, Of Monsters and Men, Paolo Nutini, Pet Shop Boys? Pharrell Williams, Robbie Williams? Royal Blood, Sam Smith, Taylor Swift? Youssou N'Dour

Cape Town - Dave Matthews Band, Hugh Masekela, Oliver Mtukudzi? OneRepublic? Vusi Mahlasela

Rio - Caetano Veloso? Gilberto Gil? Joss Stone

Likely but location uncertain (several in Sydney?) - Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Coldplay, The Eagles, John Legend, Lenny Kravitz, Metallica, No Doubt, Paul Simon, Sting, The Who

Some more possibilities - Arcade Fire, Axwell /\ Ingrosso (Paris?), Avicii (Paris?), Azealia Banks (Paris?), Bjork, the Black Eyed Peas, Bob Dylan, Bryan Ferry, Common (New York?), Counting Crows (Paris), Deadmau5 (Paris), Drake (Paris), Ellie Goulding (Paris), Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell (Sydney), Fleetwood Mac (Paris), Florence and the Machine (Paris?), Huey Lewis and the News (New York), Jay-Z and/or Beyonce (New York?), Kylie Minogue (Paris), Lana del Rey, The Libertines (Paris), Los Lobos (New York), Madonna, John Mellencamp (New York), Mumford & Sons (New York), Nas (New York?), One Direction (Paris), Paloma Faith (Paris), Pink, Pitbull (Rio?), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rihanna, Roger Waters and/or David Gilmour, Santana, Shakira (Rio), Skrillex (Paris), Soundgarden, Steven Tyler, Stevie Wonder, TV on the Radio (Sydney), Usher

Expect details of this event to be announced within the month!