Music fans and festival goers alike know early January to be an important time as music festivals across the U.S. and around the world begin announcing who will be performing each day. Of course, there are bound to be the loyal fans who go every year regardless of who will be playing. For most the lineup is the most crucial part of any given festival and will determine if it’s worth going.
First up was Coachella, taking place April 13-15 and 20-22 in Indio, Calif. The lineup announcement came on Jan. 2 with headliners The Weeknd (Friday), Beyoncé (Saturday) and Eminem (Sunday). With Coachella being one of the most popular festivals in the U.S., there’s a lot that can be said about the music industry in 2018 just by looking at the lineup from the headliners to the smallest print. One of the most striking elements from looking at the poster is the lack of variety in terms of the artists performing, specifically the headliners.
With last year’s festival featuring Radiohead, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Lorde, the xx and Bon Iver, it appeared as though there was something for everyone. This year, however, tells a different story. The festival is showcasing mainly R&B and rap, two of the most popular genres among young festival goers. It would make sense then that promoters would book artists fans would be interested in seeing, such as breakout artists from 2017 like Cardi B, Post Malone, Migos and BROCKHAMPTON.
Overall, the lineup is not as compelling as previous years. The Weeknd’s last album “Starboy” came out over a year ago, so the hype is more or less gone. We have known Beyoncé would be performing since last year, so it’s not that much of a bombshell that she’s headlining. Eminem’s less than stellar 2017 album “Revival” is bound to draw fans of Slim Shady.
As more lineups from Hangout (May 18-20), Bonnaroo (June 7-10) and Governors Ball (June 1-3) were announced, it became apparent that certain trends would be consistent throughout 2018. First of all, Eminem. It’s pretty much guaranteed that the 45-year-old rapper will be making appearances at every major music festival this year — for better or for worse.
Artists that also appear to be consistent are the Killers, Muse and Portugal. The Man, proving that bands haven’t completely disappeared from lineups. There’s also the constant amount of new artists that are being more prominently featured such as SZA, Travis Scott, Halsey, Post Malone, Future, Khalid and Dua Lipa, appealing to a much younger crowd. However, we can expect major returns this festival season from both Arctic Monkeys and Vampire Weekend, each releasing new albums sometime this year.
There are still local festivals that have yet to announce their lineups as of press time including Outside Lands (August 10-12 in San Francisco), Sasquatch (May 25-27 in George, Washington) and Lollapalooza (August 2-5 in Chicago, Illinois). For the larger festivals, it’s likely that their lineups will feature similar artists to garner a larger audience.
However, some smaller local festivals in Chicago have been known to deviate from the mainstream such as Pitchfork (July 20-22 in Union Park) that features more independent artists and Riot Fest (September 14-16 in Douglas Park) that focuses more on punk and alternative bands. Fortunately for those in the Chicago area, there’s a festival for all types of music fans.
Regardless of fan opinions, the music festival scene has grown to represent the state of music in 2018. Upcoming artists are being placed on a higher pedestal more than ever before as festival promoters are seeking to profit on the popularity of artists in the music streaming age.
