Festival Pass: Tailgate Fest, Smoker’s Club announce lineups

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Country music Corina Bloomfield, from Brea, and Will Powers, from Pedley, dance on the roof of their vehicle as Big Boi performs at Tailgate Fest in Eastvale Saturday, Aug 17, 2019. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

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The texts started late Tuesday morning. Then came the Instagram messages. Within hours, my Twitter feed was dominated by commentary on the When We Were Young emo mega-fest happening in October. (And I wasn’t the only one, there are plenty of memes about it.)

My Chemical Romance! Paramore! Jimmy Eat World! Dashboard Confessional! Alkaline Trio! Avril Lavigne! 1,432 other bands in small print that you once heard on a Warped Tour compilation CD all playing a Live Nation festival on one day in Las Vegas!

Commentary about festival lineups is nothing new, but what I found fascinating is how this particular festival has struck a chord across so many age groups: my Generation Catalano brethren, elder millennials, younger millennials, Gen Z. Nostalgia has come for all of us — those who proudly displayed our favorite emo song lyrics on our AOL Instant Messenger away messages (guilty, and it was most definitely something off Dashboard’s “The Swiss Army Romance” album) as well as those who could buy a studded belt at a Hot Topic in any mall across America. (Gather ’round the campfire and let me tell you how hard it was to get a Misfits T-shirt back in my day.)

Personally, I can’t figure out how all of these bands are going to play full sets in one day unless it’s suddenly a hardcore festival and each song is 90 seconds long, but how this plays out ought to be interesting.

In the meantime, if you don’t want to head to Vegas and pay more than $200 for that experience, you can relive your old Warped Tour days in OC in May at the Vagrant Records’ anniversary show — with Dashboard Confessional, Alkaline Trio, The Get Up Kids, Thrice, The Anniversary and Hot Rod Circuit — and the bands should get set times longer than 15 minutes. (I’m actually going as a civilian with a bunch of friends and if you run into me, there’s a non-zero chance that if the Get Up Kids play “Mass Pike” it will truly be hug and cry emo time.)

And on Thursday, Live Nation announced another jam-packed festival, this time less emo, more rap, and closer to home, with the return of Smoker’s Club. However, it’s not as unusual to see more than 50 artists on a one-day hip-hop festival. Why? Bands usually have more equipment that requires more time to set up and tear down between sets.

That’s not the only festival returning. Tailgate Fest dropped its lineup for this year’s country party in Fontana. Read on.

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Tailgate Fest, a two-day country music event that makes tailgating a part of the main event, will return for its third year Aug. 13-14 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)

Parking lot party

The Tailgate Fest is back. After aborting plans in 2020 due to the pandemic, the country fest is headed to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana with Jake Owen, Billy Currington and more. Get the details and find out how to get tickets.

 

Kid Cudi will headline the single-day Smoker’s Club Fest alongside ASAP Rocky, Playboi Carti and more than 50 other acts on April 30 at Glen Helen Amphitheater in Devore. (Photo by Neilson Barnard, Getty Images for adidas)

 

Light it up

Hip-hop festival Smoker’s Club is returning in a new venue. Previously held in Long Beach, the fest is now happening Saturday, April 30, at Glen Helen Amphitheater in Devore with Kid Cudi, ASAP Rocky, Playboi Carti and more than 50 others. See the lineup and find out how to get tickets.

 

NOFX will headline the Punk in Drublic Craft Beer & Music Festival, which is coming to Petco Park in San Diego March 26 and the Ventura Fairgrounds March 27. The festival was created by Cameron Collins of Brew Ha Ha Productions and NOFX frontman Fat Mike. (File photo by Kelly A. Swift, Contributing Photographer)

 

Making friends 

If you’re wanting less emo and more punk for your Warped Tour nostalgia, the Punk in Drublic Craft Beer and Music Fest is coming with NOFX headlining in San Diego and Ventura. Pennywise, Face to Face and Lagwagon are among the bands playing. Get the details.

 

House Dj Carl Cox performs at the Opulent Temple during the annual Burning Man celebration in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada on Wednesday, Aug 28, 2019. Cox is among the headliners at Insomniac’s upcoming Skyline LA festival taking place in downtown L.A. Feb. 26-27. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

 

Just dance

Insomniac will put on the Skyline LA event over two days in February with Carl Cox, Maya Jane Coles and more, but the venue hasn’t yet been announced. Here are the details that we have so far.

 

Can’t Feel the Heat is an unofficial Coachella podcast (Courtesy Can’t Feel the Heat)

 

Tune in

The Can’t Feel the Heat Podcast is back and we’re talking about the Coachella lineup announcement. Among the topics in our latest episode is how many artists from the Coachella 2020 poster are back for 2022. Listen now on Apple podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher.

 

Grammy-winning blues star and Compton native Keb’ Mo’ is releasing the 13-song “Good to be” album on Jan. 21. The new album was written between his homes in Nashville and Compton. (Photo by Jeremy Cowart)

 

Your moment of zen

Reporter Richard Guzman caught up with Keb’ Mo’ to talk about his new album, buying and renovating his childhood home in Compton and more. Save this one for when you need a delightful read.

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