The much-anticipated 2014 lineup for Free Press Summer Fest is out. With everyone from folk-favorite Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros to country crooner Dwight Yoakam included this year, there really seems to be something for everyone.
Since starting six years ago, Free Press Summer Fest has grown from an estimated 30,000 attendance in 2009 to nearly 100,000 last year. Houston's premier music festival takes place May 31 and June 1 at Eleanor Tinsley Park.
Here are the highlights of the new lineup:
Since parting ways with Meg in 2011, Jack White has been, well, rather all over the place. Going from The Raconteurs to The Dead Weather and now focusing on his solo career, White has done it all. With a blues-y type of rock-and-roll that anyone can appreciate (see: "Sixteen Saltines"), the Detroit darling is the ultimate festival headliner (you really can't afford to miss him).
This indie rock four-piece band, known most widely for its 2008 self-titled album which featured hits "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," "Mansard Roof" and "Oxford Comma," actually started at New York's Columbia University. Vampire Weekend took that initial success and ran with it, releasing two more albums in only two years, both receiving critical and popular acclaim.
If you're headed to Summer Fest to have fun, nothing makes a better soundtrack than the pop-rock of Vampire Weekend.
If you're headed to Summer Fest to have fun, nothing makes a better soundtrack than the pop-rock of Vampire Weekend.
Perhaps best known as a member of 1990s hip-hop group, the Fugees, Lauryn Hill has had quite the solo career as an R&B singer, including the 1999 smash hit single, "Doo Wop (That Thing)" (not to mention her incredible rendition of "Killing Me Softly"). In spite of her truly one-of-a-kind vocal skills, Hill only recently returned to the stage after taking a long sabbatical from performing, so don't miss this amazing opportunity to see her live.
While you may know Donald Glover by his Community name, you ought to know him as Childish Gambino since he's bound for hip-hop stardom. His second studio album, Because the Internet — replete with electro-hip-hop stunners like "Crawl" and "Sweatpants" — is more than enough to convince you to check him out.
Ninja and Yo-landi's style may not be for everyone, but with thumping bass and spitfire lyrics, it's hard not to get on board with the South African duo's brand of hip-hop. After gaining attention with 2009's hit single "Enter the Ninja" from their $O$ album, Die Antwoord has gained a prolific following in the United States. Check out tracks "I Fink U Freeky" and "Fatty Boom Boom" from 2012's Ten$ion if you're ready to be converted to their "rap-rave" style.
The full Free Press Summer Fest lineup:
Jack White
Vampire Weekend
Lauryn Hill
Zedd
Pinkish Black
Dead Roses
Grand Old Grizzly
Ill Liad
Above & Beyond
Wu-Tang Clan
Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros
Dwight Yoakam
Childish Gambino
Deftones
Cage The Elephant
The Kills
Die Antwoord
Big Gigantic
Chvrches
DMX
The 1975
tUnE-yArDs
Laidback Luke
Rebelution
Washed Out
The Naked and Famous
Adventure Club
Flosstradamus
Drive-By Truckers
Lord Huron
Ying Yang Twins
Sky Ferreira
J. Roddy Walston & The Business
First Aid Kit
Mariachi El Bronx
Paper Diamond
King Khan & The Shrines
Flatbush Zombies
The Oh Hellos
Shakey Graves
Wildcat! Wildcat!
Poolside
Robert Delong
The Orwells
Anamanaguchi
Venomous Maximus
Wild Party
Carnival Talk
Driver Friendly
Feathers
Die Antwoord
Performers inside The Cube.Photo by Jean-François Savaria
The performance also features the jaw-dropped acrobatics Cirque du Soleil is known for.Photo by Jean-François Savaria