BSMF abandons butt-rock for the age of singer-songwriters

2013- A pack of delinquents and myself are stomping our way through Beale Street Music Festival from the Bud Lite stage, where Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros pulled off an inspiring performance, to the Fedex stage, where Alice in Chains would remind us that the 90’s were over.

Chains began their performance by slyly stating “I guess we made it to the stage THIS year,” flailing around like Target catalogue rock stars, and for the rest of their set, completely acting like self-obsessed cheeseballs. The quality of their performance did not match the attitude they presented the crowd. My friends and I, already stuck in the masses, turned and looked at each other as if to say “We should have stayed at Bassnectar.”

The Black Keys at Music Fest '13

Though the Alice in Chains incident didn’t stop us from completely enjoying the rest of the ‘13 lineup (The Black Keys, Public Enemy, The Flaming Lips, and Gary Clark Jr. all delivered) I personally haven’t returned to music fest since 2013. Headliners in 2014 like Avenged Sevenfold, who dropped their California-metalcore sound to become a Metallica cover band for kids with Tapout shirts, and Kid Rock (‘nuff said) just didn’t interest me. As for 2015, Five Finger Death Punch threw a hissy fit and broke up onstage ...or so I’m told.  

I haven’t been to Beale Street Music Festival in three years because most of the rock groups that were billed fall under the “butt-rock” umbrella, if you ask me. Webster’s Dictionary does not contain a definition for “butt-rock,” but Urban dictionary says it is “comprised of raspy vocals, similar to Pearl Jam, Creed, or Nirvana, backed with radio-friendly guitar riffs, drum beats, and basic bass lines.” Comparisons to Pearl Jam and Nirvana are generous, but words like “raspy” and “Creed” hit the nail on the head.

Courtesy of Music Fest

So what about the lineup for Music Fest ‘16? Well, I’m walking to class and receive about five consecutive texts from a friend about the fact that hometown hero Julien Baker (YES) is playing musicfest along with Modest Mouse, Beck, Cold War Kids, and The Front Bottoms. The Front Bottoms?

The Front Bottoms! TFB may utilize some “radio-friendly guitar riffs,” but they swap those nasty “raspy vocals” for the endearing self-realizing poetics of frontman Brian Sella. These guys are anti-”butt-rock.” These guys are the opposite of “butt-rock.” I’d venture to say that while all the butt-rock bands were ripping off the raspy sound of Kurt Cobain’s voice, Brian Sella was busy studying how Cobain lyrically captivated a listener with lyrics. The Front Bottoms crushed the Hi Tone with their inviting folk-punk sound in July of ‘14 and I’ll never forget it.

It’s safe to say I’m looking forward toward seeing them in Memphis again, but even the rest of the BSMF ‘16 lineup also seems to represent a shift from “raspy, Creed vocals,” to sophisticated, singer-songwriter-driven bands. Instead of Kid Rock we have Beck. Instead of Five Finger Death Punch we have Modest Mouse. We have Young The Giant. If you still enjoy a healthy amount of distortion, we’ll have Weezer looking like the nerds they are instead of Alice in Chains pretending they can still amaze us with their “coolness.”

Something happened in the recruiting process of the Beale Street Music Festival and I’m glad it did. With all these singer-songwriter acts Music Fest is gonna get lyrical. Music Fest is gonna get deep. What’s the cherry on top of this singer-songwriter sundae you ask? I’d like to think it’s Paul Simon. Of Simon & Garfunkel. That Paul Simon. So here’s to you Mrs.Memphis in May.   

Courtesy of Music Fest

...If he plays "Kodachrome" I'm gonna lose my shit.