X-fest 2016 line-up

[jayswin]

http://globalnews.ca/news/2729423/tw...e-x-fest-2016/

Twenty One Pilots is a great get, but it's a little awkward when you're biggest headliner just played a huge show in Calgary this spring.

Twenty One Pilots
The Lumineers
Halsey
Vance Joy
Arkells
July Talk
Awolnation
Jake Bugg
Wintersleep
Banners
Atlas Genius
Zella Day
Modern Space
Darcey's

[jayswin]

July Talk put on a great show.

[Bobblehead]

X has been promoting July Talk pretty hard for a few weeks. Push + Pull seems to be getting fairly heavy rotation and they have played other tunes as well (The Garden)

[DiracSpike]

Anyone know when they'll release the breakdown on who plays which day?

Hoping for a Arkells AWOLNATION Lumineers day

[TheSutterDynasty]

I think the draw is having either a huge 1 or 2 big bands, or having a lot of lesser good bands.

Twenty one pilots seem super popular right now with 3 big singles the last year or so. But for me the draw is bands like Atlas Genius, Arkells, Vance Joy, Wintersleep, of course Lumineers.. its like every other band is damn good. Even Zella Day..

Excited to see the breakdown of bands on which day (really wish it was only 1 day like it used to be)

[polak]

Twenty One Pilots and Halsey seem a little out of character for X-fest? Or am I out to lunch...?

[calf]

Originally Posted by polak

Twenty One Pilots and Halsey seem a little out of character for X-fest? Or am I out to lunch...?

Even though they are played on Top 40 radio, they are at least on X's regular playlist. Ellie Goulding as a headliner last year, I'll never understand.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by polak

Twenty One Pilots and Halsey seem a little out of character for X-fest? Or am I out to lunch...?

Not sure about Halsey but Twenty One Pilots have been one of their most played bands in the last year or so. They'd be a huge headliner considering their success in the States but again, it seems like playing with fire when that very band just played a huge show in Calgary that likely almost every 21 pilots fan in the city attended.

Of course some will want to see them again, but with festival tickets being as expensive as they are there tends to be a pretty big justification thought process that people go through. And "well I just saw the big headliner in April for $35 so how can I justify $180 for them plus some smaller bands, now?", may be a prevailing decision fro many in this economy.

[iLoveLamp]

Damn this lineup is a steaming pile of crap

[getbak]

Well, I guess I'm officially old and out of touch. I have never heard of any of those bands before.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Not sure about Halsey.

Halsey isn't much of a stretch given the current landscape of Alternative.

[N-E-B]

I don't want to dump on this too much, but this is a pretty disappointing and lackluster line-up. Won't be going.

[DownInFlames]

I'm not going to #### on the lineup, but I do think it's interesting that they're all contemporary acts. No Flaming Lips or Weezer for the older crowd. I wonder how that will affect sales.

[Party Elephant]

Arkells, July Talk, Awolnation, Lumineers, Modern Space, Twenty One Pilots, that's a pretty good lineup in my books!

I just recently discovered Modern Space when spotify recommended them to me, they have a really solid debut album.

[djsFlames]

The guy's voice from July Talk is one of the most grating things I've ever heard.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

The guy's voice from July Talk is one of the most grating things I've ever heard.

Is it Thom Yorke bad?

[Nyah]

Originally Posted by getbak

Well, I guess I'm officially old and out of touch. I have never heard of any of those bands before.

Same. Not a single one, and I'm not even that old.

[Magnum PEI]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

The guy's voice from July Talk is one of the most grating things I've ever heard.

He sounds like the Cookie Monster.

[djsFlames]

Their style of music just doesn't go with his voice, which makes it stick out like a sore thumb even more.

I can't even listen to X92.9 these days and my genre of choice has been Alt Rock for the past number of years. Just really subpar, boring bands getting all the airtime and promotion lately. The quality of music is just getting worse too. There just isn't creativity any more. Repetitive, simplistic chords and progressions. It's awful..

That said, some on the list are pretty good, talented artists.

I wish some quality bands with a little energy and creative spark in their music would take back the airwaves from the mediocre ones that are producing this coffee shop background music for hipsters.

The musician in me dies a little more each time I tune in to hear what's new in alternative music.

It says something when a well past prime Blink 182 who are in their 40s now can put out the most energetic single on the Alt charts. What I'd give to revive all those bands of 15-20 years ago that actually made good, summer music you could jam to.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

I'm not going to #### on the lineup, but I do think it's interesting that they're all contemporary acts. No Flaming Lips or Weezer for the older crowd. I wonder how that will affect sales.

X929 went to soft alternative/coffee shop lullaby route a few years ago, many had noticed and stopped listening. Then that Peak radio station came along and basically played exactly what X929 used to play and X jumped back to harder rock alternative to compete for the rock crowd.

I noticed as soon as Peak switched to country X929 reverted right back to soft, boring alternative. Unfortunately on top of that they're also playing all the smaller acts coming to Xfest to promote them and sell tickets.

I turned them on this afternoon, heard a soft song with a weak EDM feel to it that sounded like it had no place on their station and thought "I'll shazam this and 100% it will be a minor act at Xfest", and sure enough it was. Darcey's or whatever.