mdou moctar australian tour

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Mdou moctar announces debut australian tour, heading to castlemaine in 2023.

Niger psych-rock guitar sensation Mdou Moctar will be bringing his mighty band to Australia.

A self-taught Tuareg guitar prodigy, Mdou Moctar boldly reforges contemporary Saharan music and “rock music“ by melding Eddie Van Halen pyrotechnics, full-blast noise and guitar shredding, field recordings, drums rhythms, poetic meditations on love, religion, women’s rights, inequality and Western Africa’s exploitation at the hands of colonial powers to rip a new hole in the sky.

Mdou Moctar Australian Tour

Thursday March 2 – Perth Festival

Thursday March 9 – Brunswick Music Festival @ Estonian House

Friday March 10 – Theatre Royal Castlemaine

Saturday March 11 – Golden Plains XV

Sunday March 12 + Monday March 13 – WOMADelaide

Tuesday March 14 + Wednesday March 15 – Sydney Opera House

Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews  here .

Mdou Moctar’s home is Agadez, a desert village in rural Niger. Inspired by YouTube videos and traditional Tuareg melodies, he mastered the guitar which he himself built and created his own burning style. A born charismatic, Mdou went on to tell his story as an aspiring artist by writing, producing & starring in the first Tuareg language film: a remake of Purple Rain called Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai – which translates to “Rain The Color Of Blue With A Little Red In It”, winning the approval of his family and his community.

The word and the sound travelled across West Africa via mobile phone data cards, a popular form of local music distribution. Gruelling DIY world tours and albums on the independent US label Sahel Sounds followed, including 2019’s landmark Ilana: The Creator album that earned Mdou Moctar an ecstatic international audience.

Afrique Victime, the latest Mdou Moctar album, was a combined effort of Mdou and the members of the band that shares his name. Mdou’s crucial collaborator is Ahmoudou Madassane, who’s been his rhythm guitarist since 2008; their two guitars are an alchemical combination. As a songwriter, producer and recording artist, Ahmoudou is the premier musical ambassador to Tuaregs in Niger, empowering young musicians with instruments, recording opportunities, and visas. Masassane helped form the revolutionary first woman-fronted Tuareg guitar band Les Filles De Illighadad, whose debut album and tours caused an international sensation in 2019. Along with bassist Mikey Coltun and drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, it’s an alchemical combination that has seen Mdou Moctar hailed everywhere as one of the greatest live bands in the world.

The band‘s youngest member is prodigal drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, also a member of both the well-known Niger band Sultanat Star De L’air and the longest running wedding band in Agadez, Etran De L’air. Souleymane’s playing on this album ferociously sets a new standard for the “rock” drumset.

Producer & bassist Mikey Coltun flies 20 hours from Brooklyn, NYC, then takes a 28 hour bus ride to reach Agadez so the band can practice and record. With no support from a manager, they made this journey out of Niger every time they toured. In the past three years, Mikey’s played over 500 shows on three continents as Mdou Moctar’s bassist, road manager, producer/recording engineer, and friend. Coltun recorded and produced Afrique Victime around the band’s travels in 2019- in studios, apartments, hotel rooms, venue backstages, and in field recordings in Niger.

Recording and honing songs as a touring outfit forged a livewire new sound, and If Ilana was a late ’60s early ’70s ZZ Top and Black Sabbath record – Afrique Victime is mid ’70s to early ’80s Van Halen meets Black Flag meets Black Uhuru. The ferocity of Moctar’s electric guitar and the band’s hypnotic rhythm section are on awe-inspiring display on songs like “Chismiten” and the mournful yet incandescent title track.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Mdou Moctar (@mdou_moctar)

Moctar finds inspiration in highlighting lesser known facets of the group: “While people have gotten to know Mdou Moctar as a rock band, there is a whole different set of music with this band done on acoustic guitars which we wanted to incorporate into this album in order to go through a sonic journey,” he says. Mdou pays homage to one of his heroes Abdallah Ag Oumbadagou, the legendary Niger musician and political revolutionary, on songs “Habibti” and “Layla”. “Abdallah was a contemporary of Tinariwen and helped to pioneer the sound of Tuareg guitar music blended with drum machines and electronic sounds”.

“From prison to Nobel prize. They ceded to Mandela / Africa is a victim of so many crimes / If we stay silent it will be the end of us / Why is this happening?” Moctar asks on the heartfelt and rallying title track. “I want the world to know that we are making music to promote world peace and be with everyone on the same level, fighting against racism”, he says. “All colors and genders are equal. Women, Men and children all suffer in the desert due to the colonization by France and therefore there is a lack of the basics – hospitals, drinking water, schools.”

The needs of Agadez are a major part of what drives Moctar as an artist, and promoting the region’s youth through music is an especially personal cause. “I know what it’s like to have been in that position,” he says, “to not have the support of your family, or the money for guitars or strings, it’s really hard. I have a lot of support from the younger generation, because I help them out a lot. When I get back from tour, I give them gear that I bought while I was away so they can go out and form their own bands.”

Says Coltun: “In Agadez the music and feeling at Tuareg weddings is exactly like the best of Western DIY/Punk shows. It’s loud, energetic and powerful. There is a sense of everyone helping out. Tuaregs are a tight community. If you’re Tuareg you’re considered family.”

The music listeners are the beneficiaries of the staggeringly powerful do-it-yourself musical ethic of Mdou Moctar – the man and the band – who’ve worked so hard to bring the spirits of families and communities in Niger to the West. Afrique Victime sounds and feels like a Tuareg hand reaching down from the sky, and we are very lucky for this chance to get lifted.

Head here for more info. 

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Mdou moctar announces debut australian tour.

Psych-rock guitar sensation Mdou Moctar will be bringing his mighty band to Australia.

A self-taught Tuareg guitar prodigy, Mdou Moctar boldly reforges contemporary Saharan music and “rock music“ by melding Eddie Van Halen pyrotechnics, full-blast noise and guitar shredding, field recordings, drums rhythms, poetic meditations on love, religion, women’s rights, inequality and Western Africa’s exploitation at the hands of colonial powers to rip a new hole in the sky.

Mdou Moctar Australian Tour

• March 2 – Perth Festival
• March 9 – Brunswick Music Festival @ Estonian House
• March 10 – Theatre Royal Castlemaine
• March 11 – Golden Plains XV
• March 12 and March 13 – WOMADelaide
• March 14 and March 15 – Sydney Opera House

Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews  here .

Mdou Moctar’s home is Agadez, a desert village in rural Niger. Inspired by YouTube videos and traditional Tuareg melodies, he mastered the guitar which he himself built and created his own burning style. A born charismatic, Mdou went on to tell his story as an aspiring artist by writing, producing & starring in the first Tuareg language film: a remake of Purple Rain called Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai – which translates to “Rain The Color Of Blue With A Little Red In It”, winning the approval of his family and his community.

The word and the sound travelled across West Africa via mobile phone data cards, a popular form of local music distribution. Gruelling DIY world tours and albums on the independent US label Sahel Sounds followed, including 2019’s landmark Ilana: The Creator album that earned Mdou Moctar an ecstatic international audience.

Afrique Victime, the latest Mdou Moctar album, was a combined effort of Mdou and the members of the band that shares his name. Mdou’s crucial collaborator is Ahmoudou Madassane, who’s been his rhythm guitarist since 2008; their two guitars are an alchemical combination. As a songwriter, producer and recording artist, Ahmoudou is the premier musical ambassador to Tuaregs in Niger, empowering young musicians with instruments, recording opportunities, and visas. Masassane helped form the revolutionary first woman-fronted Tuareg guitar band Les Filles De Illighadad, whose debut album and tours caused an international sensation in 2019. Along with bassist Mikey Coltun and drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, it’s an alchemical combination that has seen Mdou Moctar hailed everywhere as one of the greatest live bands in the world.

The band‘s youngest member is prodigal drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, also a member of both the well-known Niger band Sultanat Star De L’air and the longest running wedding band in Agadez, Etran De L’air. Souleymane’s playing on this album ferociously sets a new standard for the “rock” drumset.

Producer & bassist Mikey Coltun flies 20 hours from Brooklyn, NYC, then takes a 28 hour bus ride to reach Agadez so the band can practice and record. With no support from a manager, they made this journey out of Niger every time they toured. In the past three years, Mikey’s played over 500 shows on three continents as Mdou Moctar’s bassist, road manager, producer/recording engineer, and friend. Coltun recorded and produced Afrique Victime around the band’s travels in 2019- in studios, apartments, hotel rooms, venue backstages, and in field recordings in Niger.

Recording and honing songs as a touring outfit forged a livewire new sound, and If Ilana was a late ’60s early ’70s ZZ Top and Black Sabbath record – Afrique Victime is mid ’70s to early ’80s Van Halen meets Black Flag meets Black Uhuru. The ferocity of Moctar’s electric guitar and the band’s hypnotic rhythm section are on awe-inspiring display on songs like “Chismiten” and the mournful yet incandescent title track.

Head  here for more info. 

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Mdou Moctar to Perform at Sydney Opera House on 2023 Australian Tour

By Sosefina Fuamoli

Mdou Moctar , the acclaimed guitarist from Niger, will perform at the Sydney Opera House for the first time in March 2023. Moctar will be in Australia for a number of festivals, including WOMADelaide, Golden Plains and Perth Festival. The Tuareg musician will play two consecutive shows in the Opera House’s intimate Utzon Room.

UPDATE 06/12/22: Mdou Moctar has announced all the details of his 2023 Australian tour. See below.

Mdou Moctar – ‘Afrique Victime’

Ben Marshall, head of contemporary music at the Sydney Opera House, expressed his enthusiasm for Moctar’s debut performances at the venue. “Mdou Moctar has emerged as one of the most exciting singular voices in guitar music, injecting Tuareg desert blues with the incandescent energy of psych rock, and his own innovative, self-taught flair,” Marshall said.

“Like friends and families gathering for his communal open-air shows in his native Niger, join us in the Utzon Room and Mdou transports audiences to another dimension, backed by the ascendant might of his full band.”

A self-taught guitarist, Moctar’s breakout record was 2013’s live recording  Afelan,  released via the US-based Sahel Sounds .  Moctar’s two latest releases, 2019’s album  Ilana (The Creator)  and 2021’s  Afrique Victime,  have received international acclaim, with the latter coming out via prominent US indie label Matador.

Afrique Victime  features Moctar backed by a full band, comprising bassist Mikey Coltun, guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane, and drummer Souleymane Ibrahim. The album was praised by  Exclaim , who called it “peerless”, and  The Observer,  who described Moctar’s sounds as “extraordinary”.

Mdou Moctar – ‘Chismiten’

Mdou Moctar 2023 Australian Tour

• Thursday, 2nd March – The Rechabite, Perth Festival, WA
• Thursday, 9th March – Estonian House, Brunswick Music Festival, Melbourne, VIC
• Friday, 10th March – Theatre Royale, Castlemaine, VIC
• Saturday, 11th March – Golden Plains, Meredith, VIC
• Sunday, 12th & Monday, 13th March – WOMADelaide, Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, SA
• Tuesday, 14th March – Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House, NSW
• Wednesday, 15th March – Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House, NSW

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News:  niger’s psych-rock guitar sensation mdou moctar announces debut australian tour in 2023, including the iconic womadelaide festival..

Mistletone proudly present, for their very first appearances in Australia, Niger’s Mdou Moctar , with the full band performing across a number of dates in March 2023.

A self-taught Tuareg guitar prodigy, Mdou Moctar boldly reforges contemporary Saharan music and contemporary rock music by melding Eddie Van Halen-like pyrotechnics and guitar shredding, field recordings, drums rhythms, poetic meditations on love, religion, women’s rights, inequality and Western Africa’s exploitation at the hands of colonial powers to rip a new hole in the sky.

Mdou Moctar’s home is Agadez, a desert village in rural Niger. Inspired by YouTube videos and traditional Tuareg melodies, he mastered the guitar which he himself built and created his own burning style. A born charismatic, Mdou went on to tell his story as an aspiring artist by writing, producing & starring in the first Tuareg language film: a remake of Purple Rain called Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai –  which translates to “Rain The Colour Of Blue With A Little Red In It”, winning the approval of his family and his community.

The word and the sound travelled across West Africa via mobile phone data cards, a popular form of local music distribution. Gruelling DIY world tours and albums on the independent US label Sahel Sounds followed, including 2019’s landmark Ilana: The Creator album that earned Mdou Moctar an ecstatic international audience.

Afrique Victime , the latest Mdou Moctar album from 2021 (on Matador Records ), was a combined effort of Mdou and the members of the band that share his name. Mdou’s crucial collaborator is Ahmoudou Madassane, who’s been his rhythm guitarist since 2008; their two guitars are an alchemical combination. As a songwriter, producer and recording artist, Ahmoudou is the premier musical ambassador to Tuaregs in Niger, empowering young musicians with instruments, recording opportunities, and visas. Masassane helped form the revolutionary first female-fronted Tuareg guitar band Les Filles De Illighadad, whose debut album and tours caused an international sensation in 2019.  Along with bassist Mikey Coltun and drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, it’s an alchemical combination that has seen Mdou Moctar hailed as one of the great live bands in the world.

The band‘s youngest member is prodigal drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, also a member of both the well-known Niger band Sultanat Star De L’air and the longest running wedding band in Agadez, Etran De L’air. Souleymane’s playing on this album ferociously sets a new standard for the “rock” drumset.

Producer & bassist Mikey Coltun flies 20 hours from Brooklyn, NYC, then takes a 28 hour bus ride to reach Agadez so the band can practice and record. With no support from a manager, they made this journey out of Niger every time they toured. In the past three years, Mikey’s played over 500 shows on three continents as Mdou Moctar’s bassist, road manager, producer/recording engineer, and friend. Coltun recorded and produced Afrique Victime around the band’s travels in 2019- in studios, apartments, hotel rooms, venue backstages, and in field recordings in Niger.

Recording and honing songs as a touring outfit forged a livewire new sound, and if Ilana, The Creator (2019) was a late ’60s/early ’70s ZZ Top and Black Sabbath record, then Afrique Victime is mid ’70s/early ’80s Van Halen meets Black Flag meets Black Uhuru. The ferocity of Moctar’s electric guitar and the band’s hypnotic rhythm section are on awe-inspiring display on songs like “Chismiten” and the mournful, yet incandescent title track.

Moctar finds inspiration in highlighting lesser-known facets of the group: “ While people have gotten to know Mdou Moctar as a rock band, there is a whole different set of music with this band done on acoustic guitars which we wanted to incorporate into this album in order to go through a sonic journey ,” he says. Mdou pays homage to one of his heroes Abdallah Ag Oumbadagou, the legendary Niger musician and political revolutionary, on songs “Habibti” and “Layla”.  “ Abdallah was a contemporary of Tinariwen and helped to pioneer the sound of Tuareg guitar music blended with drum machines and electronic sounds ”.

“From prison to Nobel prize. They ceded to Mandela / Africa is a victim of so many crimes / If we stay silent it will be the end of us / Why is this happening?” Moctar asks on the heartfelt and rallying title track. “ I want the world to know that we are making music to promote world peace and be with everyone on the same level, fighting against racism ”, he says. “ All colors and genders are equal. Women, Men and children all suffer in the desert due to the colonization by France and therefore there is a lack of the basics – hospitals, drinking water, schools .” 

The needs of Agadez are a major part of what drives Moctar as an artist, and promoting the region’s youth through music is an especially personal cause. “ I know what it’s like to have been in that position,” he says, “to not have the support of your family, or the money for guitars or strings, it’s really hard. I have a lot of support from the younger generation, because I help them out a lot. When I get back from tour, I give them gear that I bought while I was away so they can go out and form their own bands .”

Says Coltun:  “ In Agadez the music and feeling at Tuareg weddings is exactly like the best of Western DIY/Punk shows. It’s loud, energetic and powerful. There is a sense of everyone helping out. Tuaregs are a tight community. If you’re Tuareg you’re considered family. ”

The music listeners are the beneficiaries of the staggeringly powerful do-it-yourself musical ethic of Mdou Moctar – the man and the band – who’ve worked so hard to bring the spirits of families and communities in Niger to the West. Afrique Victime sounds and feels like a Tuareg hand reaching down from the sky, and we are very lucky for this chance to get lifted.

Featured Image: Atiba Jefferson

Mdou Moctar Australian Tour Dates (further dates to be announced)

THURSDAY MARCH 2: PERTH FESTIVAL TICKETS THURSDAY MARCH 9: BRUNSWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL  @  ESTONIAN HOUSE TICKETS

FRIDAY MARCH 10 THEATRE ROYAL CASTLEMAINE TICKETS

SATURDAY MARCH 11: GOLDEN PLAINS XV TICKET BALLOT SUNDAY MARCH 12 + MONDAY MARCH 13: WOMADelaide TICKETS & INFO TUESDAY MARCH 14 + WEDNESDAY MARCH 15: SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE  @  UTZON ROOM TICKETS

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Mdou Moctar tour dates 2024

Mdou Moctar is currently touring across 7 countries and has 35 upcoming concerts.

Their next tour date is at Anchor Rock Club in Atlantic City, after that they'll be at The Gallery at the Abbey Bar at Abc in Harrisburg.

Currently touring across

• 🇳🇱 Netherlands

Upcoming concerts (35) See nearest concert

Anchor Rock Club

The Gallery at the Abbey Bar at Abc

Cheers Brown's Island

Haw River Ballroom

The Orange Peel

Charleston Pour House

Terminal West

Bonnaroo Farms

Hi Fi Annex

Thalia Hall

The Magic Bag

Beachland Ballroom

Asbury Hall

Green River Festival

Paradise Rock Club presented by Citizens

Glastonbury Festival

Union Transfer

Electric Brixton

Escape Down The Rabbit Hole

Festsaal Kreuzberg

UT Connewitz

Circolo Magnolia (Estivo)

OLT Rivierenhof

End of the Road Festival

Manchester Psych Fest

Saint Luke's

Boiler Shop

Brudenell Social Club

Past concerts

Coachella 2024 (1st Weekend)

Théâtre Fairmount

View all past concerts

Support across tour dates

Recent tour reviews

Well, we flew from Mallorca to Barcelona, just to enjoy the show and his band sound... Awesome, the only thing, it must arrive to more people. We really enjoyed it. He can create an enigmatic and magic climate with his electric guitar. And the other musics, also! I ‘d like to notice the good feeling between Mdou and the battery man, I knew the Niger battery could’nt get the Visa, and instead if him, they found a french music, who “ensembled” perfectly with Mdou Moctar.An unforgettable night. Thanks from Mallorca. I took some photos wich I’ll share in FB. ;-)

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Mdou Moctar Announces 2022 Tour, Releases Live at the Niger River Live Set: Watch

By Nina Corcoran

Mdou Moctar has announced a lengthy run of 2022 tour dates. The trek kicks off on February 27 in North Carolina and brings the guitarist and his band around the world, making stops in the United States, Canada, England, Germany, France, Sweden, and more. The world tour will wrap up with a set at Off Festival in Poland on August 6. Also slated to perform at select shows on the tour are Parquet Courts . Check out the full itinerary below.

Moctar has also released a special performance video today titled Live at the Niger River . The 20-minute clip captures the prolific Tuareg guitarist and his bandmates Ahmoudou Madassane, Souleymane Ibrahim, and Mikey Coltun playing four Afrique Victime songs—“ Tala Tannam ,” “Bissmilahi Atagh,” “Ya Habibti,” and “ Chismiten ”—next to a campfire in Niamey, Niger.

According to Coltun, who captured this footage as well as Mdou Moctar’s latest documentary , they used generators to power the remote set. “As we started playing ‘Tala Tannam’ the sun came up and the two-colored Saharan bird, the pied crow, the symbol for Mdou Moctar, flew above us,” he said in a statement. “Midway through the session we were greeted by a pack of goats coming towards us from who knows where. They stopped and listened for a bit. Totally spontaneous, as things usually are for the Mdou Moctar group. This session proved to be one of the most beautiful performances we’ve played together.”

All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Mdou Moctar:

02-27 Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel 02-28 Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre 03-02 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse % 03-03 Birmingham, AL - Saturn % 03-04 Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom % 03-05 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant % 03-07 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall % 03-08 Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room %   03-10 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue % 03-11 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom % 03-12 Chicago, IL - The Riviera Theatre % 03-13 Detroit, MI - MOCAD % 03-15 Millvale, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre % 03-16 Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre 03-17 Toronto, Ontario - Queen Elizabeth Theatre % 03-18 Montreal, Quebec - Corona Theatre % 04-01 Antwerp, Belgium - Het Bos 04-02 Brussels, Belgium - AB-club 04-03 Köln, Denmark - Bumann 04-04 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso  04-05 Eindhoven, Netherlands - Effenaar 04-06 Brighton, England - Komedia 04-07 Birmingham, England - Hare & Hounds 04-08 Dublin, Ireland - The Sugar Club 04-09 Belfast, Ireland - Ulster Sports Club 04-10 Glasgow, Scotland - Drygate 04-11 Leeds, England - Brudenell Social Club 04-12 Manchester, England - YES 04-14 London, England - Earth Theatre 04-15 Roubaix/Lille, France - La cave aux Poètes 04-16 Paris, France - Le Hasard Ludique 04-17 Nijmegen, Netherlands - Doornroosje 04-18 Hamburg, Denmark - Molotow 04-19 Copenhagen, Germany - Alice 04-20 Gothenburg, Sweden - Nefertiti 04-21 Oslo, Norway - Blaa 04-22 Stockholm, Sweden - Fasching 04-23 Malmö, Sweden - Plan B 04-24 Berlin, Germany - Frannz Club 04-25 Leipzig, Germany - UT Connewitz 04-26 Prague, Czech Republic - Meetfactory 04-27 Linz, Austria - Kapu 04-28 Zurich, Switzerland - Fabrik 04-29 Mannheim, Germany - Feuerwache 05-01 Oostende, Belgium - De Post 08-06 Mysłowice, Poland - Off Festival

% with Parquet Courts

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Mdou Moctar Announce New Album Funeral for Justice and 2024 Tour Dates

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The post Mdou Moctar Announce New Album Funeral for Justice and 2024 Tour Dates appeared first on Consequence .

Visionary Nigerian rock act Mdou Moctar are back with new music. The band confirmed that their next album, titled Funeral for Justice , will arrive on May 3rd via Matador Records. They’ve previewed the title track today alongside the news — stream it below.

In “Funeral For Justice,” the group turns up the volume — while the quartet’s breakout project,  Afrique Victim , emphasized their preference for heavy guitar solos, this track kicks off an even louder era. Feedback-laden solos weave around the sharp, pointed lyrics, which the band members describe as “passionately political.”

Funeral for Justice was recorded shortly before  Niger’s democratically elected government was deposed in a military coup. “With Funeral for Justice , I really wanted this to shine with the political message because of everything that’s going on,” the group’s frontman and namesake said in a statement. “As the band got tighter and heavier live, it made sense to capture this urgency and this aggression – it wasn’t a forced thing, it was very natural.”

This summer, Mdou Moctar will be hitting the festival circuit, making appearances at Coachella Music Festival in California and Bonnaroo in Tennessee. They’ve also mapped out a full US tour, which features stops in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and more. After wrapping in Philadelphia, they’ll head to London to kick off festival dates and gigs throughout the UK and Europe, which run until September.

A Live Nation ticket pre-sale for the newly announced tour dates is set for Thursday, February 29th (use access code ENERGY ), with a public on-sale following on Friday, March 1st via Ticketmaster .

Once tickets are on sale, fans can look for deals or get tickets to sold-out shows via StubHub , where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

Get Mdou Moctar Tickets Here

Funeral for Justice Artwork:

Funeral for Justice Tracklist: 01. Funeral For Justice 02. Imouhar 03. Takoba 04. Sousoume 05. Imagerhan 06. Tchinta 07. Djallo #1 08. Oh France 09. Modern Slaves

Mdou Moctar 2024 Tour Dates: 04/14 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music and Arts Festival 04/21 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music and Arts Festival 06/05 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Anchor Rock Club 06/06 – Harrisburg, PA @ The Abbey Bar at ABC 06/07 – Richmond, VA @ Cheers Brown’s Island 06/08 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom 06/09 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel 06/11 – Charleston, SC @ Pour House 06/12 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn 06/13 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West 06/14 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo 06/15 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Hi-Fi 06/18 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall 06/19 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag 06/20 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom 06/21 – Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall 06/22 – Greenfield, MA @ Green River Music Festival 06/23 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club 06/26 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw 06/27 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club 06/28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer 07/03 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton 07/07 – Beuningen, NL @ Down the Rabbit Hole 08/19 – Berlin, DE @ Festaal Kreuzberg 08/20 – Leipzig, DE @ UT Kreuzberg 08/21 – Munich, DE @ Ampere 08/22 – Milan, IT @ Magnolia Summer Stage 08/25 – Paris, FR @ Petit Bain 08/26 – Antwerp, BE @ OLT Revierenhof 08/27 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso 08/30 – Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival 08/31 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Psych Fest 09/01 – Birmingham, UK @ Moseley Folk Festival 09/02 – Glasgow, UK @ Saint Luke’s 09/03 – Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop 09/04 – Leeds, UK @ The Brudenell Social Club

Mdou Moctar Announce New Album Funeral for Justice and 2024 Tour Dates Mary Siroky

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Mdou Moctar announces new U.S. tour dates

Eight headlining performances have been added to moctar’s upcoming tour with parquet courts..

Mdou Moctar has added eight new headlining dates to his winter 2022 North American tour in support Parquet Courts . Moctar spent September touring behind his fifth studio album, May 2021's Afrique Victime .

The Tuareg desert blues guitar god's marquee shows will bookend his upcoming run with Parquet Courts: He'll play in Providence, Rhode Island and Charlottesville, Virginia on February 24 and 26 before joining the Brooklyn post-punk outfit in Asheville, North Carolina on February 27. Then, in late March. Then, on March 19, he'll peel off from the group for shows in Lyndon and Burlington, Vermont; Woodstock, New York; Washington, D.C.; and Winston-Salem, NC, before finishing his run at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville on March 25. Shortly thereafter, he'll take off for Europe, where he's scheduled to play 30 shows in the span of a month.

Read Next: Mdou Moctar announce new album Funeral for Justice

Watch Moctar's recent NPR Tiny Desk concert, and view all his winter and spring 2022 tour dates, below.

Winter 2022 North American tour (new dates in bold)

2/24 – Providence, RI – Columbus Theatre 2/26 – Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theatre 2/27 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel % 2/28 – Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre % 3/2 ­– Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse % 3/3 – Birmingham, AL – Saturn % 3.4 ­– Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom % 3/5 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant % 3/7 – Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall % 3/8 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room % 3/10 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue % 3/11 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom % 3/12 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera Theatre % 3/13 – Detroit, MI – MOCAD % 3/15 – Millvale, PA – Mr. Smalls Theatre % 3/16 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre 3/17 – Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre % 3/18 – Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre % 3/19 – Lyndon, VT – Northern VT State 3/20 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground 3/21 – Woodstock, NY – Colony 3/22 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club 3/24 – Winston-Salem, NC – The Ramkat 3/25 – Knoxville, TN – Big Ears Festival % w/ Parquet Courts

Spring 2022 European tour

4/1 – Antwerp, BE – Het Bos 4/2 – Brussels, BE – AB-club SOLD OUT 4/3 – Köln, DE – Bumann 4/4 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso Noord 4/5 – Eindhoven, NL – Effenaar 4/6 – Brighton, UK – Komedia 4/7 – Birmingham, UK – Hare & Hounds 4/8 – Dublin, IE – The Sugar Club 4/9 – Belfast, UK – Ulster Sports Club 4/10 – Glasgow, UK – Drygate 4/11 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club 4/12 – Manchester, UK – YES 4/14 – London, UK – Earth Theatre 4/15 – Roubaix/Lille, FR – La cave aux Poètes 4/16 – Paris, FR – Le Hasard Ludique 4/17 – Nijmegen, NL – Doornroosje SOLD OUT 4/18 – Hamburg, DE – Molotow 4/19 – Copenhagen, DK – Alice SOLD OUT 4/20 – Gothenburg, SE – Nefertiti 4/21 – Oslo, NO – Blaa 4/22 – Stockholm, SE – Fasching 4/23 – Malmö, SE – Plan B 4/24 – Berlin, DE – Frannz Club 4/25 – Leipzig, DE – UT Connewitz 4/26 – Prague, CZ – Meetfactory 4/27 – Linz, AU – Kapu 4/28 – Zurich, CH – Fabrik 4/29 – Mannheim, DE – Feuerwache 5/1 – Oostende, BE – De Post 8/6 – Mysłowice, PL – Off Festival

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Mdou Moctar: “I really like the Stratocaster sound. Whatever tone I need, I can have it in that guitar”

Strat in hand, the Nigerien phenom is taking Tuareg guitar music global and putting an electric twist on traditional arrangements

Every now and again some wiseacre pops their head out to herald the death of the electric guitar . But they’re not really listening to what’s going on, and they’re definitely not taking into account the revolutionary power of fresh perspectives on the instrument.

Take Mdou Moctar; scarcely has a Fender Stratocaster sounded more alive than in his hands. Based out of Agadez, Niger, Moctar takes the traditions of Tuareg guitar music and the traditions of the Strat, and braids them together into one thread for a propulsive, psychedelic sound that is at once delivered with the cathartic oomph of celebration and the urgent cadence of protest. 

Surrendering to the insistent, hypnotic grooves of Moctar’s sixth album, Afrique Victime – released through Matador – is a potent psychedelic experience.  

Delivered in Tamasheq, Moctar’s songs are of love and peace, of the ruinous impact of French colonialism on his home country. 

Moctar’s restless songwriting has evolved over the years. His debut album, Anar – recorded in Sokoto, Nigeria in 2008 – paired acoustic Tuareg guitar with vocals heavily processed in Auto-Tune more commonly found in Nigeria’s Hausa and Nija scenes. 

This radical new sound soon spread across the continent’s central belt via cell-phone music trading networks – an African facsimile of the tape-trading movement –  before coming to the attention of a Sahel Sounds’ Christopher Kirkley, who featured Moctar on his Music from Saharan Cellphones: Volume 1 compilation. 

Moctar always wanted to be a pro musician, to be a star, and now he had an audience. As it turned out, people did want to listen to Tuareg arrangements on acoustic guitar and Auto-Tuned vocals. People wanted something new. So did Moctar.

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“Yeah, my first album, Anar , I did it with the acoustic, and I had never listened to Auto-Tune, but the sound was so great,” he says. “I had never listened to Auto-Tuned music before but I said, ‘I have to do that! I have to have it.’ 

“Because I am a person who likes to listen for a new thing. I like to make some something very new, and so I wanted to do this music in Auto-Tune, I was going to see how the Tuareg music would sound in Auto-Tune.”

In 2013, for the recording of his second album, Afelan , Moctar returned the village of his birth, Tchintabaraden. Opening with the acoustic traditionalism of A Fleur Tamgak and a skronky, vital and alive cover of Tinariwen’s Tuareg anthem Chet Boghassa , Afelan takes on a life of its own. 

In the five years since Anar , Moctar had foregrounded the electric guitar, and the trebly bite of the Fender Stratocaster proved to be the perfect medium for his songwriting. “I really like the Stratocaster sound,” he says. “Whatever sound I need, I can have it in that guitar.” But at the beginning, finding a guitar was easier said than done.

My family didn’t want me to be an artist. They thought that when I become an artist I am going to start to drink alcohol or take drugs!

The history of guitar-driven music has been driven by the pursuit of a new sound, a new kind of kick, but it has also been shaped by trial, error, innovation, and the unconquerable will to make this sound happen, no matter the adversity. Many of the greats have not had it easy. Many had to box clever to get their sound together.

There were those who have had to overcome physical barriers, most notably Django Rienhardt, who lost the use of his fretting hand’s ring finger and pinky in a fire, and Tony Iommi, who lost the tips of his fretting hand’s middle and ring fingers in a machining accident.

Then there are players who have found logistical barriers between themselves and the instrument, such as those who could not afford a guitar, and have then had to take matters into their own hands and find a DIY solution. Brian May springs to mind. What connects all of these players is imagination and determination. 

Having seen ishumar “desert blues” pioneer Abdallah Oumbadougou of Desert Rebel perform, Moctar had to get a guitar somehow. 

“It was it was like, ‘Wow!’ I had to have a guitar,” he says. “I saw him at my first concert. He played outside for everyone.” But the guitar was something that he was forbidden to own – his family are devout Muslims and didn’t look too kindly on a musician’s lifestyle. 

“They didn’t want me to be an artist,” he laughs. “They thought that when I become an artist I am going to start to drink alcohol or take drugs. When I started to be a musician, my mum was very scared. She was scared I was going to leave my school. And then that happened; in secondary school, I left to be an artist.”

His problem was two-fold, however, because, there was nowhere to buy a guitar in his village. The only way to get one was to build one from scratch.  

“I did not know what I was going to do,” he says. “So, I just built my guitar by myself. I took some wood and I made a guitar. But it was just one part – it was not a real guitar. Then I took the cable from the brakes for a bicycle. I, like, took the small, small cable and made it into a string. My first guitar had four strings. That helped me a lot in the beginning.”

With four strings teased out of a brake cable and positioned on the wood, the guitar took shape. Yes, it was primitive. And yes, without question, his family thought it was ridiculous. But that gave him the cover he needed to tweak his design and to practice without arousing suspicion.

“For the tuning I used a key like we have for opening sardine tins,” he explains. “I had four like that for the tuning. It sounded so awesome. I liked it. I played that and my family doesn’t think that it is serious. They think that it is junk! It’s nothing. It’s cheap. ‘He’s young! It’s nothing…’”

If Moctar felt restricted at home, or by the lack of gear options in rural Niger, the desert nonetheless offered a sense of freedom in other ways. All musicians are the product of our environments to some degree. Some draw from the energy of the city, from the hybrid vigor of a scene. Moctar has the desert. 

The sky and the stars, that inspires you when you want to write something or when you need to play. It is like you are free

He has described Tuareg music as the sound of the desert. In conversation with EarthQuaker Devices in 2019, he said that “the drums are the rhythms of the camels.” He had wide open spaces and a night sky without end.

“The sky and the stars, that inspires you when you want to write something or when you need to play,” he says. “It is like you are free. It’s a feeling of being free to do whatever you need to do. The wind, too, is great, to have that through the song at night is something very spiritual. I love the desert because it is so quiet. It’s empty.

“There is no sound for miles. Not one person, not one car. Nothing. Everything is quiet and you can do whatever – you can just live for yourself. There is nothing to interrupt you. Then, at night, you are going to have that sky, so many stars, and it’s so dark, and then the wind… It’s great. Yeah, the feeling is fucking amazing.”

Moctar’s band comprises Souleymane Ibrahim on drums, Mikey Coltun on bass and Ahmoudou Madassane on rhythm guitar. Madassane has been been with the band since 2008, having grown up close by and receiving his first acoustic guitar from Moctar. 

Coltun, however, does not live close by. He’s from Brooklyn and has a 48-hour commute by air and bus to attend practice and recording sessions in Agadez. He’s also the band’s tour manager, producer and engineer. He even drove the tour van.

“Michael supported me for a long while,” says Moctar. “When I was in New York, and he was at the concert, he said, ‘Christopher never answered me but I am really enjoying what you are doing. I really love what you are doing, when you need a bass player you just have to get in touch.’ For time he was the driver and the manager, and now he is the bass player in the band.”

Afrique Victime was recorded in various locations while on tour, snatching a couple of days’ studio time and tracking a couple of songs before hitting the road again. “Doing the album during the tour stressed me a lot because it is hard,” says Moctar. 

“I am on tour, it’s Ramadan, I miss my family, and then I have to make something really great! That was very difficult for the album, but I love it. I love what I am doing.”

Moctar and band would go from the show where the energy was already there from the crowd, then to a studio, where the red light goes on and you have to create your own energy. 

The challenge then is replicating the vitality of the show on tape, and finding a performance out of nothing. Having workshopped his sound playing Tuareg weddings, he feels far more at home on a stage.

“The studio is not like a concert,” says Moctar. “It is like you are at school; you have to apologize. You have to be more serious than an a concert. Everything is like ‘t ick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…’ 

I prefer the concert to the studio. In a concert, everyone is singing and everyone is dancing. It is not just you. It’s not just your energy, it is the energy of everyone

“I prefer the concert to the studio. The studio obstructs me a lot. In a concert, everyone is singing and everyone is dancing. It is not just you. It’s not just your energy, it is the energy of everyone. 

“The studio is a different energy. Everybody listens to you, and only you. You have to do something special, just you! In a concert, the people push you to do something you could not do before.”

Moctar’s style is such that he doesn’t need too many pedals. The rhythm, his phrasing, and a self-taught fingerstyle technique that incorporates the influence of Eddie Van Halen, all conspire to make his sound less ordinary. 

Circa-2019, he would use a pair of Roland Jazz Chorus 120 combos, with a pedalboard populated by a Boss OD-3, the Hoof fuzz and Bellows overdrive from EarthQuaker Devices, plus an Electro-Harmonix Bad Stone and a Boss DD-6 delay that would be run in stereo. 

Pedals remain a new frontier, with phaser, chorus and delay all favorites. Moctar will return from tour with different items of gear, but at home digital modeling amps such as the Fender Mustang and Roland Cube offer all-in-one solutions for processed guitar tones. 

But while the songwriting will surely evolve, Moctar isn’t going to be changing up his tone or his technique any time soon. That’s what the people have come to hear.

“I like what I am doing, the sound I have at the moment,” he says. “I don’t want to change my sound too much. I want to keep the sound as a very traditional sound. Because if you listen to my guitar, how I touch the guitar, it is so different. It is very traditional; it’s not guitar! It is… Something !”

• Mdou Moctar’s Afrique Victime is out on 28 May via Matador Records.

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Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to publications including Guitar World, MusicRadar and Total Guitar. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.

“He was a big driver of the band… I would consider him very underrated, too”: Jason Isbell and Luther Dickinson pay tribute to Dickey Betts with an extended take on In Memory of Elizabeth Reed

“Smile and keep going. That’s my message”: Watch the moment Kiko Loureiro’s strap falls off mid-solo – in front of Guthrie Govan

“He said things like, ’Well, why does there have to be a guitar solo there?’… He has a wonderful lack of knowledge or respect for this past of mine”: David Gilmour’s first solo album in 9 years features a new producer tearing up the rulebook

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Mdou Moctar

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Mdou Moctar Announce 2023 Tour

December 7, 2022 News

Mistletone  have announced that Niger psych-rock guitar sensation  Mdou Moctar , will be bringing his band to Australia next year for festival dates and other concerts.

A self-taught Tuareg guitar prodigy,  Mdou Moctar  boldly reforges contemporary Saharan music and “rock music“ by melding Eddie Van Halen pyrotechnics, full-blast noise and guitar shredding, field recordings, drums rhythms, poetic meditations on love, religion, women’s rights, inequality and Western Africa’s exploitation at the hands of colonial powers to rip a new hole in the sky.

Mdou Moctar’s home is Agadez, a desert village in rural Niger. Inspired by YouTube videos and traditional Tuareg melodies, he mastered the guitar which he himself built and created his own burning style. A born charismatic, Mdou went on to tell his story as an aspiring artist by writing, producing & starring in the first Tuareg language film: a remake of  Purple Rain  called  Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai  –  which translates to “Rain The Color Of Blue With A Little Red In It”, winning the approval of his family and his community.

The word and the sound travelled across West Africa via mobile phone data cards, a popular form of local music distribution. Gruelling DIY world tours and albums on the independent US label Sahel Sounds followed, including 2019’s landmark   Ilana: The Creator  album that earned Mdou Moctar an ecstatic international audience.

Afrique Victime , the latest Mdou Moctar album, was a combined effort of Mdou and the members of the band that shares his name. Mdou’s crucial collaborator is  Ahmoudou Madassane , who’s been his rhythm guitarist since 2008; their two guitars are an alchemical combination. As a songwriter, producer and recording artist, Ahmoudou is the premier musical ambassador to Tuaregs in Niger, empowering young musicians with instruments, recording opportunities, and visas. Masassane helped form the revolutionary first woman-fronted Tuareg guitar band  Les Filles De Illighadad , whose debut album and tours caused an international sensation in 2019. Along with bassist  Mikey Coltun  and drummer  Souleymane Ibrahim,  it’s an alchemical combination that has seen  Mdou Moctar  hailed everywhere as one of the greatest live bands in the world.

The band‘s youngest member is prodigal drummer  Souleymane Ibrahim , also a member of both the well-known Niger band Sultanat Star De L’air and the longest running wedding band in Agadez, Etran De L’air. Souleymane’s playing on this album ferociously sets a new standard for the “rock” drumset.

Producer & bassist  Mikey Coltun  flies 20 hours from Brooklyn, NYC, then takes a 28 hour bus ride to reach Agadez so the band can practice and record. With no support from a manager, they made this journey out of Niger every time they toured. In the past three years, Mikey’s played over 500 shows on three continents as Mdou Moctar’s bassist, road manager, producer/recording engineer, and friend. Coltun recorded and produced  Afrique Victime  around the band’s travels in 2019- in studios, apartments, hotel rooms, venue backstages, and in field recordings in Niger. 

Recording and honing songs as a touring outfit forged a livewire new sound, and If  Ilana  was a late ’60s early ’70s ZZ Top and Black Sabbath record –  Afrique Victime  is mid ’70s to early ’80s Van Halen meets Black Flag meets Black Uhuru . The ferocity of Moctar’s electric guitar and the band’s hypnotic rhythm section are on awe-inspiring display on songs like “ Chismiten ” and the mournful yet incandescent title track. 

Moctar finds inspiration in highlighting lesser known facets of the group: “ While people have gotten to know Mdou Moctar as a rock band, there is a whole different set of music with this band done on acoustic guitars which we wanted to incorporate into this album in order to go through a sonic journey,”  he says. Mdou pays homage to one of his heroes Abdallah Ag Oumbadagou , the legendary Niger musician and political revolutionary, on songs “ Habibti ” and “ Layla ”.  “Abdallah was a contemporary of Tinariwen and helped to pioneer the sound of Tuareg guitar music blended with drum machines and electronic sounds”.  

“From prison to Nobel prize. They ceded to Mandela / Africa is a victim of so many crimes / If we stay silent it will be the end of us / Why is this happening? ” Moctar asks on the heartfelt and rallying title track. “ I want the world to know that we are making music to promote world peace and be with everyone on the same level, fighting against racism ”, he says. “ All colors and genders are equal. Women, Men and children all suffer in the desert due to the colonization by France and therefore there is a lack of the basics – hospitals, drinking water, schools.”  

The needs of Agadez are a major part of what drives Moctar as an artist, and promoting the region’s youth through music is an especially personal cause. “ I know what it’s like to have been in that position, ” he says, “ to not have the support of your family, or the money for guitars or strings, it’s really hard. I have a lot of support from the younger generation, because I help them out a lot. When I get back from tour, I give them gear that I bought while I was away so they can go out and form their own bands. ”

Says Coltun :  “ In Agadez the music and feeling at Tuareg weddings is exactly like the best of Western DIY/Punk shows. It’s loud, energetic and powerful. There is a sense of everyone helping out. Tuaregs are a tight community. If you’re Tuareg you’re considered family. ”

The music listeners are the beneficiaries of the staggeringly powerful do-it-yourself musical ethic of  Mdou Moctar  – the man and the band – who’ve worked so hard to bring the spirits of families and communities in Niger to the West.  Afrique Victime  sounds and feels like a Tuareg hand reaching down from the sky, and we are very lucky for this chance to get lifted.

Mdou Moctar Australian Tour Dates

THURSDAY MARCH 2: PERTH FESTIVAL TICKETS

THURSDAY MARCH 9: BRUNSWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL  @  ESTONIAN HOUSE TICKETS

FRIDAY MARCH 10 THEATRE ROYAL CASTLEMAINE TICKETS

SATURDAY MARCH 11: GOLDEN PLAINS XV TICKET BALLOT

SUNDAY MARCH 12 + MONDAY MARCH 13: WOMADelaide TICKETS & INFO

TUESDAY MARCH 14 + WEDNESDAY MARCH 15: SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE  @  UTZON ROOM TICKETS

+ more dates to be announced!

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Mdou Moctar 2024 (Asheville) | The Orange Peel

Mdou Moctar, a highly anticipated concert, is set to take place at The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC, on June 9, 2024. The event, featuring an array of captivating songs such as Chismiten, Tarhatazed, and Afrique Victime, promises to be a night to remember for music enthusiasts. Located at 101 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC, 28801, The Orange Peel provides the perfect setting for an unforgettable musical experience. Tickets for Mdou Moctar will be available for purchase starting from March 1, 2024, at 3:00 PM, until June 10, 2024, at midnight. With a blend of traditional Tuareg music and modern influences, Mdou Moctar's performance is expected to draw in a diverse audience seeking a soulful and authentic musical journey. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to witness Mdou Moctar live in concert at The Orange Peel. Mark your calendars and secure your tickets early to ensure you don't miss this extraordinary event.

Provided by _Matchpoint | Published Apr 27, 2024

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10 Must-See Artists At New Orleans Jazz Fest 2024: The Rolling Stones, Big Freedia & More

Held over two weeks and spread across 14 stages, NoLa's Jazz and Heritage Festival is stacked with A-list headliners and a host of incredibly talented performers in smaller text. Read on for 10 artists to see at the Crescent City's hallmark music fest.

Year after year, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival drops lineups of unparalleled cultural depth and diversity, so there’s always an expectation for greatness. But when the roster was announced for its 53rd edition, one name at the top prompted an eye-popping response: the Rolling Stones .

Even if you’re not a fan, there’s no denying that the Stones are one whopper of a get. They hardly ever play at festivals, after all. But their presence is just the tip of the iceberg on a bill that represents a staggering amount of musical talent ranging from classic to contemporary across the event’s two four-day weekends (April 25-28 and May 2-5) held at the city’s expansive Fair Grounds Race Course. 

Within the fest poster’s top few lines alone, you’ve got not only heavy-hitters like the Foo Fighters , Chris Stapleton , the Killers and Greta Van Fleet , but also definitive cultural icons like Neil Young , Queen Latifah , the Beach Boys , Earth, Wind & Fire and Bonnie Raitt … and then a few hundred other artists to sift through. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by New Orleans Jazz Fest (@jazzfest)

So, if you’re headed to the Crescent City for either weekend (or both), you’re gonna need to make some hard choices — the schedule, spread out across 14 stages, is stacked , and you won’t want to be making all your decisions split-second and accidentally miss out on something unsuspectingly spectacular while navigating your way through seas of people (total attendance usually tops out between 450-500,000 over the course of the entire affair). Read on for all the info on 10 of this year’s must-see acts — from up-and-comers to certified superstars, to get you started.

Robert Finley 

Performing: April 25, Blues Tent

Blues and soul man Robert Finley performs in a way that might make you think he’s a legend who’s been playing on stages forever, which is only sort of true. The 70-year-old Louisiana native (from Bernice, just east of Shreveport), picked up music as a kid and worked as a U.S. Army bandleader while serving in Germany in the 1970s, but didn’t get his break until 2015 when he met Big Legal Mess Records producer Bruce Watson, who recognized Finley’s talent and the following year released his fittingly titled debut album Age Don’t Mean a Thing.

Fast forward to now, and the singer/guitarist has three more albums under his belt, each of those produced by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach via his label Easy Eye Sound. Finely was one of many artists whose scheduled debuts at Jazz Fest 2020 fell through because of the event’s cancellation due to COVID, so his April 25 performance in the Blues tent will mark his first appearance at the New Orleans fest. 

His latest full-length, 2023’s Black Bayou , is described as a "tour de force that coalesces gospel, blues, soul, and rock into a raw, thundering tribute to Finley’s home state of Louisiana," which sounds pretty dang perfect for a set that helps kick off two weekends of Jazz Fest.

Big Freedia

Performing: April 27, Congo Square Stage

Queen of bounce music, queen diva … with their twelfth performance at the New Orleans festival slated for April 27, Big Freedia might be well on their way to becoming queen of Jazz Fest. Given all those appearances and their constant local presence, you’re likely in the know and don’t need extra urging to catch the set on the Congo Square stage if you’re a NOLA resident. 

For anyone else, here’s the rundown: Freedia’s music — known as bounce — is something that must be witnessed live to fully appreciate it. The multi-sensory experience incorporates hip-hop, electro/dance elements, a lot of call and response and a ton of twerking, always assisted by at least a few impressively acrobatic backup dancers. 

Freedia only has two official full-length albums, 2014’s Just Be Free and 2023’s Central City , but other recordings and collaborations abound, including a feature (via sample from first-album track "Explode") on Beyoncé ’s GRAMMY-winning Renaissance single "Break My Soul." Your Jazz Fest outing will not be complete without at least a little time spent gettin’ down with the Queen Diva.

Singer and actress Fantasia hasn’t released an album since 2019’s Sketchbook , but her return to Jazz Fest couldn’t come at a more auspicious time (she debuted at the festival in 2011, shortly after winning the GRAMMY Award for Best R&B Female Vocal Performance for 2010 single "Bittersweet"). Following her starring role in 2023’s musical movie adaptation of The Color Purple, Fantasia appeared at the 66th GRAMMY Awards in February to perform Tina Turner 's "Proud Mary" as part of a tribute to the late "Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll."

There are already tributes to Turner planned — one at the fest proper from Adonis Rose and NOJO on April 26, and another from Grace Potter and Boyfriend at a satellite show at the Orpheum Theater on May 2. Fantasia could appear at either of those, but it feels just as likely that she’ll work in her own homage during her Congo Square stage set on April 27. She may also preview some new music: It’s been nearly two years since it was reported that Fantasia had two albums in the pipeline, one of them a gospel record.

The Rolling Stones

Performing: May 2, Festival Stage

The Rolling Stones have for years been Jazz Fest’s veritable white whale. The legendary British rock band was booked to headline in 2019 and was forced to cancel due to Mick Jagger ’s heart surgery. Their 2021 rebooking likewise fell through after a new wave of COVID caused the entire festival’s cancellation for the second year in a row (2020 and 2021 are the only years Jazz Fest did not manifest since its start in 1970). So it stands to reason that the band’s May 2 debut on the main stage will far and away be the most momentous show across the two weekends.

Unless you’re an out and out Stones hater, you shouldn’t need any other reasons beyond those to make them a top priority. But, if you need a couple more, it’s also worth considering that this stop on their 19-date U.S. Hackney Diamonds Tour will mark only the fifth time they’ve ever performed in New Orleans and, seeing as they’ve been at it for more than 60 years, there’s no telling how long they’ll continue to play live, so it may be now or never if they’re on your bucket list. 

Of course, there’s also the music: over the course of their two-hour set, it’s a sure bet they’ll bust out all the hits and, with any luck, a few once-in-a-lifetime rarities.

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram 

Performing: May 3, Blues Tent

If you’re curious who’s carrying the Delta blues torch, look no further than Christone "Kingfish" Ingram . The 25-year-old, Mississippi-bred guitarist and singer has some mighty impressive credentials. At age 15, he performed in a band at the White House for Michelle Obama , and a year later he was getting props from Bootsy Collins and jamming with Buddy Guy , who went on  to fund his debut album Kingfish , released in 2019.

Ingram’s second album, 2021’s 622 , earned him a golden gramophone for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 64th GRAMMY Awards, and he went on to make his Jazz Fest debut last year. He returns to headline the Blues Tent on May 3 riding the strength of third full-length, Live in London , released last September. If you need any extra motivation to go see one of the young saviors of traditional blues, give that record a spin.

Rhiannon Giddens 

Performing: May 4, Blues Tent

If you’re a fan of top-notch southern folk, bluegrass, country, gospel, blues, soul … OK, hold up. If you’re a fan of enthralling music in general , pencil in Rhiannon Giddens ’ set on May 4 in the Blues Tent at the top of your list. Giddens returns to New Orleans for her third Jazz Fest appearance following sets in 2016 and 2017, both of which were released as live albums (so you can go back and get a sneak preview of precisely how it might feel in this setting). 

You’ll be sure to hear key cuts from her latest solo full-length, 2023’s You’re the One (produced by Jack Splash , who’s repertoire also includes studio work for Kendrick Lamar , Solange and Alicia Keys ), as well as tunes from her various other GRAMMY-nominated and -winning recordings, including solo albums, collaborative records and earlier work with old-time string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops . 

Heck, you might even hear snippets of opera — Giddens won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music for co-composing Omar , an opera based on the autobiography of Omar ibn Said, the only memoir known to have been written by an American slave in Arabic. 

Performing: May 4, WWOZ Jazz Tent

Kudos to Jazz Fest for booking Samara Joy to play a prime slot on May 4 in the WWOZ Jazz tent during the fest’s second weekend. After she nabbed GRAMMY Awards for Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album (for 2022 sophomore release Linger Awhile ), it would’ve been a big miss had they not put her on. 

For Joy, whose notoriously arresting performances have already led her to playing a grip of other prestigious jazz fests around the world while touring relentlessly over the past couple of years, this appearance represents a major notch on her belt. For anyone planning to attend the fest, this is the chance to witness a major moment in the 24-year-old’s meteoric rise — history in the making.

Queen Latifah 

Performing: May 4, Congo Square Stage

Queen Latifah has been dubbed many illustrious titles over the course of her decades-long career, among them queen of rap and hip-hop. But seeing her name atop this year’s Jazz Fest roster evokes one in particular: queen of jazz -rap. No, it’s not too on the nose — since the release of her first album All Hail the Queen in 1989, her music has leaned heavily on elements of jazz, and on 2004 release The Dana Owens Album, she embraced it completely, covering standards of the genre alongside legends like Al Green and Herbie Hancock , even garnering a GRAMMY nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

That legacy paints an exciting prospective picture for her May 4 headlining set on the Congo Square stage. Could she possibly bring out some of those venerable forebears for some surprise live collaborations? It’s likewise worth noting that this show arrives only a few months after her performance in "A GRAMMY Salute To 50 Years Of Hip-Hop." Might this also function as a victory lap with the potential for cameos from others involved in that all-star celebration? Let’s be real though: it is her Jazz Fest debut, and a long time coming, so even a set featuring only the Queen will be one for the books.

Grupo Niche

  Performing: May 5, Congo Square Stage

Here’s one to give you an extra boost on the fest’s final day (May 5). Colombian-bred, Miami-based Grupo Niche have been considered one of the most influential salsa groups in the Americas since their formation in 1979, making them just nine years younger than the fest itself and well-deserving of their Jazz Fest debut on the Congo Square stage.

Though their final founding member and director/composer Jairo Valera passed away in 2012, the expansive group — comprised of four vocalists, five horn players, four percussionists, a bass player, keyboardist and band director — has successfully evolved and thrived. Huge credit to their perseverance: the first album released without Valera, 2020’s 40 , won the Latin GRAMMY Award for Best Salsa Album that year, as well as the GRAMMY Award for Best Tropical Latin Album in 2021. 

If Grupo Niche can keep the dance party going for more than four decades, surely you can squeeze in an hour at the fest.

Celebrating Jimmy Buffett With The Coral Reefer Band

Performing: May 5, Festival Stage

Considering Jimmy Buffett ’s roots in New Orleans — his busking on the streets of the French Quarter in the 1960s essentially propelled him on his path to becoming a music legend — it would be utterly irresponsible as a Jazz Fest attendee to skip the Coral Reefer Band paying tribute on May 5 via the main stage to the late singer-songwriter, who passed in September 2023. 

This will be the second official performance after his death from his backing band following their April 11 all-star outing at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, which included appearances from Paul McCartney , Zac Brown and Brandi Carlile , among many others. 

No announcements have been made regarding Jazz Fest’s additions to the band, which performed there with Buffett for a dozen shows, their first in 1989 and last in 2022. Regardless, there’s no doubt it will play out as an emotional and uplifting ode to an artist who lived and breathed New Orleans music.

Music Festivals 2024 Guide: Lineups & Dates For Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonnaroo & Much More

Photo: Joseph Okpako/WireImage

10 Must-See Artists At Coachella 2024: Skepta, The Last Dinner Party, Mdou Moctar, Cimafunk & More

Peso Pluma, Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat, Tyler, The Creator, J Balvin and a reunited No Doubt may be some of the biggest draws at Coachella 2024, but the beloved festival will host a multitude of must-see artists whose names appear in smaller text.

Ah, springtime. For the average person, that means sunshine, flora in bloom, perhaps a figurative fresh start in the new year. But for music festival fans, it signals another season starter: Coachella .

An estimated 125,000 people will flock to the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California for the first weekend (April 12-14) of the 23rd Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. While the first weekend is already sold out, tickets are still available for the second weekend (April 19-21).

Coachella's headliners have been busy: Both Lana Del Rey (headlining Friday) and Doja Cat (slated to close out Sunday) just wrapped extensive tours at the end of 2023 and, while Saturday closer Tyler, the Creator 's only other 2024 festival date is at Lollapalooza, he did stage a large-scale appearance in 2023 at the Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in Los Angeles. Still, it stands to reason that there are scores of fans who missed out on those tour stops, and Coachella would be an ideal chance to catch them in a particularly special setting. 

There's also the potential to see a slew of surprise guests (a long-standing Chella tradition) and much-hyped reunions. Coachella 2024 attendees will likely flock to see a reunited No Doubt and Sublime, the latter with a Nowell back at the helm ( Bradley’s son, Jakob ).

Then there’s the economic logic behind opting to see those bigger acts at a festival: for a price not much more than what you’d pay for an arena ticket, you get the bonus of catching dozens of other incredible artists while you’re at it. The diversity and quality of music throughout even the lower tiers of the Coachella lineup is staggering, so overall the price for a pass is quite the steal. Read on for the inside scoop on 10 of this year’s most exciting undercard performances.

Read More: Music Festivals 2024 Guide: Lineups & Dates For Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonnaroo & Much More

Cuban artist Cimafunk has been relatively quiet since releasing a third studio album, El Alimento, in 2021. But the success of that record — which garnered his first GRAMMY nomination for Best Latin Rock or Alternative album at the 2023 GRAMMY Awards — appears to have propelled him to new career heights. He will be the first Cuban-born artist to perform at the festival, kicking off a string of worldwide shows that begin with his appearance at Coachella on April 12 and 19. 

Read more: At Getting Funky In Havana, Young Musicians Feel The Power Of Cross-Cultural Connection

Cimafunk’s sole release since his last album was the December 2023 single “Te tango en salsa,” which expands upon his self-designated brand of Afro Cuban Funk with accents of disco and grooves filled with New Orleans-style horns. Though the track hasn’t been publicly connected to any upcoming EP or album, one might presume that his impending run of concerts is a precursor to a complete body of new music. Perhaps Coachella will function as a testing ground, and considering the inclusion on El Ailmento of prominent artists George Clinton , CeeLo Green and Lupe Fiasco , who knows what other surprises might be in store at the desert festival known for delighting audiences with plenty of guest features.

L’Imperatrice

Through the years following their inception in 2012, French pop band L’Imperatrice have played primarily in Europe and surrounding regions, so it’s no small feat that they’re poised to make their second appearance at Coachella in two years. They first played the fest in 2022, a makeup show for Coachella's 2020 COVID-19 cancellation. 

Their slots on April 12 and 19, stops on their just-launched Double Trouble Tour, follow the 2018 release of debut full-length Matahari and performances at prominent festivals like Austin City Limits and Outside Lands. Self-produced sophomore album Pulsar arrives on June 7, and its infectiously groovy and sensual debut single “Me Da Iqual” promises a Coachella set sure to incite emotional release among the masses — ideally during one of the fest’s famed golden hours to match the music’s euphoric vibes. 

Regarded as one of the most influential rappers in the UK grime scene, Skepta is set to commence his latest return to stateside stages with appearances at Coachella on both Fridays, which marks his second time at the festival after lauded dual appearances in 2017. 

Following a semi-secret DJ set at Austin’s South by Southwest festival in March, these shows will preview a run of summer dates in the UK and Europe and the release of upcoming sixth solo album Knife and Fork . 

With that record’s release date still in question but imminent, it’s a good bet that he’ll introduce new material to build upon the January drop of lead single "Gas Me Up (Diligent)," which adopts a flow and melodic structure more akin to popular American rap. To that end, Skepta’s previous collaborations with U.S. rappers like Drake , Ye and members of ASAP Mob could lead to a loaded lineup of guests during his Coachella set. It has the potential to be a huge moment, though his reputation for high-energy and rowdy gigs are reasons enough to prioritize his performance. 

Read More: UK Drill Is An International Sensation. Will It Be Censored To Death?

Mandy, Indiana

English-French noise rock upstarts Mandy, Indiana make music that isn’t necessarily easy to digest. Minimalist and chaotic compositions, primarily from their widely celebrated 2023 debut album I’ve Seen a Way , resonate as tunes tailor-made for technically minded music nerds. Still, danceable moments emerge among the sonic helter-skelter, which combines experimental elements of industrial, classic house music and samples aplenty (think Death Grips with more palatable melodies and exclusively French lyrics). 

So far, the dynamic four-piece hasn’t played much on this side of the pond — their debut shows at Coachella arrive on the heels of a handful of U.S. appearances in 2023 that included the SXSW Music Festival. Which means Mandy, Indiana’s sets on April 13 and 20 will mark relatively rare (and therefore must-see) chances to embrace their overtly wonderful weirdness in the desert among the more prominent pop-leaning artists on the roster.

The Last Dinner Party

If you’re not yet keen on British indie rock band the Last Dinner Party, it’s time to get with the program. With only one album under their belt, Prelude to Ecstasy (released Feb. 2) — which echoes various influences ranging from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Kate Bush and ABBA —the quintet has already earned multiple awards and accolades, including topping the UK Album Chart. To boot, they opened for the Rolling Stones in London’s Hyde Park two years prior to putting out their record.

The band’s performances are reportedly jaw-dropping, further evidenced by the complete sell-out of their current U.S. tour. That jaunt wraps with their April 20 appearance at Coachella (they also play during the first weekend on April 13), so, unless you want to pay ridiculous resale prices for one of their club shows, this is a prime chance to see them live with the added benefit of catching many more amazing acts while you’re there.

Young Fathers

Young Fathers are often categorized under the umbrella of hip-hop, but it would be wrong to pigeonhole them that way. True, one can pinpoint elements of a spitting, old-school style — especially on debut album Dead (winner of the prestigious Mercury Prize in 2014.. However, their sound spans the landscape of many genres, often weaving in threads of electronic, industrial, and trip-hop. It should be telling that they’ve collaborated multiple times with Massive Attack .

The music clearly resonates with a substantial audience. They’ve reached prime positions on the UK Album charts, their fourth and latest album Heavy Heavy ( released Feb. 3, 2023) won them their third Scottish Album of the Year Award, and this year marks their second invitation to Coachella (catch them on Sundays: April 13 and 20). With a full year gone since putting out new songs, there’s no telling if they’ll serve up anything fresh. Regardless, fans of heavy-hitting experimental music, assuredly energizing at any time of day or night, should prioritize seeing their set.

Oneohtrix Point Never

It’s a wonder that Oneohtrix Point Never has never played Coachellal until now given his string of consistent releases since emerging in the early 2000s (with never more than three years between albums) and Coachella’s penchant for historically championing experimental electronic artists. Following the Feb. 29 release of his latest EP “Oneohtrix Point Never - Ambients,” he debuts in the desert on April 13, with his second weekend encore on April 20. 

The Massachusetts-bred beatmaker’s music swings from sparse to compositionally complex. It's not geared toward a typical EDM dance party, but always cinematic and hypnotizing, creating a space where listeners can truly lose themselves in the sonics. Given his style, it’s safe to assume he’ll occupy an evening time slot, so if you’re the type who prefers something a little more raw to the mainstream big-timers topping the bill, Oneohtrix Point Never might be just the ticket.

Mdou Moctar

If there’s one artist on this year’s Coachella lineup that will truly thrive in a desert setting, it’s Mdou Moctar. The Niger-based musician plays rock music steeped in the style of Tuareg, guitar-based blues-rock fusion that originates in the Sahara region. However, Moctar’s music decidedly transcends the traditional sound, often reverberating as sublimely psychedelic.

His performances in Indio on April 14 and 21 precede the release of his sixth album Funeral For Justice (arriving May 3). Based on the two singles made available from that record so far (title track “Funeral for Justice” and “Imouhar”), the people of Coachella are in for a true desert trip.

Atarashii Gakko!

When Japanese “girl group” Atarashii Gakko! make their Coachella debut on April 14 and 21, anticipate the unexpected. The four singers’ have a stated goal of “redefining what it means to be a girl group.” They’re technically categorized as J-Pop, but among the many catchy choruses, their music also incorporates shades of speed metal, trap beats and alt-rap à la Rage Against the Machine, all of which you can hear on their latest album ICHIJIKIKOKU .

What you can certainly expect is an outrageously high-energy show chock-full of nonstop, self-designed choreography performed in colorful sailor-fuku uniforms (essentially sailor suits worn by Japanese students in the ‘70s and ‘80s … think Sailor Moon but intentionally less provocative). If you need an adrenaline boost on the final day of the fest, look no further than Atarashii Gakko!.

Olivia Dean

Dear America, it’s time to give a proper welcome to an artist destined for stardom:  Olivia Dean. With only a handful of U.S. shows in the bank, the 25-year-old British neo-soul singer’s debut at Coachella on April 14 — arguably her biggest U.S. gig yet — will serve as the most well-deserved of receptions. 

Sure, her nominations for the 2023 Mercury Prize (for debut album Messy ) and 2024 Brit Awards (Best Pop Act, British Artist of the Year and Best New Artist) should merit attention enough for those who don’t know her. But even a few moments of listening to key album tracks “Dive” and “The Hardest Part” (don’t sleep on the alternate version featuring Leon Bridges) are the real deal-sealers. The richness of Dean’s recorded vocals are absolutely arresting, evocative of and equal to top-tier divas who preceded her. It’s thrilling just thinking about the impact she’ll make at Coachella — do yourself a favor if you have the chance and go witness it firsthand. 

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Photo: Christina House / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Meet The Coachella Die-Hards: 5 Super Fans You'll Find In The Desert

It's not only influencers and celebrities heading to Indio, California. The "real Coachella" brings together people from across the country, including super fans who come year after year for the killer live show, community, and the occasional beer chug.

After 25 years, Coachella is like a live music holiday. Every year, thousands of people from all walks of life descend upon the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California to enjoy artists whose music is as diverse as the crowd assembled. No matter what style anyone prefers, an artist they love is playing at Coachella.

This year alone, attendees can enjoy the classic Britpop sounds of Blur , trendy house music beats from John Summit, a reunion of the ska-punk icons, Sublime (featuring the late frontman's son, Jakob Nowell ), and a headlining set from enigmatic rapper Tyler, The Creator .

Coachella also offers the opportunity for audiences to see artists they may never see elsewhere, like a rare American performance by the jazz-house master St.Germain, a shared set from the now-defunct dance music supergroup J.E.S.u.S. (Jackmaster, Eats Everything, Seth Troxler, and Skream), or pop legend Jai Paul ’s first live show ever. 

Then, of course, there are the Coachella sets that will live in infamy: From Daft Punk ’s debut of The Pyramid, which is largely credited with launching the popularity of electronic music in the United States , to Tupac ’s resurrection in hologram, to Beyoncé 's marching band of HBCU students soundtracking a reunion of Destiny’s Child .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Coachella (@coachella)

The people of Coachella revel in these eclectic and epic offerings. Approximately 125,000 people per day touch down on the grass at the Empire Polo Club, and upwards of 100,000 have been reported to gather for a single set. And while hundreds of thousands of people are on the ground worshiping the music, 40 million people are watching the magic through YouTube, wishing they were there.

Coachella is a spectacle. So often the people who went one year bring their friends or family the next, and those people become obsessed. Others meet people at the festival and become best friends, family, and lovers — relationships born from a shared reverence for live music. 

With its massive popularity, it's easy to assume influencers and celebrities have taken over the polo grounds. A key moment in Billie Eilish ’s documentary, Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry , the young pop sensation meets her lifelong hero, Justin Bieber , for the first time at Coachella. But any long-time attendee will tell you, that the celebrities and influencers don’t engage with the true Coachella.

"The Kardashians are having one experience, and I’m having a different experience out in the field," says Ashton Aellarose who’s attended Coachella 12 times in eight years. "If you don’t want to be that, then you don’t see that…there’s the real Coachella for real people."

Real fans of Coachella stay all day and night, braving the heat and the dust, to engage with the epic performances and their fellow music lovers. Alaskan Alex Rodriguez creates an Artist of the Day post on the Coachella Reddit, posting every day from when the lineup drops until the festival. He flies in from the Last Frontier because Coachella provides something that other festivals simply can’t.

"Whether it be over-the-top productions, unexpected guest appearances or simply the chance to let others hear your unfamiliar sound to others, Coachella invites performances that you simply won’t see anywhere else," Rodriguez tells GRAMMY.com via email. 

Coachella’s community is built on the idea that music is the universal language. Whether you’re coming for the first time or the 25th time, whether you’re a senior citizen, a new parent, or a college kid on spring break, Coachella is a space for live music fans to celebrate what they love more than anything, and celebrate each other. GRAMMY.com spoke to five Coachella die-hards — attendees who count Coachella as an annual, important part of their year — to learn what Coachella means to them.

From Fan To Music Industry Professional: The 25-Year Attendee 

Josh Brooks DJing in 2011┃Josh Brooks

Name: Josh Brooks

Number of Coachellas attended: 26

Favorite set: The Chemical Brothers, 1999

Josh Brooks has attended every year of Coachella since the first edition in 1999, and credits the festival for his career in music. To date, he's worked as a booking agent, tour manager, and DJ who has played Coachella on several occasions. In 2023, he played a slot during the after-hours silent disco in the campgrounds. 

Back in 1999, Brooks had just started college at UCLA and was studying physical science, geology, and geography. He went to Coachella on a whim because tickets were $50 per day to see Rage Against The Machine , Tool , Beck , Morrissey, and the Chemical Brothers . Everything in his musical life snowballed from there. 

"[Coachella] really opened my eyes to this whole world of music that I didn’t know existed," Brooks tells GRAMMY.com. "I’ve played music my whole life. I played clarinet, trumpet, and saxophone. I was in the California Young Musicians Orchestra for a year in high school. Music has always been really important to me. But that’s where I really started to find myself musically." 

In 2011, Brooks found himself as a part of Coachella. That year, Global Inheritance — the nonprofit that organizes all of Coachella’s sustainability efforts —hosted a human-powered stage called the Energy Factory. Brooks submitted a DJ mix as part of a contest to play a slot on that stage, and he won. 

"I just played at the festival that I have been enamored with for the last 12 years. I just made a dream come true," Brooks said.

A year after that, he got laid off as a high school science teacher, and he’s been working in music ever since. Currently, he’s the booking agent and tour manager for respected house music artist Sacha Robotti, and revitalizing their SLOTHACID brand. But in between his workload, he’s still taking time for a trip to the desert for some live music. 

The Fan That Made Coachella A Family Affair

The Glazer family┃MIkey Glazer

Name: Mikey Glazer

Number of Coachellas attended:  16

Favorite set: M.I.A., 2008

Every year at Coachella, you see a handful of parents celebrating live music with their children . In fact, there are meetups for families at the festival. Among this somewhat unusual sight, you'll find Mikey Glazer and his 5-year-old son, Axwell. 

Glazer has been attending Coachella since 2003, and used to be one of the festival's more typical attendees (a 20-something attending for the party and the tunes). Now, at age 47, Coachella has become his yearly family vacation. Glazer and his wife, Melissa, brought Axwell to the festival four times: three in the flesh, and once in utero.

During the pandemic, Mikey, Melissa, and Axwell listened to music as a family. Especially electronic artists like Skrillex and Tiësto . ( Axwell is also the artist moniker of one of the members of the GRAMMY-nominated electronic trio Swedish House Mafia .) When the family went to Coachella together, they saw Axwell express that love of music in full force.

"Seeing a DJ and the visuals, he just loved it. To see it through his eyes is absolutely amazing," Glazer says. "Nobody who doesn’t have kids would ever want to have a kid with them at Coachella. But when you spend every day with your kid, you’re going through new music Friday; he’s picking out songs he likes, and you listen to music together every day; when you get to Coachella, to see him enjoy it is great."

Ranking Coachella: The Fan Who Listens To Every Single Artist  

Brian Downing (second from right) with friends from Cincinnati┃Brian Downing

Name: Brian Downing

Number of Coachellas attended: 4

Favorite set: Madeon, 2022

For decades, Brian Downing has been ranking all the live artists he sees. He saw hundreds of artists the year he turned 50, and condensed all of them into a top 20 list.

When he comes to Coachella, he does the same thing, except instead of creating a list over the course of a year, he does it for three days. In the weeks leading up to the festival, he listens to every one of the 150 artists performing at the festival and gives them all a ranking.

"There are so many acts I don’t know going into it," Downing says. "Someone else might look at [the lineup] and go, ‘Oh my god, this is so overwhelming.’ I look at it and go, ‘Oh my god, I get to rank so many things’."

He ranks every artist on the lineup 1–10 and organizes the rankings on a spreadsheet that he shares with his friends who come to Coachella with him. A 10 is reserved for someone he is going to see, no matter what; one signifies someone he’s going to skip. That way, his group will know who they may or may not enjoy as well. 

Brian also frequently adds commentary to each artist. Here’s what he has to say about the drag-ready pop star Chappell Roan, who is performing on Friday at Coachella this year:

"I do loves me some Chapell Roan! She is an indie pop darling, and for good reason. Red Wine Supernova is an absolute bop! But she has so many other great songs too that haven't been hits yet. Don't want to miss this fun show! Side note: Remember to learn the entire H-O-T-T-O-G-O dance. You’re gonna thank me later. 10’s all day, baby! - 10."

The Fan Who Would Spend Eternity At Coachella 

At Coachella 2011┃Ashton Aellarose

Name: Ashton Aellarose

Number of Coachellas attended:  9

Favorite set: Postal Service, 2013

Throughout her life, Ashton Aellarose has lived in many places: Northern California, North Carolina, Colorado, even a few extended stints abroad. But no matter where she was residing, Aellarose would see the Coachella lineup in copies of SPIN magazine and dream of going somewhere with such vast musical offerings.

Now she’s attended nine Coachellas, and Coachella is the one place she calls home. Simply put, her life wouldn’t be the same without Coachella.

When she attended in 2014, Aellarose worked at an on-site lemonade stand. Not only did the experience lead to her working in festival vendor management for a time, but Aellarose met her best friend during her very first shift at the stand. That same friend introduced Aellarose to her boyfriend, whom she brought to Coachella for the first time last year. 

When she brought him, she showed him all the traditions she’d developed over numerous editions: Picking up last-minute camping supplies at the Wal-Mart in Indio; watching the first sunset performance of the weekend (one of her favorites was Violent Femmes in 2013); enjoying her favorite foods like the spicy pie and the arepas.

"It’s nice to have this place that’s so spiritual and consistent in such an inconsistent world," Aellarose says. "I thought it was cool when Skrillex said during the TBA set [in 2023], ‘This is the biggest party in the world right now where you’re at.’ I say that every year."

Coachella is such an important place for Aellarose, that she would like it to be her final resting place: "When I die, I want my ashes thrown around Coachella. No joke."

Creating Community With Beer & Cheer: The Fan Who Learned To Love At Coachella 

Joe Stamey and friend┃Joe Stamey

Name: Joe Stamey

Number of Coachellas attended: 16

Favorite set:   Beyoncé , 2018

At 1:32:14 in the Coachella documentary, Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert , Joe Stamey says:

"I come because I genuinely love music. I’ve seen more music here than I’ve seen in my entire life in other places. I see acts here that I will never see at the other festivals all over."

The filmmakers followed multiple attendees around the festival in 2019. Stamey is the only one who made it into the documentary. His love of music is a significant factor in why.

But more than his love of music, he genuinely wants everyone at Coachella to have an amazing time enjoying the live music like he does. Before our call is over, he even offers me to stay at his campsite. 

"​​I meet people that are my friends now forever because of things that I've done like that. Caring for people," Stamey says. "The festival did that to me."

Every year, Stamey organizes a beer chug at 10:40 a.m. on Friday in the campgrounds through the Coachella subreddit. Mikey Glazer (who you met above) attends every year as well. 

"It's literally just hundreds of people sitting around chugging beers at 10:40 a.m. And I just give everyone I can as big a hug as I can," Stamey says. "It’s a huge friend reunion. I run into so many people from 15 years of my life, and I love them all."

Coachella Weekend 1 Recap: 20 Surprises And Special Moments, From Billie Eilish & Lana Del Rey, To Olivia Rodrigo With No Doubt

Photo: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

10 Smaller Music Festivals Happening In 2024: La Onda, Pitchfork Music Fest, Cruel World & More

Beyond Coachella and Lollapalooza are a wealth of well-produced American festivals that keep people coming back for their down-home vibes and stacked lineups. Read on for 10 beloved smaller festivals that offer an alternative to major events.

Music festival season doesn’t begin or end with Coachella. Festival fever brings millions of revelers to and across the United States annually for events that cater to every taste, style, and budget.

While Coachella, with its big-name lineups and a magnet for celebrities and influencers, often takes the lion's share of press and social media attention, plenty of smaller festivals equally capture the hearts of attendees who make it a tradition to return year after year.

2024 introduces an exciting array of new music festivals across the U.S., many highlighted in our guide below. Whether you want to see your long-time favorites or discover fresh music acts, there’s a ton of talent to consider. Beyond the music, these festivals offer top-notch people watching and other experiential joys that make this kind of creative and communal culture important to people across generations and backgrounds.

May 3-5, Sacramento, California

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sol Blume (@solblume)

California’s state capital is home to the now three-day Sol Blume, a festival so laid back that its mascot is a skeleton chilling on its side, throwing up a peace sign. This year’s Sol Blume is headlined by Snoh Aalegra , SZA and Kaytraminé (producer Kaytranada and singer Aminé). 

It’s still at Discovery Park, but now Sol Blume is a day longer than last year’s event, the stages are bigger and there are more food and drink options. There’s also a dedicated wellness area, with daily yoga classes, meditation sessions, and tension release workshops — should you get a little bit too worked up by the whole mass musical experience.

Lovers & Friends

May 4, Las Vegas, Nevada

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lovers & Friends Las Vegas (@loversandfriendsfest)

Once again, Lovers & Friends is set to bring a monster lineup representing the heights of ‘90s R&B, hip-hop, pop, and boy bands to Las Vegas for the third time. It’s hard to overstate the megawatt, dream team, TRL -like quality of this festival. After all, headliners Janet Jackson , Usher , Backstreet Boys and Gwen Stefani have all carried arena tours on their own.

Like many of its single-day festival colleagues around the country, the Lovers & Friends lineup appears to fit what could be at least a couple days of performances into just one, so there may be schedule conflicts that prevent attendees from seeing all of the sets that they might want to enjoy.

Cruel World

May 11, Pasadena, California

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cruel World Festival (@cruelworldfest)

A family-friendly, all-ages music festival with a predilection for nostalgia with a dark edge , Cruel World returns to the world-famous Rose Bowl’s Brookside golf course for the third year. This year’s fest features a top billing performance from Duran Duran , plus appearances by Interpol , Blondie , Simple Minds, Placebo, Soft Cell and Adam Ant . The latter rescheduled from last year’s canceling due to a health matter, so he’s just as anticipated as the top acts this year.

Speaking of 2023, a freak electrical storm cut several performances short last year, and a bonus makeup event was held the next night with Iggy Pop and Siouxsie Sioux. The skies should be kinder this year, and those who don’t get their musical fill can return to the same spot the following weekend for a festival called Just Like Heaven with The Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie , Phoenix and more.

May 25-27, Detroit, Michigan

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Movement Detroit (@movementdetroit)

Launched in 2000 as the Detroit Electronic Music Festival and renamed in 2003, Movement remains the world’s pre-eminent event dedicated to techno music, a style created in Detroit and imitated all over the world. This year’s event features VIP pop-ups, classic record label showcases and veteran artists from Detroit and beyond such as Kevin Saunderson, Stacey Pullen, Delano Smith, Masters At Work , Richie Hawtin, Fatboy Slim and. . . Ludacris ? Sure, why not — there’s always a hip-hop twist or three happening here, too.

Movement is still the best time to be in Detroit each year in order to celebrate the musical innovations of the city. Beyond the festival, there are a host of official and unofficial afterparties and alternatives to check out. Some people travel to the area to party and never even make it to the main festival, for all the other events happening at all hours.

June 1-2, Napa, California

This year, a brand new festival La Onda will debut the weekend after the annual BottleRock festival at Napa Valley Expo with the same event producers. La Onda’s music headliners are Maná , Fuerza Regida, Alejandro Fernández and Junior H. The other acts booked represent a wide variety of Latinx sounds, including regional Mexican, Spanish rock, Latin pop, reggaetón, mariachi, rap, norteño and cumbia.

Read more: 11 New Music Festivals To Attend In 2024: No Values, We Belong Here & More

The Napa Valley Expo is big enough to hold such a large festival with different stages, but it’s not too exhausting to walk back and forth between the areas. And BottleRock amenities like the silent disco, spa treatments, and adult refreshments will be there for La Onda guests to check out as well. 

Roots Picnic

June 1-2 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Roots Picnic (@rootspicnic)

The annual Roots Picnic takes place in Philadelphia, the original home of The Roots , and is always a passionate tribute to the City of Brotherly Love (see last year’s highlights ). This year, there will also be a big tribute to New Orleans performed by Lil Wayne , Trombone Shorty, PJ Morton and more. 

The festival lineup, which is curated by the band, features musical friends like Jill Scott , Nas , and Victoria Monét as well as a special performance by André 3000 , who has been touring the country playing improvisational, flute-led music inspired by his recent solo album New Blue Sun . Tickets to that show alone have been tough to get on other dates, and it’s part of the glorious Roots Picnic.

Pitchfork Music Festival

July 19-21, Chicago, Illinois

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pitchfork (@pitchfork)

Chicago’s Union Park has been home to the three-day Pitchfork Music Festival since its inception in 2011. The annual event, an extension of the acclaimed music publication, attracts about 60,000 people — see the standout sets from last year to get a good idea of the diversity of this mainstay. Artists bringing the heat this year include Black Pumas , Jamie XX , Alanis Morissette , De La Soul , Brittany Howard , Grandmaster Flash and Carly Rae Jepsen . 

Pitchfork Music Festival is a scorching experience for more than its hot lineup — you can also expect high summer temperatures in the Windy City. Pitchfork’s editorial staff was recently reduced and merged into the men’s magazine GQ by Condé Nast, so the festival’s future shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Fool in Love

Aug. 31, Inglewood, California

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fool In Love Fest (@foolinlovefest)

Like Lovers & Friends, people questioned whether this new one-day fest’s heavy-hitting R&B and old-school soul lineup was fake when it was first released. Lionel Richie and Diana Ross take the top tier of the flier, followed by Nile Rodgers & Chic, Al Green , Santana , Charlie Wilson and Gladys Knight . And this festival has more levels of enduring talent booked, including stages headlined by George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic and Clinton’s hero, Smokey Robinson . 

It’s been criticized on social media for booking bands that may not have many or any surviving original members, but that has been a very standard part of certain touring legacy acts for decades. Both the multi-generational lineup and the people-watching promise to be legendary.

Bumbershoot

Aug. 31- Sept. 1, Seattle, Washington

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival (@bumbershootofficial)

An all-ages event that began back in 1973, Bumbershoot is one of the country’s staple music and arts festivals. After beginning as an independently-produced fest, AEG Live ran it for four years until 2019. Bumbershoot was relaunched in 2023 by Third Stone and New Rising Sun with Seattle Center, the expansive indoor/outdoor venue where it still takes place.

Last year’s 50th anniversary event brought music acts like Brittany Howard , Sleater-Kinney , Jawbreaker and the Descendents. This year’s music lineup will be announced in May, and a full slate of visual programming and activities such a half pipe skateboard program, roller skating and even pole dancing are on the official website now.

Music at the Intersection

Sept. 14-15, St. Louis, Missouri

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Music At The Intersection (@musicatintersection)

Music at the Intersection in St. Louis celebrates the lineage that exists between blues, jazz, soul, rap, R&B and rock, and where that takes us into the future. Hosted by Kranzberg Arts Foundation, this year’s edition of the ambitious two-day, all-ages festival features a stacked lineup of talent including Chaka Khan , Big Boi , Black Pumas , Esperanza Spalding and Samara Joy . There’s even a Gospel Brunch on Sunday in partnership with the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

As you may have noticed now, music festivals are thriving around the country in 2024! Wherever your flavor of fest takes you this year, may it be safe, fun, and offer the thrills of familiarity, discovery, and friendship.

Photo: Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

11 New Music Festivals To Attend In 2024: No Values, We Belong Here & More

2024 is replete with legacy festivals, like Coachella and Lollapalooza, that are still going strong. But when constructing your itinerary, don’t miss these first-year festivals with a lot of promise.

South by Southwest might be in the rearview, but festival season is firmly upon us . Soon, genre-crossing, culture-shaking bashes from Lollapalooza to Bonnaroo — and, of course, Coachella — will be underway and flooding your feed. GRAMMY.com will be on the case, screaming along with fans nationwide.

But what of the brand new festivals — ones readying their inaugural iteration, primed to establish their identities on the circuit? When plotting your fest schedule, don't leave them out: these new events have the potential to become behemoths themselves. Yes, Coachella will be amazing, but these lower-key upstarts are special in their own way. 

Read on for 11 new music festivals happening across the country and across the genre spectrum.

New West Coast Music Festival

Riverside, California April 12, 2024 More info here West coast hip-hop lovers who want a one-and-done day of music: New West Coast Music Festival may be for you. At the Riverside Municipal Auditorium on April 12, hip-hop heavies like 03 Greedo, Bravo the Bagchaser, Bluebucks Clan, and many more will touch down, with DJ Trill, Cypress Moreno and DJ V.I.P. holding it down on the turntables.

Landlock Music Festival

Waco, Texas May 3-5, 2024 More info here Waco may be a landlocked city in McLennan County, Texas, but you can still splash around — with some terrific music to boot. Landlock Music Festival is the first-ever Texas music festival to take place in a waterpark. As the festival runners are quick to point out, "It's not a festival, it's an experience" — which connotes the plethora of other activities other than just music. Not only can you enjoy the full waterpark and music from Shakey Graves, Midland, Young the Giant and more; there's also yoga and horseback riding. Landlocked or not, Waco's a dynamic place — and it's about to get more.

Lovin' Life Music Fest

Charlotte, North Carolina May 3-5, 2024 More info here

If eclecticism is your brand, you're about to be Lovin' Life. In the first week of May, in Charlotte, North Carolina, artists as divergent as Post Malone , Stevie Nicks and Noah Kahan will blow your mind. As inaugural, marquee, multi-day fests go, Lovin' Life has a lot of firepower, with artists like Maggie Rogers , the Chainsmokers and Dashboard Confessional rounding out the proceedings. If you've got room in your listening habits for both the Avett Brothers and DaBaby , bomb out to Charlotte!

Riverbeat Music Festival

Memphis, Tennessee May 3-5, 2024 More info here

Also in early May, kick back and relax with something strong, and enjoy some top-shelf, roots-adjacent sounds. Down in Memphis, the Fugees , Odesza and Jelly Roll will headline this three-day festival, aimed at attracting Memphians and out-of-town music heads to this great music city. The city's newly designed riverfront park acts as the perfect venue for this eclectic, forward-thinking lineup — whether you're into sounds as intense as Killer Mike , or as tranquil as Matt and Kim .

Gazebo Festival

Louisville, Kentucky May 25-26, 2024 More info here

Founded by the one and only Jack Harlow — a six-time GRAMMY nominee — Gazebo Festival is another altogether refreshing and worthy choice for your festival season. SZA , James Blake , Omar Apollo , and 23 other sluggers will take the plate; Gazebo will be held on two stages, and augmented by local Louisville food and culture, on more than 85 acres of green space along the Ohio River.

TwoGether Land Festival

Dallas, Texas May 25-26, 2024 More info here

On the sprawling plot of land that is Fair Park — a 277-acre complex that hosts more than 1,000 activities every year — Texans will be treated to TwoGether Land Festival. The brainchild of One Musicfest, advertised as "promoting togetherness and unity through music," TwoGether Land is a glorious salute to hip-hop, with everyone from Lil Wayne to Gucci Mane to Three 6 Mafia rocking the mic. 

The 50th anniversary of hip-hop may have come and gone, but that energy hasn't gone anywhere. Twogether or apart, don't miss this riotous, dynamic festival.

Napa, California June 1 & 2, 2024 More info here

Presented by the team that puts on BottleRock Napa Valley — a five-day event in California's wine country — La Onda is a brand-new Latin music fest, coming to Napa in June. With savvy and inspired choices of headliners Alejandro Fernandez and Junior H (June 1) and Maná and Fuerza Regida (June 2), it's bound to be a Latin celebration to remember. 

But La Onda doesn't just offer musical delights; you can decompress in the spa, blow off steam in the dance club, or dance to tunes of your choice in the silent disco. Plus, with Latin cuisine and boutique beverages, La Onda is bound to be a culinary immersion unlike any other on the circuit.

Pomona, California June 8, 2024 More info here

Are you twisted? We're twisted. No Values is for everyone twisted, of every background and creed. Come for legacy acts, like The Original Misfits , Social Distortion and Iggy Pop ; stay for relative upstarts who broke through and changed the conversation, like Turnstile and a reconstituted Power Trip. 

Speaking of reconstitution: Sublime will be there, with Jakob Nowell on the mic and guitar — his birthright, as he's original leader Bradley Nowell's only son. The rest of the lineup is bubbly and hip — brain-scramblers like the Jesus Lizard next to more straight-shooting acts like Joyce Manor. Get your battle jacket dry-cleaned, or not: Pomona's in for a hell of a ride.

Minnesota Yacht Club

St. Paul, Minnesota July 19-20, 2024 More info here

Nineties kids rise. At Harriet Island Regional Park along the beautiful Mississippi River, '90s radio giants from Gwen Stefani and Alanis Morrisette to the Red Hot Chili Peppers will take the stage. It's not all "throwback," though; newer acts like Gary Clark Jr . and the Hold Steady are headed to the Midwest to rock with the MTV heroes. (The festival is produced by C3 Presents, who produces Austin City Limits Music Festival and Lollapalooza — so take that under advisement as to the quality control of Mississippi Yacht Club.)

Thing Festival

Carnation, Washington Aug. 9-11, 2024 More info here

A refreshing array of multi-genre talent will be headed to Remlinger Farms in Carnation, Washington, this August. Billed as "an eclectic and intimate three-day festival of music and arts," and described by The Seattle Times as "a family-friendly festival that hangs its sun hat on strong top-to-bottom lineups." 

Thing Festival prizes strong curation, abundant diversity, and a welcoming environment. Bands as bludgeoning and melodic as Militarie Gun will rub shoulders with electronic greats like Toro y Moi , with zero friction.

Fool In Love

Los Angeles, California Aug. 31, 2024 More info here

When you think of timeless love songs, who comes to mind? Lionel Richie ? Diana Ross ? Smokey Robinson ? Another thing they all have in common: they're all playing at the inaugural Fool In Love festival this summer in Los Angeles, with newer groups like Thee Sacred Souls and Durand Jones in the mix.

That's not all, though. So many others, many staples of Black music, will be making us swoon. From Gladys Knight to the Isley Brothers to Chaka Khan , the lineup for Fool in Love looks less like a night out than a trip through music history — and the most universal and versatile topic of song, hands down.

• 1 10 Must-See Artists At New Orleans Jazz Fest 2024: The Rolling Stones, Big Freedia & More
• 2 10 Must-See Artists At Coachella 2024: Skepta, The Last Dinner Party, Mdou Moctar, Cimafunk & More
• 3 Meet The Coachella Die-Hards: 5 Super Fans You'll Find In The Desert
• 4 10 Smaller Music Festivals Happening In 2024: La Onda, Pitchfork Music Fest, Cruel World & More
• 5 11 New Music Festivals To Attend In 2024: No Values, We Belong Here & More

• Discount Codes

Crumb and Mdou Moctar announced for Brunswick Music Festival 2023

Both acts will play the Estonian House venue in Brunswick's west

Organisers of the Brunswick Music Festival have announced the first two events in its 2023 program, with headline shows from Brooklyn psych-rock band Crumb and Tuareg guitarist Mdou Moctar booked in for March.

Both acts will play the Estonian House venue in Brunswick’s west – Crumb on Wednesday March 8, and Moctar the following night (March 9). It marks the venue’s first time hosting the Brunswick Music Festival, signalling a move from its previous home of Gilpin Park. Tickets for both shows are on sale now – find them here for Crumb’s, and here for Moctar’s.

In a press release, Emily Ulman – the Brunswick Music Festival’s head programmer – said that it was “so exciting to be sharing a sneak peek of what’s in store for next year’s Brunswick Music Festival program”.

She continued: “BMF is always special, and 2023 will be no exception. Keep your ears and eyes peeled for the full program drop next year, but in the meantime If you haven’t heard of Mdou Moctar or Crumb, please get both in your ears immediately (you’ll thank us later), and if you have, don’t snooze on these tickets. See you at BMF in March next year!”

Both Crumb and Moctar will appear at the festival as part of their Australian debuts. The former band are currently touring in support of their second album ‘Ice Melt’ , which arrived independently last April on the back of singles ‘BNR’ and ‘Balloon’ . Moctar, on the other hand, is touring on the back of his Matador debut ‘Afrique Victime’, which he released last May.

Stay tuned to NME for more Australia music festival news

• Related Topics
• Mdou Moctar

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Out & About

Jon Bon Jovi Hits the Town, and Gustavo Dudamel Takes the Stage

This week, fans turned out for a new documentary about Jon Bon Jovi and took in a performance led by Gustavo Dudamel at the New York Philharmonic’s spring gala.

By The New York Times

Out & About is a column that covers the events where notable, powerful and influential figures gather — and their outfits. This week: We attended a screening of “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story” and the New York Philharmonic’s spring gala.

A Rocker Greets His Fans

By Katie Van Syckle

Jon Bon Jovi stood blinking, rubbing his eyes, temporarily blinded on Thursday night by the lights from a row of photographers.

Recovering, the musician said, “OK, I’m here now,” and then “Hi, love,” his eyes wide as he flashed a very white smile.

He was standing just inside a movie theater at the South Street Seaport for a special screening of a new documentary series, “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.” He approached the event, hosted by the Cinema Society and Hulu, with the same charming grit that helped make him famous.

The show, now on Hulu, traces the musician’s path from his teenage years playing covers in Asbury Park, N.J., to mega-stardom with his band Bon Jovi, packing arenas with rock anthems. It also touches on his recent vocal cord trouble that led to surgery.

“I’m wonderful,” said Bon Jovi, 62, dressed in a leather jacket and jeans, with a full, feathery head of gray hair. “What you see in the film was a year and two years ago. It’s a work in progress. But it is really far down the road of recovery at this point.”

Bon Jovi will release its 16th studio album, “Forever,” on June 7. The band currently has no plans to tour, but its frontman is hopeful. “When it is right, that’s when we’ll tour,” he said.

A crowd that included the model Maye Musk and the television presenter Dan Abrams filed into the cushy seats of the iPIC Fulton Market theater to watch the first episode of the four-part series, which is directed and executive produced by Gotham Chopra. After the screening, Bon Jovi answered questions and tried to put the health concerns shown in the series in context.

“If, God forbid, I can’t perform at Giants Stadium, woe is me,” he said. “So what if I can’t sing again?”

The audience then meandered to the Fulton by Jean-Georges, a high-end seafood spot overlooking the East River, where a crowd surrounded the musician near a raw bar. The rocker grinned and chatted with fans like the actress Jennifer Esposito.

• David Krumholtz Rebecca Smeyne for The New York Times
• Ilana Becker Rebecca Smeyne for The New York Times
• Dan Abrams Rebecca Smeyne for The New York Times
• Coco Mitchell, left, and Earl Davis Rebecca Smeyne for The New York Times
• Timo Weiland Rebecca Smeyne for The New York Times

Ms. Esposito said that when she was in high school, she asked her hairdresser for Bon Jovi’s look. “I used to bring in a picture of him and say, ‘Make it look like that,’” she recalled.

The two later acted alongside each other. “He’s a cool dude from Jersey,” she said. “He wasn’t a big shot. He just wanted to show up and do a good job.”

Just before 10 p.m., after posing for a row of selfies, the musician slid out the door. Servers continued to circle with sliders and summer rolls, and as “Livin’ on a Prayer” played through the restaurant, a young bartender smiled and sang the lyrics to herself.

A Preview of Dudamel at the New York Philharmonic

By Sarah Bahr

“What are we excited about tonight?” said Agnes Hsu-Tang, the archaeologist, art historian and wife of the New York Philharmonic co-chairman Oscar L. Tang.

“Dudamel!” she and her husband said in unison.

They were at a cocktail reception before the New York Philharmonic’s annual spring gala at David Geffen Hall on Wednesday night. In a special East Coast appearance, Gustavo Dudamel, the charismatic conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led the New York Philharmonic through a 90-minute program and preview of what is to come when he officially takes over as the orchestra’s music and artistic director in 2026.

The night was attended by music-world fixtures such as Jamie, Alexander and Nina Bernstein, the children of the conductor Leonard Bernstein; J’Nai Bridges, the mezzo-soprano; and Anthony Roth Costanzo, the countertenor.

“The whole idea is to pull classical music out of its rut and show the world how flexible and versatile it can be,” Jamie Bernstein said.

The evening gave many in attendance their first look at Mr. Dudamel, 43, the rare maestro whose fame transcends classical music. That’s not to say it will all be smooth sailing for Mr. Dudamel. He will face the challenge of reaching younger and more diverse audiences, as well as an investigation into how the orchestra handled a sexual assault accusation in 2010.

But on Wednesday night, with his baton bobbing and his curls bouncing, he led the orchestra through “The Mother Is Standing,” by the composer Nina Shekhar. The piece was followed by Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Aria from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 (a feature for the soprano Hera Hyesang Park), Arturo Márquez’s Danzón No. 8 and Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier Suite.

• Carolina Herrera Dolly Faibyshev for The New York Times
• Anthony Roth Costanzo Dolly Faibyshev for The New York Times
• Hera Hyesang Park Dolly Faibyshev for The New York Times
• Nina Shekhar Dolly Faibyshev for The New York Times
• Fay Leshner Dolly Faibyshev for The New York Times
• Barbara Tober Dolly Faibyshev for The New York Times
• Tania León Dolly Faibyshev for The New York Times
• Claudia Romo Edelman Dolly Faibyshev for The New York Times
• Sylvia Tóth Dolly Faibyshev for The New York Times

The gala also featured performances by Common, the rapper and actor; Bernie Williams, the classical guitarist and former New York Yankees center fielder; and student musicians from across New York City. The night drew about 2,200 people and raised more than $2.4 million for the orchestra.

Later, during a dinner of jumbo asparagus and Amish chicken, a beaming Ms. Park graciously entertained a stream of well-wishers.

“I woke up at 6 a.m. before my first rehearsal with Dudamel because I couldn’t sleep because I was so excited,” she said, as people stopped by her table to congratulate her. “And,” she added, “tonight was even better than I imagined.”

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