Culture

Flaming Lips Returning To Nelsonville Music Fest

Posted on: Monday, January 26, 2015

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The second round of 2015 Nelsonville Music Festival announcements include the return of one of rock and roll’s biggest bands, The Flaming Lips, along with Memphis country-punk rockers Lucero, acclaimed garage-punk trio Oblivians and Grammy-nominated folk singer songwriter Greg Brown.

Finishing up the second round of announcements are Natural Child, Sarah Neufeld and Good English. These artists join a growing lineup that includes Merle Haggard, St. Vincent, Trampled By Turtles, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Moon Hooch and My Bubba. Many other acts will be added in the coming months.

Named one of the “50 Bands to See Before You Die” by Q magazine, The Flaming Lips’ music contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements with elements of space rock. They are acclaimed for their elaborate live shows, which feature costumes, balloons, puppets, video projections, complex stage light configurations, giant hands, large amounts of confetti, and frontman Wayne Coyne’s signature man-sized plastic bubble, in which he traverses the audience. The Flaming Lips are returning to Nelsonville after a particularly memorable performance in 2011.

During their 16 years together, Memphis country-punk rockers Lucero have built up a fanbase that’s as diverse as it is rabid. The band’s newest release, Live from Atlanta, is a career-spanning four-LP greatest hits collection of 32 tunes played the way they were meant to be heard: live.

Formed in Memphis in 1993, acclaimed garage-punk trio Oblivians are Greg Oblivian (aka Greg Cartwright), Eric Oblivian (aka Eric Friedl) and Jack Oblivian (aka Jack Yarber). The trio released a series of beloved albums before taking a 15-year hiatus, Their latest album, Desperation, was released in 2013.

Greg Brown is an accomplished songwriter, co-founder of the influential indie roots label Red House and former musical director for Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion radio program.

Formed in 2009 and hailing from Nashville, Natural Child are a trio whose style is informed by Southern rock, vintage country-rock, laid-back Laurel Canyon sounds, ’70s-style boogie, and a dash of hard rock.

Sarah Neufeld is a violinist and composer based in Montréal, Canada. Best known as a member of Arcade Fire, she is also a founding member of the acclaimed contemporary instrumental ensemble Bell Orchestre and has performed and recorded with many other groups.

The last artist in this second round of announcements is Good English, a three-sister rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, that has built its unique sound on a bedrock of indie, roots, and punk-influenced rock and roll.

Now in its 11th year, the Nelsonville Music Festival will take place May 28-31 on the campus of Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio. Weekend passes are currently on sale now for $130, with the price increasing in the months leading up to the fest.

VIP weekend and camping passes are also available. Kids 12 and under are free, teen tickets (13-17) are $65, Nelsonville resident tickets are $65 (call for more information), and Stuart’s Opera House member tickets are $120.

The Nelsonville Music Festival is a production of Stuart’s Opera House, an historic non-profit theater located in Nelsonville. For more information, visit www.nelsonvillefest.org.