Theo Wargo / Staff / GettyTomorrow is the big day! Treasure Island Music Festival returns to the Bay Area after a yearlong absence with some of the most buzz-worthy names in the rock, hip-hop, and electronic music world. Treasure Island Music Festival brings to town a number of artists that you should be listening to, whether or not you are attending the festival. If you’re attending the festival, know that the curators have music fans in mind by booking an absolutely stacked lineup along with a logistical layout that staggers set times between two stages so you can theoretically see every single band this weekend. Below are my top-5 artists to check out before the festival.
Tame Impala
Sunday: 8:25 – 9:55
Stage: The Town
So, you probably are quite familiar with this one, but just in case….
Over the past 5 years, Tame Impala has gone from a darling of the niche psychedelic rock world to one of the biggest bands in the world, period. Often mistaken as a band in the traditional sense, Tame Impala is actually the music of one guy, singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. Parker is joined on-stage by an ensemble of musicians for live performances. Parker’s music became a critical hit in his native Australia with the release of 2010’s Lonerism, and he found breakout success with 2015’s Currents, which brought a more danceable sound with crunchy programmed drums and a heavy reliance on spacey synthesizers over distorted guitars. The
Listen to Tame Impala if you’re into:
Psychedelics
The Beatles
Synthesizers
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Cigarettes After Sex
Sunday: 5:55 – 6:40
Stage: The City
Your quintessential dream pop band, Cigarettes After Sex are moody and romantic, with a certain darkness that settles over their music like a hazy fog. Lead singer Greg Gonzalez adds a layer of tenderness to the band’s sound with his androgynous vocals and sentimental lyrics. And while their songs may be steeped in mellowness and ambient sounds, many of their tracks are still danceable. Gaining most of their popularity through music blogs and glowing reviews from critics, Cigarettes After Sex gained greater awareness through key music licensing that saw their song “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” placed in hit T.V. shows Handmaid’s Tale, The Sinner, and Shameless and various commercials.
Listen to Cigarettes After Sex if you’re into:
Mazzy Star
Beach House
Clove Cigarettes
Laying in bed all damn day
Santigold
Saturday: 5:05 – 5:50
Stage: The Town
Santigold has been a bit of a musical chameleon over her decade-long career, never once fitting into a clear genre by dipping her toe in punk, new wave, electronic, indie, reggae, and hip-hop. The result is an amazingly fresh sound that has been a favorite of critics over the years, never really breaking through into the mainstream consciousness. After being obsessed with her debut release Santogold (her name before switching to Santigold before her second album), I had kind of forgotten about her for the past 10 years or so before getting reacquainted with her music this week, and I can’t believe how much good music I have been missing out on! 2012’s Master of Make-Believe and 2016’s 99 Cents both have numerous stand-out tracks.
Listen to Santigold if you’re into:
M.I.A
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Phantogram
Andy Warhol
Original versions of songs that Jay-Z sampled
Hiatus Kaiyote
Hailing from down under, this R&B/ jazz-funk outfit has been racking up accolades and accomplishments with zero airplay stateside. The band now has two Grammy nominations under their belt, both times being nominated in the category of Best R&B Performance, first for 2013’s “Nakamarra” and again in 2015 for the song “Breathing Underwater. Their bouncy sound and intricate percussion work blended along with lead singer Naomi “Nai Palm” Saalfield’s commanding, muti-octave vocal range make Hiatus Kaiyote a must see. Not to mention, the band happened to be a favorite of Prince as the late music icon took to Twitter to urge fans to listen to their music.
Listen to Hiatus Kaiyote if you’re into:
Little Dragon
BadBadNotGood
Thundercat
The Internet (the band, not just the regular internet)
Anderson.Paak
Pond
Sunday: 12:40 -1:20
Stage: The Town
Yet another band from Australia on this list. What the hell is going on down there? Pond is a psychedelic 5 piece that oftentimes shares members with Kevin Parker for live Tame Impala shows. While the band shares a lot of similar qualities with Tame Impala, Pond separates themselves with a more playful sound and more of an improvisational sound, particularly on their second album Corridors of Blissterday, which was written and recorded in a matter of five days.
Listen to Pond if you’re into:
Tame Impala
Oh Sees (formerly Thee Oh Sees)
Spiritualized
David Crosby
Homemade bongs