Now on its 45th go-round, Milwaukee’s massive Summerfest returns from June 27 to July 8, offering 11 days of high-profile and independent musicians performing around the 75-acre Henry Maier Festival Park along Lake Michigan. This year, our favorite performers include The Hives, Foo Fighters, Ben Folds Five, Devotchka, The Promise Ring, Galactic, Collections of Colonies of Bees, Atmosphere, The Roots, Common, Thievery Corporation, Mayer Hawthorne, and Lupe Fiasco.
Music
Video: Dan Le Sac & B. Dolan’s “Caretaker”
Dan Le Sac: Space Between the Words (Sunday Best, 7/10/12)
A frequent collaborator with MC Scroobius Pip, UK producer Dan Le Sac is releasing his first solo album, Space Between the Words, next month in North America. The album features a spate of quality guests, including wordsmith B. Dolan and singer HowAboutBeth on this here cut, but it also accentuates Le Sac’s skills as a songwriter and helps introduce him as a vocalist in his own right.
Here’s the video for “Caretaker,” a stylized revenge story of a servant-slash-“shepherd of the damned.”
Video: Doomtree’s “Beacon”
Doomtree: No Kings (Doomtree, 11/22/11)
In case you missed it last week, everyone’s favorite Minnesotan hip-hop collective (Doomtree) unveiled its streampunk-flavored video for “Beacon,” a standout cut from last year’s No Kings.
Catch the grimy, black-and-white, noir-ish video below, and below that watch a behind-the-scenes featurette with director Bo Hakala.
Video: The Invisible’s “Wings”
The Invisible: Rispah (Ninja Tune, 6/12/12)
On Tuesday, London-based pop-rock trio The Invisible released its sophomore album, Rispah, which finds guitarist / vocalist Dave Okumu in an existential crisis following the loss of his mother, the album’s namesake. The video for “Wings” contains kaleidoscopic imagery of butterflies trapped in flight, with their glass-jar prison shattering — liberating them —near the end.
Review: B. Dolan’s House of Bees Vol. 2
B. Dolan: House of Bees Vol. 2 (Strange Famous)
“Still Here”
[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/B_Dolan_Still_Here1.mp3|titles=B. Dolan: “Still Here”]In 2005, indie rapper / poet B. Dolan, with a self-released full-length under his belt, hooked up with Strange Famous Records after gaining notoriety among New York City’s slam-poetry scene. His first record, The Failure, was re-released in 2008 through his new independent home with the welcome addition of such names as Sole and label head / fellow Epic Beard Man Sage Francis. Since then, he has pushed deep into foreboding hip hop and sociopolitical commentary on another full-length as well as a mixtape titled House of Bees.