Lorde leads the chart before Coachella
by Mark Wheat
April 13, 2017
Lorde rises to the top this week just ahead of the start of her big summer of festival appearances at Coachella, she'll be on just before Kendrick Lamar headlines Sunday this weekend. There will be more live video options available than ever before for this two-legged festival in the desert of Indio CA.
The xx will be there too, playing right before Radiohead on Friday night. They'll hit the new Palace Theater for a sold out show on April 28th and will do a live in-studio that day with Mac. Check out their first session for us way back in 2009!
Jain has returned home after her inaugural tour of America. She's playing 15 festivals in Europe, mostly
France before returning for Lollapalooza in Chicago August 3rd. She also did a session for us last month.
HALEY has just returned to the TC's after a European Tour, in time to be inducted for the 4th time to our Chart Hall of Fame, putting her at #34 on the All Time HOF Chart.
Father John Misty goes up 8 places this week on a wave of news about him and his new album, "Pure Comedy" which is getting heavily critiqued by some of the "alternative press". Pitchfork gave it a grudging 7.6, because they know that he has become the face of the indie rock community, to the larger mainstream world, almost unthinkable 3 years ago. So after making the decision to stay on Sub Pop and continue to be willfully independent, he's getting long, serious consideration by the more established literary commentators; Like Salon saying "Ballad ... is one of several songs on the album that have a last-sequence-of-an-epic-film feel to them."
Speaking of renowned indie labels, we have one right in town here in St. Paul, Red House Records; they've signed Chastity Brown, the highest new entry this week at #8 and her first album for them Silhouette of Sirens, which will be celebrated with a very special show at the Fitz.
Future Islands are also new this week at #11. Another band thrown into the national spotlight around their last album. By appearing on the David Letterman show and doing some winning dance moves. Can they follow up with the new The Far Field which came out last Friday?
Gorillaz have got the power, it seems to be able to work with anyone they like, and have their own TV show?! Wait, so that's a TV show, made about an animated band, that still tours the world, with REAL people playing the animated characters?!?! They promise to bring their own 'Demon Dayz' festival to Chicago in the summer and with the help of Noel Gallagher of Oasis and Jehnny Beth from Savages, they are new at #13.
Our own Brother Ali gets to work with a few friends on his new album, Dem Atlas, Sa-Roc, Idris Phillips and Amir Sulaiman help Ali to keep a very positive tone to "All The Beauty In This Whole Life" I'm honored and excited to say that he'll be in-studio with us on the Friday night that it's released, May 5th. When he first came into our studios to do a session, the station had been on-air for less than a year. I apologized to him then, for not playing him more — he said not to worry, he trusted we would when he gave us something good!
Michael Kiwanuka is back at #19, and he's rescheduled, after canceling through illness late last year, on May 26th. The show has been moved from The Cedar to First Avenue, all tickets will be honored.
Jaosn Isbell and The 400 Unit are planning a big summer with a new release and some really big shows, like Summerfest in Milwaukee which seems to get bigger and better every year!