Sound On Sound Fest is hosted in Sherwood Forest, just outside of Austin, and is renaissance themed. Meaning there’s renaissance era food, and people even dress up just like any other renaissance fair. Except there’s also a ton of good music being performed at all times, and people can also camp there, keeping the fun going all through the day and night for three days.
If you need anymore convincing, here’s our station manager’s experience last year:
“The entire atmosphere of SOS is a little surreal. It was pretty dimly lit in the fairgrounds last year, but it really felt like being in another world. I’m not a huge fan of Carcass, but getting to see this legendary metal band while sitting on a castle wall in the middle of a forest was just ridiculous. The most metal thing that’s ever happened to me. Some people really took the renaissance fair theme and ran with it, and it made it even more magical. They kept some of the classic renaissance fair food stands open too, so we got to chow down on a giant turkey leg and listen to HEALTH at the same time. The other food options were awesome, I definitely visited the Indian food sample booth too many times, and the Fun Punch from Juiceland was pretty good.
This year they’re bringing actual, world champion, undefeated full-contact jousters. I can’t even imagine. I’m incredibly stoked to catch Boris, Converge, and Electric Wizard. I’ve seen Boris before, and I cried. The metal lineup is so solid this year.” – Savannah Sherer
It’s just over a month away, and it seems like the more I look at the lineup, the better it gets. This year they have a good mix of big names, as well as some smaller artists that are worth looking forward to. Here’s some of the artists we’re excited to check out this year, and we hope to see you there!
Yeah Yeah Yeahs just announced a reissue of their 2003 album, Fever To Tell, which will include B-sides and other unreleased tracks from that era. For all we know, they may release even more new music soon. Their last release was in 2013, so a new release may be in the works for them. Either way, it’ll be nice to see them come back in to the spotlight, and make a return at SOS Fest. They haven’t announced a full-on tour so far, and only have four shows including SOS scheduled for the year so far, so this will be one of the few opportunities to see them live.
Pusha T’s new album, King Push, is set to release sometime this year, but there’s no guarantees that it will come out. Originally set to release last year, it’s been pushed back several times. Kanye West is said to be producing it, and he’s allegedly scrapped the album three times because he feels he can do better. Who knows if we will ever get King Push, but we do know for sure that he will be performing at SOS (it’ll be kinda funny if he ends up pulling out at the last moment). He’s got a lot of experience and has been in the industry for a long time, meaning he’ll definitely be putting on a great show with a lot of energy. Who knows, he may even perform some unreleased songs from the new album, just to give us a taste of it and makes us want it even more.
Another highly anticipated hip-hop artist, Noname, who’s debut mixtape, Telefone, release last year to much acclaim. Shortly after, she stated Telefone might actually be her last mixtape as well as her first. This obviously worried a lot of fans, but it seems like those worries are gone, as she’s announced the title of her next album, Room 25, earlier this year. She’s still a pretty new artist, but from concert videos she seems confident on stage, and has no problems putting on a good show. Although Noname is going on tour, festival performances are a totally different experience from regular venues, meaning this particular show will be unique from the rest, and you won’t want to miss it.
Dedicated To Bobby Jameson released this month to much critical acclaim. It’s bombastic energy and experimentation will only be amplified by the loud nature of concerts. We look forward to hearing cuts from Dedicated To Bobby Jameson such as “Time To Meet Your God” over loud speakers, in the middle of a forest, surrounded by renaissance-era food, costumes, and other props. It’s sure to be a surreal experience, and given that this is one of the only festival performances on Ariel Pink’s tour, it’ll be an undeniably unique experience.
Their next album, Out of It, is set to release on November 3, just a few days before SOS Fest, giving us just enough time to memorize all the lyrics before their show. This also likely means they will play a mix of their new music as well as their older material. They’re touring with Turnstile, who will also be at SOS, adding a healthy dose of punk to the festival. The Story So Far is constantly active, releasing new albums every two years and touring a lot. They’ve played a ton of concerts, and being there to listen to them play some of their new music performed for the first time will be exciting.