With the recent announcement that Ra Ra Riot and Lee Bains & The Glory Fires would headline Norman Music Festival 8, we decided to revisit the ghosts of NMF’s past, seeing how careers have grown, dipped, jumped, dived, and juked in the years following their appearance at Oklahoma’s favorite free music festival.
The Polyphonic Spree
The Polyphonic Spree (2008)
Caravanning their choir’s worth of members from their hometown Dallas just down the interstate, psych-pop ensemble The Polyphonic Spree made for a memorable inaugural headliner, leading a community-wide singalong to their hit “Light and Day/Reach for the Sun.” The outfit hasn’t been strangers to Oklahoma in the years to follow; they squeezed their way into Opolis for an especially intimate gig in 2012, another free outdoor gig at The University of Oklahoma in 2013, and at ACM@UCO Performance Lab last fall. Yes, It’s True, the band’s fourth studio record, came out in 2013.
Chainsaw Kittens (2008)
A reunion show by legendary alt-glam rock band Chainsaw Kittens was a coup in that first, untested year. The Norman favorites had gone quiet in the wake of their ’90s heyday — inspiring the likes of Kurt Cobain and Billy Corgan both as Kittens and predecessor Defenestration in that time — and hadn’t played since 2000. The alt-rock godfathers haven’t performed again since, either. Frontman Tyson Meade put out his latest solo album Tomorrow In Progress last year, while Trent Bell keeps busy producing projects by local and national acts in his Bell Labs Recording Studio.
British Sea Power (2008)
Brighton indie-rockers British Sea Power crossed the Atlantic to Norman at their peak, supporting their biggest commercial and critical success, Do You Like Rock Music?, and threatening to steal the day with a scaffolding-scaling, high-energy set. It’s been diminishing returns for the six-piece ever since. They’ve all but disappeared stateside, but British Sea Power still has some draw back in their native United Kingdom. The band will unveil its ninth studio album, Sea of Brass, in 2015.
The Octopus Project (2008)
Though 2007’s Hello, Avalanche was a cult favorite, few outside of Austin knew much about The Octopus Project back in 2008, when they introduced more than a few spectators (myself included) to the wonders of the theremin. The “indietronica” act has returned to Oklahoma more than a few times since, including a follow-up performance at NMF3, and put out its fifth studio album, Fever Forms, in 2013. The quartet also scored the soundtrack for 2015 Sundance selection Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter.
of Montreal
of Montreal (2009)
The Elephant 6 cohort came into the second year of the festival with some serious indie cred (and a little bit of wider recognition for their Outback Steakhouse ad placement). The theatrical weirdo rockers didn’t disappoint, either, traipsing costumed to the stage and having a hell of a lot of fun up there. Kevin Barnes & Co. have released a number of albums since, with its 13th (!) studio album, Aureate Gloom, due March 3. Two weeks later, on March 17, the band co-headlines a show with Deerhoof at ACM@UCO Performance Lab.
Starlight Mints (2009)
Norman Music Festival is one of the last Oklahoma dates indie-pop act Starlight Mints ever played. Though the band released Change Remains later that summer, it went on an indefinite hiatus by the end of the year. Frontman Allan Vest has done composing work in addition to his side project doubleVee, while Andy and Marian Nunez own and operate Opolis and perform as Applied Music Program. Ryan Lindsey, who played keyboards and guitar at the time, now fronts BRONCHO.
Man Man (2009)
Though riding a little buzz from Rabbit Habits, Philly product Man Man was still something of an unknown at the time. The manic, oddball performance was a sign of things to come, though, as the humble crew has become one of the more reliable experimental rock bands out there. Honus Honus took a bit of time off to pursue a new project, Mister Heavenly, with Nicholas Thorburn (Islands, The Unicorns), but returned to put out 2013’s well-regarded On Oni Pond. No word yet on when more music might come.
Dirty Projectors
Dirty Projectors (2010)
Booking the Brooklyn outfit is one of the festival’s most daring choices to date, and in the mind of many, the best. Fresh from a 2009 that brought Bitte Orca (widely regarded as one of the year’s best albums), Dirty Projectors made things wonderfully weird with their heady brand of indie rock. Along came Swing Lo Magellan, another home run, two years later, though they’ve stayed relatively quiet in the years to follow.
Electric Six (2010)
“Gay Bar” dance-rockers Electric Six may have been on the downward slope of their career when they came through Norman, but that didn’t make frontman Dick Valentine doing his best Freddie Mercury for the crowd any less enthralling. The blue-collar bunch has still been working hard, continuing to tour and releasing its latest, Human Zoo, last year.
The Sword
The Sword (2010)
Throwback metalheads The Sword brought the heavy to the Main Stage for the very first time in the fesitval’s third year, a headbanger’s delight of a set that introduced songs from Warp Riders, which was released later that year. 2012 brought Apocryphon, and the Austin rockers have toured steadily over the past half decade. They return for another Oklahoma City show March 14 at ACM@UCO Performance Lab.
Edan (2010)
The festival’s headlining bill also had its first brush with hip-hop at NMF3. Edan was a relative unknown outside of his adoptive home of Boston, and that hasn’t changed in the five years to follow. He hasn’t put any new material out since 2009, though he has a rock EP recorded and has intentions of another solo rap release in the near future.
Those Darlins (2010)
The country-tinged garage rock of Tennessee outfit Those Darlins was just starting to catch fire back in 2010. Things accelerated quickly with the following year’s Screws Get Loose, and the four-piece’s latest, Blur The Line, hit shelves in 2013. They’ve made mentions of new material possibly coming to surface in 2015.
The Walkmen (Photo: Arno Frugier)
The Walkmen (2011)
One of the quintessential alt-rock bands of that NYC scene in the early 2000s, The Walkmen strode into Norman with some serious indie cred (they wrote “The Rat” for God’s sake). The five-piece had released another acclaimed album, Lisbon, the year prior and a year later put out Heaven, which may very well be the last Walkmen album we ever hear; the band went on an indefinite hiatus at the start of 2014.
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears (2011)
Austin blues revivalists Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears were nothing if not crowd pleasers with their irresistible take on classic American music. They’ve been doing more of the same in the time since, releasing Electric Slave in 2013 and playing a free show at The University of Oklahoma that fall.
Peelander-Z (2011)
Like a Japanese game show come to life, the NYC-based punk outfit is just as much about the performance as the music (if not more so). They blew away the audience with their zany, costumed antics and have continued to do so in a number of return performances in Oklahoma over the past few years. They released a metal-themed album, appropriately called Metalander-Z, in 2013.
Ty Segall (2011)
After being tucked away in a mid-day set in 2011, Ty Segall has gone from a garage punk enthusiast’s afternoon delight to one of lo-fi rock’s most well regarded names with as much pull as any of the top-billed NMF headliners to date. The years to follow have brought three more gems: 2012’s Twins, 2013’s Sleeper, and 2014’s Manipulator. Segall returned to Oklahoma City for a show last March.
Portugal. The Man (Photo: Danger Mouse)
Portugal. The Man (2012)
Already an alt-rock heavyweight when they tore into Norman in support of In a Mountain in the Cloud, Alaska-bred Portugal. The Man skied to even greater heights in 2013 with the Danger Mouse-produced Evil Friends. They’ve been headlining major rooms ever since, returning to Oklahoma with a Tulsa show at Cain’s Ballroom the following year.
Other Lives (2012)
Stillwater’s own Other Lives were on the top of the world in 2012, having just opened up a string of shows for one of the biggest bands on the planet. Supporting Radiohead opened all sorts of doors and saw sales of Tamer Animals skyrocket just in time for their NMF5 slot. They’ve remained mostly quiet since, releasing their Mind The Gap EP in 2013, but a new album is due in 2015 with the debut track set for premiere this week.
Hayes Carll (2012)
Carll was a coup, night-capping the second outdoor stage just a year removed from his career-changing album, KMAG YOYO. He’s yet to release the follow-up to that album, though he’s continued to sell out rooms across the country in the interim. He returns to Norman with a March 13 show at Sooner Theatre with Travis Linville. There have been rumblings of another album on the way, too.
The Joy Formidable
The Joy Formidable (2013)
The power trio from Wales was the first international top-billed headliner, bringing the arena rock-ready tracks from The Big Roar and Wolf’s Eyes that made Dave Grohl and other rock figureheads like him such big fans. No news yet as to when more new music is to come.
King Khan & BBQ Show
King Khan & BBQ Show (2013)
The Canadian rock duo had made a name for itself with its, let’s say, rowdy presence on stage, including a good deal of nudity and subversive vitriol toward the crowd and each other. That was mostly reigned in for NMF, though some nipples did peak out. The gruesome twosome is changing its name back to original moniker Bad News Boys and returning with a new record (of the same name) set for release in 2015, its first since 2009’s Invisible Girl.
JD McPherson (2013)
Tulsa’s native son JD McPherson was still riding high on the good deal of longevity that his 2010 release, Signs & Signifiers, had afforded him. It’s just now in 2015 that the throwback rock ‘n’ roller is getting to stretch his wings with something new; he puts out his sophomore album Let the Good Times Roll on Feb. 10.
The Bright Light Social Hour
The Bright Light Social Hour (2014)
The genre-blending southern-rockers from just down I-35 in Austin were four years removed from their self-titled debut album when tasked with headlining the seventh incarnation of the festival. New music is finally on the way. The band releases its sophomore album, Space Is Still the Place, on March 10.
Dead Meadow (2014)
Veteran psych-rockers Dead Meadow sleighed the crowd with their finely crafted stoner metal jams. They’ve made a habit of putting out albums every couple of years, so don’t be surprised to see the follow-up to 2013’s Warble Room come sometime later this year, if not sometime in 2016.
Diarrhea Planet
Diarrhea Planet (2014)
Nashville garage-punk act Diarrhea Planet is the furthest thing from subtle, celebrating vintage guitar riffage through a pop lens with four of its six members dedicated to Fender-shredding. They’ve been called one of the best live acts of 2014 for their troubles (a title rightfully bestowed as their toilet paper-tossing, stage-climbing NMF set would attest to). DP also released an EP, Aliens in the Outfield, in the latter part of the year.
