Warpaint was supposed to be the sole opening act on a summer tour with Depeche Mode, and that tour was supposed to stop in Tampa in September, but that bitch Irma had other plans.
Thankfully Gasparilla Music Festival (GMF) has stepped up to bring the L.A. indie-rock quartet — which put a hypnotic, grunge, shoegaze and even dance music melding sound to tape on an excellent 2016 album, Heads Up — to town before the group heads to Asia for a six-show run opening for Harry Styles. The girls will have plenty of company, too.
Joining Warpaint in today's announcement of GMF lineup additions are roots-rock supergroup Hard Working Americans (led by Todd Snider who is joined by Widespread Panic's Dave School and Duane Trucks, Chris Robinson Brotherhood's Neal Casal and Chad Staehly of Great American Taxi), Grammy-nominated blues power-trio The Record Company and rebellious Nashville country singer-songwriter Nikki Lane.
GASPARILLA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2018
The Roots, Father John Misty, Spoon, Break Science and more all headed to Tampa's Curtis Hixon Park
The addition of Lane — whose Highway Queen was one of 2017's best albums — continues GMF's tradition of being able to snipe emerging Music City talent before it breaks big, and fans who've come to expect high-quality hip-hop at GMF will be happy to see Jurassic 5's Chali 2na booked to do a set backed by New Orleans funk giants Naughty Professor.
Virtuoso keyboardist Corey Henry (of Snarky Puppy fame, but this time touring with his band The Funk Apostles) wasalso added along with bluegrass hell-raiser Billy Strings whose sound has been described as having the "head-banging speed of a thrash metal band channeled through flat-picked guitar and mandolin, with a touch of end-of-the-world psychedelia."
More than a dozen locals — including notable GMF first-timers Pohgoh, Brother Cephus, Fr33dback, Johnny Mile & the Kilometers, Sam E Hues, C-Rena and Holey Miss Moley — were also tacked onto the bill, which now boasts 39 bands including previously announced acts like The Roots, Spoon, Father John Misty, Mondo Cozmo, Break Science, the Cave Singers and more. Bay area sibling band The Ries Brothers (who played the festival in 2016) return to GMF, but this time it'll be after coming off of the road on a tour with G. Love & Special Sauce.
Past lineups have included up to (and sometimes more than) 50 bands, so don't be surprised to see a few more names announced in the weeks leading up to the festival, which is set to take place on March 10 & 11 at Curtis Hixon Park and Kiley Gardens in downtown Tampa.
More information on GMF is available via local.cltampa.com and gasparillamusic.com. See an updated lineup below.
Full disclosure: From 2013-2016, this writer helped coordinate social media efforts for GMF — read about that here.
More bands announced for #GMF2018 lineup! https://t.co/wKsdiu3WjU#fireitup #gmftampa pic.twitter.com/7XPRX3EIM5
— Gasparilla Music Festival (@GasparillaMusic) January 31, 2018
Gasparilla Music Festival 2018 Lineup
The Roots
Father John Misty
Spoon
Warpaint Hard Working Americans
Break Science Live Band
The Record Company
Mondo Cozmo
Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles
Chali 2na (Jurassic 5) & Naughty Professor
Nikki Lane Billy Strings
The Cave Singers KOLARS
The War & Treaty
Matt Woods & the Natural Disasters
The Ries Brothers
Eric Tessmer
Imagination Movers Underhill Family Orchestra
Holey Miss Moley
Leisure Chief
Johnny Mile & the Kilometers
The Woodwork
C-Rena
Brother Cephus
Acho Brother
Fr33dback
King Complex
Pohgoh
Oak Hay
Sam E Hues
Mountain Holler
Kristopher James
Little Kintner Boys
Mr. Tommy
Tampa Metropolitan Youth Orchestra
Crestwood Elementary
Mt Zion Gospel Choir
This article appears in Jan 25 – Feb 1, 2018.
