MTV News |
- Florence And The Machine Reveal Inspirations Behind New Album
- Lil Wayne Wows Bonnaroo With Late-Night Set
- Bonnaroo Crowds Brave 'Epically Hot' Temperatures
| Florence And The Machine Reveal Inspirations Behind New Album Posted: 10 Jun 2011 11:56 PM PDT Florence Welch talks fame and ghostly visits before her Bonnaroo set.
MANCHESTER, Tennessee — When Florence Welch began writing the songs that would become her breakout Lungs album, she was just 18 years old and had no idea of what lay ahead of her. Now, as she begins putting the finishing touches on the follow up to that album — working in the iconic Abbey Road studios — she finds herself a few years older, but oddly enough, in much the same position. "It's nearly finished, but, of course, that's the hardest part for me, because once it's finished, you have to share it with others," she told MTV News on Thursday before her sundown set at Bonnaroo. "So, I've found myself obsessing over the way I've sung one little word, and wanting to go back and do it over again. I'm going to try and hold onto it as long as possible." While Welch admits the album is in its final stages, she still has a difficult time describing exactly what it sounds like. But from what she does say, it seems like the still-untitled effort won't sound like Lungs. "I wrote so much of my first album at different times and places — some songs when I was 18, some when I was 21 — so there are so many pieces and styles on it," she said. "And that's one of the things I love about it, but for my new record, I wanted to do things differently. It's why I worked with one producer in one studio. I want to tie all those things together ... in one piece, if possible." The new album also reflects everything that's happened to her on her rather rapid ascent to fame. But she's also taking inspiration from far different, far more ethereal places, too. "There's a song on it that's inspired by a visit [from] my dead grandmother — like, I had really, really vivid dream about her and, um, she was giving me advice in this dream," she said. "And it was really emotional, and I woke up crying. And there's one song that's inspired by that experience." Stick with MTV News for show reports and interviews from Bonnaroo 2011 all weekend long. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Lil Wayne Wows Bonnaroo With Late-Night Set Posted: 10 Jun 2011 10:47 PM PDT Weezy's Friday-night headlining set was fierce, fiery and even saw the end of a long-running feud.
MANCHESTER, Tennessee — Over its 10-year history, the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival has played host to all sorts of acts, but few of them — if any — ever took the stage to a prerecorded message from the New York State Department of Corrections (not even Phish). Lil Wayne did just that on Friday night (or, more correctly, early Saturday morning), bounding onstage while the last strains of a DOC phone message — recorded after he was released from prison last November — faded from the rather formidable stacks of speakers that flanked him. And it was just one of the history-making moments during his headlining set. Bonnaroo has had hip-hop acts headline previously (Kanye West took a rather disastrous turn in 2008, and Jay-Z mainstaged without much incident last year), but they weren't Wayne. He's not a household name on par with 'Ye or Jigga, and there existed the very real question of whether his set would translate to the Bonnaroo crowd. But when Wayne wrapped his set just before 3 a.m., that question had been answered. Not only did he go over like gangbusters, but he did it in gritty, sweat-drenched glory. He worked it hard, hanging from his microphone stand, descending into the crowd below and rolling around on the stage floor. He tore off his yellow tank-top mid-set and stalked the stage in only a low-slung pair of shorts, aqua-colored socks and checkered Vans. And he spit verses at a staggering rate. You could call it a star-making turn, but Wayne's already a star ... though, perhaps, on this night, he truly became one in the eyes of the Bonnaroo elite. Song-wise, his performance didn't stray too far from the set he's been working on his I Am Still Music tour — he opened with "I'm Goin' In" and segued into "Bill Gates," thundered through "A Milli," deftly moved through "Swag Surfin' " and "Hustle Hard," worked in swatches of "Green and Yellow," slowed things down for the ladies on "I'm Single" — and he brought out members of his Young Money family (Mack Maine, Lil Twist, Shannell, Jae Millz) to give them some shine too. And in that regard, his Bonnaroo set was pretty historic too. He was one of the first headliners to put on a genuine revue, a musical, multiple-act bill that just so happened to double as his set. As can be expected, his performance tended to lose some steam when Weezy was sharing the stage with his associates (or when he'd disappear and let them perform on their own), but he more than made up for it in the sheer tenacity of songs like "Welcome to My Hood" or "Drop the World" (which didn't suffer from the lack of Eminem). Backed by a lock-step live band, songs like "Forever" and Lollipop" pulsed and surged with icy precision. Songs from his upcoming Tha Carter IV album, "How to Love" and "6 Foot 7 Foot," expanded and contracted with elasticity, particularly the latter, which brought his set to a close — eternally buoyed by his rasping voice and staccato cadence. Perhaps to mark the momentous nature of his headlining performance (which, if it wasn't his biggest show to date, has got to be in the top three), or, maybe just to make actual history, Wayne even brought out his former in-house producer — and, by all accounts, former friend — Mannie Fresh, who parted ways with Cash Money in 2005 under less that harmonious circumstances. The two embraced onstage, while those in the audience who were wise to the backstory cheered wildly, and though the moment was brief, it served notice that whatever disagreements the two may have had, they were all but forgotten by now. After all, no one — not even Lil Wayne — would let a petty feud stand in the way of history. Stick with MTV News for show reports and interviews from Bonnaroo 2011 all weekend long. Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
| Bonnaroo Crowds Brave 'Epically Hot' Temperatures Posted: 11 Jun 2011 01:42 AM PDT Fans tell MTV News they're drinking water, slathering on sunscreen and frequenting the air-conditioned comedy tent.
MANCHESTER, Tennessee - Temperatures nearly touched triple digits at Bonnaroo on Friday (June 10), scorching the grounds of the 700-acre farm the fest calls home and forcing the 80,000 in attendance to get creative when it came to beating the heat. Concertgoers hung portable fans around their necks, clutched squirt-guns and paper fans, hid beneath umbrellas and guzzled water from tubes in their CamelBaks. And when all else failed, they stripped down and showered in Bonnaroo's famed Centeroo fountain. Anything to keep cool. "Pretty much we've been going back and forth to the fountain all day, trying to cool off that way," concertgoer Ryan Smith told MTV News. "Everyone's pretty chill and really nice about sharing space in there." By midday, the water flowing from the fountain had started to turn brown (an annual occurrence at the fest, regardless of the temperature), but that didn't stop fans from frolicking in it. And as the crowd in and around the fountain continued to swell, some were forced to abandon hope of a quick bath in favor of other cooling methods. "It's like a-hundred-and-something degrees at Bonnaroo right now. It's epically hot," said Stephanie Hammel, who came down from Long Island for Bonnaroo 2011. "We're staying cool by drinking lots and lots of water. Using a lot of sunscreen. Putting ice cubes down our shirts." "We keep a couple bottles of misters on us, so that helps. But the secret is the comedy tent," Aaron Devens revealed. "It's air-conditioned, so you can go in there and just stay there. I think I saw, like, a dozen comedians already." Then again, brutal temperatures are nothing new at Bonnaroo, and with a Friday night schedule that included high-profile sets by Arcade Fire and Lil Wayne (to name just a few), most had no other choice but to take off their shirts, slather on the sunscreen and just deal with the sweltering heat. "I mean, it's really hot. It's hot as -- excuse my French -- balls. There's not a lot of shade," Anna Vega laughed. "But, I mean, that's how it is. Someone's going to have to drag me to go see Lil Wayne tonight." What are your keeping-cool tips at summer festivals? Let us know in the comments below! Related Videos Related Photos Related Artists |
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