Backwoods Music Festival just unveiled its Phase 1 lineup for the April 2018 event at Mulberry Mountain, and headliners include STS9 and The Floozies, with more to be announced soon. The event takes place April 20-22 and limited pre-sale tickets are on sale now.
Scroll down for more info about STS9, a world-renowned act that Arkansas hasn’t seen since their mind-blowing set at Wakarusa years ago.
Supporting acts announced today are listed below in alphabetical order; you can watch videos and stream audios from every act in one place, click here. You can also subscribe to our Arkansounds Trail to the Woods YouTube playlist including all the Backwoods acts!
Backwoods, now introducing its third event, went on hiatus this year as it rebranded and moved from its previous Oklahoma home to Mulberry Mountain (the former home of Wakarusa and YMSB Harvest Festival, located on the Pig Trail Highway 23 north of Ozark).
Here’s the full Round 1 Lineup:
- Andy Frasco and The U.N. (Find our recent write-up on Frasco and crew here.)
- Arkansauce (Find our recent interview and story on Arkansauce here.)
- Bandikook
- Beardthug
- Calliope Musicals
- Danny Grooves
- Eazybaked
- Emancipator
- Exit 9
- Figure
- Flintwick
- Fractal Sky (Find our story about Fractal Sky here.)
- Groovement
- Lodurr
- M.O.B.
- National Park Radio
- Opal Agafia & The Sweet Nothings (Find our interview and story about Opal Agafia here)
- Papadosio (Find more info on our post about Papadosio here.)
- Rolling Foliage
- Ryan Viser
- Shallou
- Smith
- Smokestax
- Space Jesus
- Space Kadet
- Spankalicious
- Sunsquabi
- The Getbye
- The Werks
- Yheti
- Yokai
- Zoogma (Find our previous post about Zoogma here.)
About Backwoods headliner STS9
The headliner announcement of STS9 is quite exciting, as the instrumental rock and electronic fusion group has headlined such major fests as Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Electric Forest, and Suwanee Hulaween, playing sold-out concert venues around the country including Red Rocks, playing as both an acoustic set-up in opera houses and as an electronic act in amphitheaters, performing with the likes of Jay-Z in Denver, running an independent record label, and using their voice as a platform for change, along with raising significant amounts of money towards activism efforts.
Here’s a video from an EPIC show in Arkansas, at Wakarusa in 2009:
STS9 has released 11 albums, two remixed albums, and multiple live DVDs on their own label, 1320 Records. STS9 has toured nationally and internationally, ranking among Pollstar Magazine’s list of top-grossing touring acts, with a heavy presence in the music festival circuit.
STS9 is also known for pushing musical boundaries, mixing different music influences and sounds by using both acoustic and electronic means.
STS9 developed their innovative style by standing on the shoulders of giants, but they’ve influenced an entire scene in their own right too. Superstars like Bassnectar, Pretty Lights and Big Gigantic found some of their first audiences opening for STS9, where they encountered a community that was eager to embrace a new kind of dance music. In this way the band acted as a common ancestor for much of today’s EDM culture, providing a solid foundation that allowed others to reach new heights. By continuously pushing the envelope in ways that are both accessible and unfamiliar, the five piece continues to stay ahead of the curve. Modern audiences are clamoring for a new kind of electronica that combines the energy of 21st century dance music with the dynamics of a band. For many music fans, this is a brand new sound. For STS9, it’s a movement they’ve been pioneering for two decades.
Recent years have been filled with countless milestones as the band evolves both in and out of the studio. STS9 has criss-crossed the country on an annual basis, bringing their expansive sound, one-of-a-kind light show and message of unity to larger and larger audiences. Along the way, they’ve been joined by a wide range of supporting acts, from electronic music giants like Diplo and Tycho to hip-hop icons like Snoop Dogg, Nas and Big Boi (the tables were turned when STS9 opened for Jay-Z at Denver’s Pepsi Center).
Their tours have featured near annual stops at beloved festivals like Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, Lollapalooza and Outside Lands, as well as 20 performances at Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre and 30 sold out shows at Atlanta’s majestic Tabernacle. Altogether STS9 has sold over 1 million tickets, landing them a consistent spot on Pollstar’s list of the nation’s top 40 current touring acts. Their biggest three releases – 2008’s Peaceblaster, 2009’s Ad Explorata and 2011’s When The Dust Settles – all reached No. 1 on the iTunes electronic charts. In 2015, they helped the Grateful Dead prepare for the “Drums/Space” segments of their 50th anniversary “Fare Thee Well” concerts.
STS9’s efforts don’t stop there. The band teamed up with Oscar-winning producers Anonymous Content for a documentary titled ReGeneration, which showcased Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Talib Kweli and others’ ideas for creating positive change in the world. The work they put into scoring the project, as well as a 2008 film called All God’s Children Can Dance, was largely responsible for the birth of their lauded “Axe The Cables” show. Since its debut in 2009, this acoustic take on STS9’s most cherished tunes has toured theaters and opera houses throughout the United States, and the band continues to surprise select venues with the material to this day.
For more on other Backwoods 2018 acts, you can watch videos and stream audios from every act in one place here. You can also subscribe to our Arkansounds Trail to the Woods YouTube playlist including all the Backwoods acts we can find on YouTube!