Goner Records have announced the final line up for the four day extravaganza known as Gonerfest. Now in its 14th year, Gonerfest has serious momentum and pulls in bands and concertgoers from all over the world. And while many associate it with purely punk sounds, Goner proves once again they’re not just one trick ponies. Indeed, the Goner folks are not ponies at all, but rather untamed, genre-burning dragons of the mind.
Take for example the headliner, Derv Gordon, who, with the Equals, belted out such hits as “Baby Come Back,” “Police On My Back,” “Back Streets,” and many other great songs that don’t include the word “back.” Springing out of the 60s London club scene, the bi-racial Equals were a rare hybrid of bubblegum, soul, and beat boom music – genre-burners in their own right. Writers often remind us that their personnel included the great Eddy Grant, who played guitar and wrote many of their songs, but, though their heyday was over when Grant left the group in 1971, they soldiered on without him into the 80s. At the core of the group was singer Derv Gordon and his brother Lincoln on bass.
Gonerfest 14 lineup announced!
Of course, there will be plenty of bands bringing the noise, such as Orlando’s Golden Pelicans, or Sydney, Australia’s Feedtime. But other textures will abound, including the retro synth moods of BÊNNÍ and the Krautrock of Mississippi’s Hartle Road. And while the festival will have its usual globe-spanning curation of bands, from Japan to New Zealand to the UK, Memphis groups will be there in full force. Ex-Memphian extraordinaire Greg Cartwright will DJ and play a solo show, and Jack Oblivian, the Nots, Sweet Knives, and Hash Redactor, among others, will be hometown favorites. Finally, we’ve just learned that film director and Schlitz-fueled street aesthete Dan Rose from New Orleans, writer and director of Wayne County Ramblin’, will emcee the Saturday show.
Check out the full schedule here; follow the links to view profiles of the bands and buy tickets.
