How will Wakarusa celebrate its 10th birthday? By inviting all of its friends, of course, including those who make music and those who just appreciate it. The 10th Wakarusa is the fifth in Arkansas; the festival spent the first half of its life in a park outside Lawrence, Kan.
Since making the move here, festival director Brett Mosiman says Wakarusa has re-established itself as a premier music festival.
The first event in Arkansas attracted about 6,000 guests, Mosiman says, a number similar to what it attracted its first year in Kansas. It became clear to Mosiman that the festival would grow again at its new home on Mulberry Mountain, located on private property on Arkansas 23.
“I can tell you that Wakarusa loves Arkansas. Most of our fans weren’t very familiar it. The first year in Arkansas was about as big as the first year in Kansas. You could see on Facebook that they got it instantly,” he says.
“Got it,” in this case, means fans learned about the area’s beauty and the potential as a festival site. Attendance has increased steadily over the years, and Mosiman says this year’s early ticket sales have exceeded previous totals. He credits a lineup that includes many crowd favorites, among them several he invited specifically for the 10th edition of the festival.
“Tickets sales are setting alltime records. By all measures, it’s our best lineup by far, ever.
Fans responded,” Mosiman says.
Mosiman expects the festival to sell out.
In light of the 10th birthday celebration, we compiled a few Top 10 lists related to the festival.
Also, check in on our live music blog, www.nwatunedin.
com, and our Twitter feed, @ NWAWhatsup, for an up-to-theminute analysis of the festival.
We’ll arrive Wednesday night, and stay for much of the festival, so expect frequent updates.
BRETT MOSIMAN’S TOP 10 BANDS TO WATCH
(With a brief description of each provided by Kevin Kinder)
(He couldn’t stop at 10, sohere’s 11 artists to watch)
Ozomatli - A Grammywinning Latin rock band from Los Angeles
Calexico - A Tex-Mex infused blend of country and folk
Snoop Lion - Recently renamed after finding Rastafarianism, the former Snoop Dogg also brings a new reggae-based album with him
Zeds Dead - The Canadian electronica duo has been touring the country to ever-larger crowds
Amon Tobin - Tobin is aBrazilian electronica producer whose music has found its way to several popular movies.
Mosiman expects more lights and other production elements from Tobin than any other artist
ZZ Ward - An up-andcoming pop-soul singer, Ward was named one of Fuse TV’s 30 Must See Acts at South by Southwest earlier this year
Grouplove - These upbeat indie rockers from California have recorded the radio hits “Tongue Tied” and “Colours”
Gogol Bordello -Sounding far more like they are from Eastern Europe than Manhattan, which is their actual home, Gogol Bordello is influenced by gypsy jazz and funk
Widespread Panic - The jam scene stalwarts will fill every minute of its three-hourlong set with sweeping jams and a light show to match
Los Amigos Invisibles - This Venezuelan band blends jazz, disco and funk sounds
Icona Pop - A two-piece Swedish DJ duo, Icona Pop’s single “I Love It” has been
Whats Up, Pages 16 on 05/24/2013