Beck, Animal Collective, Avett Brothers to Play 2016 McDowell Mountain Music Festival

Beck, Animal Collective, and more will play the 2016 McDowell Mountain Music Festival, organizers announced this weekend. The festival, scheduled to take play in Phoenix March 11-13, 2016, will bring musicians representing many genres. Last year's festival featured Widespread Panic, Thievery Corporation, Passion Pit, Portugal. The Man, and more. Here's...

By David Accomazzo

November 16, 2015

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Beck, Animal Collective, and more will play the 2016 McDowell Mountain Music Festival, organizers announced this weekend.
The festival, scheduled to take place in Phoenix from March 11 to 13, 2016, will bring musicians representing many genres. Last year's festival featured Widespread Panic, Thievery Corporation, Passion Pit, Portugal. The Man, and more.

Here's the lineup as announced so far:

Friday, March 11: Animal Collective, Beck, Big Wild.

Saturday, March 12: Goldfish, GRiZ, The Main Squeeze, M!nt, Porter Robinson Live, St. Lucia.

Sunday, March 13: The Avett Brothers, Bird Dog, Gary Clark Jr., Kaleo.

Local acts: Captain Squeegee, The Haymarket Squares, The Senators, Gus Campbell, CooBee Coo, Huckleberry, Fairy Bones, Ruca (set times and dates TBA).
The major difference so far is that the festival has shifted somewhat away from jam music, which has defined the festival in the past. Look no further than Widespread Panic headlining last year's festival for proof. So far, the clear "headliners" for each day are not jam-related. Animal Collective and Beck are both obviously rock bands, and the Avett Brothers are many things, but they are clearly not a jam band.

There are still jam bands on the bill — the Main Squeeze and Bird Dog and both squarely jam — but the big bucks are being directed elsewhere, it seems.

That said, there is still a forthcoming announcement about Saturday's lineup, so who knows — maybe we'll see a big jam band name. But until then, it's good news for haters of the much-detracted genre.

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