Coachella 2014: Panamanian-American Singer Aloe Blaac Included in the Lineup
While there isn't a big Latino presence at Coachella 2014, the three-day music festival in Indio, Calif., Panamanian-American Singer Aloe Blaac will represent with his soulful voice.
The music festival, scheduled for the weekends of Apr. 11-13 and Apr. 18-20, will include "a wide range of musical talent," including headliners Outkast, Muse and Arcade Fire. The headliners will be backed up by contemporary names like Queens of the Stone Age, Skrillex and Lorde, as well as acts with longer histories, such as the Replacements, Bryan Ferry, Beck and Motorhead, NBC San Diego reports.
According to Rolling Stone,"now in its 16th year, Coachella is a major annual concert draw to the Palm Springs, California area every April. Tickets for Coachella 2014 have been on sale since May 2013 (and are now sold out) but the anticipation is clearly high: an earlier announcement caused Coachella.com to crash within minutes of their tweet."
In 2013, the soulful singer, who was born in Southern California to Panamanian parents, released a powerful acoustic version and remake of his music video, "Wake Me Up," highlighting the need for immigration reform. The video features a story of a day laborer's family struggling to reunite across borders.
The music video follows the family and its failed attempt to cross the border and their baby being confiscated by a police officer. The child grows up to be a Dream Activist (a social media website dedicated to immigration reform) who comes face to face with the officer who took her.
Real-life Dreamer and UWD (United We Dream) leader, Hareth Andrade, was featured in Blacc's music video. United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation, a powerful nonpartisan network made up of 52 affiliate organizations in 25 states. UWD organizes and advocates for the dignity and fair treatment of immigrant youth and families, regardless of immigration status.
Directed by filmmaker Alex Rivera in partnership with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, the music video is based on the true stories of families who come to the U.S. in pursuit of the American dream and are torn apart by a broken immigration policy.
Blacc also lends his vocals to the original Avicii's EDM (Electronic Dance Music) version of "Wake Me Up," which is a huge international hit. The original video features a pair of outcast sisters living in a rural town who ultimately relocate to New York City where they find like-minded companions at a concert.
Before he was making political statements with his beautiful voice, Blacc wasn't involved in the mainstream music circuit. In 1996, he released his first hip-hop mixtape and was associated with the indie hip-hop scene for many years thanks to his rap duo Emanon (alongside DJ Exile) before going solo.
In 2006, he signed to Stones Throw Records and released his genre-bending, debut solo album, "Shine Through," followed by 2010's, "Good Things," concocting a vintage yet current sound. "Good Things," which has been certified gold in France, Germany, and the U.K., included the single "I Need A Dollar," which went on to sell over two million copies worldwide. In 2012, Blacc was nominated for two BRIT Awards (Best International Male Solo Artist and Best International Breakthrough Act). Currently his song "Wake Me Up" is Number 1 on the charts in more than 63 countries.
Who else will be performing at Coachella 2014?
NBC San Diego listed the complete lineup:
Friday, Apr. 11 and Apr. 18:
Outkast, The Knife, the Replacements, Broken Bells, Zedd, Girl Talk, Ellie Goulding, Chromeo, HAIM, Neko Case, AFI, Martin Garrix, Bonobo, Bryan Ferry, the Glitch Mob, the Afghan Whigs, the Cult, Bastille, Flume, Aloe Blacc, Jagwar Ma, A$AP Ferg, Grouplove, Woodkid, Carnage, Shlohmo, Gareth Emery, Michael Brun, MS MR, Kate Nash, Hot Since 82, Damian Lazarus, GOAT, Nina Kraviz, Anthony Green, Duke Dumont, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Solomun, ZZ Ward, Anti-Flag, Caravan Palace, Flatbush Zombies, Deorro, Waxahatchee, Title Fight, Davide Squillace, DJ Falcon, Dum Dum Girls, Austra, Tom Odell, Dixon, Wye Oak, Crosses, Mako, the Preatures, the Bots, Gabba Gabba Heys
Saturday, Apr. 12 and Apr. 19:
Muse, Queens of the Stone Age, Skrillex, Pharrell Williams, Lorde, Foster the People, Pet Shop Boys, MGMT, Empire of the Sun, Fatboy Slim, Nas, Kid Cudi, the Head and the Heart, Sleigh Bells, Cage the Elephant, City and Colour, Chvrches, Dillon Francis, Capital Cities, the Naked and Famous, Temples, Mogwai, Warpaint, Solange, Washed Out, Future Islands, Ty Segal, Darkside, Banks, Tiga, Bombay Bicycle Club, Holy Ghost!, Netsky, RL Grime, Galantis, Foxygen, White Lies, Graveyard, the Internet, Laura Maula, the Dismemberment Plan, Headhunterz, Blood Orange, GTA, TJR, Cajmere, Guy Gerber, Nicole Moudaber, MAKJ, Bear Hands, the Magician, Young & Sick, Unlocking the Truth, Saints of Valory, Carbon Airways, UZ, Syd Arthur, Bicep, Drowners
Sunday, Apr. 13 and Apr. 20:
Arcade Fire, Beck, Calvin Harris, Neutral Milk Hotel, Disclosure, Lana Del Rey, Motorhead, Alesso, Duck Sauce, Little Dragon, Beady Eye, Flosstradamus, the Toy Dolls, the 1975, Adventure Club, Big Gigantic, Chance the Rapper, Laurent Garnier, Krewella, Rudimental, STRFKR, Fishbone, Trombone Shorty, AlunaGeorge, Art Department, Flight Facilities, Frank Turner, John Newman, Maceo Plex, Superchunk, Bombino, Daughter, Bad Manners, Surfer Blood, Lee Burridge, Poolside, Classixx, Showtek, James Vincent McMorrow, Bo Ningen, Aeroplane, Ratking, Jhene Aiko, J. Roddy Walston & the Business, Factory Floor, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Anna Lunoe, the Martinez Brothers, Scuba, John Beaver.