Since last May when Long Beach festival Music Tastes Good announced its lineup, there was plenty of speculation about who would fill the void left by the rumored co-headliner Vince Staples. Little did we know the fest would make up for it by giving us an R&B android made of steel. Today MTG announced Janelle Monáe will be the main support on the second day of the fest headlined by James Blake at Marina Green Park on Sunday, Sep. 30.
The stars seemed to align for the 32 year-old singer/rapper to join an eclectic bill including Saturday’s post punk headliners New Order, NYC rapper Joey Bada$$, The Black Angels, Broken Social Scene, Santigold and more. Monáe is currently touring on her critically acclaimed third album Dirty Computer a simultaneously sensual and high-voltage collection of party jams, gender politics and funky future music. No doubt her colorful costumes, theatrics and next level showmanship will be the shot in the arm festival goers will need by the end of the two day event rolling into the moody ballads of Blake.
Other acts on the bill for Sunday include up-and-coming R&B diva Lizzo as well as Parquet Courts, The Church, SunKil Moon Bill Callahan, as well as locals like the reunited indie band The Fling and Asi Fui (other LB acts The Black Noise, Manuel the Band and Forest of Tongue are also performing early in the day on Saturday). Of course the other component of MTG is the stacked lineup of chefs from port cities along the west coast who will be cooking up dishes all day long in the festival’s Taste Tent.
This is the third year for the festival founded by the late Long Beach musician Josh Fischel of Bargain Music who passed away after the inaugural festival in 2016. This year MTG is also honoring the late Ikey Owens with the group Radio Listener, a tribute set to the Mars Volta/Jack White keyboardist. For tickets and full info on the lineup please visit MTG’s website.
