Southbound for spring break? Check out Okeechobee

By Kristi Kates | Jan. 7, 2017

Michiganian music fans who are Florida-bound this spring break will be happy to find out that the Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival in Okeechobee is returning for another year, with a super-hot roster on the way for the weekend of March 2-5. Returning to the fest is the PoWow!, which brings musicians of different genres together into a superband to play covers of crowd favorites. Last year’s PoWow! included a performance from Miguel, John Oates (Hall and Oates), Mumford and Sons, Skrillex, Arcade Fire’s Win Butler and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, all on the same stage, all at once. With this year’s performance lineup including Kings of Leon, The Roots, The Lumineers, Griz, Snails and Anderson .Paak and The Free Nationals, who knows what could happen. For more information, check out okeechobeefest.com.

Rihanna is temporarily stepping away from music to act as an alien dancer in the upcoming Luc Besson (“The Fifth Element”) sci-fi epic “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,” an adaptation of a 1960s-era French comic book. The film, which stars actor Dane DeHaan as the hero Valerian, snagged plenty of buzz at the last San Diego Comic-Con and managed to acquire a remix of the Beatles song “Because,” marking the first time a noncover from the Beatles has been used in a film trailer.

Fifth Harmony, who recently performed at December’s iHeart Radio Jingle Ball to help iHeartRadio celebrate the holidays, chatted with radio host Elvis Duran after their set and revealed that the girl group is just about ready to start working on a new album, which will be their third. This is great news for fans who became a little panicked when members started pursuing solo projects, but never fear — the group plans to have the new set ready for mid-2017 and says the new tracks are going to be lit.

Lorde, who’s been in-studio quietly working on her much-anticipated sophomore album, just surfaced unannounced in New York City at Webster Hall for a celebrity talent show, where she performed a cover of Robyn’s “Hang With Me” alongside additional performances from fun.’s Jack Antonoff, Charli XCX, Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry and the band Bleachers. She joined in a finale group performance of Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way.” Lorde’s new album has no release date yet but is expected in mid-2017.

MODERN ROCK LINK OF THE WEEK

A video filmed in 2015 in Jackson, Wyo., during Detroiter Jack White’s acoustic tour has surfaced and includes both a short talk from White about writing music and a mournful, rare acoustic performance of the track “The Rose with the Broken Neck” on which he collaborated with Dangermouse. Check it out here.

MichiBUZZ

Detroit neo-soul duo The Ethnics, made up of TIMO 1 2 and dimes A/V, are prepping some shows to promote their new album, “Recently.” … Grammy award-winning jazz-pop crossover artist Norah Jones has just announced a show at the Fox Theater in Detroit, which will be happening on May 23, with tickets already on sale. … St. Andrews Hall in downtown Detroit is set to welcome a quartet of bands for a big show on Jan. 11: August Burns Red, Protest the Hero, ’68 and In Hearts Wake. … Michigan boaters who have adopted the track “Sailing” as their unofficial anthem might be interested in Christopher Cross’ upcoming show at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center in Grand Rapids on Jan. 13. … Also on Jan. 13 and also in Grand Rapids (but of a completely different genre), Indiana lo-fi indie rock band Hoops will be cranking things up at The Pyramid Scheme.

ROCK TRIP

Burn off some of those excess calories from the holidays and get your skank on at a massive ska-punk show at the Royal Oak Music Theatre in Royal Oak on Jan. 12 — you’ll get those Doc Martens warmed up with opening sets from Direct Hit!, Ballyhoo! and Anti-Flag, then it’s onward and skaward for the rest of the night with California outfit Reel Big Fish. Get tickets and all the info at royaloakmusictheatre.com.

Comments, questions, rants, raves, suggestions on this column? Send ’em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com.