Steve Wildsmith

Still hedging about whether you’ll enjoy the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival? (C’mon, those of you rolling around laughing hysterically; I’m sure there are some folks still on the fence about it.)

Well, you still have time to get your tickets at the festival’s website, but if you’re nervous about shelling out that kind of cash, here’s a way to hear some past performances — for free.

Organized by the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, HeadCount and the NRDC Action Fund, “The Best of Bonnaroo” marks the first time free music has been used to prompt Americans to contact their elected officials — and it’s to promote climate change. It’s a compilation of 17 different live performances from the festival, is available for free at www.Musicforaction.org. Before downloading the music, visitors are asked to email their Senators, the President or their local newspapers about climate change. The music is free no matter what, but the artists hope all their fans join them in taking action on this issue.

According to publicity for the project, The compilation includes live tracks from Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, My Morning Jacket, O.A.R. and Ani DiFranco, among others. In most cases these recordings have never before been released to the public, and were hand-picked by the musicians themselves. Other featured artists include: The Decemberists, Guster, Gov’t Mule, Raphael Saadiq, Bob Weir & RatDog, Phil Lesh & Friends, moe. and The Disco Biscuits, whose bass player Marc Brownstein is the co-chair of HeadCount. All of the featured tracks are original songs, with the exception of My Morning Jacket’s performance of The Velvet Underground’s “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’”.

Check out the contributors and the songs they’ve donated:

• Wilco, “Bull Black Nova“
• Pearl Jam, “Animal“
• Jack Johnson, “Inaudible Melodies“
• Dave Mathews Band, “Rapunzel“
• Death Cab for Cutie, “Cath…“
• Ani DiFranco, “Fuel“
• Phish, “Kill Devil Falls“
• Gov’t Mule, “Banks of the Deep End”
• O.A.R., “Delicate Few“
• moe., “Not Coming Down“
• Raphael Saadiq, “100 Yard Dash“
• Bob Weir & RatDog, “Throwing Stones“
• The Disco Biscuits, “And The Ladies Were the Rest of the Night“
• The Decemberists, “The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid“
• My Morning Jacket, “Oh! Sweet Nuthin’“
• Guster, “Happier“
• Phil Lesh and Friends, “Box of Rain”

Jules Winfield of “Pulp Fiction” may not eat bacon, but the rest of us sure do. And this weekend, you can join fellow bacon lovers right here in East Tennessee. Yes, friends, there is a festival taking place this weekend in East Tennessee to celebrate that wonderful meat product we all know and love. BaconFest 2010 culminates on Saturday with “BaconBits,” taking place at Ironwood Studios, 119 Jennings Ave. in Knoxville’s Downtown North neighborhood: “Join us … for a semi-competitive bacon off. Bring your favorite bacon dish and drink. ‘BaconBits’ will feature live music and prizes awarded for various bacon categories such as: best use of bacon grease, most pork/bacon used in a dish, most contemporary interpretation of a traditional recipe, most exotic and many more. There will be a suggested $5 with a dish, $7 without, for BaconBits that includes a sampling of contestants’ food, live music, and other tasty treats.” If you’re interested in competing, check out the festival’s website for details; if you just want to go gorge on pork, be at Ironwood at 7 p.m. on Saturday. And enjoy.

If you’re a music fan interested in checking out the upcoming Big Ears Festival on March 26-28 but feel a little intimidated by artists you’ve never heard of and an atmosphere of creativity that you believe will make you feel like a Neanderthal, fear not.

First of all, there’s no reason to feel that way. Of course, Big Ears is geared toward fans in the know, the folks who can discuss artist-in-residence Terry Riley’s “In C” with all of the enthusiasm of Cold War-era scholars talking about East-West relations, but it’s not just for those people. It’s for anyone who loves music in general, as Big Ears organizers told us last year, and now you can prep yourself with a little know-before-you-go action.

Next week, organizers will hold a “Big Ears Listening Party and Happy Hour” from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at The Square Room, 4 Market Square in downtown Knoxville. It’s free to get in, and there will be a door prize giveaway of a pair of all-access “Inner Ear” passes. More importantly, it’s an informal listening party to share videos and songs by Big Ears performers with area residents.

“There’s a lot going on at Big Ears, so it’s a lot to absorb,” says AC Entertainment founder and president Ashley Capps in a press release. “We want people who are curious about the festival to get together and find out more.”

At the listening party, Capps will share stories, music and videos about the performing artists and will talk about special collaborations, surprise appearances and unique performances to take place over the course of the weekend; highlighting the “firsts” that will make Big Ears 2010 an unparalleled musical experience.

Also announced yesterday — addition to the Big Ears lineup, including Sufjan Stevens, Adrian Belew and more. Get the full skinny at the festival’s website, where you can browse the schedule, read about the performers and purchase tickets.

It’s late and I’m tired, so I’m going to use this press release from Big Hassle Publicity, the company providing PR logistical support to Superfly Productions and Knoxville-based AC Entertainment, for the bulk of the info about Bonnaroo 2010.

AC used its Bonnaroo Myspace page and Twitter account to roll out the annoucement of participating artists throughout the day rather than in one massive unveiling; it left many enraptured fans glued to Twitter and a few who expressed annoyance at the slow pace and sometimes confusing process.

In the meantime … here’s the press release:

The ninth annual four-day camping and music festival will be held on June 10 – 13 on the same beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. A full list of confirmed acts follows, and more will be announced in the coming weeks. The final Bonnaroo 2010 lineup will total over 125 bands and over 20 comedians performing on 13 stages over four days.Tickets are on sale now exclusively at bonnaroo.com.

Once again, Bonnaroo has created a couple of unique ticketing options for its fans. The festival is offering a special payment plan in which tickets will be available for five (5) payments of $50.00 plus applicable fees. In addition, fans will have the option to purchase a Bonnaroo Green Ticket that will help to support the development and implementation of sustainable improvements at the festival for years to come. Festival organizers are constantly looking for ways to be aggressive with mitigating the event’s environmental impact and raising awareness about green issues.

As part of Fuse’s three-year deal with Bonnaroo, the network will be back as the exclusive television partner of the festival. Fuse will be reporting live from Bonnaroo throughout the weekend and will air a special, featuring interviews with the hottest bands and performances from this year’s star-studded lineup. www.fuse.tv

2010 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival Confirmed Artists:

Dave Matthews Band
Kings of Leon
Stevie Wonder
Jay-Z
Tenacious D
Weezer
The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs perform “Dark Side of the Moon”
The Dead Weather
Damian Marley & Nas
Phoenix
Norah Jones
Michael Franti & Spearhead
John Fogerty
Regina Spektor
Jimmy Cliff
LCD Soundsystem
The Avett Brothers
Thievery Corporation
Rise Against
Tori Amos
The National
Zac Brown Band
Les Claypool
John Prine
The Black Keys
Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers
Jeff Beck
Dropkick Murphys
She & Him
Against Me!
The Disco Biscuits
Daryl Hall & Chromeo
Jamey Johnson
Clutch
Bassnectar
Kid Cudi
Baaba Maal
Kris Kristofferson
Medeski Martin & Wood
The xx
GWAR
Dan Deacon Ensemble
Tinariwen
Wale
Deadmau5
The Melvins
Gaslight Anthem
Miike Snow
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Dr. Dog
They Might Be Giants
Punch Brothers
Isis
Blitzen Trapper
Blues Traveler
Miranda Lambert
Calexico
OK Go
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Martin Sexton
Lotus
Baroness
Dave Rawlings Machine
Mayer Hawthorne and the County
Japandroids
Jay Electronica
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
Ingrid Michaelson
The Dodos
Manchester Orchestra
The Temper Trap
Cross Canadian Ragweed
Big Sam’s Funky Nation
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Tokyo Police Club
The Entrance Band
Local Natives
Brandi Carlile
Mumford & Sons
Rebelution
Diane Birch
Monte Montgomery
Julia Nunes
The Postelles
Lucero
Here We Go Magic
Hot Rize
Neon Indian
B.O.B
Needtobreathe

More acts will be announced in the coming weeks.

It seems our report last June of the demise of Wallypalooza, that annual birthday bash/music festival by founder Wally Miles, was premature. (To be fair, it seems Wally’s decision to call it off was premature; by October, he’d decided to do one more, with two caveats:

1. It will NOT be on my birthday. My family gets me this time!
2. Less is more. Less bands but it will be better, I promise….and I will be performing, whether it be with a new band or me playing with old friends.

As of the latest update, it’s a go for May 15, but the venue has yet to be announced. (Although last year, he pledged to hold it exclusively at Big Daddy’s Scoots and Sports Bar and Grill in Maryville.) No word yet on the bands, either, but hopefully he’ll be releasing that info real soon.

In the meantime, stay tuned to the festival’s Myspace page for more info.