When that dude predicted these exact headliners on this sub a while back, I commented that it sounded pretty boring... Well now it's here, so here's my positive spin on all this.
Kendrick was boring in 12 and 13. He just was. He put out the best mixtape (later deemed an album) I ever heard, followed by easily one of my personal top 5 hip-hop albums of all time. But live... Dude was very average.
However, I saw him doing a brand new song on Colbert a couple weeks ago... His poetry has steadily improved and better than ever, exactly what I had hoped, but what caught me by surprise was his stage presence and his live band. He had an awesome ensemble. Thundercat on bass, whaaaat? And he seemed so much more natural on stage. Like he really believed that what he was saying was very important at that specific time and place, and not just going through the motions of what he thought a rap show should look like (how I felt about his previous performances).
I thought, wow he's way better on tv performances than real live shows, but then I did some looking around and a lot of people were saying he had improved this way all around. My guess is Roo is heavily banking on this performance improvement and the cultural significance of his upcoming album, and that's why they chose him over Drake like other festivals.
It could be an awkward disaster, or it could be the best hip-hop headliner the What Stage has seen. I don't know, but I'm optimistic. Another thing I'm excited about is collaborators. Kendrick is being given a lot of freedom with a headliner spot and he could potentially being on a lot of performers from the under card... And, vice versa, it gives the undercard a good reason to have a lot of cool artists who might not be there otherwise. I could see any or all members of Black Hippy and TDE, Flying Lotus, Thundercat... Y'all get the point.
On to Mumford and Sons. They made sense in 13. They were hugely successful in the mainstream, and their genre of music is something definitely fitting for Roo. Then the medical issues happened and their career took a hiatus starting with missing Roo. Apparently they're in the studio, and they want to start back right where they left off. I think it's pretty cool of Roo to give them the opportunity for this come back, and if their first performance after two years is really Roo and that's where they debut their new stuff for the first time... I think that could be a pretty cool moment.
I also just learned of The New Basement Tapes the other day... With Mumford there, rumors of MMJ, very obscure "clues" pointing towards Bob Dylan... Definitely no reason to get any hopes up yet, but that could be one hell of a fucking SuperJam... As well as being a few more awesome performers to the undercard.
Billy Joel... I'm kind of embarrassed to admit I've been willfully ignorant of the majority of his work. I love "Piano Man"... and I'm sure there are more songs by him I don't realize I know that have just leaked into my brain from years of hearing classic rock radio around my parents, but I'll have to do some research. I've seen people on here say he's a fantastic performer. Then I've seen others say seriously another old dude playing piano? I'm interested for sure though, and realize there's only so many legends out there to be booked. It's no Stones or Prince, but for me Robert Plant was already my legend of the year so I don't mind one bit.
Very stoked to find out what else is in store and how this all rounds out. I'm excited about the headliners, but, since they probably aren't the most expensive, I think this year will have a crazy stacked undercard.