The iTunes Festival officially kicked off yesterday at 9:30 pm with a killer set by EDM artist Deadmau5 and opening acts Friend Within and Kate Simko, who are also electronica artists. With EDM blowing the minds of mainstream music lovers, it’s no surprise that the crowd went wild. The excitement will continue for the next 28 days as artist after artist takes the stage at the Roundhouse in London.
Tonight, Rilo Kiley’s former vocalist Jenny Lewis will open for Beck, who–until this year–has been mostly off the radar. We hadn’t seen an album from him since Modern Guilt debuted in 2008. His newest album, acclaimed Morning Phase, arrived in February of this year. In the album, Beck returns to his acoustic singer-songwriter roots that made his 2002 album Sea Change. He says of his newest work, “There’s this feeling of tumult and uncertainty… Getting through that long, dark night of the soul – whatever you want to call it. These songs are about coming out of that – how things do get better.”
Jenny Lewis has been putting out incredible work since her days in Rilo Kiley. Her style might be described as retro, and she can definitely roll with the likes of Elvis Costello. Her latest album Voyager, released at the end of July, was recorded with her partner, singer-songwriter Jonathan Rice. She may not reach the superstar status of Beyonce or Taylor Swift, but with her wonderful voice and her maturity both lyrically and thematically, she doesn’t need to.
More EDM tomorrow night: David Guetta will be performing, opened by electro-pop group Clean Bandit and German DJ/producer Robin Schulz. You can watch their performances streamed live from the Roundhouse either on iTunes or on Apple TV. You can also watch Friend Within, Kate Simko, and Deadmau5’s performances on iTunes for free.
