Good Things Coming: Day for Night 2017 Lineup & Tickets, Just Released

It’s about goddamn time we got some good news, y’all. Half this city’s still ripping out its floors and walls and replacing every thing they own, schools and libraries are closed or relocated or damaged beyond repair, businesses are shut down until further notices, big, fun music festivals and conventions are rescheduling or just plain canceling, and every time it rains, we all cringe like a dog that’s been kicked. We need some goodness, something to look forward to.

Which is why I’m happy beyond words to see the just-released lineup for this year’s Day for Night. Holy shit, I haven’t seen Nine Inch Nails since, um, Lollapalooza, maybe? Back in the ’90s? And Justice and Pretty Lights? Oh, yes. Thom Yorke? Absolutely yes. St. Vincent? Utterly amazing. The Jesus Lizard and Godspeed You! Black Emperor? Wow, seriously? Shabazz Palaces? Been wanting to see them for a while. Forest Swords? Ditto. Cory Sinclair‘s new Hescher project? Double ditto. Pussy Riot? Why not? Laurie Anderson? Cool. En Vogue? Um, what?

Those are just the ones that hit me immediately upon checking out the list, mind you. I love that the DFN organizers aren’t afraid to be eclectic as hell — that’s something that’s been missing from some other festivals I’ve seen lately. ’90s R&B act En Vogue mashed up against Russian politico-punks Pussy Riot, thoughtfully atmospheric indie-rockers The Album Leaf, Australian pop chanteuse & Gotye collaborator Kimbra, French retro-electro duo Justice, and Canadian mega-producer Daniel Lanois — sure, why the heck not? In this day and age, who gives a shit about labels and genre anyway? Fully half of the people on the list are people who actively flaunt/break those boundaries, and that’s no small thing.

Here’s the full list, in the order given on the DFN site:

• Nine Inch Nails
• Thom Yorke
• Solange
• Justice
• St. Vincent
• Tyler, The Creator
• James Blake
• Pretty Lights
• Jamie XX
• Phantogram
• Pussy Riot
• The Jesus Lizard
• Laurie Anderson
• Rezz
• Nina Kraviz
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor
• Cashmere Cat
• Cardi B
• Perfume Genius
• Sky Ferreira
• GAS
• En Vogue
• Lil B
• Of Montreal
• Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois
• Princess Nokia
• Kimbra
• Mount Kimbie
• Corbin
• Shlohmo
• The Album Leaf
• G Jones
• Forest Swords
• Babyfather
• DJ Tennis
• Tim Hecker
• Shabazz Palaces
• Andy Stott
• Jessy Lanza
• Jlin
• Priests
• Bjarki
• Roni Size
• Demdike Stare
• Saro
• Rabit x House of Kenzo
• B L A C K I E
• Marcus Marr
• HoodCelebrityy
• Faten Kanaan
• True American
• Pearl Crush
• Deep Cuts
• Tyler Barber
• N N O A
• Santa Muerte
• Kona FM
• Anitra
• Narcons
• Acid Jeep
• Hescher
• Tearz
• XLX
• Miguel Flaco
• Collin Hedrick

phew. That’s quite a list, right there. Obviously, there’s also an equally-impressive list of visual artists, but I’m afraid I’m not familiar with any of ’em — that doesn’t mean much, though, since music’s more my forte. And besides, I didn’t know much about any of last year’s visual artists, and I was still absolutely bowled over by it all.

I’m also happy to see the festival’s back again at Post HTX, aka the old Barbara Jordan Post Office at 401 Franklin — I’d heard rumors that the organizers planned to have a different venue for the festival each year, and I thought that was a shame, since Post HTX was freaking perfect as a venue last year.

Some things are going to be different this time out, mind you. This year’s DFN also includes a Friday Summit, with music by some of the folks above plus Kaytranada, Earl Sweatshirt, Jenny Hval, Boots (not Boots Riley, mind you, but a producer/rapper who’s worked with Beyonce), and holyshithellyes Saul Williams, and actual talks by Laurie Anderson, Nadya Tokokonnikova (of Pussy Riot), artist/professor Lauren McCarthy, and — nope, not even kidding — whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

I’ll freely admit that my lame ass skipped last year’s Friday-night party/preview; that’s just not really my thing, y’know? But this sounds much more up my personal alley…

Tickets to DFN 2017 are on sale now, too, so jump on it while you can. The blind presale sold out in something like 48 hours, before I even had a chance to post about it; I would bet a decent amount of money (if I had any) that the general tickets sell out, too. The 2-day GA tickets start at $205 and go up from there to the 3-day VIP tickets for $760. Get on it, y’all. Trust me — it’s an experience you won’t forget.