The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

SweetWater 420 Fest 2020 lineup led by Oysterhead

Others include Trey Anastasio Band, Gary Clark Jr.

- By Melissa Ruggieri mruggieri@ajc.com

There will be plenty of Trey Anastasio at the 2020 installmen­t of SweetWater 420 Fest.

The annual jam-leaning gathering – heading into its 16th year – will top next year’s event with a reunion of Oysterhead – the supergroup of Anastasio, Primus bassist Les Claypool and Police drummer Stewart Copeland – as well as the Trey Anastasio Band.

Others on the initial lineup are Gary Clark Jr., Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Lake Street Dive, The Floozies, Dr. Dog, The Marcus King Band, Larkin Poe, Delta Rae and Funk You. About 30 more artists will be announced in January.

SweetWater 420 will take place April 24-26 at its usual home of Centennial Olympic Park. The festival is being staged a week later than usual because of the production logistics that will be involved with Final Four events at the park earlier in the month.

While SweetWater 420 has always navigated a musical path that winds through jam and Americana (with some reggae and EDM on the edges) and wrangled familiar names such as Widespread Panic, Jason Isbell and Tedeschi Trucks Band, the inclusion of the reincarnat­ed Oysterhead is a marked achievemen­t.

Jennifer Bensch, president of Happy Ending Production­s, which produces the event, said they put an offer in for the band about a year ago when there were rumblings of a reunion.

“We’re always thinking of what we’re going to do that’s better than last year,” she said. “(Oysterhead) has always been kind of thrown out there and (this year) it ended up coming to fruition. We’re stoked, and we hope the audience will be.”

The trio’s first concerts in 14 years will take place two months before SweetWater 420 Fest in Colorado. But their inaugural Atlanta performanc­e will mark their first music festival appearance since 2006 at Bonnaroo.

Tickets for the 2020 SweetWater 420 Fest start at $125 (three-day general admission) and $353 (three-day VIP) and can be purchased at www.sweetwater­420fest.com/tickets/.

The festival’s associatio­n as a Peachtree Road Race qualifier continues as well with the 420 Fest 5K on April 25. A 5K/Fest combo package is also available at www.sweetwater­420fest.com/420fest-5k/.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States