Now that all of the dust has settled from Bonnaroo (we think), we had the chance to catch up with Clare and the Reasons, one of the 11 bands booked through Sonicbids at this year's festival.
For the NYC-based group it was their first trip down to wonderful Manchester, TN and when asked what made their Bonnaroo experience different from that of other festivals the band replied, "Well, it's more dusty, but less walk and vomit. It's a great fest with music lovers as the audience." We certainly agreed that Roo is a fest for music lovers, especially at the smaller stages like Cafe Where, which was where (not to be confused with Which Stage) we caught Clare and the Reasons. The smaller stages of Bonnaroo like Cafe Where or the Sonic Stage or the Great Taste Lounge are all places for sharing in music discovery with fellow music lovers.
At their Cafe Where set, Clare and the Reasons were showing off some new tracks from their latest album KR-51. During their set the band mentioned taking a new direction with this album in terms of the recording process. The band described this process as, "Brilliant, [we recorded] in a little German village surrounded by cows and sheep, they had a lot of input on the record."
Cows and sheep aside there was still the ever present influence of Berlin, and many of the city's characteristics rubbed off on the record. From Berlin the group drew, "Dark, stark, histories of bleak outcomes. Yet so much healing and hope and modern thinking now."
If you're intrigued to hear how the sounds of Berlin and farm animals translate into music (we know you are), then you have to be asking yourself, where can I catch Clare and the Reasons next? If you're in New York City, Clare and Co will be at Le Poisson Rouge on July 18th, but if not there's no need to fret. The band will be embarking on a fall tour and hopefully hitting a city near you in the coming months.
