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Photo: Kravitz/FilmMagic

After a few rounds of a Wheel of Fortune-style guess-the-lineup game, Perry Farrell and the organizers of Lollapalooza have revealed the full list of artists scheduled to appear at the 2010 festival, which will take place August 6-8th at Chicago’s Grant Park. This year boasts the Illinois fest’s most eclectic and bold-faced-named slate of headliners yet: the reunited Soundgarden, Lady Gaga, Green Day, the Strokes, Arcade Fire and Phoenix. MGMT, Erykah Badu, Spoon and the Black Keys are also among the 130 bands on the bill.

The biggest catch — and in Farrell’s opinion, the toughest catch — was Lady Gaga, who will present her Monster Ball in front of its biggest audience yet. “Lady Gaga represents to me the music industry today. She’s a good representation of where it’s at and where everybody’s trying to get to. If you look at the Grammys, it looked like everybody was trying to catch up to Lady Gaga,” Farrell tells RS. “We just see the vision of Lady Gaga in Chicago in Grant Park surrounded by all those beautiful buildings — we all just thought that it would be an epic performance.”

Check out shots of Lady Gaga’s ambitious Monster Ball.

The headlining slot marks the second time Gaga will perform at Lollapalooza; Before she became Lady Gaga, she performed on the much-smaller BMI stage at the 2007 fest, and was eager to return on the big stage. “She had a real interest in doing it as well because she felt like we had given her a break to go into the world of legitimate music, you know not just pop,” Farrell said.

Go backstage at Lolla ‘09 in photos.

Lollapalooza’s other huge coup was snagging Seattle grunge legends Soundgarden to headline, marking the first gig of any kind Chris Cornell and the Superunknown gang have performed since their 1997 breakup. “It was a very tough catch for us,” Farrell says of adding Soundgarden, who announced their reunion on New Year’s Day but have gone silent since. “They were ready then they weren’t ready, then they didn’t know what they were going to do and then they were going to go out with another group to tour. So we were really kind of on edge to secure them and it came down to the wire.” Soundgarden had previously performed on two Lollapalooza circuits when the festival was a roving tour, so Farrell was set on booking them again: “We’re happy that it all worked out and we have the exclusive first comeback show for them.”

Beyond the Upside: Soundgarden’s career in photos.

With so many festivals to compete against — each with their own exclusivity clauses — and so many artists still in the studio working feverishly to complete their new albums, Farrell admits that compiling this year’s lineup was more “nerve-wracking” that previous years. “For Arcade Fire, we were going to miss the window and we just love them so much we were like, ‘OK, we’ll give you another 30 days, we’ll keep the slot open,’ and the patience worked out,” Farrell says. “They all have new material and I don’t think there’s a better place to present it than Lollapalooza.”

Perry’s, the DJ and electro stage, will return with 2ManyDJs, Empire of the Sun, and a set by Farrell himself. As for whether he’ll will take the Lollapalooza stage with Jane’s Addiction, who Rolling Stone reported officially added bassist Duff McKagan to their roster last week, Farrell isn’t promising the band will appear at Chicago’s Grant Park. However, don’t be surprised if they do show up at an afterparty or two in the days following the fest, much like Them Crooked Vultures did last year. “It’ll be similar to what they did but maybe not in a club. Maybe somewhere really special,” Farrell hints.

Relive Lollapalooza 2009 in our best live shots.

Full Lollapalooza 2010 Lineup:
Soundgarden
Green Day
Lady Gaga
Arcade Fire
The Strokes
Phoenix
Social Distortion
MGMT
Jimmy Cliff
Hot Chip
The Black Keys
The National
Spoon
Devo
Cypress Hill
Cut Copy
The New Pornographers
Erykah Badu
Slightly Stoopid
Grizzly Bear
Gogol Bordello
Chromeo
Wolfmother
Yeasayer
X Japan
MUTEMATH
Metric
Dirty Projectors
AFI
Mavis Staples
Matt & Kim
The xx
Drive-By Truckers
Blues Traveler
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
The Temper Trap
Jamie Lidell
Frightened Rabbit
Fuck Buttons
Deer Tick
Blitzen Trapper
Stars
Raphael Saadiq
The Cribs
Minus the Bear
Switchfoot
The Walkmen
Mumford & Sons
Wild Beasts
Rogue Wave
Los Amigos Invisibles
The Big Pink
The Dodos
Hockey
Cymbals Eat Guitars
B.o.B
Dawes
Warpaint
The Antlers
The Soft Pack
Rebelution
Balkan Beat Box
Wavves
American Bang
The Ike Reilly Assassination
Company of Thieves
Nneka
Harlem
The Constellations
Miniature Tigers
Mimicking Birds
The Kissaway Trail
HEALTH
Javelin
The Morning Benders
Foxy Shazam
Violent Soho
Royal Bangs
NEON TREES
Freelance Whales
Semi Precious Weapons
Dan Black
The Band of Heathens
Dragonette
My Dear Disco
Shawn Fisher
Neon Hitch
Skybox
The Ettes
Jukebox the Ghost
These United States
MyNameIsJohnMichael

Lollapalooza 2010 Perry’s Lineup:
2ManyDJs
Empire of the Sun
Digitalism
Perry Farrell
Tiga
Felix da Housecat
Rusko
Erol Alkan
Kaskade
Flosstradamus
Wolfgang Gartner
Joachim Garraud
Mexican Institute of Sound
Caspa
Peanut Butter Wolf
Dirty South
NERVO
Cut Copy (DJ Set)
Beats Antique
Steve Porter
Didi Gutman of Brazilian Girls
Ancient Astronauts
Ana Sia
Team Bayside High
Dani Deahl
FreeSol
DJ Mel
BBU
Vonnegutt
Only Children
Lance Herbstrong

Related Stories:

• Lollapalooza Lineup Puzzle Reveals Green Day, Arcade Fire
• Decoding Lollapalooza’s “Wheel of Fortune” Lineup Puzzle: Strokes, Soundgarden, Phoenix, More
• Jane’s Addiction In the Studio With Duff McKagan on Bass

Photo: Forrest/WireImage

When you think of classic college towns, Knoxville, Tennessee doesn’t exactly spring to mind. Unlike Athens, Georgia, or Chapel Hill, North Carolina, whose respective universities spill into the downtown streets creating a vibrant, eclectic social hub, the University of Tennessee buttresses “The Strip,” a mostly soul-crushing stretch of countless fast foot chains and down n’ dirty student bars. For various reasons, the city’s nearby downtown area has struggled through the years — part of it is geography, it’s separated from the university by a man-made park and a busy six-lane highway ­— but after some wobbly periods it’s begun to find its footing due to a dedicated group of local activists and tent-pole events such as the Big Ears Festival, which held its second installment this past weekend.

Simply put, while Knoxville may not have the name cachet, Big Ears is arguably the classiest, most diverse festival in the country, selling more than 13,000 tickets for the 30-plus events. The brainchild of local promoter Ashley Capps (also one of the founders of Bonnaroo), BE’s closest model is All Tomorrow’s Parties in England, but with an even wider range of musical offerings. Of-the-moment bands like the xx, Vampire Weekend and the National — whose guitarist Bryce Dessner served as Capps’ co-curator — joined renowned minimalist composer Terry Riley, ambient noise freaks like Ben Frost, Tim Hecker and William Basinski, black metalists Liturgy, electronic folk artists the Books and even Andrew W.K., who performed with his chamber pop collaborators the Calder Quarter as well as giving a fiery motivational “speech” at high noon on Saturday at the Knoxville Museum of Art.

But the bar was immediately set high on Friday night with a searing set from legendary Dutch punks the Ex. Going on 30-plus years, despite a shifting lineup of members, their agit-anarcho rattlings sounded just as vital as they did in 1979. Later that night, the xx continued to prove that they were capable of living up to the fawning foisted upon their 2009 self-titled debut. Early gigs were tentative, but the English trio has found a comfort zone using sneaky production tricks and lighting to fill out their dour Timbaland-meets-Joy Division groove. The response at the 750-seat Bijou Theater was shockingly intense, even driving one couple in a balcony box into the throes of ecstasy during the seductive “Shelter” before a security guard stepped in and told them to get a room.

Hotly tipped openers jj didn’t fare as well. The Swedish duo’s three records are filled with beautifully crafted, druggy pop songs but there was no attempt to duplicate the sound live. Singer Elin Kastender sang to backing tracks from a laptop while partner Joakim Benon wandered onstage after 20 minutes holding a guitar (which he never actually played), and made googly eyes at Elin. Onstage, they were merely having a laugh, but many didn’t see the humor.

Saturday dawned warm and sunny, but the action was in the dark and inside. After a festival highlight set at the Bijou by the 802 Tour — featuring composer Nico Muhly, folk artist Sam Amidon, electronic musician Doveman aka Thomas Bartlettt and violinist Nadia Sirota — the Dirty Projectors ambled onstage down the street at the ornate Tennessee Theater (seriously, it’s like watching a show inside a Faberge egg) for a set of knotty, pulsing selections culled mainly from last year’s Bitte Orca. The crowd was already lining up for that night’s Vampire Weekend show at the same venue. Much of Ezra Koenig and Co.’s material seemed more muscular — especially tracks like “Holiday” and the punky highlight “Cousins” — and their 90-minute set wrapped to Jonas Brothers-worthy screams from the mostly female crowd.

SNL’s Fred Armisen made a special appearance as his drummer extraordinaire character Jens Hannemann before Joanna Newsom’s set, and Saturday ended with a late-night tribal dance party put on by Gang Gang Dance. Sunday, St. Vincent a.k.a. Annie Clark destroyed the Bijou with her ferocious guitar work, mad noise scientists the Konk Pack pinged and ponged down at the Annex and Terry Riley — the festival’s anointed artist-in-residence — played a set of comfortable jazz, each setting the stage for the finale of My Brightest Diamond and the National. MBD’s leader and multi-instrumentalist Shara Worden is a dynamo, whether it was playing a slow-burning blues number or the set-closing cover of “Tainted Love” (not to mention, all this while being five months pregnant).

Worden’s set was so strong, she nearly upstaged the National, but after a shaky start, the Brooklyn band locked in. Their upcoming fifth album High Violet (due out May 11th) is one of the year’s most anticipated releases and if the live versions of tracks like the anthemic “Bloodbuzz Ohio” and “England” are any indication, it should be a monster. The band is a scruffier Kings of Leon (but with more intricate songs and deeper lyrics), combining the grandeur of U2 and Bruce Springsteen with folk elements and a distinct indie-rock thrash. Charismatic lead singer Matt Berninger rumbled his vocals in an Ian Curtis-like baritone while spastically stalking the stage like a jittery Chris Martin (even bolting into the crowd during the ripping “Mr. November” from their 2005 breakout Alligator).

For the encore’s first song, High Violet’s closer “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” the band were joined by many Big Ears performers — Muhly, Clark, Doveman and Worden, among them — and after the quiet, dreamy number Berninger announced, “we’re always sorry to see them go.” For Big Ears festival attendees, the feeling was mutual albeit on a much bigger scale.

Photo: Quinton/WireImage
Guns n’ Roses, Arcade Fire and Blink-182 have been recruited to headline this year’s Reading and Leeds Festivals, but the big news for the August 27-29th U.K. events is the reunion of the Libertines, who will perform together for the first time since their breakup six years ago. Weezer, Paramore, Modest Mouse, Queens of the Stone Age, LCD Soundsystem and Phoenix will also rock both Reading and Leeds in 2010. Tickets are available now at the Reading and Leeds sites.

The Libertines only released two albums, 2002’s Up the Bracket and 2004’s The Libertines, but the group quickly ascended to become one of the biggest bands in Britain thanks to their Clash-style rock and the notoriety of their guitarist Pete Doherty. A rift between Doherty and co-frontman Carl Barat led to the band dissolving in 2004. Doherty — when not getting in trouble with drugs or the law (he was just arrested again last week) — went on to perform with Babyshambles and embark on his own solo career, while Barat formed Dirty Pretty Things. Still, a Libertines reunion always seemed inevitable (if the price was right), as just last May three of the group’s four members — Doherty, Barat and drummer Gary Powell — performed six Libertines songs onstage following a Babyshambles show. Up the Bracket recently appeared on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Best Albums of the 2000s.

Guns n’ Roses, who will hit up multiple European festivals this summer, is set to headline the Friday, August 27th performances at Reading and close out Leeds on Sunday, August 29th. Arcade Fire, who have the Libertines on their bill at both shows, will headline the opening day of the Leeds Festival and play Reading’s second night. Blink-182 will play second night of Leeds and the final night of Reading. The rest of the lineup the days Blink-182 perform seems more suited to a Bamboozle here in the States: Weezer, Paramore, Cypress Hill, Limp Bizkit and All Time Low.

More acts and special guests will be announced soon. For more fest info, check out the Reading and Leeds site.

Related Stories:

• Pete Doherty Apologizes After Singing Nazi Anthem in Germany
• Barat Finds Life After Libertines
• Pete Doherty Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges, Being Tardy

Photo: Brecheisen/WireImage

For over 50 years, the Newport Folk Festival has convinced the biggest names in music to pack up their acoustic guitars and make the journey to Rhode Island, and this year will be no different. Organizer George Wein’s 51st annual fest will feature My Morning Jacket’s Yim Yames, Levon Helm’s Ramble on the Road, Andrew Bird, the Avett Brothers, John Prine, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and many more. This year’s Newport Folk will take place the weekend of July 30th to August 1st. Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 26th on the fest’s official site.

Other artists on the bill include past Rolling Stone Breaking acts and Artists to Watch like Nneka, the Low Anthem, Dawes, Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros plus old faves like Richie Havens and Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers and Blitzen Trapper. Check out the entire lineup below.

As Rolling Stone reported last year, the 50th anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival brought an all-star lineup, as Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, the Decemberists, Fleet Foxes, Neko Case, Arlo Guthrie and more.

George Wein’s 51st Newport Folk Festival
July 30th
Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers
Tim O’Brien
Sarah Jarosz