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14 items by Andrew Downing

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  Drake Honors Lil Wayne, Previews Album on First Headlining Tour | ARTICLE

  "Who misses the greatest rapper of all time?" Drake asked a crowded Lantz Arena midway through his 70-minute performance at Eastern Illinois University on Tuesday. But the Canadian-born musician, getting his first solo headlining tour — a...

  April 7, 2010 9:12 AM ET
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  Is Rothbury the New Bonnaroo? Mike Gordon, More Weigh In as Fest Announces It'll Return | ARTICLE

  With its idyllic location (The Double JJ Ranch & Golf Resort, a tree-lined mecca six miles inland from Lake Michigan), environmental bent (organizers set a "near-zero waste" goal for the festival) and jam-band friendly lineup (Widespread Panic...

  July 7, 2008 1:45 PM ET
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  John Mayer Finds a Serene Groove on Rothbury's Closing Night | ARTICLE

  Perhaps the Zen spirit of Rothbury's jammy vibe engulfed John Mayer. The singer-guitarist with the biting wit was in chill-out mode for his Sunday evening set. "Waiting on the World to Change," as smooth and serene as...

  July 7, 2008 1:25 AM ET
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  Gov't Mule Offer Rothbury a Pleasant Surprise With "Hunger Strike" Cover | ARTICLE

  Gov't Mule guitarist-singer Warren Haynes, with his shoulder-length gray hair and ever-present smile, appeared to be enjoying his time at Rothbury more than anyone (including the guy who fashioned a hat from a hollowed-out watermelon and fell...

  July 7, 2008 12:25 AM ET
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  Phish Nearly Reunite at Rothbury for Beatles Cover | ARTICLE

  July 6, 2008 11:56 PM ET
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  Dave Matthews Lets His Spirit Loose for Rothbury Set | ARTICLE

  Dave Matthews' between-song banter devolved almost as quickly as the mental capacity of those campers experimenting with mind-altering substances in Rothbury's Sherwood Forest. At the onset of the nearly three-hour performance he talked about the weather in...

  July 6, 2008 2:00 AM ET
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  Michael Franti Does Politics, Impressions at Rothbury | ARTICLE

  Throughout his late-afternoon Rothbury set with Spearhead, Michael Franti displayed a knack for impressions that would put Dave Coulier to shame. During an amped-up cover of Sublime's "What I Got," the singer dropped a few bars of...

  July 6, 2008 1:30 AM ET
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  The Black Keys Hit Rothbury With Powerful Set of Grizzled Blues Rock | ARTICLE

  Akron, Ohio duo the Black Keys delivered an hour-long set of bluesy rockers that were every bit as grizzled as frontman Dan Auerbach's increasingly bushy beard. A rowdy "Set You Free" found drummer Patrick Carney pummeling his...

  July 6, 2008 12:20 AM ET
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  Secret Machines, Dresden Dolls Inject Rothbury With a Bit of Darkness | ARTICLE

  The three members of the Secret Machines, outfitted totally in black, looked as though they might wilt in the midday sun Saturday afternoon at Rothbury. But the trio's droning dirges — best experienced in dingy clubs long...

  July 5, 2008 11:45 PM ET
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  Widespread Panic Jam Into the Sunset at Rothbury | ARTICLE

  Widespread Panic's sunset performance — the first of two sets the group played Friday at Rothbury — had the feel of a spring break beach party. Dozens of yellow balls tagged with smiling faces bounced like popped...

  July 5, 2008 1:15 AM ET
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  Of Montreal Give Rothbury a Dose of Glam With Electro-Pop Dance Party | ARTICLE

  Shortly after the sun went down, Of Montreal set off an electro-pop dance party at Rothbury. With many in the crowd decked out like it was a mid-Nineties rave (glow sticks and neon necklaces abounded) Kevin Barnes...

  July 4, 2008 11:35 PM ET
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  Modest Mouse Lead "Float On" Sing-Along at Rothbury | ARTICLE

  Midway through Modest Mouse's Friday evening Rothbury set, frontman Isaac Brock recounted how he recently tried to tackle bandmate Tom Peloso because the bassist was "standing there all happy." The failed attempt at channeling Bruce Smith left...

  July 4, 2008 11:10 PM ET
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  Snoop Dogg Rolls Into Rothbury on Tricycle for Crowd-Pleasing Set | ARTICLE

  "It's 4:20. It's time to smoke," hollered Snoop Dogg just three songs into his afternoon set, pausing to take a puff from an overstuffed blunt. Never mind that it was actually 4:32. The lanky MC, who took...

  July 4, 2008 10:30 PM ET
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  Bettye LaVette and Drive-By Truckers Bring Soul, the South to Rothbury Fest | ARTICLE

  Even though she was dressed head to toe in gleaming white, soulstress Bettye LaVette wasn't afraid to get down and dirty Friday morning at Michigan's inaugural Rothbury Festival. The diminutive singer, whose voice remains as forceful as...

  July 4, 2008 10:05 PM ET