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Venue: Krannert Center for the Performing Arts

Address: 500 S. Goodwin Ave. , Urbana

Cost: Flex: 22 / SC 17 / Stu 14 / UI & Yth 13 Single: 24 / SC 19 / Stu 16 / UI & Yth 15

Entry Age: all

posted 1:47 pm Jul 15
modified 1:47 pm Jul 15

Founded in 2005 by local booking company the Nicodemus Agency and gaining serious credibility each year, the Pygmalion Music Festival brings the best of the indie rock scene, both nationally and locally, to the people of Champaign-Urbana. The festival has offered up such alternative faves as Of Montreal, Danielson, Man Man, Yeasayer, and others to the crowds that feast on dance-punk, prog rock, indie-pop, and more. Last year’s perfectionistic whistle-rock by Chicago son Andrew Bird left one critic exclaiming, “I have never had my mind blown the way it was last Friday” (Online Gargoyle). Join us this year to uncover an indie favorite that’s new to Pygmalion: Yo La Tengo. As the name suggests, they “have it all”—epic guitar runs mingled with free jazz, uncanny improvisations, and fragile ballads. Among other ventures, Yo La Tengo, who began performing over 24 years ago, hosts annual Hanukkah performances at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, and its television credits, including “The Simpsons” and “Gilmore Girls,” have earned the trio a reputation for full-on mixtures of genre-defying artistic expression. Brace yourself for the encore—an all-out Afterglow performance in the lobby, with the jungle folk of Grampall Jookabox, the whimsical guitar riffs fired by PWRFL Power, and Hawaiian-infused indie electronica Brooklyn upstarts High Places. Come taste the festival—which, for the first time, will also take place at five venues all within walking distance of Krannert Center. Head out to Pygmalion—you just might discover your new favorite band!