Now in its third year, Marin County’s largest-drawing outdoor music festival returns with a lineup sure to please even the most avid music aficionado.
Curated by the fine folks who hold down the annual Noise Pop festival, Mill Valley Music Fest’s musical docket this year is quite impressive, with performances by Fleet Foxes, Greensky Bluegrass, Thee Sacred Souls, Margo Price, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Fruit Bats, Rebirth Brass Band, Danielle Ponder, Eric Lindell and Elliott Peck.
Said Michelle Swing, CEO of Noise Pop Industries, “Mill Valley Music Fest is coming back bigger and better than ever in ’24. Major kudos to the team for curating such an impressive and eclectic lineup, one that really stands out from the crowd and attracts music lovers of all kinds to Mill Valley.”
First-time concert-goers can expect myriad food options, craft beer from the immediate and outer-lying areas, a dedicated gaming area, a roller skating rink, art installations and a whole lot more in a setting like no other. Nestled in a redwood tree-surrounded plot, MVMF excels at providing fans with the consummate show experience.
Founding member Robin Pecknold has been steering the ship for indie rock greats Fleet Foxes since 2006. And although nowhere as prolific as his adoring fans would hope for—he and his collective have only released four full-length albums, three extended plays and one live record—their latest record released in late 2020, the simply and aptly dubbed Shore, has been their most enduring.
Recorded before and during the pandemic, it finally saw the light of day when the music world needed it most. In many ways, it signaled Pecknold’s need to control his surroundings when, in fact, everything around him was falling apart.
Standout tracks from their ambitious 15-track record include (but are not limited to) “Can I Believe In You?,” “Sunblind,” the short-but-sweet album opener “Wading in Waist-High Water” and “Maestranza” are filled with sweeping highs and lows. Shore treats its listener to large-scale sweeping melodies with a lovely array of instrumentation giving way to a newer, more emboldened Fleet Foxes experience.
Shore has also received numerous accolades both in the press and on countless independent radio stations all over the U.S. After ending up on myriad 2020 year-end lists, the record was featured in such disparate publications as Mojo, The New Yorker, Uncut, USA Today, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Stereogum and VICE, as well as on NPR. More importantly, the music found new fans at multiple radio formats.
For those fans expecting a repeat of their earlier output, it may be a head-scratcher. Marking their most complete collection of songs to date, it’s a heady and oftentimes depressing affair that always seems to find its own light at the end of the tunnel. Whether or not that is Pecknold’s intent, Shore is an all-inclusive affair that beckons to be enjoyed in its entirety rather than piece-by-piece, and especially so in a live setting.
And for the band’s many fans who saw them with My Morning Jacket at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley back in August 2023, their return is greatly anticipated.
Fleet Foxes play the Mill Valley Music Festival at Friends Field, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, May 11. Tickets start at $145 per day. 2-day passes are $239, and VIP options are available at millvalleymusicfest.com. All ages are welcome.
