View the Top 40 here.

Listen to Coachella mixtapes here.

#31. Sufjan Stevens

Overrated singer-songwriter Sufjan (pronounced SOOF-yawn) Stevens comes in at #31 on my list of must-see Coachella 2016 acts.  The best way to describe Mr. Steven’s music is right there in his name, Yawn.  If you ever have trouble sleeping, throw on a little Soofyawn and out you go.  I will say, the 2010 album The Age Of Adz is not a sleeper, but last time I checked he ain’t doing that one in its entirety until 2020.

There’s a lot of chitter chatter out there that the sundown set on the Outdoor Stage was made for Soofyawn.  If your idea of fun is falling asleep at 7:00pm on the first night, then go for it.  Me? I can’t risk that.  My time from 7:00pm to 1:00am is way too valuable, being found curled up in a ball next to some churro stand is not my idea of fun, call me crazy.

Soofyawn has an unique collection of seven studio albums, the most recent release was 2015’s Carrie & Lowell.  The album was met with critical acclaim by those that meet albums with critical acclaim.

I do enjoy the tune “Chicago.” Recently, a demo for the track showed up on Spotify.  If listening to demos aren’t your thing, then watch the demo for “Chicago” below.  I hope I’m awake when he plays it.

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View the Top 40 here.

#32. The Kills

The Kills are an indie rock duo consisting of vocalist Alison Mosshart and guitarist Jamie Hince.  The cigarette lovers have been around since 2000, and have released four studio albums.  Their fifth album Ash & Ice is due out on June 3, it’s the follow-up to 2011’s Blood Pressures.

If I hadn’t already seen the band a few times, they probably would’ve landed higher on my list.

Here’s a few fun facts about Ms. Mosshart:  She’s a member of the band The Dead Weather and uses the stage name VV.  There’s that V again, what is it with the letter V these days?

If things work out with the set times, I look forward to checking out what The Kills are up to now.  Sirius XMU currently has the new tune “Doing It To Death” is heavy rotation, and it sounds really good.  Speaking of good, my favorite Kills tune is “The Good Ones,” I hope they play both of those tunes in The Polo Fields, if not, I’ll settle for the vids below.

This will be The Kills’ fourth Coachella appearance, the band also performed in 2005, 2009 & 2011.

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View the Top 40 here.

#33. B∅RNS

If I didn’t include B∅RNS in my 2016 Coachella Must-See Acts, Jimi Jam, the blog’s Vice President of IT Operations, would call it a blatant irresponsible omission.  Garrett Borns is the man behind the Michigan-based psychedelic pop act that goes by the moniker B∅RNS.  Mr. Borns shouldn’t be confused with the Swedish indie tennis player Bjorn Borns.

Mr. Borns released his debut studio album Dopamine back in October of last year. The debut full-length shouldn’t be confused with the DIIV track with the same name.  Sorry for all the confusion.

When B∅RNS is not making music, he pimps fares as low as $73 for indie outfit Southwest Airlines.

Speaking of Jimi Jam, sounds like he is “thinking about” attending the Coachella Music Festival this year. Thinking about it is fun!

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View the Top 40 here.

#34. Girlpool

Cleo Tucker  and Harmony Tividad are the two ladies that make-up the LA-based folk punk band Girlpool.  Folk punk? Now that’s a new one.  Who makes this shit up, Present-Tense?  Amazingly, these ladies run this operation without a drummer.  Call me crazy but don’t most folk punk bands possess a drummer?

The bands full-length debut Before The World Was Big dropped last summer.

This will be Girlpool’s cherry Coachella.  You can catch them on the Sunday lineup, please arrive early, this show has 12:30 in the Gobi Tent written all over it.

Happy St. Pats

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View the Top 40 here.

#35. De Lux

Who’s down with post-disco? Who knew I was until I took a listen to De Lux.  Sean Guerin and Isaac Franco are a DIY dance-punk post-disco duo from Los Angeles, California.

It appears they’ve been making music since 2013, but I can’t be sure.  The duo has two albums to their credit, 2014’s Voyager and 2015’s Generation.

De Lux is one of those acts I discovered when exploring the poster.  I can’t wait to see what this Do It Yourself Post-Disco Dance-Punk is all about.

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#36. Matt and Kim

Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino are the Brooklyn alt-dance duo that simply call themselves Matt and Kim.  Their act has been around since 2004.  Other than a few catchy tunes, most of their music is crap.  They’ve released five less-than-stellar studio albums, with the most recent being 2015’s New Glow.

I saw them quite a few years ago at San Diego Street Scene, and what I do remember was appeared it like an energetic fun set.  Baring any set time conflicts, I should be there.  What I fear though, is the place being overrun with kids.  Kids like these type of bands they play on alt radio.

This will be Matt and Kim’s second Coachella appearance to go along with 2010.

“Daylight” and “Lessons Learned” are decent tunes. Watch vids below.

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#37. Miami Horror

Next on my list is the Australian indietronica act Miami Horror.  They’ve been around since 2007 and originally started off as a solo project of DJ Benjamin Plant.  The live act expands to a four-piece.

They hang their hat on two studio albums, including 2010’s Illumination and 2015’s All Possible Futures.  The 2010 release includes the catchy hit single “Sometimes.”

The band’s name comes from combining two very different bold words, Miami representing the colorful side, while Horror takes on the darker side.  Miami Horror will be making their Coachella debut this year.

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#38. Bat For Lashes

Natasha Khan is the woman behind English sleepy dream pop act Bat For Lashes.  She has released three studio albums with a fourth one due on July 1.  Natasha’s other project is under the moniker Sexwitch.

If you’ve ever attended the Coachella Music Festival you’ll know what I’m about to talk about.  At some point during the three day event, it happens.  The body just shuts down for about an hour and there’s nothing you can do about it, it just shuts down. You can’t control it, first you think if I sit down for just a minute I’ll be fine, and then it hits you, one solid hour of nighty night.  The crazy thing is it could happen anywhere, any time, or any day.  It could happen in the beer garden, during a Grimes show, or even during Arcade Fire’s headlining extravaganza.  You’re stepped on, kicked, laughed at, and photographed, but there’s nothing you can do, you’re dead to the world.  Once you wake up you’re good to go with whatever’s left of the weekend.

When I think about Bat For Lashes I think about falling asleep.  I think about missing the whole damn show because the music is so boring.  This will be Bat For Lashes second appearance at the fest, she played the Mojave in 2013.

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#39. CHVRCHES

I would be remiss if I left today’s best synthpop band on the planet off my list.  Squeaking in at number 39 is the Glasgow, Scotland trio CHVRCHES.  Under normal conditions, the band would’ve landed in my Top 10.  However, DJ Deep has tickets to see them at the North Park Theatre in San Diego on April 13.

The band has released two magnificent albums since bursting on the indie scene back in 2012.  Their full-length debut The Bones Of What You Believe was named by this blog as the Album Of The Year for 2013 and the band’s sophomore effort Every Open Eye landed at #4 on my Top Albums Of 2015 list.

Why isn’t this band bigger than they are?  One theory is that people are completely turned off by the stylized “V” is their name.  Sounds ridiculous, but frontwoman Lauren Mayberry told NME last year she thinks that if the band went by Lauren or Lauren Mayberry instead of CHVRCHES, hid the fact there are two other male members in the band, they would be much more recognizable and successful.  However, the band agreed early on in their career that all photos of the band would include all three members and not just showcase Lauren separately.  Something to think about, but I kinda like the “V,” just sayin.

CHVRCHES will be making their second appearance at the Coachella Music Festival.  The trio played an energetic set on the Outdoor Stage back in 2014.

Please inform Glasgow.

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Occasionally, one must take the opportunity to utilize the #40 position on the list as an opportunity to showcase the worst band on the entire poster, instead of the 40th best must-see band.  This is one of those opportunities.

#40. The 1975

Do you enjoy being packt like sardines in a crushed tin box? Do you enjoy being surrounded by shirtless bros with teenage girls perched on their shoulders?  Do you enjoy teenage girls that shout every word to every song as they gesture the “I love you” sign to the band? and finally, Do you enjoy shirtless bros that yell woo-hoo in your ear? If any of this sounds fun, then I have the band just for you.

The band I’m talking about is The 1975, a Manchester, England quartet.  Traditionally, shitty bands like this call America home, but certainly not Manchester of all places.  They’ve been making really bad music together since 2002, but thankfully have only released two albums.  The lead singer is fellow shirtless bro Matthew Healy, I think he’s the one the girls lose their collective minds over.

How do I know anything about this?  Well, I lived through it, to tell about it.  During Coachella 2014, I got caught in the middle of that shit storm described above, because I thought arriving for Neutral Milk Hotel a few bands early to get a good spot was a bright idea.  Man was I wrong, as it turns out, The 1975 was just an appetizer for those that arrived eight hours in advance of Lana Del Rey’s set.  Folks, concert-going shouldn’t be this brutal, but I guess it sure beats the Bataclan, or does it?

If this crap is your thing, try enjoying this:

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