Devendra Banhart Curates L.A. Festival

The new fest, programmed by Banhart, takes place at El Cid in Los Angeles from July 18-22. Its name? "Hypnorituals and Mesmemusical Miracles Hanging in the Sky: 5 Nights of Soleros and Bandoleros at El Cid!!!!!!!" (No wonder DevBan ran off with it.)

Scott Sterling, booker for El Cid, had this to say about the festival: "Devendra has 100% say in the programming of the series, although this came together through conversations between myself and Devendra over the last few months (basically since his move back to L.A.)...Devendra and I thought it would be great to consolidate into a set of shows some of the people and music he's gotten excited about over the last few years.

"Devendra and I met when he first came to L.A. some 6 or 7 years ago, when I would book him as often as I could justify at the Silverlake Lounge. At that time he was completely unknown. To my recollection, back then he rarely played guitar, often preferring to sing karaoke style along with a boombox playing rough backing tracks he had recently recorded. The Silverlake Lounge is where he met Flux Information Sciences during a show, who swept him away to NYC, introduced him to Young God's Michael Gira, and subsequently the fame he is currently enduring. "It was Devendra's wish to hold this festival at El Cid, I think for its casual atmosphere and Spanish decorative flair, not to mention El Cid's tall trippy twin evergreen trees on the outdoor patio..."

While Banhart's name only comes with the curator tag here, we've been told that the singer/songwriter might make an unannounced appearance or two. The as-of-yet incomplete lineup features Jana Hunter, Subtitle, Entrance, Feathers, Sir Richard Bishop of the Sun City Girls, Nobody and the Mystic Chords of Memory, Michael Hurley, and more. Here’s the schedule as of right now:

July 18:

Jana Hunter
The White White Quilt
Entrance
Phiiliip

July 19:

Ruthan Friedman
Cavernous Tullie
Stephanie Ruddie and Justin Luke
Feathers

July 20:

Nobody and the Mystic Chords of Memory
Subtitle
Mountain Party
Ryan Donnelly

July 21:

Coconut
Scarcity of Tanks
Hecuba
Viking Moses

July 22:
Michael Hurley
Sir Richard Bishop
Stuart and Caan

As previously reported, Banhart kicked off a summer-long world tour with last weekend's ATP stint. During the remainder of the trek, he's set to play a London date with Os Mutantes, a co-headling U.S. mini-tour with Magic Numbers, a Bonnaroo gig, and, of course, the Pitchfork Music Festival. Banhart will meet up with Os Mutantes once again to play Day Two (July 30) of our very own music marathon in Chicago's sunny Union Park. Life is good.

Devendates:

05-16 Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie *
05-17 Lyon, France - Le Transbordeur *
05-18 Toulouse, France - Le Ramier *
05-20 Paris, France - Le Bataclan *
05-22 London, England - Barbican #
06-10 Baltimore, MD - Sonar $
06-11 Alexandria, VA - Birchmere $
06-12 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle $
06-14 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel $
06-15 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse $
06-16 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Festival $
06-29 Berlin, Germany - TBA
06-30 Poznan, Poland - Malta Festival
07-02 Moscow, Russia - Apelsin
07-04 Athens, Greece - Gagarin 205
07-06 Tel Aviv, Israel - Barby Club
07-07 Tel Aviv, Israel - Barby Club
07-30 Chicago, IL - Union Park (Pitchfork Music Festival) #@
09-01 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic Festival

* with Vetiver
# with Os Mutantes
$ with Magic Numbers
@ with Spoon, Yo La Tengo, Mission of Burma, Aesop Rock, the National, Jens Lekman, Tapes 'n Tapes, Chin Up Chin Up, Diplo, Matthew Dear, Glenn Kotche, Tarantula A.D., Tyondai Braxton, CSS, Chicago Underground Duo, Bonde Do Role, more

Between all these commitments, Devendra's latest batch of drawings will be on display at Galleria Emilio Mazzoli in Modena, Italy beginning June 24.

* XL Recordings: http://xlrecordings.com/
* Pitchfork Music Festival: http://pitchforkmusicfestival.com/

Devendra Banhart: http://devendrabanhart.com/
The Fold/El Cid: http://www.foldsilverlake.com/