Rebels & Renegades Festival Reveals MASSIVE 2023 Lineup
There is yet another massive music festival that has emerged to cover the surging interest in independent country, roots music, and Americana, putting deserving artists in headliner spots as opposed to just opening slots, and has fans from across the country rearranging vacation plans.
Rebels & Renegades started in 2022 as a two-day festival with Cody Jinks and Trampled by Turtles headlining on the Monterey Country Fairgrounds. This is where Jimi Hendrix famously lit his guitar on fire at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, mere steps from the Pacific Ocean. Now for 2023, they’ve upped the festival to three days, and put together one of the most mouth-watering lineups you will find in all of independent country/Americana all year.
Featuring the Turnpike Troubadours, Whiskey Myers, and Wilco as headliners, Rebels & Renegades will finally be the massive independent country destination festival California has needed for years now. The undercard is ridiculous as well, with Molly Tuttle, Mike and the Moonpies, American Aquarium, Morgan Wade, Brent Cobb, The Steel Woods, The War and Treaty, Charley Crockett, Vincent Neil Emerson, Sierra Ferrel, Shane Smith and the Saints, Whitey Morgan, Flatland Cavalry, and so many more set to perform.
The festival is being promoted by Good Vibez, which has been doing events and festivals in California and other locations since 2003. Like so many others, they see the rapid growth in the independent country and roots space, and want to get in on it.
“We strive to give artists a hospitable, safe, and comfortable environment where creativity can thrive. And we work to give fans the coveted you-had-to-be-there memory with every ticket,” says Amy Sheehan of Good Vibez. “It’s more than just what or who is on stage; it’s the food, the drinks, the art installations, the commitment to safety, and the friendliness of our staff.”
Tickets go on sale on April 11. For more information, go to rebelsandrenegadesfest.com .
2023 Rebels & Renegades Lineup:
Friday, October 6:
Turnpike Troubadours
Old Crow Medicine Show
Morgan Wade
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway
Flatland Cavalry
The War and Treaty
Brent Cobb
The Steel Woods
Rayland Baxter
Boy Named Banjo
Jamie Wyatt
TK & The Holy Know-Nothings
Danno Simpson
Saturday, October 7:
Whiskey Myers
Charley Crockett
The Devil Makes Three
Paul Cauthen
Kurt Vile & The Violators
The California Honeydrops
Jamestown Revival
Reckless Kelly
Vincent Neil Emerson
JD Clayton
Channing Wilson
Sunday, October 8:
Wilco
Shakey Graves
Elle King
The Wood Brothers
Sierra Ferrell
Shane Smith & The Saints
Whitey Morgan and the 78’s
The Infamous Stringdusters
American Aquarium
Mike and The Moonpies
Wyatt Flores
Peter One
Satsang
April 4, 2023 @ 6:41 pm
Completely random, unrelated question: Did Trigger write a book about Corning Cookware?
April 4, 2023 @ 7:55 pm
Well, since you asked. In a previous life I worked as an antiques & collectibles dealer/appraiser/estate sale coordinator. I did this while I was a freelance writer as well. Whenever I would be pricing or appraising estates, I would always run into Corning Ware, but didn’t know its value. Most of it is not worth that much, but some pieces can be worth a lot. So I wrote a book to help other dealers/collectors etc. identify what they had and how much it was worth.
Some folks love to give me hell about it and call me a dork. But I’m actually pretty proud of it, and copies of it now sell for $140 on Amazon, so the joke’s on them.
April 4, 2023 @ 7:49 pm
I am going!
April 4, 2023 @ 9:10 pm
Alright now I’ve had it…………of course I just came back from open mic night up the street and I’m 3 drinks in…… never the less……….this is the second or third festival I’ve seen raved about where Mike and The Moonpies are underlings to a pile of shit for the most part……(Not Whitey, Sierra, or AA obviously) WTF??? I’ve held my tongue until now………..Thank God they’ll be headlining not 1 BUT 2 nights at the Summer Solstice Music Festival here in June with Brit Taylor, David Quinn and more…………I’m tired of seeing their name in fonts I’ve gotta get out my magnifying glass to read on these bills to see how low they are what is wrong with these promoters??? This is fuckin ridiculous they should be headlining or at least second on ANY bill…………. thank you ……… good night……………..
https://solsticemusicfest.com/?fbclid=IwAR3dp-Z0jrf9LA78k9EOuKNl8aCCnyqy6JSTU94dLn7pl9508L2gCZ7WDwI
April 5, 2023 @ 6:40 am
Speaking of Turnpike… it’s April 5th and still no updates from the band regarding a new album. They’re really milking this current wave they’re on, huh?
April 5, 2023 @ 8:05 am
Very surprised we haven’t even seen a new single yet. Perhaps they’re shopping the new album to majors, and it’s taking a long time. I do think they risk losing all of this momentum before releasing new music if they’re not careful.
April 5, 2023 @ 8:44 am
Just looking at the lack of new music from Turnpike from a different angle – they gained many new fans since the hiatus/pandemic that have never heard them live (including myself) and would love to hear the current setlist. A new album would probably remove some of the old songs the new fans want to hear.
April 5, 2023 @ 8:59 am
Doesn’t matter. When I had to see them in an arena, the only songs the whole crowd cared about were “Every Girl” and “Whole Damn Town”. We’re in the “this is a cool aesthetic and vibe” phase now. We will all still be here after all those new wavers have gone on to the next and hollowed out the scene of why it was special before they got here. And I’m tired of pretending it’s a bad thing to point out that it’s happening.
April 5, 2023 @ 9:44 am
A slight Turnpike Troubadours new music update here:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/turnpike-troubadours-fans-get-lance-roark-on-your-radar/
April 5, 2023 @ 9:00 am
Personally, i think Stacy has Evan so locked down he has no room to navigate/negotiate/naturally create.
Could be 100% wrong about that.
But, i don’t think so.
April 5, 2023 @ 9:15 am
You’re 100% wrong about that. The issue is not that Turnpike or Evan can’t create. The album’s been in the can for a while, aside from maybe some tweaking.
April 5, 2023 @ 9:19 am
Happy to be 100% wrong about that.
Glad there is an album waiting to be released.
What’s the hold up?
April 7, 2023 @ 5:33 am
Artists used to preview songs off upcoming albums by performing them in concerts. I guess those days are over, due to the risk of a poor cell phone recording spoiling the song before it had a chance.
April 5, 2023 @ 7:07 am
That looks like it’ll be a great time with a great line up. Somewhat related since I see their name above, I randomly heard The Devil Makes Three twice while I’m out in the span of a couple weeks. I used to listen to them a long time ago and never heard them anywhere before while I’m out. Then while walking through a downtown area a few weeks ago, some street vendors had their music playing. Then a couple weeks later, I walked into a bar in a different downtown city and their music was playing. Are they becoming more well known? I haven’t followed them in quite a few years.
April 6, 2023 @ 7:35 am
Man, it would be great if DM3 became more well known. They’ve been a favorite of mine for a decade or so, and I’d love for more people to have a chance to get to know them.
April 6, 2023 @ 1:24 pm
wild line-up for sure
April 7, 2023 @ 11:17 am
I hate to be the pooper on this but as impressive as this is. Once again there is a stunning lack of female artists. This is not just country but every major festival seems lacking in females this year Cochella, Bottle Rock, Outside Lands… there are a a few women here and there buy the male acts dwarf the number of female acts.
April 7, 2023 @ 12:24 pm
I have noticed that since the pandemic there seems to be less women on festival lineups, and more festivals with zero women on the lineups. I didn’t notice this one until you pointed it out because they have a bunch of great women on it, namely Sierra Ferrell, Morgan Wade, and Molly Tuttle, all of whom could be headlining festivals in the coming years. I expect Sierra Ferrel to be a top headliner this time next year. But there are no women on Saturday, which seems like an oversight from a promotional company that has all kinds of stuff about equal opportunity and such in the press releases.
That said, it is really difficult for festivals to find women that not only have the fans base to justify being booked on a big festival like this, but that are also willing to play. You can book them on side stages all day, but at some point they need to bring in fans to get the bigger fonts. That’s why I’ve been really trying to portray Sierra as a headliner because then you can build your festival lineup from the top down with her. Last year two festivals I went to tried to put Margo Price in a prominent position in the lineup, and it was a disaster. Barely anyone showed up to her set, while sets much earlier in the day where much better attended. We need to develop more headliner women. Kaitlin Butts and Kat Hasty are a couple more that I think could develop into bigger names for festivals in the coming years. But the only true headliner for this type of festival at the moment would be Brandi Carlile.
April 8, 2023 @ 1:52 pm
Yea I’d have to say Margo Price and her band must make a good percentage of their salary just playing the festival circuit evert year. They are usually billed rather higher up than they should be on the festival lineups and they check the box of a female artist. But you remove festivals from the touring and shed still be playing rather smaller venues(and not selling out) than a lot of the other artists billed around her on these same festival lineups. I think she’s been coasting these past few years just riding the wave of her connections(willie) and feeding off these over hyped festival spots and benefiting from her identity more than any of her actual musical output. So many other talented female artists out there they should be promoting, yet she sucks alot of the attention away with her saturated festival spots. That’s not to say she isn’t talented, it just seems she’s more hyped and promoted still as a headliner or A lister within the Americana realm then the actual reality on the ground where she’s middle of the pack. Whomever she has do her PR must be making a good salary because she’ll find a way to get any type of publicity with rolling stone on any political issues.
April 8, 2023 @ 2:35 pm
Agreed.
Margo is on the same path as D lister, Kathy Griffin.
And, about as relevant.
April 8, 2023 @ 7:02 pm
She did sell out The Fillmore in SF recently so at least in some markets she is a draw.
April 8, 2023 @ 8:26 pm
I saw Margo Price last year at the two biggest independent country festivals: Under The Big Sky and Born & Raised. Both times she had top late afternoon billing on the main stage. Both times there was nobody there, and many more people there for earlier sets, and for the other sets at the side stages. Sierra Hull and Kat Hasty had much bigger crowds than Margo did at much earlier sets. The few folks who were also there can vouch for this. I took pictures of it because it was so astounding. If you want to dig, you can see the photos in my reviews:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/faces-melted-souls-saved-at-2022-under-the-big-sky-fest-a-recap/
https://savingcountrymusic.com/born-raised-fest-2022-featured-top-flight-of-independent-country/
I’m not saying Margo can’t draw in certain markets like San Francisco and Nashville. But when you pay a performer for one of those late afternoon slots and nobody shows up, the promoter is getting hosed. And this is not Live Nation. These are independent promoters. Then what this does is create a chilling effect with promoters in booking these performers.
I don’t want to come across like I am picking on Margo Price. But she is a good example of demanding equal pay and bigger slots. But when you do this, you’ve got to deliver. Otherwise, the promoters are going to pull back.
April 8, 2023 @ 7:01 pm
That is a point I had not considered. The lack of a fan base. And I have been down a HUGE rabbit hole looking at the Hot 100 charts over the years… and well females on average represent less than 25% of the showings. In the 70s and 80s the number of different males act increased drastically on the charts but not so for the female acts.
So taking into account the fan base argument, which is valid to a degree, I now wonder WHY women across all genres (outside the Swift level acts) have such a hard time drawing fans. Especially since in the late 90s Lilith Fair OUTSOLD Lolapalooza. I don’t want to jump to the “M word”. LOL! But I am really curious about this.
April 9, 2023 @ 2:10 pm
Yeah I agree it is a market thing. But it is strange considering how hyped Margo Price was. I thought she might be the replacement for Musgraves…
And again I am just surprised women are not a draw even among women especially after all the metoo stuff.
April 8, 2023 @ 7:06 pm
Brandi is an interesting choice but I’ve seen her live and her shows are mostly queer women in the audience. I would think somebody like Emmylou who consistently draws at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass could do it, though granted, her audience is older. Or an adjacent act like First Aid Kit. I dunno… but it perplexes me the low numbers for women overall in so many aspects.
April 8, 2023 @ 8:09 pm
I can’t speak for local shows, but a few times that I have seen Brandi play at festivals, it was a big mix of folks. I really don’t think of her like a Melissa Ehtridge type where its an all lesbian audience. Brandi is great live.
Emmylou Harris is great live too, but she’s not a headliner draw for a festival like this. This is all numbers-based stuff based off of draws in specific markets that are tabulated by companies like Boxscore and Pollstar. First Aid Kit has veered more into the indie rock space lately, and based in Sweden, they’re a hard get for an American festival.
April 10, 2023 @ 2:52 pm
Then don’t be a pooper.
It is a great lineup of singers. That is all that matters.
April 8, 2023 @ 3:35 pm
Ya know sadly I didn’t notice it or address it in my rant above like I should of. Trig saying “we need to develop more headliner women”. “We” meaning everyone including women supporting women on the grassroots level. I don’t know how many small venue/bar female artists I go see (and Trig knows this because I’ve told him) there’s almost zero women there save for a few couples etc…. (present company excluded = the gals that post here) You tell me why Sunny Sweeney or Ashley McBryde can’t draw women or be on some of these independent bills?? Not headline, but 2nd or 3rd even? This isn’t the perfect analogy but I was at Lainey’s sold out show in Milwaukee and out of 3500, I’m going to guess 75% were women from 10 to 75yrs old. Those are gals that can appreciate a female artist that might migrate to a Sierra Ferrell, Kaitlin Butts, or ______ in the future. No female should be put in the position to come on after Zach Bryan or whoever for fucks sake. That’s on the promoter. It’s also up to the women that are lucky enough to be able to tour alone to take others out to open like Morgan Wade did taking Kaitlin Butts out. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked a woman “who’s some of your favorite Country artists?” and sadly not one time has any of them mentioned a female. That’s a deeper issue that might deserve it’s own conversation at another time.
April 8, 2023 @ 7:09 pm
I have had this experience too. I got to shows and see Nikki Lane or some other younger female country act and there are almost ZERO females present. When I saw Brandi Carlisle and Courtney-Marie Andrews it was a lot of queer women who left after Brandi’s set and then mostly men. Maybe it’s similar to rock where women just gave up trying to fit into the rock world and moved on and since country for going on a decade has sidelined women even the female fans have moved on…
April 8, 2023 @ 6:27 pm
@JB,
Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack, and Pillbox Patti, all give solid performances in Ashley’s Lindeville “Brenda Put Your Bra On.”
Pillbox Patti pulls it off in that video with a lot of humor and personality. She nailed it.
https://youtu.be/-x29n8-RjKE
I don’t understand why Ashley isn’t headlining, either.
Probably because she has too much talent, and well, the industry being so cutthroat…
April 8, 2023 @ 11:10 pm
Ya know Di I bought the Lindeville Livestream and watched it in all it’s glory live here at the mansion and recorded it. I still have it on my hard drive. A Masterpiece/work of art…… I don’t know how many on here never even knew this was happening and I begged Trig to say something so that at least people knew it was available to buy and watch but to no avail? It was MY album of the year 2022, he chose Zach Bryan. Sometimes people can respect each other and disagree. It is what it is. Even I, who was 3 quarters out on Jay Joyce Ashley before Lindeville was shocked that this lady who I’ve seen 2 or 3 times live could come up with this. So happy to see her and Carly win the Grammy though for a song I not only loved but lived. I never wanted to be that guy. Yet she’s coming here in June playing a sold out “radio station” show @ Joe’s on Weed St. to let’s just say 400 of us in a bar? WTF? She should’ve at least been put at the 1600 capacity venue Joe’s Live (my home bar/venue) and she would’ve sold it out. We (you, I, and Trig) can’t control the world by in Trig’s words…….. waving a magic wand……. LOL…. Trigger does more for independent women than ANYBODY in the industry bar none. These major (and some independent) labels and I use the term loosely “sign” women but they have no idea what to do with em or how to break em because the radio playlists are clogged with 90% men. Men!! … (many, not all ie: Combs, Pardi, Milligan, and a few) that have no difference in originality, style, or sound etc…. Lainey can’t do it by herself and she shouldn’t have to. I don’t have the answer…… nobody does……… and I don’t see it changing anytime soon.