By Matt Wake
The lineup for Huntsville’s first multi-day, large-scale, real-deal, music festival in 13 years is here.
Headliners for South Star Music Festival, set for September 28 and 29 at John Hunt Park, are Gwen Stefani on Saturday and blink-182 on Sunday.
Other artists on the lineup for Saturday: Shinedown, Jane’s Addiction, Jimmy Eat World, TLC, Juvenile, Gin Blossoms, Candlebox, Dexter and the Moonrocks, and Winona Fighter.
Sunday’s lineup also boasts: Beck, Sublime, Goo Goo Dolls, Ludacris, Big Boi, Pete Yorn, Vanessa Carlton, Bully, and Billy Allen + The Pollies.
That’s 10 acts each day for a total of 20 performing artists over the weekend across South Star’s two main stages.
People who graduated from high school in the late ‘90s are now in their mid-40s. As South Star Music Festival debut lineup attests, ‘90s and 2000s nostalgia is in full bloom.
Pop-punkers Blink-182′s breakthrough album, 1999′s “Enema of the State,” was released 25 years ago. For context, albums that turned 25 in 1999 included self-titled debuts from Kiss and Bad Company and sophomore LPs by Aerosmith and Lynyrd Skynyrd. By that math, blink-182 hits “What’s My Age Again?” and “All The Small Things” are the new “Strutter” and “Sweet Home Alabama.”
In the ’90s, Gwen Stefani rose to fame fronting ska-rockers No Doubt on hits like “Don’t Speak” before going on to solo stardom with smashes like 2004′s “Hollaback Girl.”
Jane’s Addiction was the tip of the spear of the alternative rock movement, with albums like 1990′s “Ritual de lo Habitual.”
Beck’s arthouse mix of rock and rap produced iconic mid ’90s tracks like “Loser” and “Where It’s At.”
Sublime — reinvigorated recently with late singer Bradley Nowell’s now-28-year-old son Jakob on the mic — soundtracked 1996 with reggae-flecked jams like “What I Got” and “Santeria.”
The acclaimed Nashville alt-rock band Bully gives South Star’s lineup a compelling, present-tense component. Soul-rock talents Billy Allen + The Pollies, based in Muscle Shoals, add a splash of current local color.
Tickets go on sale 10:40 a.m. central Thursday. There’s a presale that same day beginning at 10 a.m. Prices increase once the public on-sale begins, according to South Star’s website and social media.
Prices start at $224 for a two-day general admission ticket and $139 for one-day general admission. They go up to $925 for one-day and $1,395 for two-day “platinum” tickets.
Those platinum tix include exclusive front-of-stage viewing at the fest’s two main stages, complimentary full-service bar and all-day dining, a dedicated entrance lane into the festival and other extras.
There are also general admission plus (two-day $339, one-day $259) and VIP ($649, $459) tiers for tickets.
According to the festival’s website, there are “no hidden fees” in the ticket pricing.
South Star is being produced by C3 Presents of Austin, Texas. C3′s many other festival productions have included Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Atlanta’s Shaky Knees and New Orleans’ Voodoo Music + Arts Experience.
Huntsville has been without a large-scale music festival since the final Big Spring Jam in 2011. The engineering-centric city’s music profile has risen steadily since the opening of Orion Amphitheater in spring 2022.
