Weekly Music News: SnowBall Music Festival, The Unicorns, De La Soul, and more

(Photo: courtesy of the Snowball Music Festival)
photo: snowball fest

The SnowBall Music Festival will return for a fourth year from April 4-6. For the first time, the fest will take place at Denver's Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium, moving from previous locations in Avon and Winter Park, Colo. The lineup includes electronica headliners Pretty Lights and Knife Party, along with indie rock artists Warpaint, Jagwar Ma, and Twin Shadow and local groups Inner Oceans, You Me & Apollo, and many others. Full lineup available at the festival's website.

photo: Unicorns album cover

Canadian band The Unicorns, the former band of Islands frontman Nick Thorburn, are in talks for potential reunion shows and reissues for 2014. The beloved indie pop band, who released three albums in their short career including 2003's widely acclaimed "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?," recently re-acquired the master rights to that album and are "definitely talking about playing together and seeing what happens," according to former Unicorns member Alden Penner. Thornburn, however, told SPIN magazine that "while it's true that this is the furthest along it's gotten, conceptually, it's still just talk." [via Pitchfork]

photo: De La Soul album cover

Golden age hip hop collective De La Soul have announced that, starting Friday, Feb. 14 at 11 a.m. Eastern, their entire catalogue of music will be available for free for 25 hours via their website. When visitors sign up for their mailing list, all albums, along with remixes, are available to download free of charge. The group is also planning a new album "You're Welcome" for release this year.

New releases: Conor Oberst, Savages, Thee Oh Sees, Little Dragon

Bright Eyes-mastermind Conor Oberst will release his new solo album "Upside Down Mountain" on May 20 via Nonesuch; Savages will release a currently untitled new EP this year to follow up last years "Silence Yourself" LP; despite announcing an "indefinite hiatus" late last year, San Francisco psych outfit Thee Oh Sees will release new album "Drop" on Record Store Day, which occurs on April 19 this year; Swedish trip hop act Little Dragon announced their fourth full-length "Nabuma Rubberband," out May 14