Le Guess Who? 2018 Initial Lineup
For just over 10 years, Le Guess Who? has been building itself up into the sort of adventurous and carefully curated festival that now provides a bit of an antidote to the sameness elsewhere. While a lot of the action unfolds in one multi-theater complex, the fest also spreads out across Utrecht, taking over venues and bars lining its idyllic canal and winding streets. Not that, say, Governors Ball is setting out to do anything remotely similar to Le Guess Who?, but I can tell you from personal experience that the latter is a lot more unique and intriguing than seeing the Killers in a field for the 15th time.
Today, Le Guess Who? has unveiled the initial lineup for its 2018 iteration. And as usual, there’s already a pretty wide spectrum covered, including the Breeders, Mudhoney, Serpentwithfeet, JPEGMAFIA, Jessica Pratt, Colin Stetson, Eleanor Friedberger, and a whole lot of other names from around the world. In addition, there are one-off performances like Circuit des Yeux’s “Reaching For Indigo: Gaia Infinitus,” which will feature previously unreleased music.
The other thing that sets Le Guess Who? apart from a lot of other festivals is that they invite a handful of artists to help curate the lineup. This year, they’ve asked Asia Argento, Devendra Banhart, Moor Mother, and Shabaka Hutchings. Below, check out the whole lineup, broken down by curation and the general program.
Curated by Asia Argento:
The Breeders
Joe Cardamone
Lydia Lunch’s Big Sexy Noise
Psychic Ills
Richard Fearless
Vera Sola
Curated by Devendra Banhart:
Beverly Glenn-Copeland
Chihei Hatakeyama
Devendra Banhart
DRINKS
Ebo Taylor
Gigi Masin
Jessica Pratt
Joan Of Arc
Katey Red
Rodrigo Amarante
Roger Eno
SASAMI
Shannon Lay
Shintaro Sakamoto
Sun Foot
Takuro Kikuchi
Vashti Bunyan
Curated by Moor Mother:
700 Bliss
Art Ensemble of Chicago
Beverly Glenn-Copeland
DJ Haram
Emel Mathlouthi
GAIKA
Irreversible Entanglements feat. Pat Thomas
Islam Chipsy & EEK
Maja Ratkje
Maria Chavez
Nicole Mitchell
Pan Daijing presents: Fist Piece
Ras … G & The Afrikan Space Program
RP Boo
Saul Williams & King Britt present Unanimous Goldmine
Curated by Shabaka Hutchings:
BCUC
Bo Ningen
The Comet Is Coming
Hello Skinny
Ill Considered
Kadri Gopalnath
King Ayisoba
Kojey Radical
Paddy Steer
Sibusile Xaba
Sons of Kemet XL
STUFF.
General program:
AMMAR 808
Ancient Shapes
Anoushka Shankar & Manu Delago with MO Strings
Circuit des Yeux presents ‘Reaching For Indigo: Gaia Infinitus’
Colin Stetson
Crack Cloud
Cüneyt Sepetçi
Don’t Say The Moon Has Set by Jerusalem In My Heart Orchestra
Eleanor Friedberger
FACS
Georgia Anne Muldrow
Greg Fox Quartet
Hailu Mergia
Jozef van Wissem
JPEGMAFIA
Judith Clijsters: Bored To Death
Kelman Duran
Kikagaku Moyo
Lucrecia Dalt
Lucy Railton
The Mauskovic Dance Band
Meridian Brothers
Mudhoney
Oliver Coates
Please The Trees
Rizan Said
The Scorpios
Serpentwithfeet
Ticket info is available on the festival’s official website.