Linkin Park Headlines Sonic Boom

Linkin Park will come to Edmonton for the very first time Sept. 2, to headline this year’s instalment of the Sonic Boom festival.

The announcement was made Monday morning at the southside studios of Sonic 102.9, with morning man Garner Andrews and Dave Johnston of Union Events announcing the roster for Edmonton’s largest annual rock festival, held on the Northlands grounds. Unlike last year's festival, which was moved indoors into the Edmonton EXPO Centre, this year's festival will be outdoors.

“We’ve been sitting on this for two months,” said Johnston.

The American rockers will be supporting the new album, Living Things. A new single, “Burn It Down,” has just been released. For longstanding fans of the band, the new song will come as a bit of a departure, as synthesizers and electronic beats are at the fore, with guitars simply providing the augmentation. Chester Bennington sings, not growls. It might be the most pop-accessible song the band has done.

Linkin Park has turned the melding of hard rock and rap into mainstream success, with two Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. “Breaking the Habit,” “In the End” and “Crawling” have became hard-rock anthems in the early 2000s. But, as the years have progressed, the band has turned up the synths and backed off the guitars. Band members have even collaborated with legendary synth band, Depeche Mode.

Also on the Sonic Boom lineup is Incubus. In 2001 and 2002, the band was one of the most popular hard rock acts on the planet — and now, the band is back after a hiatus.

MuteMath adds some balance to the lineup, with a sound that comes off like a ‘70s cop show theme mixed with arena rock and, yes, an awesome synth sound for the bottom end. There will be people who come to Sonic Boom just to see MuteMath, and might not stick around for the final two acts. The band’s single, "Allies," is perfect material for a summer anthem — and it might make you want to buy a Camaro, Challenger or Mustang just so you have the kind of car to in which to properly enjoy the music.

Rounding out the roster are Fun (who currently have the No. 1 single on the Sonic chart with “We Are Young”), the Joy Formidable, Young the Giant and the Silversun Pickups.

A local band will be chosen by Sonic listeners to complete the lineup.

A similar lineup will grace the stage in Calgary on Sept. 1 for XFest, another festival that’s promoted by Union Events.

Linkin Park will be touring North America with Incubus and MuteMath all summer long. But word is that the tour was based on Linkin Park securing the major festival dates in Edmonton and Calgary.

Tickets go on general sale on April 28, $90 for the day or $150 for VIP access, which includes access to a special area and priority access to the autograph tent.

A dollar from every ticket will go to Music For Relief, a charity launched by Linkin Park in response to the Japanese tsunami disaster. The charity's mission is to “support disaster relief and reduce global warming.” New projects include relief for Haitian earthquake victims and Power the World, an initiative to bring electricity to impoverished villages around the globe.