Alternative radio station KROQ celebrated its 25th annual Weenie Roast y Fiesta over the weekend, with a bill packed with musicians that have benefited from airplay on the station over the years.
Obviously the shock passing of Chris Cornell during the week cast a pall over the celebrations, but his presence was felt as Incubus’ Brandon Boyd and Cage the Elephant’s Matthew Schultz paid tribute to the late artist, with a powerful cover of 1994 classic ‘Black Hole Sun.’
Boyd later told Billboard he was pleased by the diversity of the lineup — which featured Lorde and Imagine Dragons, among others — pointing out that it’s a pleasing sign of the times. “Maybe we’re at a wonderful time in alternative music and there are really strong songwriters doing their thing and people are into it”, Boyd told Billboard. “The period of time when we first started getting played on KROQ was the late ‘90s to early 2000s, and there were not a lot of female voices happening on KROQ during that time. It was very male-dominated and really aggressive.
“There is something happening right now that actually feels more like home. There’s a feeling right now in music that is almost more welcoming, and that feels more welcoming to a band like us again. That kind of always goes in waves I suppose, but it seems like whenever the playing field gets more creatively diverse, I get a little bit more comfortable.”
Check out the performance, below.
