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SoCo Music Fest set for Willow Island again -- with the Roots, Black Keys

Katjusa Cisar  —  8/23/2008 5:23 pm

Last year they brought the Flaming Lips and Cowboy Mouth to Madison for a free show. This September, Southern Comfort is doing it again.

The Roots, the Black Keys, GZA, Benevento Russo Duo and Ha Ha Tonka were announced Wednesday as headliners for the 2008 SoCo Music Festival on Sept. 6 -- again at Willow Island, the Alliant Energy Center's outdoor grounds.

As it was for last September's day-long festival, the event will be a free, unticketed event open only to those ages 21 and over. Several thousand fans attended last year's show at Willow Island.

The Roots, a Grammy Award-winning live hip-hop act out of Philly, released a 10th album, "Rising Down," in April on the 16th anniversary of the Rodney King riots. Rolling Stone called it the "Roots' most political album."

The Black Keys' stop at the SoCo Music Festival comes in the middle of a five-month tour that will take the group from Melbourne to Memphis. Danger Mouse of Gnarls Barkley produced "Attack & Release," the latest album from the Akron, Ohio, blues-rock duo.

The music festival will also have a second stage devoted to local bands. For more information, visit www.southerncomfort.com.

Katjusa Cisar  —  8/23/2008 5:23 pm