Connect with us

CELEBRITY

How Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Solange Going to a 2009 Grizzly Bear Concert Ended Up an Iconic Indie-Pop Crossover Moment

Published

on

 

In 2025, artists from the indie and pop worlds collaborate and co-mingle regularly enough that it’s almost hard to remember a time when it was ever really that novel. But earlier this century, indie and pop were still isolated enough that in 2009, when Solange took her sister Beyoncé and Bey’s husband Jay-Z to a concert by the band Grizzly Bear at the Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn, NY, it ended up making for a media sensation — especially when Jay started raving about his experience and about the entire “indie rock movement” in TV interviews later that year.

 

On this Great Moments in Pop Star History episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Stereogum writer/editor Chris DeVille to fully unpack this oddly historic moment of the Knowles-Carter clan checking out one of the buzziest indie bands of 2009. We start by discussing Chris’ new book Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion (now available for preorder) and how it tells more than just the story of the genre, but rather the story of the whole audience — including both of us, as millennial indie rock fans who came of age during the period covered, and who saw our own tastes evolving along with the music.

 

 

 

Then, it’s back to 2009 — when Beyoncé was already one of our greatest pop stars but not necessarily one of the hippest, when Jay-Z was looking to distance himself from an increasingly inhospitable hip-hop mainstream, and when Solange was still finding herself as an artist. We look at how this moment ended up being both a telling and a consequential one for all three of those iconic artists, as well as how it ended up marking the cultural peak for Grizzly Bear, and perhaps for late-’00s indie in general. We also ask: Was Bey really making fun of hipsters with her Fauxchella getup? Was there another band we might’ve found more likely to have really blown Jay’s mind about indie rock’s possibilities? And if we were to re-stage a similarly mind-blowing pop-meets-indie moment in 2025, which artists would we go with?

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CELEBRITY14 hours ago

10 Minutes Ago! The New British Queen: The Early Coronation of Princess Catherine…Full story below

CELEBRITY15 hours ago

Breaking News: Princess Charlotte Stands Before The Entire Nation To Reveal The Truth About Diana: “My Father Said The One Who Harmed My Grandmother Diana Is…” See more below

CELEBRITY2 days ago

My beloved son, wait for me…” – King Charles announces Harry’s BAD NEWS in the U.S. and urgently summons William to rescue his younger brother. However, doctors deliver the HEARTBREAKING update: “Harry has already…” See more below

CELEBRITY2 days ago

Heartbreaking! William and Kate announce to the entire nation some s.a.d news about King Charles: ‘Our father has been h0spitalized for the sec0nd time, and it is with great sadness that we must say…’” – Know More Below…

CELEBRITY3 days ago

I’m sorry…” — Princess Kate Middleton broke down in tears upon hearing the devastating news from the doctor… See more below

CELEBRITY3 days ago

Heart-wrenching! DOCTORS CONFIRMED: William Takes Control As King Charles Deteriorates… See more below

CELEBRITY3 days ago

Kate Middleton broke down in tears as the doctor revealed her condition: “I’m about to undergo an extended course of chemotherapy because the tumor…”

CELEBRITY3 days ago

SHOCKING EXIT: Jimmy Kimmel Announces END of His Show & Bids Farewell to America – “I’m Moving to Canada and NEVER Coming Back!” Detail

CELEBRITY4 days ago

Ludicrous!” – Prince Harry’s latest stunt reportedly infuriates William, while Meghan’s real feelings slip through the cracks! WATCH MORE BELOW

CELEBRITY4 days ago

Meghan Markle was FURI0US and RETALlATED when King Charles best0wed the Garter honor on Kate and William: “Harry and I are the ones who truly deserve it.”…see more details

Copyright © 2024 USAenquire