'Portlandia' star to perform with band Sleater-Kinney at Bloomington's Granfalloon

Sleater-Kinney will headline this year’s Granfalloon Festival, Bloomington’s annual summer arts festival celebrating the Hoosier-native author Kurt Vonnegut.

Sleater-Kinney, an Olympia, Washington-based punk-rock band formed in 1994, is one of the most memorable names from the “riot grrrl” music movement of the '90s. The band, whose career has spanned three decades, went on hiatus from 2006-2013 as vocalist Carrie Brownstein starred in and directed the IFC comedy show "Portlandia."

Also on the docket to perform are Los Angeles-based pop-punk band the Linda Lindas, and eclectic funk-rock band My Son the Hurricane. GirlsRock Bloomington founder Amy O. and camper rock band The Sera-Tones will also perform on the Monroe County Courthouse square on June 8 as part of the GirlsRock Bloomington showcase.

The festival runs from May 20 to June 9, with musical performances between June 4 and June 9. All musical performances on Granfalloon’s schedule are free, though headliners Sleater-Kinney, The Linda Lindas and My Son the Hurricane will have premium tickets available. These tickets will be available for purchase on April 15.

Granfalloon will also feature keynote speaker Carl Bernstein, the veteran Washington Post journalist best known for breaking the career-making Watergate scandal alongside Bob Woodward when he was in his 20s.

This year’s Granfalloon is themed around Kurt Vonnegut’s 1979 novel “Jailbird,” which is based on the Watergate scandal. In a press release, the Indiana University Newsroom said the festival will highlight themes of “social economic justice, political crime, incarceration, homelessness and aging.”Other notable performers and events include an exhibition from Vonnegut’s daughter and visual artist Nannette Vonnegut, free film screenings at Bryan Park and the IU Auditorium and the Bloomington Handmade Market on the courthouse square.

Granfalloon is once again occurring in conjunction with the Handmade Market and the IU Writers Conference, which is from June 6-9.

For a full list of performances, screenings and events, visit granfalloon.indiana.edu/festival-schedule.

In past years, the main concert during Granfalloon has been held in the street on Kirkwood Avenue. Organizers hope to do so again this year. The proposal will be heard by the Bloomington Board of Public Works on April 23.

Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: granfalloon lineup 2024 sleater kinney carl bernstein in Bloomington