A preview of the artist

| Music Editor

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros are set to headline W.I.L.D. Is it 1969 again?

Actually, ES+TMZ is a thoroughly modern band (Their first album, “Up From Below” came out in July 2009), but with its folk-rock sound and grizzled troubadour appearance, the group wouldn’t have been out of place at Woodstock.

As a point of clarity, the frontman’s name is Alex Ebert. Edward Sharpe is a fictional messiah Ebert created after a bout in rehab. He’s here to save mankind. At concerts, Ebert is known to wear flowing white robes under his tangled hair and beard. As the band puts it, Ebert exists as a leader and “madcap rock ‘n’ roll shaman,” giving the whole performance a cultish feel.

Review after review, the word ascribed most often to the band’s shows and music is “cathartic.” Their most famous song, “Home” is a perfect example. A whistling, country-western intro opens up with back-and-forth vocals between Ebert and vocalist Jade Castinos, layering in piano, bass and a chorus of voices. (Everyone in the band sings in some capacity.) The song scales back to a single trumpet, rising and falling until it reaches a fever-pitch, folk-rock stomp with all 10 musicians jamming. Concert-goers can expect these happy hippies to play everything from keyboards and synthesizers to accordions and ukuleles.

Though the band has yet to receive many awards or mainstream popularity, ES+TMZ’s brand of rousing, la-la-along folk should blend well with the reveling crowd at W.I.L.D.

Just try not to get raptured.

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