Sasquatch Music Festival
George, Wash.
May 29-31
In the tradition of manifest destiny, go west. Sasquatch! Music Festival, taking place May 29-31, is the quintessential music festival location for more than its lineup. Nestled in an almost too-good-to-be-true location amongst mountains and lakes in George, Wash., Sasquatch! is an experience unlike any other for the summer.
The lineup itself is overwhelming, sliding some safe ones amongst the hype-machine's seemingly random choices. The problem with festivals now that they've become a regional thing is that headliners are consistently reused, which explains why most festivalgoers end up going for the midday variety and staying with tepid removal for the headliners.
But these headliners are definitely something to stick around for. A Pavement reunion and the presence of Gene and Dean Ween alone set the tone for a cascade of other acts. Massive Attack are also making an appearance, taking time out of their Euro-centric touring plans, along with the Dirty Projectors, Cymbals Eat Guitars and Caribou. The comedy lineup is as sophisticated as the music, featuring Rob Riggle and the This American Life staple, Mike Birbiglia.
As you read the lineup and delve into the culture of Sasquatch! it appears more Sal Paradise than manifest destiny, but that's the point. Sasquatch! already has location on its side, not to mention a Wookie Stage. Music and organization almost seem like an afterthought.
-Anthony Cefali
Bonaroo Music & Arts Festival
Manchester, Tenn.
June 10-13
Manchester, Tenn. isn't exactly a vacation hotspot. The sun-baked terrain has a few trees and a vast stretch of grass, but June 10-13 it will mostly just have mud.
Of the three major music festivals, Bonnaroo has continually been the most willing to break the mold in the name of creative expansion. While Coachella and Lollapalooza tweek their lineups, pandering to various sects of concertgoers, Bonnaroo amped up their cinema, video game tent and comedy stage. But now it seems their try-anything attitude has made the ""music"" portion of the music festival suffer.
You're bound to run into a few enticing names in a lineup that spans some 200 acts, but all the worthwhile bands are other festivals' sloppy seconds. If you wanted to see Phoenix or LCD Soundsystem this summer, you could have gone to Coachella and watched them in a setting that didn't involve cleaning up before Kings of Leon or Tenacious D. If you wanted to see Dave Matthews Band, you could... well, you could see them just about anywhere.
But Bonnaroo's aimless ingenuity did pay off in one big way.Ultimately, the comedy stage's one big draw (excusing Aziz Ansari) is the only justification to pack up and pay $250 to roll around in Tennessee dirt for a weekend: Conan O'Brien's shiny red top.
-Kyle Sparks
Summerfest
Milwaukee, Wis.
June 24 - July 7
Summerfest is hardly your typical summer music festival. It's a Wisconsin version of such that focuses more on keeping attendees happy with copious amounts of greasy, buttery food and beer. Unfortunately the excess relates solely to the consumption of unhealthy sustenance as opposed to the music.
Keeping the musical focus on ‘family-friendly' (to counteract the inebriated atmosphere), the theme is often mainstream and/or old: Sheryl Crow, Public Enemy, Tom Petty, Jeff Beck, Usher, Eric Clapton and Santana are common names among the earliest confirmed artists. Summerfest's attempts at trendy are secondary and safe. Modest Mouse is indicative of their lack of timeliness, as Thievery Corporation and Robert Randolph will keep fans of ""Garden State"" and southern flavored jams entertained despite no recent successes, as well as the Roots and The Hold Steady, who are both reliable, but again, past their prime.
The redeeming quality of Summerfest is the (relatively) cheap nightly tickets for bands on free stages, as the seating is fluid enough to be able to get near the front as long as you show up at a decent time. However, the field of drunks surrounding you is often sobering if you are one of the few more concerned with the music, and the Marcus Amphitheater poses an immodest ticket for a venue that is frustrating unless you pay the biggest price. Bottom line: think of Summerfest as a giant party of a tribute to Wisconsin, instead of a tribute to contemporary music.
—Justin Stephani
Camp Bisco
Mariaville, N.Y.
July 15-17
Who doesn't dream of going back to summer camp? The natural scenery, games and community feel are all things people long to revisit. Sadly, the opportunity to do so rarely arises for the average college student. Enter Camp Bisco. A three-day outdoor electronic-rock music festival held in Mariaville, NY, 30 miles outside Albany, Camp Bisco is a hybrid of a music festival and summer camp. In its ninth year and hosted by The Disco Biscuits, the event features a color war, one that concert attendees tend to get very into. There will also be volleyball, tetherball and tug-o-war competitions, as well as scavenger hunts, chess matches and a spelling bee.
In addition to this fun, the festival boasts a pretty decent lineup, which includes its host, the Disco Biscuits, LCD Soundsystem, Method Man, Ghostface Killah & Raekwon (this year's Wu Massacre), Caribou and more. These artists will perform on one of the festival's four stages. In addition to these, Camp Bisco will offer a DJ tent and a late night dance tent, as well as a local artist and performing arts tent, providing a variety of activities for attendees to take part in.
With this overzealous persona, Camp Bisco is a music festival unlike any other. Even if the lineup isn't particularly impressive, the atmosphere and entertainment the event boasts should be enough to convince someone to trek out east.
—Jacqueline O'Reilly
Pitchfork Music Festival
Chicago, Ill.
July 16-18
If the sheer amount of upstart bands calling it home means anything, Chicago clearly isn't deprived in the music department. The embarrassment of riches doesn't dissipate with music festival season, as not only is Chicago host to the always-hyped Lollapalooza, but the Pitchfork Music Festival calls the Second City home as well. Nestled in cozy Union Park July 16-18, Pitchfork may not have the scope of Lollapalooza, but its narrowband approach definitely meshes with Pitchfork Media's target audience of indie music elitists.
This year's headliners include Modest Mouse, LCD Soundsystem and main draw Pavement, who included Pitchfork as a leg on their reunion tour after a decade spent in band-breakup purgatory. But the full lineup has a solid level of depth this year, with Broken Social Scene, Raekwon, Wolf Parade and Big Boi being supported by some more big names and Daily Cardinal favorites, such as Titus Andronicus, Girls and the Smith Westerns filling out the roster with their set lists. Though Sunday will garner the most attention thanks to Pavement's performance, it's hard to miss any day of the festival, though attending all three will run you a pretty penny as three-day passes sold out faster than Green Day. So if you're near Chicago and in a festival mood, but don't want to be stabbed in the eye by a Lady Gaga costume, Pitchfork is the place to go.
—Todd Stevens
Lollapalooza
Chicago, Ill.
August 6-8
It goes without saying, but the bands involved in a festival define its identity. So what does a lineup like Lollapalooza's, taking place August 6-8, say about festival culture in the Windy City? It says that the big guns aren't willing to take the big risks.
Besides a nifty site design, Lollapalooza prides itself in giving us last year's top acts (although some may argue that GaGa is timeless). Add some indie-darlings that all the cool people saw last year at Pitchfork, and you've got the biggest bust of the summer festival season.
Positives? They are definitely there. Any chance to see the Dirty Projectors should be taken without hesitation, and the National have become a force to reckon with (albeit an awkward and alienating one). But Green Day? And why is Devo coming out of hiding to share a stage with Cypress Hill?
But perhaps the most egregious breach of trust and taste is the selection of Phoenix as a headliner. Nothing says wistful summer quite like Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, but unfortunately their presence at Lollapalooza is too little too late.
Lollapalooza shows us ""true and everlasting / didn't last that long,"" especially when it comes to music. It's not that these acts are bad, the lineup just suffers from anemia caused by musical overexposure. So if you go, take solace in the Arcade Fires and the Frightened Rabbits of the festival, because Lollapalooza also charges way too much for bad beer.
—Anthony Cefali
