Monday, April 21, 2008

Non-Stop Music Festivals This Summer

The Wall Street Journal weekend edition had a cover story about all the huge music festivals taking place this summer across the U.S. and Canada. Many of these large festivals feature similar lineups (R.E.M. and Beck are hitting a few) and hefty price tags. According to the article:

"Multiday music festivals, once known mainly as draws for college kids willing to endure blazing sun and porta-potty lines in order to see their favorite alternative-rock groups, have become major profit centers for the music industry. In recent years, they have emerged as an essential platform for A-list acts, sprouted high-end amenities from luxury cabanas to BlackBerry-charging stations and brought in bigger audiences and higher revenues each season."

The article mentions big festivals like Coachella (April 25-27 in Indio, CA), Bonnaroo (June 12-15 in Tennessee), Lollapalooza (August 1-3 in Chicago), Outside Lands (August 22-24 in San Francisco), and the Pemberton Festival (July 25-27 in British Columbia). They also point out that the more indie Pitchfork Music Festival will happen in Chicago (July 18-20) two weeks before the massive Lollapalooza.

Not mentioned in the article were smaller indie-oriented festivals, such as Terrastock (Terrastock 7 happens in Louisville, Kentucky June 19-22), Ladyfest (here's an article about last week's Ladyfest Baltimore), indie festivals from the past like Olympia, Washington's International Pop Underground Convention in 1991, Yo Yo a Go Go, and non-summer festivals like Noise Pop.

How about you? Are you planning to hit any of these festivals this summer or have a favorite festival from the past?

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