Mud, Sweat and Tears: The Summer Festivals are Here!

June 20, 2008 by Christina  Send to a Friend

No sleep. Bad personal hygiene. Lots of mud. Beer for Breakfast. No real food. Shots for dinner. Thinking you are “part of something”. Experiences that “change your life”. Random Hookups, quite possibly in mud….oh and all the music. That’s right its Festival time. We are gearing up for a summer of music festivals worldwide.

Here is a list of festivals none of us can go to because air travel is way too expensive and the value of the dollar sucks ass and instead of being in a musical Utopia we will be drinking Natty Bohs on a corner.

Festivals You May possibly be able to attend:

Pitchfork Chicago
We all want to hate Pitchfork but where do we go for latest music news- yeah that’s right I thought so. Their festival line up ranges from old timers like Dinosaur Jr and Jarvis Cocker to new addition to the music world like HEALTH. Expect a lot of up and coming newbies. Also , Public Enemy is performing. What? Yes. You don’t need to camp anywhere which is a plus. The ticket prices are actually very reasonable at around $30 a day. Windy city here we come!

Chicago, Illinois
July 18-20
http://www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com/

Lollapalooza
This festival still exists? I thought this was like a grunge creation where Pearl Jam and Hole and Soundgarden reveled in Perry Farrels brainchild. Well, it’s still happening and prices are a bit steep to be honest but you can see Radiohead, rage Against the Machine, NIN, Kanye and a bunch of others. This one doesn’t really intrigue me so much.

Chicago, Illinois
August 1-3
http://www.lollapalooza.com/default.asp?fd=1

Virgin Music Festival
So wait. Stone Temple Pilots, Iggy and the Stooges, Chuck Berry and Bob Dylan. Have we gone back in time? Oh no – Lil Wayne just brought me right back to reality. I love that duck voice rapper. Finally a local festival that’s easily accessible. Downside- it’s pretty pricey. $175 seems like alot for two days . The dance tent is actually appealing to me the most- Random Maniacs: rabbit in the moon, Sexy Hipster dance music: Chromeo, Old School Rave-y god: Moby (live DJ set), Techno til you DIE: Richie Hawtin. Read our old reviews here. ( please link to whatever you did last year).

Baltimore, MD
August 9-10
http://www.virginmobilefestival.com/#/home/

Burning Man
So are you sick of the man?? Yeah yeah, has he got you down? What with all the corporate bullshit and government and what have you. Well, now you can burn him. Burning man brings together weirdos from all over the country that celebrate music, self expression and massive burning of a wood effigy. Seriously though, I have heard this is a one of a kind unique experience from many many people. Going on for over twenty years, it has blossomed into a gigantic art filled music love party. There is really so much going on you should just check out the website.

Black Rock Desert, Nevada
August 25-Sept 1
http://www.burningman.com/

Austin City Limits
Missed SXSW? Well, here is your chance to experience the musical variety Austin has to offer. With several stages set up in Zilker Park, ACL is much more condensed and organized than SWSX which is a fury of activity all over the city. Get this: Manu Chao is playing. Does he ever play anywhere? That’s reason enough to go. The rest of the line up is pretty super as well.

Austin, TX
Sept 26-28
http://www.aclfestival.com/default.aspx

There are about four million more festivals.

You aren’t going to these festivals.

Sonar
Does Barcelona need anything to make it more awesome than it already is? The answer is no. But lets get all greedy and have a wonderful electronic music based festival in the heart of the city , why don’t we? Sonar has all sorts of nice daytime activities at MACBA the modern art museum and then transforms into an all night rager come sundown at various nearby venues. If you have ever been to Barcelona, then you know that they can party, so expect to be dead after this festival. From happiness.

Barcelona, Spain
June 19-21
http://www.sonar.es/portal/eng/home.cfm

Glastonbury
The festival to end all festivals; Glasto. If you haven’t woken up with your inflatable mattress touching the top of your tent due to excessive flooding and not cared because you’re 19 and on acid, then you haven’t really lived have you? Glastonbury is the biggest outdoor festival in the entire WORLD. The amount of activity going on is almost impossible to comprehend: music, movies, art, dance, random performers, mud, drugs, circus, weirdoes . It’s mind boggling to be honest. The ticket buying procedure is pretty tedious however. You need to pre register your ID and you can only have a ticket that you bought yourself (you cant use someone else’s or buy it from them). Besides that it’s a wonderful journey of happiness and glitter through music. Excerpt from my friend when we went to Glasto 2005: ” Glasto is the most amazing happy land I’ve ever been to. I left the LAME Coldplay concert and headed over to Lost Vagueness ( one of the areas) and specifically to the Chapel where some sort of crazy metal music was playing and people in leather and craziness were hanging all over the tent and then a bunch of people were dancing/singing in a boxing ring in the middle. There were lots of drugs being used. It was crazy and AMAZING. I hope that’s what heaven looks like.”

Glastonbury, England
27-29 June
http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/

Roskilde
You know that Bjork lyric that goes “I tired to organize freedom, how Scandinavian of me”? Well, that’s not the only thing Scandinavians organize. This is probably the most organized music festival in the history of all time. Over 100,000 festival goers enjoy free internet hubs, laundro-mats, hot showers, massages, all sorts of food, a daily newspaper, several film screenings and so much more it makes your head spin. It’s like a small enclosed paradise of music and bliss. Not to mention you will be surrounded be beautifully blonde Scandinavian babes or huge hulking Viking men. It’s Dreamy!! Roskilde is completely non-profit and run by thousands of volunteers. This not only makes you feel good but also makes it possible to go to the festival for free. In each of the five years I attended I didn’t have to buy a ticket, I just volunteered to work. The band list is only now being formed, but expects big things.

Roskilde will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s the kind of festival where afterward, when you are covered in filth and have consumed 4 cases of Tuborg alone you say “ I will NEVER go to that again, I will surely DIE” and then come next year you forget all of that and happily buy a ticket.

Roskilde, Denmark
July3-6 (warm up from June 29)
http://www.roskilde-festival.dk/2008/frontpage/

Benicassim
Music, beaches and Spain were meant to be together. Located just a bit south of Barcelona, this festival attracts thousands of people from all over. It’s hot in Spain, so if you decide to Camp out beware- those tents get pretty hot in the mornings! Otherwise its smooth sailing with tons of art, dance and theatre shows alongside the solid line up: My Bloody Valentine, Justice, Morrisey, Leonard Cohen, Sigur Ros and more more more.

Benicassim, Spain
July 17-20
http://www.fiberfib.com/

Global Gathering
Ever wish you were an English raver in 1991? Listening to acid house in a warehouse in Birmingham? Well, you can’t be. You can however attend Global Gathering. Promoted by the people who brought us GodKitchen (the infamous nightclub and then the brand), GG is the UK’s mega rave event of the summer. Now in its 7th year, it brings all the big name veterans along with a plethora of interesting up coming artists. There is too much on the roster to list but I am sure this year’s agenda will be just as exciting. Two days of PLUR in a field in the UK? Yes , please.

Stratford-upon-Avon, England
July 25-26
http://www.globalgathering.co.uk/

Iceland Airwaves
Great little festival to end the year. Just read my review from 2007 here.

For more festival previews/guides go here:
http://www.residentadvisor.net/event-festivals.aspx
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4680676
http://www.clubplanet.com/Articles/2118/Summer-Music-Festivals-Guide

DON’T DIE!!!!

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