Spring Break
Camp out and rock out: the summer's best music festivals
Joshua Aromin
Issue date: 4/14/09 Section: Entertainment
04/14/09 - Because the United States is still in an economic funk, we all have to make some sacrifices here and there. But through it all, our inalienable rights remain: life, liberty, and the pursuit of good music festivals.
With summer break around the corner, now is the ideal time to start planning. While some people will be on a boat in the Caribbean somewhere, a lot of us just aren't as cool as T Pain so we'll have to take our swim trunks and our flippy floppies to less-tropical places. That said, music festivals serve as a nice consolation prize.
Unlike a regular concert, festivals offer a wide variety of artists, musicians and comedians. Not to mention you have an excuse to live in a tent and play hippie for a few days. Plus, getting there is a vacation in and of itself, with road trips being the most cost-effective and probably the most memorable method of travel.
But with so many festivals out there, it can be hard to choose which one is best. Bonnaroo, a pinnacle in the music scene, is always a strong pick. Where else can you see Bruce Springsteen and Snoop Dogg in the same place? Manchester, Tenn., has been the site of Bonnaroo since 2002, and remains the festival's homestead. While Manchester isn't usually a tourist hotspot, it bcomes one June 11-14, the lifespan of Bonnaroo.
Bonnaroo has one downside this year. Jimmy Fallon will be there. Maybe he won't laugh at his own jokes the whole time, but the Magic 8-Ball says, "Outlook not so good."
If Jimmy Fallon's unfunny antics irk you enough to prevent you from going to Bonnaroo, then All Good Music Festival in Masontown, W.Va. might be more up your alley. This year's artists include Ben Harper and Relentless7, moe., Yonder Mountain String Band and Keller Williams. All Good will take place July 9-12.
If the travel bug gives you that itch to go overseas, Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, England from June 24-28 is ideal with Neil Young, Fleet Foxes and Franz Ferdinand slated to perform. While it might be a perfect opportunity to drive on the opposite side of the road, see Big Ben and score some fish and chips, tickets to Glastonbury might be hard to come by in this stage of the game.
While these other festivals are in the coming months, Coachella in Indio, Ca. is the place to be if you have that spur-of-the-moment urge to see good music in the next couple days. It runs from April 17-19 and has a solid lineup featuring Paul McCartney, TV On The Radio, Band of Horses and Lupe Fiasco.
Whatever extras you're cutting back on to keep up in this endless recession, don't let good music and a nice summer vacation be a sacrifice. We might not be cool enough to hang with the Travel Channel crew like Anthony Bourdain or Samantha Brown, but this year's music festivals aren't too shabby.
With summer break around the corner, now is the ideal time to start planning. While some people will be on a boat in the Caribbean somewhere, a lot of us just aren't as cool as T Pain so we'll have to take our swim trunks and our flippy floppies to less-tropical places. That said, music festivals serve as a nice consolation prize.
Unlike a regular concert, festivals offer a wide variety of artists, musicians and comedians. Not to mention you have an excuse to live in a tent and play hippie for a few days. Plus, getting there is a vacation in and of itself, with road trips being the most cost-effective and probably the most memorable method of travel.
But with so many festivals out there, it can be hard to choose which one is best. Bonnaroo, a pinnacle in the music scene, is always a strong pick. Where else can you see Bruce Springsteen and Snoop Dogg in the same place? Manchester, Tenn., has been the site of Bonnaroo since 2002, and remains the festival's homestead. While Manchester isn't usually a tourist hotspot, it bcomes one June 11-14, the lifespan of Bonnaroo.
Bonnaroo has one downside this year. Jimmy Fallon will be there. Maybe he won't laugh at his own jokes the whole time, but the Magic 8-Ball says, "Outlook not so good."
If Jimmy Fallon's unfunny antics irk you enough to prevent you from going to Bonnaroo, then All Good Music Festival in Masontown, W.Va. might be more up your alley. This year's artists include Ben Harper and Relentless7, moe., Yonder Mountain String Band and Keller Williams. All Good will take place July 9-12.
If the travel bug gives you that itch to go overseas, Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, England from June 24-28 is ideal with Neil Young, Fleet Foxes and Franz Ferdinand slated to perform. While it might be a perfect opportunity to drive on the opposite side of the road, see Big Ben and score some fish and chips, tickets to Glastonbury might be hard to come by in this stage of the game.
While these other festivals are in the coming months, Coachella in Indio, Ca. is the place to be if you have that spur-of-the-moment urge to see good music in the next couple days. It runs from April 17-19 and has a solid lineup featuring Paul McCartney, TV On The Radio, Band of Horses and Lupe Fiasco.
Whatever extras you're cutting back on to keep up in this endless recession, don't let good music and a nice summer vacation be a sacrifice. We might not be cool enough to hang with the Travel Channel crew like Anthony Bourdain or Samantha Brown, but this year's music festivals aren't too shabby.
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