Dancing Around the Country

The power behind music is unspeakable. It helps elevate moods, open minds and can make society unite under one sound. Combining the power of music with the power of people is what makes music festivals so successful. There is no better example than Woodstock in 1969 that is considered a pivotal moment in music history. Tickets were sold for $18 per day or $24 for a three day pass. Woodstock became a “free concert” when over 200,000 people showed up and the crowd couldn’t be controlled, fast forward to 2012 where Coachella begins this weekend and goes on until the end of next weekend. Tickets are over $300 for a three day pass and no one is going to be enjoying it for free. But in the end, I think it’s worth it. I went to Coachella a couple of years back and had one of the best times of my life. The music, the art and the people make it more of experience than a good time, not to mention The Killers were playing and I got to see DJ AM spin live before he passed. Remember, Vegoose? It was a three day concert over Halloween weekend in Vegas. I went the last year it was produced in 2007 seeing Rage Against the Machine for their last performance, Daft Punk, MIA and the Muse.

There are music festivals that are produced around the year in every part of the country. The list is too long to put all in one blog but here are few that are worth checking and even flying to.

April

Coachella
The demand for California’s biggest festival added an additional weekend this year for the first time. Kicking off this weekend, Friday April 13 through Sunday, April 15, the festival continues the weekend after, Friday April 20 through April 22. Held in Indio, CA the lineup this year includes all genres of music including Radiohead, Dr. Dre & Snoop, Swedish House Mafia and many more. The festival is currently sold out but that doesn’t mean tickets aren’t being sold through other channels.

Nocturnal Festival
Produced by Insomniac, the electronic musical is heading into its third year with a lineup including Tiesto, Awolnation, Calvin Harris, Bingo Players and more. It is held at Apache Pass in Downtown, TX on Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30. The festival is sold out with Texas having a huge passion for music as well.

Sweetlife Food & Music Festival
Sweetgreen is a company founded by three Georgetown college students and a destination for fun delicious food from local and organic ingredients from farmers, supporting their community and creating meaningful relationships. Combining its passion for food and music, Sweetgreen is putting on its second annual festival in Columbia, Maryland on Saturday, April 28. Tickets are only $75 for general admission and $125 for VIP. The lineup includes Avicii, Kid Cudi, The Shins, Fitz and the Tantrums and more.

May

Sunfest
SunFest was founded in 1982 and is Flordia’s largest waterfront music and art festival. Held in West Palm Beach, Florida on Wednesday, May 2 through Sunday, May 6 with a lineup featuring Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Girl Talk, LMFAO, Pitbull and more. Tickets are $30-35 for a one day pass and $61-67 for a five day pass.

Bamboozle
A three day festival held at North Beach in Asbury, NJ launched the career of a lot of today’s top national recording artists and celebrities. In its ninth year on Friday, May 18 through Sunday, May 20, the lineup includes Bon Jovi, Skrillex, Foo Fighters, Blink 182, Incubus and more. Tickets run $65-$75 for general admission one day pass and $190 for a three day pass.

I LOVE THIS CITY
The debut festival produced by Live Nation is held in San Francisco and San Diego over Memorial Day Weekend. Kicking off in San Francisco on Friday, May 25 and Saturday, May 26 the lineup features Tiesto, Steve Aoli, Laidback Luke and DJ Chuckie. The festival ends in San Deigo on Sunday, May 27 with Skrillex, A-Trak, The Crystal Method and Adventure Club. Tickets are sold out in San Diego, but are still available in San Francisco for $150 – $350 for both days.

Sasquatch
Another festival going down over Memorial Day Weekend is held in George, WA at The Gorge. In its tenth year, tickets are $315 and camping is available on site. The 2012 lineup includes Jack White, Beck, Bon Iver, The Shins, Tenacious D, Nero and guest starts from Portlandia.

June

Bonnaroo
The biggest festival on the east side of the states, tickets are already almost sold out. The four day festival on Thursday, June 7 through Sunday, June 10 is still available for $259 but who knows how long. Held in Manchester, TN the lineup for this year included Radiohead, Phish, Skrillex, Red Hot Chili Peppers and more.

Electric Daisy Carnival
Perhaps the biggest and most demanded electronic festival returns to Las Vegas for its second year. Having touring events in New York on May 18-20 and soon Puerto Rico, the festival is filled with today’s biggest DJs, carnival rides and art. Kicking off Friday, June 8 through Sunday June 10, the festival is held overnight at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A three day pass runs $275 up to $500 for VIP to hear artists such as Afrojack, Kaskade, Tiesto, Steve Aoki, Skrillex, R3hab and tons of other.

Spring Awakening Music Festival
June is the month for electronic music and Chicago, IL is hopping on the bandwagon. The Spring Awakening Music Festival is being held Saturday, June 16 and Sunday, June 17 at the Soldier Field. The lineup includes every major DJ including Afrojack, Skrillex, Diplo, A-Trak, Moby, Laidback Luke and more. Tickets are $120 up to $240 for both days.

Paradiso Festival
The USC is giving George, WA a one day celebration of music and nature at The Gorge Ampitheatre on Saturday, June 23 for twelve hours straight. Mixing the music of Avicii, Afrojack, Nervo and LA Riots in with carnival rides, performers, and fire breathing dragons, the debut festival can be experienced for only $80.

Summerfest
The longest and largest music festival is held in Milwaukee, WI for two week between June 27 through July 8. Artists of genres come to play in the Midwest including Cake, Lupe Fiasco, Robyn, Ben Folds Five, Ziggy Marley, Kellie Pickler… just to name a few. There are tons of discounted tickets for early purchases right now but will go up dramatically ($176 per day) as it gets closer to the festival.

These are just the festivals across the nation over the next three months and more are to follow through the rest of year. I’ll make sure to keep you posted as the dates get closer. I am planning on going to a few of these if my schedule permits, especially Electric Daisy Carnival. Make sure to check back and read about my experiences as I have a feeling each one will be unforgettable.