Check out the hottest extravaganzas awaiting live music fans this

MMUSICMAG.COM
ISSUE #27
MMUSICMAG.COM
ISSUE #27
JUNE
GOVERNOR’S BALL
Headliners: Kanye West, Kings of Leon, Guns N’ Roses,
Nas, the Avett Brothers, Beach House, Grizzly Bear,
Kendrick Lamar, Feist, the xx, Animal Collective,
Thievery Corporation, Pretty Lights
Where: Randall’s Island, New York City
When: June 7-9
Website: governorsballmusicfestival.com
This New York City festival started as a one-day event in 2011
before adding a second day and relocating last year. Governor’s
Ball expands into a three-day festival this year with its most diverse
lineup so far. Hip-hop, electronic and rock ’n’ roll will all be on the
bill when the festival returns to Randall’s Island in the East River.
ORION
In a year of shake-ups for East Coast festivals, Firefly helps fill the
void in its second year with a mix of big names and up-and-comers,
some offering a more intimate experience with performances in the
festival’s Coffee House throughout the day.
SOLID SOUND FESTIVAL
Headliners: Wilco, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Neko Case,
Yo La Tengo, the Dream Syndicate, Os Mutantes, Foxygen
Where: North Adams, Mass.
When: June 21-23
Website: solidsoundfestival.com
Sure, Wilco’s playing more than one festival this year, but this is the
only one the Chicago rock band curates. Back for its third year on
the grounds of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art,
housed in a converted mill complex in the Berkshires, this year’s lineup
features a pair of Wilco sets, along with the Dream Syndicate’s first
U.S. performance since 1988.
Headliners: Metallica, Dropkick Murphys,
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rise Against, Flag,
Deftones, Bassnectar, Gogol Bordello
Where: Detroit
When: June 8-9
Website: orionmusicandmore.com
Metallica curates their second annual Orion
festival, moving this year from Atlantic City
to Detroit’s Belle Isle with an array of bands
veering toward loud and proud. Fittingly for
the Motor City, there’s also a car show and
a film festival—and for loyalists there’s the
Metallica Museum.
BONNAROO MUSIC
FESTIVAL
Headliners: Paul McCartney, Radiohead,
Mumford and Sons, Empire of the Sun,
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Björk,
R. Kelly, Wu-Tang Clan, the Lumineers,
the National, Grizzly Bear, ZZ Top,
Kendrick Lamar
Where: Manchester, Tenn.
When: June 13-16
Website: bonnaroo.com
Check out the hottest
extravaganzas awaiting
live music fans this season
What started as a festival with a jammy
tint in 2002 has broadened over the years
into one of the world’s ultimate multiartist
inclusive annual music events—and it’s
hard to quibble with a lineup that includes Paul McCartney and
Kendrick Lamar.
Archie Carpenter/UPI/Landov, Grace Potter
By Eric Danton
FIREFLY MUSIC FESTIVAL
Headliners: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Vampire Weekend,
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Foster the People,
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Calvin Harris, MGMT, Alabama Shakes
Where: Dover, Del.
When: June 21-23
Website: fireflyfestival.com
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Grace Potter
ELECTRIC DAISY CARNIVAL
Headliners: Avicii, Steve Angello, Flosstradamus, Baauer,
Just Blaze, Major Lazer, Afrojack, AraabMuzik, Knife Party
Where: Las Vegas
When: June 21-23
Website: electricdaisycarnival.com
Electronic music ebbs and flows, but Electric Daisy Carnival has
endured. The festival enters its 17th year with offshoots around the
world, including stints in New York, Chicago, London, Puerto Rico,
and the EDM fest’s star-studded return to Las Vegas for the third time.
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ISSUE #27
MMUSICMAG.COM
ISSUE #27
SUMMERFEST
GATHERING OF THE VIBES
Headliners: Rush, the Eagles, the Avett Brothers,
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, John Mayer, Tim McGraw,
New Kids on the Block, fun., Pitbull, Violent Femmes,
Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean
Where: Milwaukee
When: June 26-30, July 2-7
Website: summerfest.com
Headliners: Phil Lesh and Friends, the Black Crowes,
Tedeschi Trucks Band, the Roots, Funky Meters,
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Ryan Montbleau Band
Where: Bridgeport, Conn.
When: July 25-28
Website: gatheringofthevibes.com
The long-running jam-band festival marks its 18th incarnation this
summer with two performances by Phil Lesh and Friends, featuring
John Scofield, John Medeski, Joe Russo and John Kadlecik. Vibes is
also playing up the intersection between jam bands and electronic
music this year with late-night DJ sets by James Murphy of LCD
Soundsystem and Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation.
Some of the biggest names in music are converging in Milwaukee
to perform at this year’s Summerfest, which bills itself—for good
reason—as the world’s largest music festival.
JULY
NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL
Headliners: Beck, Feist, the Avett Brothers, Jim James,
the Lumineers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Andrew Bird,
the Mountain Goats, Amanda Palmer
Where: Newport, R.I.
When: July 26-28
Website: newportfolkfestival.net
Headliners: Beyoncé, Jill Scott, Maxwell, LL Cool J,
New Edition, Charlie Wilson, Faith Evans, Janelle Monáe,
Trey Songz, Keyshia Cole
Where: New Orleans
When: July 4-7
Website: essence.com/festival
America’s premier folk fest went electric long ago, but while
expanding its horizons, Newport has remained a showcase for
acts with rootsy underpinnings. With a rich history dating to 1959,
the festival is situated at Fort Adams State Park and features four
stages of music, food, crafts and displays.
Billed as a “party with a purpose,” Essence is as much about
empowerment as entertainment. Celebrating African-American culture
and music, this year’s edition at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome
will include workshops, speakers and educational activities for kids.
Alabama Shakes
While destination festivals dominate, traveling
shows are hitting the road packing plenty
of entertainment.
ROCK THE BELLS
Headliners: Wu-Tang Clan, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony,
Common, Big Krit, Talib Kweli, Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler,
the Creator, Brother Ali; holographic performances by
Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Eazy-E
Website: rockthebells.net
Established in 2004, this moveable hip-hop fest offers fans their
only chance this year to see the late rappers Ol’ Dirty Bastard
and Eazy-E perform through “original virtual performances” in
hologram form, similar to Tupac Shakur’s virtual appearance
at Coachella in 2012.
VANS WARPED TOUR
Headliners: 3OH!3, Anberlin, Billy Talent,
Black Veil Brides, Reel Big Fish, the Used, Chiodos,
Motion City Soundtrack, Big D and the Kids Table,
Hawthorne Heights, Bring Me the Horizon
Website: vanswarpedtour.com
Bringing punk to the people since 1995, the Vans Warped Tour
heads out again to showcase scores of young—and some more
established—acts that exhibit a punk-rock spirit, regardless of
musical style. Nearly 50 cities, including London and Vienna,
are on the schedule for 2013.
AUGUST
GREY FOX BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL
LOLLAPALOOZA
Headliners: The Del McCoury Band, Jerry Douglas Band,
the Gibson Brothers, Carolina Chocolate Drops, the Duhks,
the Infamous Stringdusters, Keller Williams,
Chris Thile & Michael Daves
Where: Oak Hill, N.Y.
When: July 18-21
Website: greyfoxbluegrass.com
Headliners: The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Mumford and Sons,
the Killers, Vampire Weekend, the Postal Service, Phoenix,
New Order, Queens of the Stone Age, Ellie Goulding
Where: Chicago
When: Aug. 2-4
Website: lollapalooza.com
Alternative Nation HQ sets up once more in Chicago’s Grant Park
with a mix of noted veteran acts and buzzy younger bands. Together
they’re expanding the legacy of the festival that Jane’s Addiction
singer Perry Farrell founded in 1991 as a traveling alt-rock circus.
Boasting a mix of bluegrass, Americana, Celtic, Cajun and more,
the performances are just one draw for this festival, tucked away
in the Catskills in New York state. There are also music and dance
workshops, crafts, children’s activities, on-site camping and fresh,
festive food.
PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL
Headliners: Björk, R. Kelly, Belle and Sebastian, M.I.A.,
Joanna Newsom, the Breeders, Wire, Solange
Where: Chicago
When: July 19-21
Website: pitchforkmusicfestival.com
Pitchfork returns with a characteristically eclectic lineup of acts that
define indie-cool, even when they’re major names like R. Kelly and
Björk. The festival, which highlights the best acts on the vanguard
of music, is back for the eighth year in Union Park in Chicago.
The season will end but the live music continues
with some major fall festivals.
AUSTIN CITY LIMITS FESTIVAL
Headliners: Depeche Mode, the Cure, Kings of Leon,
Atoms for Peace, Lionel Richie, Phoenix, Wilco,
Vampire Weekend, Eric Church, Franz Ferdinand,
Queens of the Stone Age, D’Angelo, Arctic Monkeys,
the National, Muse
Where: Austin
When: Oct. 4-6 and 11-13
Website: aclfestival.com
Growing out of public television’s “Austin City Limits,” ACL
takes over Zilker Park for the 12th time this year with double
the fun as it expands from one weekend to two.
VOODOO MUSIC + ARTS
EXPERIENCE
This year’s Voodoo festival is the only place you can catch sets
by both of Trent Reznor’s bands—Nine Inch Nails and side project
How to Destroy Angels—on one bill.
The Lumineers
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BEYOND THE SUMMER
Headliners: Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Calvin Harris,
Paramore, Bassnectar, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis,
Afrojack, Boys Noize, the Gaslight Anthem,
How to Destroy Angels
Where: New Orleans
When: Nov. 1-3
Website: worshipthemusic.com
Josh Withers, Alabama Shakes
ON THE MOVE
Pearl Jam
Delaware Online, the Lumineers; Anthony Abbott, Pearl Jam
ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL
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OUTSIDE LANDS
Headliners: Paul McCartney, Red Hot Chili Peppers, D’Angelo,
Nine Inch Nails, Phoenix, Kaskade, Young the Giant,
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Willie Nelson, Grizzly Bear, Hall & Oates
Where: San Francisco
When: Aug. 9-11
Website: sfoutsidelands.com
There’s something for everyone at this festival, which pairs a wide
range of music—classic rock, alternative, country, electronica, R&B
and hip-hop—with gourmet food, beer and wine in the breathtaking
environs of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
MOE.DOWN
Headliners: moe., Dr. Dog, Del McCoury Band,
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Steve Kimock Band
Where: Turin, N.Y.
When: Aug. 9-11
Website: moedown.com
It’s a low-key gathering put together from long-running, low-key
jam band moe. Started in 2000, this festival held at Snowridge Ski
Resort in upstate New York is like a weekend-long barbecue with
friends who dig jam bands and roots music.
Empire of the Sun
BUMBERSHOOT
Headliners: Heart, Death Cab for Cutie, fun., MGMT,
Bassnectar, Tegan and Sara, Ra Ra Riot, the Joy Formidable
Where: Seattle
When: Aug. 31-Sept. 2
Website: bumbershoot.org
Back for its 42nd year—though it wasn’t called Bumbershoot until
its third incarnation in 1973—the music and arts festival boasts one
of the most distinctive musical lineups this summer. It’s also one of
North America’s largest, located at 74-acre Seattle Center, site of
the 1962 World’s Fair.
SEPTEMBER
MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL
Headliners: George Benson, Bobby McFerrin, Diana Krall,
Wayne Shorter Quartet, Ravi Coltrane, Dave Douglas
Where: Monterey, Calif.
When: Sept. 20-22
Website: montereyjazzfestival.org
Now entering its 56th year, iconic Monterey has hosted the biggest
names in jazz since 1958, from Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong to
Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis. This year more than
500 artists will perform on eight stages over two days and three nights.
Dave Sidaway, Diana Krall; JD Tumins, Empire of the Sun; Film Magic, Radiohead
Diana Krall
MADE IN AMERICA FESTIVAL
Headliners: Beyoncé, Nine Inch Nails, Deadmau5, Phoenix,
Queens of the Stone Age, Calvin Harris, A$AP Rocky,
the Gaslight Anthem, Kendrick Lamar, Public Enemy
Where: Philadelphia
When: Aug. 31-Sept. 1
Website: madeinamericafest.com
The festival organized by Jay-Z returns for its second year with a
diverse lineup ranging from the rapper’s superstar wife, Beyoncé,
to up-and-coming rap, rock and electronic acts. Says Jay-Z of the
event: “Whenever I enter into a project, I try to hit on some touch
point. I ask: Is it great? Is it going to push the culture forward?”
Radiohead
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