Out-of-State

     If I had my way, and enough time and money, I would certainly have made a point of attending these five music festivals this summer. Unfortunately, like attending an out-of-state school, doing so would take a large chunk out of my savings, and on a whole is just less pragmatic than hitting up one of the smaller, more local venues for a show. Regardless,  in the spirit of giving things unnecessarily long names, like 'Derek Zoolander's Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good and Want to Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too,' and in my attempts to be like David Letterman, I have assembled a list of the 'Top 5 Music Festivals I Wish I Could Attend and Hope to Attend Someday.'

1) Bonnaroo in Manchester Tennessee, featured all my favorites, and more. To name (more than) a few- Dave, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Tenacious D, Weezer, new partners Damien Marley and Nas (check out Nah Mean), LCD Soundsystem, The Avett Brothers, Zac Brown Band, Disco Biscuits, The Dropkick Murphys (shipping down to Tennessee...), Deadmau5, Bassnectar, Kid Cudi, Dan Deacon, Wale, The Gaslight Anthem, Miike Snow, Blues Traveler, Afrojack, and B.o.B. Now, Baltimore may have hosted many of these artists throughout the summer, but can you imagine a four-day weekend jam packed with this much incredible talent? Bonnaroo is, perhaps unanimously, considered the creme-de-la-creme, as far as US music festivals go, and its rural field setting, its attendees' crazy antics, and its cutting edge lineup draw deep parallels days of Woodstock and Altamont and elicit nostalgic memories in old concert-goers, while simultaneously thrilling younger crowds. 

2) HARD NYC, featuring Major Lazer (their March 31 Baltimore performance at Bourbon Street was one of the best nights of my life), Crystal Castles (who visited Baltimore earlier this summer), Rusko, MIA, Sleigh Bells, and Baltimore-bred Rye Rye. Skream and Benga rounded out the show. A few friends of mine attended Hard NYC and had an excellent time supporting these increasingly popular artists. 

3) Camp Bisco, in Mariaville, NY, featured, like Bonnaroo, a weekend filled with top names and up-and-comers, but with a heavy focus on dubstep, elctronic, and remixed music. Again, The Disco Biscuits, Bassnectar (Baltimore hosted Bassnectar in April), and LCD Soundsystem made appearances, but this time were joined by Girl Talk, Major Lazer, Diplo, Rusko, and countless other artists.      

     Again, Major Lazer's March performance with Rusko and Diplo was a night to remember- in fact it extended far into the morning, and the beats inspired a full-on, five hour long dance party, a disorienting, bruising one, meant only for the bravest and most fun-loving of fans. The lights and other background effects added as much to the show as the artists, and with flashes of fuschia, turquoise, and brilliant greens, strobe lights, smoke, and the dizzying, swaying motion of the crowd suspended one's sense of reality- in a good way, and immersed us in a dream-like, trancy environment, welcomed by all attendees. I can only assume that Camp Bisco provides 72 straight hours of this kind of fun, and thus attending this festival is a top priority. 

4) Coachella, Palm Springs, California featured Benny Bennassi, Deadmau5, Jay-Z, recent sensation La Roux, LCD Soundsystem, Passion Pit, Sleigh Bells, the Avett Brothers, Wale, Vampire Weekend, Bassnectar, Corinne Bailey Rae (staging a comeback?), David Guetta, Major Lazer, MGMT, Muse, Tiesto, B.o.B., Miike Snow, and Thom Yorke, who has recently assembled a splendid remix of Major Lazer favorite, Jump Up. Featuring much of the same electronic, beat-based music as Hard NYC and Camp Bisco, Coachella adds some intriguing flare with counterbalancing artists Jay-Z and Corinne Bailey Rae, sure to provide an interesting twist in the weekend's otherwise slightly homogenous lineup.

5. Lollapalooza, Chicago, Illinois: Soundgarden, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Phoenix, MGMT, Slightly Stupid, Wolfmother, Matt & Kim, Blues Traveler, Switchfoot,  and B.o.B. Lollapalooza consistently books the nation's top artists, which often include some of my ultimate favorites, and I think a trip to Chicago is in order anyways-- so why not?

Luckily, many of these artists came alone, or as part of smaller festivals, to the 410 this summer and one can only hope that in the future, Virgin FreeFest and other local music weekends will gain, or regain, the precedence that the aforementioned bashes already enjoy. 

(Photo rights:  All rights reserved by j_lir, Emily Calkins,  Some rights reserved by DigitalBridge CR,  All rights reserved by LollapaloozaFest)