HANGOUT MUSIC FEST: 5/18-5/20, Gulf Shores, AL. Featuring: Jack White, the Flaming Lips, Skrillex, Dave Matthews Band, String Cheese Incident, Alabama Shakes, Dr. Dog, Randy Newman
It's almost that time of year again: SUMMER FESTIVAL SEASON. Are you still deciding, last-minute, what you want to do and where you want to go? Or, maybe, telling your friends you're interested in going to a festival if they do the legwork while secretly hoping that the festival in question just streams all of the good stuff anyway, so you don't have to put pants on? Well, in any case, this rundown of American fests for the 2012 summer season should be helpful. (Also of note: while it didn't make this list, you should consider Essence Festival -- which just added D'Angelo for his first US show in ten years.) Here are our top ten fests of the late spring/summer in chronological order. Whether it's on the list or not, which are you most excited about? And obviously if you have the funds to travel overseas for music ... well, we're jealous.
SASQUATCH: 5/25-5/28, Seattle, WA. Featuring: Jack White, Feist, Beck, Metric, Bon Iver, The Shins, Wild Flag, St. Vincent, Tenacious DCHAOS IN TEJAS: 5/31-6/3, Austin, TX. Featuring: Best Coast, Big Freedia, Ceremony, A Place To Bury Strangers, Iceage, Chelsea Wolfe, Main Attrakionz, No AgeHOT 97 SUMMER JAM: 6/3, East Rutherford, NJ. Featuring: Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross + Maybach Music, Waka Flocka Flame, Trey Songz, 2 Chainz, J Cole, Waka Flocka Flame, Big Sean, Meek Mill Pusha T, Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Big KRIT, ASAP RockyBONNAROO: 6/7-6/10, Manchester, TN. Featuring: Radiohead, Phish, Beach Boys, Bon Iver, The Shins, The Roots, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ben Folds Five, SkrillexGOVERNORS BALL: 6/23-6/24, Randall's Island Park, NY. Featuring: Fiona Apple, Beck, Modest Mouse, Explosions In The Sky, Chromeo, Passion Pit, Santigold, Duck Sauce, Built To Spill, Devendra BanhartPITCHFORK: 7/13-7/15 Chicago, IL. Featuring: Dirty Projectors, Feist, Beach House, ASAP Rocky, Cloud Nothings, Lower Dens, Sleigh Bells NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL: 7/28-7/29, Newport, RI. Featuring: My Morning Jacket, Jackson Browne, Conor Oberst, Iron & Wine, Dawes, Deer Tick, tUnE-yArDsLOLLAPALOOZA: 8/3-8/5, Chicago, IL. Featuring: Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys, Black Sabbath, Jack White, Florence + the Machine, At the Drive-In, Avicii, The Shins, Justice, Passion Pit, Sigur Ros, The Weeknd, M83WOODSIST FESTIVAL: 8/4-8/5, Big Sur, CA. Featuring: Real Estate, Pierced Arrows, Woods, White Fence, Thee Oh Sees, Fresh and Onlys, Michael Hurley, Peaking Lights, Ducktails
