Denver provides the city festival vibe without all the decibel restrictions, curfews and parking headaches. Last year, 43 acts played on five stages, showcasing a total of 220 performers, as over 90,000 fans danced on two soccer fields. "The backdrop of Rocky Mountains and downtown Denver is simply majestic and watching the sunset behind the main stage is unbeatable," says Chuck Morris, the event producer for AEG Live Rocky Mountain Region. Temperatures are in the high 90s—pack your bathing suit so you can play around the festival's water sculpture.
For more information: Mile High Music Festival
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NYC producer/DJ, CHARLIE! says, "Camp Bisco brings together electronic musicians (big and small) from all over the U.S. and overseas. The brain child of the electronic group, the Disco Biscuits, CHARLIE! says it, "tends to be an intimate and often remote festival, although it has grown over the years. I think because of that it feels sort of like a big, strange family reunion." This summer there will be 45 different acts and over 12,000 guests in the audience.
For more information: Camp Bisco 8
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APW offers fans a breathtaking Manhattan skyline and three days of epic music. In an effort to eradicate last year's long lines, over 100,000 fans will enjoy increased ferry service with boats that are twice as a fast and twice as big and new beer gardens that will have shorter lines and better views of the stages. No word yet on whether patrons will be capped off after five brews (due to park regulations), like last year's disappointed, somewhat sober crowd. This year, Tool and the Beastie Boys will headline.
For more information: All Points West Music & Arts Festival
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Frequent concertgoer and lead guitarist for the NYC-based rock band Open Till Midnight, Ross Deutsch says, "The foggy mist in the San Francisco air sets the perfect stage… Outside Lands features artists spanning all genres and will forever be my most memorable musical adventure." Headliners at this year's festival include Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys, Pearl Jam, Incubus, Black Eyed Peas, M.I.A., The Mars Volta, Thievery Corporation, Modest Mouse and Band of Horses.
For more information: Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival
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The annual Coachella kicks off the summer festival season with three hot nights in the desert where everyone from the latest indie-rock and hip-hop sensations to aging rockers on reunion tours play to a crowd that usually tops out with nearly 200,000 people of all ages. Ysiad Ferreiras, a NYC DJ, who "daylights" as a hedge fund consultant says, "The weather at Coachella is always sunny, so you are guaranteed a good time. It's accessible too—take Friday off, hop on a plane to Palm Springs, catch a cab and you're there."
For more information: Coachella
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Fans say there's not another festival that encompasses the food, music and culture like this one. Jazz Fest alum Les Claypool says the festival offers "the best food you'll ever put in your mouth." At the festival grounds, pick up a plate of boiled, seasoned crawfish, a soft-shell crab po' boy, muffuletta, crawfish pasta, andouille gumbo, pralines and sweet orange iced tea.
For more information: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
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The Bonnaroo Festival is arguably today's largest and most famous music festival, drawing crowds of 80,000 fans. "I bring my family to the festivals all the time. Bonnaroo is great for kids because they can wander around the crowd and see all this great art and music… I always look forward to it because it's a well-organized, well-thought-out fest," says Les Claypool, a repeat headliner for Bonnaroo.
For more information: Bonnaroo
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The Telluride Bluegrass Festival, now in its 36th year, provides a breathtaking backdrop for a musical meeting of 30 bands and one of the smartest audiences in the country according to Bela Fleck, who says, "We don’t have to play down to them. You know you can try things here that you may not be able to in other venues." Due to Telluride's restrictions, they've capped the festival at 10,000 tickets, and the festival has sold out seven of the past nine years.
For more information: Telluride Bluegrass Festival
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Rothbury brings together over 60 bands and 30,000 fans to an idyllic summer camp setting at Double JJ Ranch on Big Cat Lake over the July Fourth weekend. John Bell, the lead singer of last year's headliner, Widespread Panic, says "Rothbury is near and dear to my heart because of the green economy aspect to it. You can't go overboard but they are doing it right to such an amazing extent." Highlights for this summer's Rothbury include Bob Dylan, Pretty Lights, STS9, String Cheese Incident and Les Claypool.
For more information: Rothbury Festival
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All Good is one of the most manageable and beautifully put together festivals out there. Crowds never grow beyond 15,000. The distance between the campground and stages is an easy 15-40 minute walk. "I like All Good," says Les Claypool. "I've watched it develop from a puny little festival and build into something really cool. It's a little hard to get in and out of it. I almost got stuck in the mud there one time. But you know what they say, 'it's allll goood.'"
For more information: All Good Music Festival
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