Monday’s Hors d’Oeuvres: Big Weekend Ahead

The summer concert season reaches its crescendo this upcoming weekend when three of the longest running festivals in the nation take place. Out in Chicago the promoters of Lollapalooza defended themselves from accusations that their radius clauses are killing the local music scene. Meanwhile, the schedule for the Newport Folk Festival came out, and there are plenty of maddening conflicts. For those of us unable to attend next weekend’s other major festie, the Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport, CT, you can follow the action on iClips.

We’ll have plenty of news, reviews and photos from all three festivals.

Let’s see what else is goin’ on as we gear up for another busy week:

• After a chaotic start, Canada’s Pemberton Festival went very well
• Bready of Fresh Bread shares some stellar photos of Black Kids
• NPR checks in with the kid from the cover of Nirvana’s Nevermind
• Heaven and Hell have started recording new material for a box set
• Les Claypool prepares his first video game score for Mushroom Men
• The Police look forward to finishing their tour in a little over a week

It’s been at least two weeks since we’ve heard any Led Zeppelin reunion tour rumors, so we thought we’d share the latest. Gigwise reports that the reason the band hasn’t moved forward is due to a rift between Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. Come on guys, bury the hatchet and let’s get it on before you’re too old.