Glide Summer 2005 Festival Preview : Glide Summer Festival,

It’s time for Glide Magazine’s guide to Summer Festival enjoyment. From the mega-blockbuster Bonnaroo to late-night at High Sierra and the return of Perry Farrell’s Lollapalooza, this summer is poised to be one for the ages. Coast to coast, festivals are popping up everywhere from West Virginia to Oregon, each weekend bringing countless opportunities for live music fans everywhere. Unlike in years past, 2005’s plethora of musical engagements promises mass musical diversity with acts ranging from hip hop to bluegrass gracing almost every festival, and catering to a much broader audience and market. No more do festivals merely covet jamband fans, but they now instead vie to include all walks of musical life, consciously luring urbanites, hoe-downers and twirl dancers alike.

For this summer, we at Glide chose to highlight several of the festival hot spots sure to be more than just a weekend of music. Unlike life in the real world, each of these festivals offers its patrons a colorful escape from the daily grind of everyday life, entitling its goers with more than just music, but also arts and crafts, comedy tents, open mics, swimming, biking and sometimes even golf. So here we go.

Bonnaroo–June 10-12–Mancester, TN

Ah, Tennessee. Once again the boys at Superfly have put together an almost startling line-up of musical acts for this year’s festival of festivals. Not since the 60’s has there been an event of this magnitude on American shores. With the likes of Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, Jack Johnson, Modest Mouse, the Black Crowes, Herbie Hancock, STS9, DJ Krush, Toots and Maytals, Jurassic 5 and many, many others all performing on many, many stages, that’s pretty much all that needs to be said. Weather permitting, Bonnaroo will provide an appropriate jump-off for those traveling to Wakarusa the next weekend. Also offering all the amenities a festival of that magnitude has to offer, (comedy tents with the likes of Jim Bruer and Charlie Murphy, an XBOX arcade tent, a game tent, Internet tents, jungle gyms, a brooer’s festival and so much more) Tennessee has never been more appealing.

bonnaroo

Telluride Bluegrass Festival–June 16-19–Telluride, CO

Called the Woodstock of the West, the best in bluegrass arrive in this picturesque town nestled in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado for this well know bluegrass festival. Featuring four days of bluegrass-based acoustic music, Telluride never fails up to serve up a first class lineup. This years festival features: Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Earl Scruggs and friend, The Sam Bush Band, Stanley Clarke, Bela Fleck and Jean-Luc Ponty, Jewel, Wilco, Bobby McFerrin, Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon, David Bromberg and the Large Band, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, John Butler Trio and Yonder Mountain String Band And for you techies out there, ABEO Corporation, in cooperation with Planet Bluegrass, will be providing FREE wireless Internet access at the festival.

telluridebluegrass

Roskilde Festival – June 30-July 3 – Roskilde, Denmark

Perhaps the organizers put it best when they said – The trademark of Roskilde Festival is, and continues to be, lots of unpredictability, progressiveness and experimentation, combined with a small amount of predictability and ‘polishedness’. Fair enough, bring it on. With Audioslave, Black Sabbath, Sonic Youth, Mars Vota, Femi Kuti, Bright Eyes, Green Da, Interpol and Brian Wilson onboard, things are looking mighty good in Denmark.

roskilde-festival

Allgood Summer Festival – July 15-17 – Masontown, WV

Located at Marvins’ Mountaintop, Allgood, now in it’s ninth year, features more familiar names along with drum circles, crafts, microbrews & foods & kids activity tent. This year the festival nabbed their best lineup yet with Flaming Lips, String Cheese Incident, Les Claypool, Keller Williams, Ozomatli and Lake Trout are amongst the bands visiting the West Virginia hoe-down this summer. The late night spot from Umphrey’s McGee promises to be one of the summer’s most buzzed about shows.

allgoodfestival

Wakarusa–June 17-19–Lawrence, KS

Back for its second installment, Wakarusa returns with another stacked line-up in 2005. This year performing in the rolling hills of eastern Kansas are Wilco, Sound Tribe Sector 9 (two nights), Gov’t Mule, String Cheese Incident, Umphrey’s McGee, Ozomatli, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Particle and many more. With another stage added, a special late-night performance by STS9 Thursday night, (1am Friday morning) and lots of outdoor recreation, from disc golf to swimming in the Clinton Lake, Wakarusa will once again be one of the premier festivals around. Be prepared for pounding thunderstorms, chiggers and heat. There’s nothing like Kansas. Tickets are $99.

wakarusa

High Sierra Music Festival–June 30-July 3–Quincy, CA

The 15th annual High Sierra Music Festival returns July 4th weekend to the Sierra Nevada’s with Gov’t Mule, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Yonder Mountain String Band, Les Claypool, Keller Williams and Friends, Steve Kimock, Mike Gordon and Leo Kottke, The Slip and more. As in year’s past, this year’s HSMF brings music, culture and art together into one of the most unique festivals the summer has to offer. With swimming, biking, golf, fishing and hiking abound, not to mention late-night performances that can make a band’s career, High Sierra offers the west coast’s premier jam-based music and arts festival, just in time for July 4th. Tickets are $141.

highsierramusicfestival

Nelson Ledges Festival–July 1-3–Garrettsville, OH

For those of you who’ve been to Nelson Ledges before, you can’t deny the breathtaking beauty of the area. Though Ohio isn’t everyone’s favorite state, it does offer a great spot for a July 4th music and camping festival. David Grisman Quintet, Rusted Root, Little Feat, STS9, Wookiefoot, David Gans, Donna the Buffalo and the Drew Emmitt Band will all be there, as will a massive fireworks display, skydivers, the Burning Man and some glorious ledges. Tickets are $80 online and $90 at the gate.

10,000 Lakes Festival–July 21-24–Detroit Lakes, MN

Located on the 600-acre Soo Pass Ranch in northern Minnesota, the 2005 10,000 Lakes Festival boasts a 30-plus act line-up on four stages over four days. This year’s headliners are two nights of the revitalized Widespread Panic and Trey Anastasio to close festivities Sunday night. Supporting Widespread Panic and Anastasio are STS9, Les Claypool, Dark Star Orchestra, Black Crowes, the Everyone Orchestra, Animal Liberation Orchestra, Buckethead, Rusted Root, MOFRO and over a dozen others. The Lake Sallie Campground offers festival goers beautiful landscape, including over 3,000 feet of shoreline and a great taste of the wild outdoors. For those going to Lollapalooza, this is a nice starting point, you can even bounce back and forth between the two if you like. Tickets are $120.

10,000 Lakes Festival

Lollapalooza–July 23 and 24–Chicago, IL

Back for another swing is Perry Farrell and his utopian musical vision, Lollapalooza. After last year’s troubling financial setbacks that resulted in the traveling festival’s cancellation, Farrell is back with a two-day, five stage and over 60 act event. With a diversified line-up of WSP, the Pixies, Cake, STS9, Weezer, Soulive, G. Love and Special Sauce, Billy Idol, Arcade Fire, The Black Keys, Dinosaur Jr. and almost 50 more, Lollapalooza will surely be interesting, to say the least. Located at Chicago’s Grant Park, this year’s festival looks to take upon some of the tradition of the first Lollapalooza’s, and add to it a more epic appeal. Two day passes are $100.

Lollapalooza

Fuji Rock Festival – Japan – July 29-31

Sure it’s a long plane flight and you may not know Japanese, but this festival resembles Coachella in true Far East fashion. New Order, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Beck, Moby, Los Lobos, Cake, Queens of the Stone Age, Dinosaur Jr., Doves and Mars Volta are some of the English speakers making their way across the Pacific. Located high up in the mountains at the Naeba Ski Resort, Fuji Rock is lush, eclectic and gives the always appreciative and open eared Japanese, an open invite to American rock and roll.

fujirockfestival

Gathering Of The Vibes – August 12-14-Mariaville, NY

What began as tribute to the late Jerry Garcia, where the Deadhead Community could join together and collectively share music has evolved into a multi-faceted festival now in its tenth year. Run by the folks over at Terrapin This year’s lineup features a variety of acts that incorporate the spirit of the Dead, including: Assembly of Dust, Del McCoury Band, Jazz Mandolin Project, Railroad Earth, John Brown’s Body and Medeski, Martin & Wood. Rumors insist the Ominous Seapods will be reuniting for a performance in their upstate New York home.

gatheringofthevibes

Newport Folk Fesival – August 5-7 Newport, RI

The festival best remembered where Bob Dylan first went electric, is still burgeoning a stellare lineup of today’s best wordsmiths. Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Emmylou Harris, Bright Eyes, Jim James, M.Ward, Kasey Chambers, Del McCoury Band, Bela Fleck Acoustic Trio, Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin and Ray LaMontagne round out thisyeasr lineup. Two new events will also debut this year. On Aug. 4 the event will kick off with a rare screening of Murray Lerner’s 1967 film ”Festival!,” which chronicles the Newport Folk Festival from 1964 through 1966 and includes footage of Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan’s notorious plugged-in set.

Newport Folk Fest

Camp Bisco–8/26 and 27–Van Etten, NY

Of all the festivals of this summer, this will be the one at the top of my list. For all intents and purposes, this may be the end of trancefusion pioneers, The Disco Biscuits, and their long and tumultuous journey into musical supremacy. With a ten-year career that’s helped define and shape the jam-electronic scene, The Disco Biscuits’ have paved the way for bands like STS9, the New Deal and Particle to spread their wings and bring electronic music to the jam community. To help celebrate this possible farewell weekend just outside of Ithaca, the Biscuits have enlisted the help of the New Deal, Umphrey’s McGee, Brothers Past, Big in Japan, the Duo, Conspirator and a few others to one last time blow some minds and party like there’s no tomorrow. Make sure to get your tickets for this one soon, they’re only offering 5,000 for this year’s Camp Bisco, and I’m sure much of that is already gone.

discobiscuits

moe.down – September 2- 4 – Turin, NY

In what has become a labor day weekend tradition, moe, will once again play host to its own festival in upstate New York. Keller Williams, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Matisyahu, RAQ, Addison Groove Project, and The Breakfast are first batch of bands to be appearing at the sixth annual moe.down. $75 early bird tickets are on sale now!

moedown

That wraps-up Glide Magazine’s 2005 Summer Festival Guide. With so many festivals happening throughout the country from now until the end of August, make sure to pack up your car and get out of town at least once to one or more of the many fine musical events this country has to offer. Enjoy.

 

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