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Over the past few years, Pitchfork has become one of the most influential independent music sources – and they even created their own festival. Here’s our take on round two.

Born from the saloon vaudeville that toured the Wild West in the late 1800

The girl with the longest name in the scene, soulful pop rock songstress Samantha Stollenwerck is saturating the scene with her self-coined

ince 1998 Mark Karan has been touring with offshoots of The Grateful Dead including The Other Ones, Mickey Hart

Beyond top 40 radio spinning Rihanna every half hour, there is another realm of music waiting to be snatched up. This summer, turn off the radio and plug into a couple of internet music blogs and webzines to unearth gems from these engrossing performers and to conceive an indie soundtrack to the season.

Now in its fifth year, Bonnaroo has hit an unparalled stride. With stellar performances, numerous sit-ins and a festival setting unlike anywhere else, the annual trek to Manchester, Tennesee has become an essential summer roadtrip.

Scott Law toured and recorded as a guitarist with Melvin Seals (Jerry Garcia Band) and the well-traveled instrumental group, Hanuman before forming Scott Law Band, which released their first studio album in 2005. Scott is partners with Jilian and Bill Nershi (String Cheese Incident) in the group Honkytonk Homeslice and is a frequent sit-in with many other acts.

For years, That One Guy has been stunning crowds with his remarkably peculiar one-man show, applying his stand-up bass prowess to a monstrous, homemade instrument. Standing nearly seven feet tall, The Magic Pipe is a chaotic collage of galvanized steel, duct tape and electronic gadgetry, run through an array of samplers and effects boxes.

Cliff Krolick is a New Englander, and usually treats himself to a break from winter each year by heading south. This winter may have been mild, but it was still too long – so he took some friends down to Quito, Ecuador for a biking adventure.

Matt Costa shares with Glide his 20 favorite tunes with a little running commentary.