A summer of music festivals in 2010

10-14: Canadian Music Fest, Ontario; Our Lady Peace, Cage the Elephant, Great Lakes Swimmers.

12-14: BLOC, Somerset, UK; Salt N Peppa, Grandmaster Flash.

17-21: SXSW, Austin, Texas; a large lineup of bands.

21-23: Jam in the Dam, Amsterdam; The Bridge, Les Clypool, The New Mastersounds, Umphrey's McGee, Yonder Mountain String Band.

26-27: Birds on a Wire, Pullman, Wash.; Justin Townes Earle, Damien Jurado, Frontier Ruckus, Maldives, more.

26-27: Ultra Music Festival, Miami, Fla., The Crystal Method, Groove Armada, Carl Cox and more.

27-28: The Bamboozle, Anaheim, Calif.; AFI, The Bouncing Souls many more.

18-April 3: Savannah Music Festival, Georgia; Large variety of genres including Wilco.

9-11, 16-18, 23-25: Texas Crawfish and Music Festival, Spring, Texas; check site for updates.

15-17: Wanee, Live Oak, Fla.; Allman Bros. Band, Widespread Panic, Derek Trucks.

15-18: Old Settler's Music Festival, Austin, Texas; Joe Ely, 7 Walkers ft. Bill Kreutzmann.

16-18: Coachella, Indio, Calif.; DEVO, Echo and the Boneymen, Jay-Z, Phoenix, LCD Soundsystem, Gorillaz and many more.

16-18: Rhythym and Blooms Festival, Knoxville, Tenn.; Carrie Rodriguez, The Old Ceremony, Samantha Crain, Yarn, 18 South, the Black Lilies, more.
22-24: Florida Music Festival, Orlando; Third Eye Blind, Flogging Molley.

23-25: McDowell Mountain Festival, Arizona; Assembly of Dust, Robert Randolph and the Family Band.

23-May 2: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival; Pearl Jam, Simon and Garfunkel, My Morning Jacket.

28-May 2: Sunfest, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Weezer, ZZ Top.

30-May 2: Gamble Rogers Folk Festival, St. Augustine, Fla.; Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, Loudon Wainwright, Janis Ian, John Cowan Band, Pierce Pettis, Greg Brown, Patty Larkin, more.

30-May 2: Beale Street Music Festival, Memphis, Tenn.; Widespread Panic, Blues traveler, Jeff Beck, Earth Wind and Fire, Flaming Lips.


7-9: All Tomorrow's Parties, Minehead, England; Currated by Matt Groening; Iggy and the Stooges, Deerhunter, Panda Bear, the Residents.
14-16: Bluegrass from the Forest, Shelton, Wash.; Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper headlining all three days, several top regional bands, master workshops, band scramble, band contest, banjo contest, great jamming indoors and out, vendors and much more.

28-30: Summer Camp, Illinois; Umphrey's McGee, Keller Williams, STS9, Pretty Lights, Victor Wooten and Moe.

28-30: Florida Folk Festival, White Springs, Fla.; Visit site for details.
28-30: Desert Rocks, Moab, Utah; Emmitt-Nershi Band, The Motet and Friends, The Naked Eyes.

29-30: Detroit Electronic Music Festival, no lineup yet.

29-31: Sasquatcth, the Gorge, Washington; My Morning Jacket, OK Go, Minus the Bear, Massive Attack, Public Enemy.

4-6: Mountain Jam VI, Hunter Mountain, NY; Gov't Mule, Levon Helm and Friends, 70th birthday celebration (with very special guests), Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Band, Matisyahu, more.

10-13: Bonnaroo, Manchester, Tenn.; DMB, Tenacious D, Weezer, Flaming Lips playing DSOTM.

11-13: Download, Donington Park, UK; AC/DC, RATM, Aerosmith, Wolfmother.

11-13: Isle of Wight, Newport, UK; Paul McArtney, Jay-Z, the Strokes, Editors, Friendly fires, Orbital. A Jimi Hendrix tribute band will play at the big top.
11-19: Riverbend Festival, Chattanooga, Tenn.; 5 stages, 100+ bands including Darius Rucker, Uriah Heep, George Clinton.

16-20: NXNE, Toronto - Check site for updates.
24-July 4: Milwaukee Summerfest, Wisconsin; 311, Jeff Beck, Tom Petty, The Moody Blues, STS9.

1-4: High Sierra Music Festival, Quincy, Calif.; Railroad Earth, Cornmeal, Zach Deputy.

4?: American Music Festival, Berwyn, Ill.; Bands to be announced.

16-18 Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago; Modest Mouse, LCD Soundsystem and several others.

30-Aug. 1: Camp Bestival, Lulworth Castle, Dorset, UK; many acts including Madness, Friendly Fires, George Clinton and the Parliment Funkadelic, DJ Yoda and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

30-Aug. 1: Fuji Rock, Naeba, Japan; Flogging Molly, Muse, Air.

30-Aug. 1: All Points West, NJ; Jay-Z, Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

6-8: Lollapalooza, Grant Park, Chicago; Check Website for updates.

20-22: Hoxeyville Music Festival, Wellston, Mich.; Check Website for info.

20-22: The Green Man Festival, Wales, UK; headlined by the Flaming Lips.

September 2-5: Didmarton Bluegrass Festival, Nr Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK; Peter Rowan, Claire Lynch Band, Show of Hands, more.

*This list will be updated throughout the summer as more festivals are announced and/or discovered. If there are any summer music festivals going on in your neck of the woods, please leave a comment and it will be included in the list. Hopefully, this list will be more complete as the summer rolls on, and will serve as a guide to people looking for some great live music.

Also, please comment about which festivals or other shows you are most excited about this summer.

Missing acts

A few popular festivals aren't returning this year.

10,000 Lakes in Minnesota is on hiatus until further notice, according to their Web site, stating that the operation could not reach financial success.

The Rothbury fest in rural Michigan has also announced there will be no festival in 2010, citing a contributing factor of not being able to assemble a "cutting edge roster" for the weekend festival, according to a statment on the Rothbury Website.

"Despite the 2010 postponement, we intend to move toward continuing ROTHBURY in 2011. This event is something very special, and we are unwilling to potentially tarnish what ROTHBURY is, and can become, by working under conditions that will produce anything less than a magical experience," according to the statement.

The future of the Monolith Festival at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colo., is also unknown, but according to the fest's Facebook page, Organizers are working on a solution for 2010.

The Circle K Tempe Music Festival is on hold for 2010, citing similar roster problems as other fests.

The last Red Rocks Incident

I am excited for the short string of cheese incidents that were announced by the String Cheese Incident. The Colorado band returns to the stage at one of their favorite backyard spots, Red Rocks.

Since The Cheese played their final scheduled show of 2007 at Red Rocks Aug. 9-12, they have made one other appearance as a band at the Rothbury festival in Michigan. The members have participated inb various solo and other musical ventures throughout the hiatus.

After the first night of these shows, Angie and I drove straight to Red Rocks without finding a place to stay (camp). Everyone at the show told us there was camping all around so we weren't worried.

But when the show got out it was late and we chose a random road to start out on. We drove for maybe an hour, before deciding to pull over and sleep on the shoulder of the road.

When we woke up we were in a wilderness looking area, with miles of forest in every direction.

We stayed in Denver the next day and made sure to head that way after the show.

The next day, we returned without tickets, but someone searched us out and convinced a stranger to give us free tickets.

The girl had been "miracled" the night before, and seemed to be trying to fulfill her karmic duties by bringing a miracle to another.

"Well maybe I'd take $20 for them," the man mumbled, but was swiftly interrupted by the girl with the fairy wings and Rainbow Brite hair.

"No way, you said miracle, you said miracle, man, that's not cool," she warned. The man gave in to her plea and gave up the tickets. We felt a little strange, but thanked him and went inside.

I attended the August Red Rocks shows, and I am excited to try to go to the next turn up the riverbed.

Some photos of the Aug. 2007 parking lot scene at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Golden, Colo., just a short drive West of Denver.

Bonnaroo to sport a psychadelic theatrical cap?

Hello?

Hello

hello.



Is there anybody in there?



Just nod if you can hear me.



Is there any-one home?





When I noticed a supposed "leaked" version of the artist lineup for Bonnaroo 2010 was posted on the Web, I looked at the flier, scanning from the bottom up, waiting to see what it said the top few bands would be this year.

When I saw the words "Roger Waters performing the Wall" I was, to say the least, excited. I've always wanted to see The Wall, performed in all it's theatrical glory, played live in front of a huge roaring crowd. I read while ago that Pink Floyd would not give permission for any bands (or high school drama troupes, for that matter) to play the rock opera live, limiting the masterpiece to just a few live performances (beyond Floyd's original touring to support the album) over the past decades by Waters himself.

I have listened to Waters' performance of The Wall in Berlin in 1990 countless times, and the recording captures the original pompous British extravaganza and musical roller coaster to a T. I can't wait what it will sound like at Bonnaroo. Let's just hope this is not a rumor!

There are plenty of other cool bands on the leaked flier including 311, The String Cheese Incident, DMB, Jay-Z, Tenacious D, My Morning Jacket, STS9, Les Claypool, Phoenix and Stevie Wonder. See the flier below:



Last year was a great lineup and I appreciated that the Bonnaroo people brought in the Jam kings (Phish) to right the direction of the festival ship. This year looks like another good one, even if part of the flier is accurate. Though several acts are likely to be correct, the advertisement could also be a fabricated lie. We'll have to wait until Feb. 9 to find out.

There are bands from many genres, though the experimental jam-esque vibe of the festival's roots is well-represented. There is no lack of talent in this year's line up. And what better act to cap the night than the talented psychedelic storytelling of Roger Waters.

I wonder if concert-goers will be required to eat any pudding before going to see the show.

UPDATE:

OK, it looks like the flier was not entirely true, but there are a few bands that have matched up, as Bonnaroo announces the artists one by one on their Myspace page.

Confirmed true, also on the "leaked" poster: DMB, Phoenix, Jay-Z.

New confirmed acts: OK Go, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Neon Indian, Jeff Beck.

An interisting an awesome Pink Floyd twist: The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs perform "Dark Side of the Moon."

Phish - The Gorge, Washington, 2009