Entertainment, Music - Air Force Times

Festivals dot summer music landscape

If you’re serious about music, chances are you’re seriously considering attending a summer music festival.

Whether it’s a tiny one-day gathering of bluegrass bands in the mountains or a giant three-day rock celebration on a sprawling farm, there’s a festival for nearly every musical style.

These gatherings are wildly popular with performers and fans alike, both of whom get to let their hair down as they soak in the experience.

The performers rank music festivals among their most exhilarating onstage experiences.

“There’s no greater adrenaline rush than to be on a stage and look out at that many people watching you,” says Troy Gentry, whose million-selling duo Montgomery Gentry is playing country-music festivals this season.

What inspires millions of music lovers nationwide to leave the comfort of their air-conditioned living rooms to travel to music-festival sites that often end up being hot, wet, muddy and crowded?

“You’re able to pick and choose from a buffet of musical dishes rather than just one concert,” says Chris Devine, 35, a folk-music fan from Arizona. “You can sort of immerse yourself in music for a while.”

He must be onto something. The number of music festivals nationwide has risen steadily in the past few years. And that trend means that there’s now an event for seemingly any musical taste. The diversity is stunning.

Rockers can attend Bonnaroo June 14-17 in Tennessee or Summerfest June 28 to July 8 in Wisconsin, country fans can hit the CMA Music Festival June 7-10 in Tennessee, rap lovers can travel to New York for the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival on June 7, 14, 21-23, and scores of Latin performances will fuel the Latin Alternative Music Festival on July 10-14 in New York. And that’s just a tiny sampling.

It’s not just a matter of hopping in the car anymore. Music lovers with the means are springing for plane tickets to attend festivals in other states.

Steady growth

Jim Shanklin attributes the rising popularity of festivals to word-of-mouth on the Internet and baby boomers with more time on their hands as their children leave home. The founder of the Seattle-based festivals.com Web site, which lists more than 4,000 music festivals of all sizes, Shanklin says he has seen growth of about 7.5 percent annually in the past few years.

“It’s, in part, the social networking that goes on, on the Web. The baby-boomer thing also is definitely a part of it — people who are slowing down a bit, and the kids are gone. They may now have a motor home” to travel in, says Shanklin.

Also reporting solid gains is Target Sport Adventures, a Boston-based travel agency that works with such music festivals as Bonnaroo, which has attracted 80,000 fans yearly since its launch in 2002. Its festival packages include airline tickets, hotels and ground transportation.

“Business is good. We’ve been doing more and more music festivals,” spokesman Sam Comerchero says.

A new era

The years since the new millennium arrived have brought a rush of new festivals to the scene. The indie-rocking Pitchfork (launched last year in Chicago), New Jersey’s Bamboozle (2002), Bonnaroo (2002), the roots-rock-themed Wakarusa in Lawrence, Kan. (2004), the indie-leaning Sasquatch! in George, Wash. (2002) and Texas’ Austin City Limits (2002) all have expanded choices for music fans.

This year’s new entries include Stagecoach, which lured Kenny Chesney, George Strait, Alan Jackson and Willie Nelson to southern California on May 5-6, and Rocklahoma, which will bring ‘80s hair-metal acts Poison, Ratt and Dokken to Pryor, Okla., on July 13-15. The former was an instant success, while the latter may be the ultimate proof that any kind of festival can draw a crowd in 2007.

In Miami, the 8-year-old Ultra Music Festival, featuring many of the world’s top DJs and electronic artists, expanded to two days in March. Attendance tripled to more than 50,000 people since its launch.

In Arizona, the new Pine Mountain Spirit Fest brings big names in contemporary Christian music to a forest near Flagstaff on July 27-29.

“The mainstream music [fans] have their own festivals. We wanted a spiritual festival that centers around families and the Christian world,” says co-founder Rick Nunley, who expects 10,000 to attend.

The urge to move

With a little effort, there truly is something for almost everyone.

Folk fan Devine favors such gatherings as the Sebastopol Celtic Music Festival (Sept. 21-23) and the Strawberry Music Festival (May 24-27 and Aug. 30-Sept. 2), both in California.

“You’re with like-minded people, which is especially valuable at Celtic or folk festivals,” he says. “You get to see that ‘I’m not alone’ and geek out about all these bands that [trigger] a blank stare when you mention them to other people.”

Another Arizonan, Kris Saavedra, 33, enjoyed the variety of music he was exposed to at the huge Coachella Music Festival in southern California a few years ago (it took place April 27-29 this year), along with some unexpected discoveries.

After catching some well-known artists, he says, “you end up wanting to walk around to see what’s going on, so you get exposed to a lot of new music.”

Saavedra’s only complaint about Coachella is an issue at many summer festivals: The heat, which ranges from the sun beating down on fans to uncomfortable humidity in tents holding smaller stages.

But when the sun sets and temperatures drop, those who camp in tents or RVs at festivals enjoy a community spirit.

“Camping takes the whole community thing to another level because you’re sitting around a campfire, trading music and stories,” Devine says.

It’s not unusual at folk or bluegrass gatherings for performers to mingle with campers, instruments in hand, and jump into jam sessions around campfires.

Onstage freedom

Rick Farman, co-founder of Bonnaroo, says the non-stop music and community atmosphere are healthy for both bands and fans.

“You’re taking yourself out of your normal element; you’re not going home at night and clicking on CNN. You’re out of the day-to-day grind.”

For performers, festivals provide an atmosphere and setting far different from an indoor arena. That can be positive and challenging.

Classic rocker Alice Cooper, who will play more than 40 festivals in South America, Australia and Europe this summer, sees a double edge.

“It’s a rush, but it’s a different vibe,” Cooper says. “There’s anticipation when you go to a show at an arena. It’s dark, and you can’t wait for it to start.

”At a festival, you’ve got music going for three days, starting at 11 in the morning. It’s hard to attack that audience and get them going. They’re tired, they’ve been there all day.”

Lou Brutus, a senior program director for XM satellite radio, is a veteran of scores of festivals, but he’s far from jaded.

”You feel like you’re down in the trenches ... you’re in the eye of a very cool storm.

“I’ve been doing it for 20-some-odd years, but I still get that thrill, the butterflies in my stomach when you first get on site for a festival.”

A list of the music

Here is a look at some of the major summer music festivals across the country:

1. Joshua Tree Music Festival

May 18-20, Joshua Tree, Calif. An impressive array of world, roots and progressive musical acts, including Los Amigos Invisibles, Garaj Mahal and the New Deal. Details: (877) 327-6265, http://www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com.

2. Strawberry Music Festival

May 24-27 and Aug. 30-Sept. 3 near Yosemite National Park in California. This folksy festival takes place in two parts. Acts for the Memorial Day launch include Iris Dement, Utah Phillips, J.D. Crowe and the New South and the Dave Alvin Acoustic Trio. Details: (209) 984-8630, http://www.strawberrymusic.com.

3. Spirit West Coast

When: May 25-27, Del Mar, Calif. This is the first of two annual Spirit West Coast festivals (the other is Aug. 2-4 in Northern California). Top contemporary Christian artists and worship activities are featured. Details: (831) 443-5399, http://www.spiritwestcoast.org.

4. Chicago Blues Festival

June 7-10. Heavy-hitting festival includes Koko Taylor, Irma Thomas, Willie Clayton and Bobby Rush. Details: (312) 744-3370, http://www.chicagobluesfestival.us.

5. Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival

June 7, 14, 21-23 in Brooklyn, N.Y. The event’s third year stars Ghostface, Skillz, Consequence and Tanya Morgan. Details: http://www.brooklynbodega.com.

6. Wakarusa

June 7-10, Lawrence, Kan. The fourth version of the festival will have more than 100 artists, including Widespread Panic, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Ozomatli, Son Volt and Galactic. Details: http://www.wakarusa.com.

7. CMA Music Festival

June 7-10 in Nashville. Formerly known as Fan Fair, this 36-year-old event stars Alan Jackson, Dierks Bentley, Trace Adkins, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride Gretchen Wilson, many others. Details: (800) 262-3378, http://www.cmafest.com.

8. Bonnaroo

June 14-17 in Manchester, Tenn. Hippie-spawned fest’s lineup includes the Police, White Stripes, Widespread Panic, Wilco, Flaming Lips, the Decemerbists, Ziggy Marley. Details: http://www.bonnaroo.com.

9. Summerfest

June 28-July 8 in Milwaukee. Wide-ranging roster includes Roger Waters, Bon Jovi, the Fray, John Mayer, Toby Keith, Ben Folds, Miranda Lambert. Details: (414) 273-2680, http://www.summerfest.com.

10. Pitchfork Music Festival

July 13-15, Chicago. Indie-rock event features Sonic Youth, De La Soul, GZA/Genius, New Pornographers, Stephen Malkmus, Iron and Wine. Details: http://www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com.

11. Latin Alternative Music Conference

July 10-14 in New York City. This event has seminars and workshops on Latin-influenced rock, hip-hop, punk and electronic music, as well as scores of performances. Details: http://www.latinalternative.com.

12. Rocklahoma

July 13-15 in Pryor, Okla. The inaugural version features such ’70s and ’80s hair bands as Poison, Ratt, Warrant, Dokken, Winger and L.A. Guns. Details: (866) 310-2288, http://www.rockfeverfest.com.

13. Crossroads Guitar Festival

July 28 in Chicago. Staged by Eric Clapton, this one-day event features Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, Doyle Bramhall II, Sheryl Crow, B.B. King, John Mayer and Derek Trucks. Details: (480) 784-4444, http://www.ticketmaster.com.

14. Lollapalooza

Aug. 3-5 in Chicago. The alternative-music fest includes Pearl Jam, Modest Mouse, Muse, Iggy and the Stooges, Interpol, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Details: (888) 512-7469, http://www.lollapalooza.com.

15. Viva! Chicago Latin Music Festival

Aug. 25 and 26 in Chicago. This event is in its 19th year and features the sounds of cumbias, merengue and salsa. Details: (312) 744-3370, http://www.vivachicago.us.

16. Bumbershoot

Sept. 1-3 in Seattle. This modern-music fest includes the Shins, Wu-Tang Clan, Crowded House, Panic! at the Disco, Steve Earle, Devendra Banhart. Details: (206) 281-7788, http://www.bumbershoot.org.

17. Grand Canyon Music Festival

Sept. 1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 14-16, South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The festival, in its 24th year, attracts world-class chamber and classical acts. Details: (800) 997-8285, http://www.grandcanyonmusicfest.org.

18. Austin City Limits

Sept. 14-16 in Austin, Texas. Rock-and-roots festival will not announce its 2007 lineup until mid-May. Last year, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, the Flaming Lips and Gnarls Barkley played. Details: http://www.aclfestival.com.