The sand has settled. The wind has died down. Roger Waters’ giant pig has been found and returned. Unfortunately for the musically inclined, Coachella has already come and gone. Summer is officially over…

But wait! Wasn’t there a time, long, long ago, when there was no Coachella? Wasn’t there an era when people didn’t have one singular massive event to attend, when fans didn’t have to travel into the searing heat of the desert just to experience their favorite artists and no one was forced to spend $9 time and time again on bottles of water?

You bet your ass there was, although the price of water was probably the same. In case that little Indio, California-sunspot is the apex of your concert-going knowledge, prepare to be educated on the many other music festivals making their way across the country all summer* long!

* For the sake of this guide, let’s assume that summer lasts till a week past the first day of fall, shall we?

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Paid Dues Festival

A four-stop feast of rhyme and opinion-ized fury, the Paid Dues Festival features the sort of vivid underground voice shunned by the mainstream, offering a much more explicit hip hop scene than can be found amongst the Flo-Rida’s and Baby Bash’s of the audio landscape. These aren’t mere ballers falling in love with strippers and singing about Apple Bottom jeans; these are men on a mission with an actual message, ready to say what needs to be said no matter how much it might sting.

Why You Can Appreciate: Unlike the Coachellas and Bamboozles out there, Paid Dues is entirely independent, allowing its artists to speak what they feel and say what they mean without having to appease fat cat sponsors. Would you prefer Yak Ballz any other way?

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Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival

Camping? Check! Music? Check! Disc Golf? Checkmate, baby! Even though it suffered a fair share of setbacks over its first few years (thunderstorms, drug overdoses, snakebites and chiggers), the Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival has grown steadily since its inception, transforming from an overgrown hippy drum circle into one of North America’s most premier rock events. Add in the fact that Lawrence rarely cracks 90 degrees and you have one of the mellowest, most memorable weekends of the summer.

Come for: The Flaming Lips, Ben Folds, and Emmylou Harris

Random Facts About Wakarusa: For those hoping to see Wakarusa grow beyond its current size popularity, don’t get your hopes up. Per an agreement with the state, Wakarusa has to cap attendance at 15,000 people per day. Bummer, man. Bummer.

The sister set-up to the über-popular South By Southwest, this indie hub allows Canadians and Northern American fans alike access to the hottest acts, the newest films and the most important industry reps worldwide.  Aside from hundreds of band and artist performances at nearly three-dozen venues, NXNE also offers official attendees the opportunity to sit in on discussions, songwriter round tables, demo listening and peer critiquing, providing an outlet otherwise nonexistent in the music industry.

An Icon You Can (Sometimes) Count On: Though unofficial, NXNE does in fact have a sort of hidden mascot, appropriately named Sketchy. Rare stuffed versions of the rabid rabbit have recently been popping up on stage with musicians all over North America.

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Bonnaroo Music Festival

For starters (and for the sake of the uninformed), Bonnaroo has no connection whatsoever with U2 superstar Bono, though that’s not to say he wouldn’t fit in. While it started off with a focus primarily centered on jam bands, Bonnaroo has grown to feature an array of diverse musical varieties, but specifically rock and rap/hip hop. And though the Allman Brothers Band left a huge void after announcing they would no longer close the festival, the similarly Southern jam band Widespread Panic has since replaced them.

Stay for: Willie Nelson, B.B. King, and Death Cab for Cutie

What You Can Do at 2…A.M Made up of three areas (“This Tent,” “That Tent,” and the “Other Tent”), Centeroo is a 24-hour gathering place in the center of Bonnaroo, offering attendees an arcade, movies, comedy and many other tent-based luxuries.

Why bother driving days and days out of your way when you can just wait for the show to arrive, right in your own backyard? The Vans Warped Tour is just as you remember it. In fact, the only thing that’s really changed is probably you. So long as you don’t mind banging heads with angst-riddled high schoolers and drunken college kids (the primary make-up of this particular crowd), the Warped Tour is just as reliable and entertaining as always. Unfortunately for the ground, it just can’t be broken any further.

Come for: Matisyahu, Gym Class Heroes, and Jack’s Mannequin

A Memory from the Warped Road: In the year 2000, Weezer toured with the festival, playing to an ecstatic fan response after a two-year hiatus. Luckily, the Warped Tour was enough of a confidence booster to convince the band to go back into business full-time.

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Virgin Mobile Festival

He started his own phone company, his own airline and now, even his own space travel company. Is it any surprise that Richard Branson, the chairman of the Virgin brand, has his fingers dipped into the music festival bowl? With six days of performances spread out over three months between the United States and Canada, the Virgin Mobile Festival might not add anything extra to Branson’s extensive resume. But it will give rock and hip hop fans exactly what they’ve been waiting for all summer long.

Stay for: Stone Temple Pilots, Lil Wayne, and KT Tunstall

Would You Expect Any Less: As this is a Branson production, expect no less than the very best in all corners of the festival. Top shelf liquor, fine dining, and in the case of the Baltimore event, even horseracing are just some of the amenities Virgin will be offering.

11 Days. 11 Stages. Over 700 bands. Or at least that’s what the website tells me. Ah yes…no summer music guide would be complete without a rundown of Summerfest, often referred to as “The Big Gig.” Since the 1960s, Summerfest has entertained music lovers of all varieties, no matter their taste or preference.  This year is undoubtedly no different, featuring likely its most diverse arrangement of artists yet, from Stevie Wonder to the Stone Temple Pilots to those almost too wild and crazy Jonas Brothers.

Come for: Alicia Keys, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and John Mayer

Stay for: Steve Miller Band, Blondie, and Coheed and Cambria

Winterfest, We Hardly Knew Ye: Believe it or not, for nearly 10 years, there was in fact a Winterfest. Much like Summerfest’s early days, Winterfest was spread through venues all over downtown Milwaukee. Unfortunately, it ceased operations for good in 1998.

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Rothbury Music Festival

Log Cabin Lodging Yoga Snoop Dogg  = an experience unlike any other! That’s right, thanks to the good people putting on the first annual Rothbury Music Festival, you can finally find your chi in the midst of a green forest, all the while enjoying some of the hottest bands and artists worldwide! If the need for a fantastic Fourth of July is calling your name, then celebrate the anniversary of the America in style at Rothbury. And hell, even if you don’t actually call the United States home, come celebrate anyways!

Come for: Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, and Modest Mouse

Stay for: Phil Lesh and Friends, Thievery Corporation, and 311

Green as It Gets: The most eco-friendly festival ever planned, Rothbury officials are making every effort to promote sustainability and promote overall improvements to the environment. And if that doesn’t matter to you, there are still plenty of tunes to dig!

Much in the same vein as Ozzy Osbourne’s Ozzfest or Korn’s Family Values Tour, the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival is currently the only rock and metal tour set for this summer. Though the one-day only Ozzfest will in fact host more metal bands, Mayhem will offer a higher profile, featuring more Top 40 hard rock bands than any other tour. And if anyone still has any qualms about the quality of this tour, then take solace in this fact: Mayhem is being assembled by Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman.

Stay for: Mastodon, Five Finger Death Punch, and 36 Crazyfists

Lead a Horse to Rockstar: It’s a stone cold fact that water is always overpriced at any concert worldwide. Luckily for Mayhem attendees, the event’s sponsor (Rockstar Energy Drink) will be sampling an assortment of free beverages and products.

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Pitchfork Music Festival

Put on by the premier music criticism establishment currently online, the Pitchfork Music Festival had its origins in 2006, when Pitchfork Media saw a need for a festival that was more about music than spectacle. Since then, hundreds of bands and high-profile artists have played at Pitchfork, including Sonic Youth and Yoko Ono, who privileged the crowd in 2007 with a rendition of “Mulberries,” a piece about growing up in post-WW II Japan. She had only played the song two times prior (with both Sean AND John Lennon).

Plan for a Day Or Two, But Not Three: For any and all expecting to experience the entire Pitchfork roundabout weekend, you better hope you already have your three-day passes. They sold out more than two months before the event was set to take place.

Previously landlocked primarily in California, the 2008 Rock the Bells will be the first time the hip hop series has left the “security” of the United States and crossed the pond into international territories. With stops all over Europe and a one-show layover in Japan, Rock the Bells will also return to the Glen Helen Pavilion in San Bernardino, CA where last year’s rendition sold out with a capacity crowd of 45,000 people. And with A Tribe Called Quest headlining this year, it’s pretty much a guarantee for a sellout once again.

Stay for: Ghostface and Raekwon, Method Man & Redman, and Dead Prez

Film for Thought: Rock the Bells, a documentary by the same name, details the festival’s origins, birth, and the near-disaster status it almost attained. It also features the final performance by the entire Wu-Tang Clan, shot four months before ODB’s death.

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Lollapalooza

August 1 – August 3, 2008
Grant Park – Chicago, Illinois

One of the granddaddies of the current festival circuit, Lollapalooza is perhaps the only show (outside of Coachella) that has managed to maintain a modern Woodstock-status. Conceived in 1991 as a farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction, Lollapalooza has run off-and-on since then (despite a six year hiatus between 1997 and 2003). Though no longer a touring show as it once was, Lollapalooza still focuses on the same things that made it a success in the first place: alternative rock, with just a hint of punk and hip hop.

Come for: Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, and Gnarls Barkley

Stay for: Nine Inch Nails, The Raconteurs, and Bloc Party

The Lollapalooza That Never Was: Set to be perhaps the biggest year Lollapalooza had ever experienced, 1994’s rendition was beset by tragedy after headliner Nirvana officially pulled out on April 7. The tragedy? Kurt Cobain’s dead body was found one day later.

Sure, it may look and sound like a music series straight out of the movie Fargo, but the Osheaga Festival is much more than a mundane trip to Arby’s. One of the only major festivals to find a home north of the border, this Montreal-based, two-day celebration of rock features a line-up of never failing to impress. Plus, since it’s in Canada, it’s pretty much a surefire guarantee that the weather won’t cook the crowd into a heat-stroked frenzy. In fact, attendees might even be smart to bring a sweater.

Come for: The Killers, Jack Johnson, and Iggy & The Stooges

Stay for: Cat Power, Broken Social Scene and The Black Keys

Damn You NASCAR: For those damning the inconvenience of the Sunday-Monday event scheduling, it could be much worse. A NASCAR race is being held in the near vicinity and Osheaga officials didn’t want to compete with the noise of car engines.

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All Points West Music & Arts Festival

The Coachella of the East. At least, that’s what the All Points West Music & Arts Festival is unofficially being launched as in hopes of attaining the already-legendary status of Golden Voice’s Southern California concert juggernaut. Different than Coachella, there is no camping allowed at All Points West. However, so long as the wide variety of artists and qualities of performers can match, here’s hoping All Points West becomes an annual East Coast concert-specialty, just as promoters expect.

Stay for: The New Pornographers, Kings of Leon and The Secret Machines

Yes and No for the Show: The list of “Cans” and “Cannots” at All Points West are the typical sort (no video cameras, no drugs, no weapons, no pets). But the biggest “no-no” on the list? Absolutely, positively no blankets, tents, or camping equipment of any kind.

It might be taking place at the exact same time as All Points West and Ozzfest, but regardless, the New American Music Union Festival might actually have the most unique take on a music series yet. Hosted by Red Hot Chili Peppers head honcho Anthony Kiedis, this event will feature some of the most popular artists in the music industry today. However, different than any other festival’s set-up, these superstars will be sharing the stage with 15 of the most promising college bands from across the country.

Come for: Bob Dylan, The Raconteurs, and Gnarls Barkley

Stay for: The Roots, Black Mountain, and…15 college bands

An Inspirational Anthony Kiedis Quote: “…concerts can be life changing.  That is how I approached putting this lineup together. The thrill of seeing Bob Dylan next to The Raconteurs next to Gnarls Barkley next to The Roots is reason for us all to celebrate.”

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Ozzfest

There was worry that this year’s version of Ozzfest was going to be called off, but never fear! The Ozzman still cometh, even if it is just for one day. Uncertainty over whether Ozzfest would even be held had been emanating from all sides, especially after the somewhat similar Rockstar Mayhem Festival was announced. In an effort to distance itself from Rockstar, while still creating something special, Ozzfest is now set up as a one-day concert destination, the likes of which metal fans have never seen or heard.

Stay for: Devildriver, Apocalyptica, and Serj Tankian (lead singer of System of a Down)

A Day for Dimebag: As a sign of respect to fallen heavy metal hero “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, this year’s Ozzfest will serve as an all-star tribute to the slain Pantera guitarist, who was shot to death (along with three others) at a Damageplan concert in 2004.

Who wants to wait for the third time around when you can hit the charm first try? Judging by the line-up and the list of events set for the first annual Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, that certainly seems like the question event organizers are asking themselves. Featuring all the best that rock and hip hop have to offer, including Radiohead, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Lupe Fiasco and many more, Outside Lands is definitely dressing to impress all who attend on its inaugural run.

Come for: Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Jack Johnson and Dredg

First Impressions: Already being dubbed as the most ambitious event in the park’s history, a portion of every ticket sold at Outside Lands will directly benefit Golden Gate Park. Not bad for the first annual ticketed multi-stage event in the park’s history, eh?

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Street Scene

Once a slew of raucous shows held in downtown San Diego, Street Scene in recent years had seemingly grown too big, too loud and too attended to stay on the sidewalks. Thrown last year at the Coors Amphitheatre, the cross-genre series lost a little luster when it ditched its good old-fashioned street appeal. 2008’s rendition is set to return to its roots, heading back into the streets of downtown for what will undoubtedly be the most popular Southern California concert series of the year (outside of Coachella, at least). 

Taking It to the Streets: Heading to downtown San Diego at this time of the year is certainly a way to see San Diego’s best. Street Scene arrives right on the heels of the massively popular Comic-Con, which likewise takes the city by storm just weeks prior.

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Austin City Limits Music Festival

Although it might be the least popular of the United States’ other premier rock series of the summer (Bonnaroo, Coachella, and Lollapalooza), the Austin City Limits Music Festival most certainly shouldn’t be taken lightly. True, it doesn’t really take place in summer. And truer, it takes place deep in the heart of country and western country. Regardless, Austin City Limits still offers attendees a more diverse array of music than almost any other concert this summer, sure to please any person lucky enough to attend.

Come for: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Beck, and N.E.R.D.

Stay for: John Fogerty, Okkervil River, and Erykah Badu

What’s This About Water: Maybe it’s a sign of the times, but for one reason or another, festival officials actually recommend that you bring in your own water. Maybe it’s true what they say, that everything is bigger in Texas – especially their hearts!

Photo by David Atlas