| ock festivals began in the 1960s and, over the years, have evolved into colossal events involving the intersection of sensational live performances with a powerful opportunity to market to a specific audience. For music industry insiders, bands and fans, it's a chance to bask in rare performances alongside like-minded people.
This year's line-up of conferences and festivals brings together an assortment of buzz bands, new bands and reformed bands. While the conferences and festivals listed below are mostly North American experiences, one European festival has been included because of its growing popularity with the North American indie rock set.
MARCH
· March 7-10 – Canadian Music Week or CMW (Toronto, Ontario) is a conference aimed at the music industry by day, but welcomes the general public for nightly gigs. Among this year's keynote speakers are Beyonce's father, Matthew Knowles, and a slew of middle-aged white men like David Foster and Terry McBride who will coach musicians on running their careers. Over 500 scheduled performers (consisting of mostly Canadian talent) include Les Breastfeeders, Million Dollar Marxists, Nassau and The Dudes. Attending the festival and conference ranges from $35 to $745, depending on the events you wish to attend.
· March 9 to 18 – Aimed at industry folks rather than the general public, South By Southwest or SXSW (Austin, Texas) is an incredibly comprehensive music, media and film conference and festival. The music conference runs March 14-18, directly following the film conference. This year's official line-up includes The Stooges, Lily Allen, Daniel Johnston, Bloc Party, The Good The Bad & The Queen and Calgary favourites Chad VanGaalen, The Cape May and Smalltown DJs. While official music showcases are available to badge holders only, unofficial gigs are open to everyone at a variety of costs.
APRIL
· April 5 to 8 – This year, Viva Las Vegas celebrates its tenth year of being the ultimate rockabilly weekender in North America (The Gold Coast Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada). Featuring car shows, tiki parties, burlesque competitions, a jiving competition and heaps of bands, it is the destination for the ducktail and circle-skirt set. This year's musical talent includes Don Woody, Sleepy La Beef, Mac Curtis, Big Sandy, Deke Dickerson and more. A four-day pass costs between $72 US and $90 US, depending on the date of registration. Get your tickets fast because this stylish event has sold out for the past two years.
· April 27 to 29 – Coachella (Empire Polo Field, Indio, California) forces the intermingling of dedicated music fanatics with casual fans comprised of L.A. frat kids and celebrities. Coachella's stellar line-up almost always includes a reformed band that no one thought would ever get back together again. This year, the organizers have accomplished the unthinkable. William and Jim Reid will appear on the same stage for a Jesus and Mary Chain set. Rage Against the Machine and Crowded House have also reunited in time for the festival. Other scheduled acts include Sonic Youth, Interpol, Peter Bjorn & John, Bjork, The Decemberists, !!!, Ghostface Killah, The Fratellis, Regina Spektor, Willie Nelson and Ratatat. A single day pass costs $85 US and a three-day pass costs $249 US.
· April 27 to 29 – All Tomorrow's Parties Festival (Butlins Holiday Centre, Minehead, England) is drawing North American indie rock fans across the pond in droves. This year, the Dirty Three will curate Weekend One. (Weekend Two occurs May 18-20 and features a line-up selected by ATP and the fans.) The Australian trio hand-picked all acts sharing their bill like Nick Cave, Low, Spiritualized, Joanna Newsom and The Scientists. Attendees must be 18 years old or over. The event is held at a holiday resort and the ticket price includes a festival pass and three nights accommodation. The rate for the remaining accommodations begins at 560 pounds. All rooms include televisions with a channel specially programmed by The Dirty Three and ATP.
MAY
· May 2 to 6 – New Music West or NMW (Vancouver, B.C.) has a decent atmosphere for local bands to cut their teeth and for mainstream music fans to dip their toes into more adventurous waters. This year's line-up has not been released, but past performers include Nickelback, Metric, Motorhead, De La Soul and the Flaming Lips. A delegate pass costs $150 (includes admission into workshops and most shows) while a festival wristband costs $20 (admission to see 200 bands in five nights).
· May 20 to 21 – Virgin Festival (Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver, B.C.) has been a successful event 10 years strong in the U.K. Last September, it made its North America debut with a date in Toronto and another in Baltimore, Maryland. This year marks the debut of V-Fest in Vancouver. Slated to perform are My Chemical Romance, The Killers, Billy Talent, AFI, Rise Against and more. Ticket prices have not been announced.
· May 25 to 27 – Sasquatch! Music Festival (Gorge Amphitheatre, George, Washington) was dramatically interrupted last year when enormous hail fell during Neko Case's set. Presented by House of Blues, the line-up for 2007 has not been confirmed. Last year's roster included TV on the Radio, The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Iron & Wine, Queens of the Stone Age, Bauhaus, The Decemberists, Chad VanGaalen and others. Ticket prices have not been announced.
JUNE
· June 7 to 9 – North by Northeast or NXNE (Toronto, Ontario) is Canada's version of SXSW. A film and music festival and conference, NXNE will showcase over 450 bands this year and premiere films dealing with music. Over 2,000 delegates will sit in on panels, round table discussions, legal clinics and more. Last year's line-up included hot Canadian talent like The Golden Dogs, The Two Koreas and Raising the Fawn as well as seminal bands like the Buzzcocks and Television. Early-bird delegate passes start at $175.
· June 14 to 17 – The Bonnaroo Music Festival (Manchester, Tennessee) is a four-day camping and music festival taking place on a 2.8 km farm outside of Nashville. While the official Bonnaroo line-up will be announced on February 14th , rumoured performers include The Police, Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, The Chemical Brothers, The Arcade Fire and Drive By Truckers. The early bird rate is $125 US.
· June 28 to July 8 – Summerfest (or "The Big Gig") will be celebrating its 40th anniversary on their scenic 2.8 km permanent site at the Henry Maier Festival Park along Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Summerfest has held the Guinness World Record of "World's Biggest Music Festival" since 1999. It features hundreds of artists on eleven different permanent stages (including a 23,000 amphitheatre) for eleven days. "My favourite aspect about walking around the grounds is moving from stage to stage and seeing the world's top performers all within hundreds of feet of each other," says festival organizer, John Boller. Last year's gate admission ranged from $3 US for children to $15 US for adults.
JULY
· July 14 to 15 – Pitchfork Music Festival (Union Park, Chicago, Illinois) is the latest project from the e-zine authority on indie rock, Pitchfork Media. Debuting last year with heaps of bands topping music critics’ best-of lists, the Pitchfork Music Festival attracted a crowd 38,000 fans strong. Pitchfork Music Festival publicist, Anders Lindall comments, "We want the festival to present a wide range of acts, both established favourites and new discoveries, in a laidback, fan- and artist-friendly setting and for a price people can actually afford. In other words, we try to put together a festival that we'd like to attend and we're happy that fans of adventurous music from all over seem to enjoy it too." A one-day pass costs $25 US and a two-day pass costs $35 US. Tickets are on sale March 12.
· July 20 to 22 – The Dawson City Music Festival (Dawson City, Yukon) has featured both young and experienced Canadian performers over their nearly 30-year run. Last year's talent included Cuff the Duke, John K. Samson, Christine Fellows, Hylozoists and Final Fantasy. A weekend pass costs $90, a day pass costs $15 and a Palace Grand Evening Concert ticket costs $20 per evening.
AUGUST
· August 3 to 5 – Lollapalooza (Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois) has secured their location in Grant Park through to 2011. This year's line-up is unconfirmed, but among last year's impressive 130 performers included Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, Ween, Gnarls Barkley, Ben Kweller, Poi Dog Pondering, Lady Sovereign and Be Your Own PET. Ticket prices have not been announced.
SEPTEMBER
· September 1 to 2 – Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, Quebec) is back for a second run this year on the St-Helene Island, the former site of Expo 67. Last year's performers included Bell Orchestre, the Brazilian Girls, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, The Stills, The Hidden Cameras and others. Performers and ticket prices for 2007 have not been announced.
· September 1 to 3 – Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival (Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington) occurs in the heart of Seattle, between the hip downtown and the Lower Queen Anne districts. The word "bumbershoot" is slang for 'an umbrella' and represents the yearly aim of festival organizers – to have a diverse representation of the arts. In its 37th season, Bumbershoot is an action packed festival of entertaining music, film, comedy, spoken word, dance and more. Acts range from the slightly mainstream to obscure favourites. Advance tickets go on sale in June and range from the $18 US day pass to the $255 US platinum pass.
· September 8 to 9 – Virgin Festival (Toronto Island Park, Toronto, Ontario). See V-Fest Vancouver (above). Performers and ticket prices have not been announced.
· September 14 to 16 – Named after the excellent Austin City Limits program, the Austin City Limits Music Festival (Zilker Park, Austin, TX) is usually held during the hottest days of Austin's summer. Featuring over 130 bands over three days, official after-shows spill into the clubs after the gates close at Zilker Park. While bands like The Shins, TV on the Radio and Tokyo Police Club entertain the older kids, Austin Kiddie Limits is aimed at the younger set. Kiddie Limits features rock 'n' roll make-up artists and hairdressers (armed with Bumble & Bumble) and the usual petting zoo, beach and balloon artists. Performers and ticket prices have not been announced.
OCTOBER
· October 3 to 7 – Pop Montreal (Montreal, Quebec) began in 2002 with the goal to book "headliners of the future" alongside the odd popular act. Grassroots and curator driven, fine attention to detail is given to all aspects of the festival to ensure maximum attendee enrichment. Last year’s featured an arts and crafts fair, a film fest and a visual art presence. The music festival included the Canadian debut of Joanna Newsom as well as Tapes N' Tapes, Portastatic, Akron/Family and others. Performers and ticket prices have not yet been announced.
· October 16 to 20 – The Halifax Pop Explosion (Halifax, Nova Scotia) is described by executive director Waye Mason as an indie-rock folk festival. "The industry part happens, but it's never the focus, it's like a by-product." Since the festival happens within a 1.5 kilometre radius, people can walk between venues to catch new international, national and local talent of all genres. Can Zine, the national Zine fair, happens at the same time. Individual shows cost $5 to $28. A three-day pass costs $60 and a five-day pass costs $90. The VIP pass price isn't finalized, but has hovered around $200 (with guaranteed admission to everything).
· Late October – CMJ Music Marathon (Lincoln Center, New York, New York) typically thrills those who try to stay ahead of music trends and the casual music fan. Showcase director, Matt McDonald explains, "There's an emphasis on college-radio bands, so there's always a strong college-radio presence, obviously. Outside of that, the emphasis is always on the up-and-coming things, but there's also an assortment of more established bands." The daytime panel discussions, the concentration of bands and the city of Manhattan itself are the big attractions of the CMJ Music Marathon. Both music industry insiders and the general public are welcome. Neither an official date or badge prices have been announced. |
Copyright ©2007 FFWD. All rights reserved.