Music festivals guaranteed to heat up your summer

With temperatures soaring above 90 degrees in New Jersey earlier this week, it’s clear that summer is just around the corner. One of the biggest advantages to the warmer weather is the arrival of the music festival season, and this year’s lineup looks particularly juicy.

Some of the biggest names in music are set to grace the United States’ grandest stages, and hundreds of thousands of people will travel across the country to see their favorite bands. Summer music festivals often have the reputation of being too expensive, overcrowded or unsanitary, but that’s just part of the experience.

What better way to see the best bands in America than with a forehead full of sweat, surrounded by a group of fellow fanatics screaming along with you to all your favorite songs?

So, music lovers: pack up extra clothes, a ton of water and a fat wad of money for beer and food. Here is a quick rundown of the top three most-anticipated music festivals still to come in summer 2009.

1. Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival

Held annually since 2002 in Manchester, Tenn. From June 11-14, Bonnaroo has been labeled a modern-day Woodstock for its tendency to host jam-heavy bands. This year, however, Bonnaroo promoters included a number of artists from different genres, making this year’s festival as much an experiment on human interaction as a celebration of the arts.

With such big-name acts as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, MGMT, Al Green, Nine Inch Nails, Snoop Dogg, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and the newly-added Public Enemy, Bonnaroo will see fans from all different musical backgrounds collide together. The festival also includes a two-show set over two days by Phish, who have recently reunited after a nearly three-year hiatus from the music industry.

Bonnaroo promises to be four days that you won’t soon forget. In addition to the 70 plus bands on the bill, the festival plays host to comedians – including Jimmy Fallon and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog – art vendors, silent auctions, and a world-renowned beer tent. The only drawback? Tickets cost around $270 (which includes parking and camping fees) and it’s a 14-hour drive to Tennessee.

2. All Points West Music and Arts Festival

Though this is just the second year the festival has been running, All Points West contains an eclectic group of indie, electronic, and pop-rock bands. Taking place at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J. from July 31-Aug 2, the festival gives New Jersey music lovers a reason to go out in the hot city sun this summer.
All Points West includes appearances by Beastie Boys, Tool, Vampire Weekend, My Bloody Valentine, Coldplay, and this year’s most festival-happy band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Like Bonnaroo, the festival also hosts a list of comedians, including Janeane Garofalo, Tim and Eric, and a presentation from CollegeHumor Live.
All set to a breath-taking backdrop of the New York City skyline, All Points West is likely to become a staple summer music festival in the years to come. For a limited time, tickets run at $199 for a three-day pass, with single-day tickets available for $89.

3. Lollapalooza

Though Jane’s Addiction guitarist Perry Farrell started Lollapalooza way back in 1991, recent revivals in 2003 and 2005-08 show that the festival is here to stay. This year’s Lollapalooza will take place in Chicago, Ill., from Aug 7-9, and features some of the biggest names in new and old rock music.

In addition to Farrell’s reunited band, the festival will feature Depeche Mode, The Killers, Kings of Leon, Lou Reed, TV on the Radio, Animal Collective, and The Decemberists, among many others. Lollapalooza also features a live DJ booth called Perry’s that includes over 20 of the nation’s hottest turntable-spinners set to entertain the electronica crowd at Grant Park.

Tickets are currently available at the advanced three-day pass price of $190, but will only be offered for a limited time before the cost goes up again. With an eclectic group of rock and rollers set to grace Lollapalooza’s stage, the summer musical festival season will come to a roaring close in Chicago this year.