Katie Abrahams-
Primavera, Spain: May 26-28th
One of Spain’s biggest music festivals at Parc del Fòrum, a palatial concrete setting 6km from Barcelona on the coast.
Pitchfork will curate one of six Primavera stages again at this year’s festival, not only adding to the line up of the established event, but infusing it with their unique and multi-faceted sound aesthetic. Tickets aren’t too antagonistic to our plebeian-esque bank balances at 170 €, and for it you’ll get sun-slicked, buy your drink via new-fangled vending machines, and see stellar performances.
Cons: Festival fatigue is infinitely worse in humid environments. Basking beachside at 4pm, drinking 1 euro wine, and watching the various hawkers offer massages, you may find it hard to motivate yourself on Day 3. Unfortunately, vending machines that distribute new livers have yet to be announced.
Pros: Animal Collective, Echo & The Bunnymen, Explosions In the Sky, Interpol, Pulp, Warpaint , sunshine, and many more.
Wireless: July 2nd-4th
If you like your lazy, hazy festivals to come with the added option of city exploring and geographic proximity, Wireless- centrally situated in London’s Hyde Park- provides the best of both. The 2011 Wireless Festival has added The Chemical Brothers as a Saturday headliner and The Black Eyed Peas as a Friday headliner for this year’s show. Also added to the Wireless lineup were Aphex Twin, Janelle Monae, Chromeo, Battles, The Whip, Justin Robertson, Nero, Tinie Tempah, and Example.
Pros: Activities are abound with this festival’s superlatively urbanite setting, and accommodation and travel issues are effectively negated.
Cons: It’s called ‘Glasto for posh cowards’ for a reason. Senseless scuffles and flying bottles are known to mar the otherwise feel-good festivities; prepare to duck for cover at a microsecond’s notice. 3day tickets are £142.00
The next two should be on the radar of every student planning on J1ing it in the States.
The 2011 Lollapalooza (August 5th-7th) will be the twentieth anniversary of the festival- read: expect big things. Word is that the headliners are Eminem, Muse and Foo Fighters. There are also sound claims that three more headliners will emerge later, alongside other lineup confirmations of Best Coast, and Girl Talk. Last year’s highlights included Green Day, The Strokes, The Black Keys, Erykah Badu, Hot Chip, Grizzly Bear and Temper Trap.
Pros: Other than the fact its smack bang in the middle of Chicago, eateries are gourmet by our standard and exceptional prices extend from the food to the tickets themselves ($215). Throw in the fact its eco-friendly, and edified with art and farmers’ markets, sculptures, vegetable gardens, decadent lounges, autograph-signing tents …this is arguably U.S music-fest at its finest.
Cons: Can’t think of any. I guess getting to Chicago might be one?
Thanks to the Crawdaddy / hipster-douche crowd’s incessant and didactic manner of overuse, Pitchfork has become a clichéd reference point. However, one can’t fault their ethos of independent music promotion, especially when it is teamed with consumer-friendly ticket prices.
Pros: Last year’s Pitchfork Music Festival lineup was a dream, including Broken Social Scene, LCD Soundsystem, Real Estate, Beach House, Major Lazer, Panda Bear, and Modest Mouse. Held in mid-July in Chicago, three-day passes are a bargain at $90.
Cons: The mellow music, oppressive heat and drink could combine, rendering you from unwakeable from a vegetative state. Poor acoustics are also a frequent complaint.
Others to consider: Pukkelpop (Belgium), Latitude (Suffolk, UK), Castlepalooza (Ireland), Benicassim (Spain), All Tomorrow’s Parties (New York).
