What’s Hot Today - Festival Express
Everything warms up in the summer, and that includes music festivals. As the Toledo Blade calculated recently, why pay for multiple, high-priced concerts when you can see a couple hundred bands in one bacchanalian weekend?
The big opening acts in Search were Coachella in the west, and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in the south. Now that fans have been warmed up, they’re checking out line-ups, ticket prices and dates for monumental summer gatherings. The family metal affair Ozzfest leads the top 10 sought-after shows, noted below. Yes, we know it’s a traveling tour, but we can’t resist a free show…
1. Ozzfest (July 12 kick-off, 24 cities). The musical circus offers the best deal of the summer: free. You still need to get the tickets to see Lamb of God, Lordi, Circus Diablo and the wizard of Ozzfest himself.
2. Summerfest (June 28-July 8, Milwaukee). The 40th anniversary features wildly diverse fare including Violent Femmes, Def Leppard, Weird Al, Tool, Bon Jovi, BB King, Lupe Fiasco, and INXS.
3. Bonnaroo (June 14-17, Manchester, Tenn.) The Police headline a massive force, which includes Ziggy Marley, Wolfmother, Ben Harper, and comedians like Lewis Black.
4. Lollapalooza (August 3-5, Chicago). The line-up includes Pearl Jam, Modest Mouse, Amy Winehouse, and Lupe Fiasco.
5. Rock Fest (July 19-22, Cadott, Wisc.) The concert gives us a KISS, as well as acts like Chicago, Hinder, Third Eye Blind
6. Rock on the Range (May 19, Columbus) Tickets are sold out for the marquee that features Hinder, ZZ Top, Papa Roach, and Evanesence.
7. Virgin Festival (August 4-5, Baltimore) The Police take the lead, but other worthy acts include Beastie Boys, Amy Winehouse, and The Smashing Pumpkins.
8. Essence Music Festival (July 5-7, Atlanta) A powerhouse who’s who line-up includes Ciara, Ludacris, Beyonce, Ne-Yo, Mary J. Blige, and Chris Brown.
9. Live 105 BFD 07 (June 9, Mountain View, California) Strutting onto the main stage will be Queens of the Stone Age, Social Distortion, and Bloc Party.
10. Rock the Bells Festival (July 28 New York, August 11 San Bernardino, August 18 San Francisco) Deemed the hip-hop version of Coachella, the three-part series features headliners Rage Against the Machine and the Wu-Tang Clan.