Since the recent changes such as two weekends instead of one and tickets on sale before any sort of lineup announcement for America’s biggest music festival, Coachella, listeners are begging the question “If not Coachella, then what?”
With summer quickly approaching, many of the festivals in the season are giving Coachella a run for its money. With events such as Lollapalooza and Outside Lands, bands from the Arctic Monkeys to Ellie Goulding will be traveling throughout the US, performing for the abundance of crowds.
“I’m excited to go to festivals like Hard or Outside lands,” senior Pablo Lopez said. “Festivals are always super exciting.”
For listeners that break away from alternative music, there are also two of the most popular rave festivals going on during the summer of 2011. Hard and the Electric Daisy Carnival are two of the most popular festivals of the season. With DJs such as Boys Noize to the A-Trak and Armin Van Buuren duo that is Duck Sauce, the electronic music industry is keeping a tight grasp on festivals from June to August.
“I really want to go to EDC this year,” senior Lauren Brasov said. “I went last year and I thought it was awesome; I’m hoping to go this year even though it is in Las Vegas.”
Another topic that still exists is FYF. The annual Los Angeles based alternative music festival usually carries on every August. Though event promoters have been hosting smaller concerts in various venues, there has yet to be word heard about lineups, dates, or anything related to the actual festival. Last years FYF was held in Los Angeles’ Historic State Park, with bands like Delorean and the Rapture headlining.
“I went to FYF last year and I thought it was really cool,” sophomore Elcy Lopez said. “The festival made me feel as if I was getting away from the city while still being in Los Angeles. I really hope they continue to have the event.”
This season is much anticipated and music listeners are all making way for festivals. From California to Chicago, music events and concerts will be flourishing and though the big ceremonies like SXSW and Coachella have passed, the like, of EDC and Lollapalooza are sure to be significant.