'Remember that the city is a funny place," Lou Reed once sang in his 1975 song Coney Island Baby, "something like a circus or a sewer." Reed was referring to New York in the song, but his description also serves as an apt characterization of the delights and lunacy of the outdoor music festival.
The light shows, the guitar slinging, the flailing tattooed men and the occasional beach ball in the crowd bring to mind a circus-like spectacle. As for the sewer -- find yourself packed into a humid huddle near the front of the stage or in a long lineup for the porta-potties and you'll know why.
The music festival is like the buffet-dining version of the concert-going experience. Some of your favourite bands and others all smushed together over a couple of sweaty days in the summer, among tens of thousands of inebriated music fans in a muddy field.
It makes sense that the music festival appeals to people in their early 20s who have enough time to travel to and attend the event, as well as a taste for stadium-sized events, crowds and camping.
But I'd also argue that these festivals hold some appeal for older, tweedier, bespectacled music nerds who are accustomed to seeing their favourite bands in small, dark clubs while nursing a bottle of Stella Artois. Festivals usually have an act or two that they cannot afford to miss. In the past few years, the Coachella Valley Music Festival in Indio, Calif., for instance, has been the place where seminal, long-disbanded groups like the Pixies, Iggy and the Stooges, and Bauhaus have reunited.
You can plan a trip to a music festival based on geography or musical taste. There seems to be a music festival in every corner of the world, from the Dawson City Music Festival in the Yukon to Quilmes Rock festival in Buenos Aires. Other rock festivals cater to specific musical subgenres such as ProgPower USA in Atlanta and the Heathen Crusade Metalfest in Minneapolis.
Below is a list of some notable festivals this summer in Europe and the U.S. To prepare yourself, veterans of outdoor music festivals agree on this advice: Bring plenty of water and sunscreen; get a good tent and some lawn chairs and choose a landmark as a meeting place if you plan to split up with your friends. Above all -- pace yourself.
Isle of Wight Festival
Find It: Seaclose Park, UK.
Date: June 9-11.
Draw: 35,000.
History: On a small island off England's south coast, this event was originally held between 1968 and 1970. When nearly a million people arrived in 1970, the local government banned future music festivals. But in 2002, the Isle of Wight Festival was reborn and found a permanent home in a local recreation ground.
Hot Acts: Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Lu Reed, Richard Ashcroft, Goldfrapp, the Prodigy.
It's Not Just About the Music, Baby: This month, a life-sized statue of Jimi Hendrix will be unveiled. He played at the festival, in front of 500,000 people, in 1970.
Details: No tickets? Make friends with a scalper -- this show is sold out. Meanwhile, ticket holders can check out http://www.isleofwightfestival.com for camping and ferry information.
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
Find It: Manchester, Tenn. , on a 283-hectare farm.
Date: June 16-18.
Draw: 80,000.
History: First held in 2002, Bonnaroo initially concentrated on "jam" bands -- rock bands that featured long, noodly instrumental passages. More recently, the festival has also welcomed hip hop, reggae, electronica, roots, soul and indie-rock acts.
Hot Acts: Radiohead, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, My Morning Jacket, Seu Jorge, Steve Earle, Blackalicious, The Streets
