There are such an insane amount of festivals these days and it’s not a bad thing considering it’s pretty much an excuse to party all day on the weekend and listen to some good music.  Since Woodstock their hasn’t been that much festivals since the popular Lolapalooza in the mid 90′s which sparked some huge acts in The Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rollins Band, Green Day and others into huge stardom.  Since then there was sort of a dry area but within the past decade many popular festivals have arose to pretty much have a major festival in each area of the country.  Bonnaroo was once a popular jam band hippie festival but has since added many mainstream and popular acts to the bill, such as Kings of Leon, Against Me and Phoenix and promoting some up and coming Indie bands such as The Gaslight Anthem and Circa Survive.  What’s interesting is that Circa Survive was a must at the popular Alternative Rock festival The Bamboozle in New Jersey but has since distanced themself from the so called Emo scene that has taken over that festival. 

The Bamboozle is another popular festival that arose from the popular local punk festival called Surf and Skate but has gone from Asbury Park to Giants Stadium within a few years.  The festival is known for it’s surprise acts and mish mosh sets of bands jamming with other bands.  Such as Bret Michaels of Poison coming out and singing two Coheed and Cambria songs with the band as well as Coheed covering two of Poison’s songs with him.  This is the type of stuff you expect at the Bamboozle and what makes the festival interesting and different from the rest.  Fortunately Ogden Clothing will be attending this festival and getting down with all the mayhem and madness it brings.  So far the headliners are mediocre but usually what makes the festival the best is the small talent who usually tends to put on the best shows and I’m looking forward to seeing Minus The Bear, Good Old War and The Parlor Mob for the small acts and MGMT as the main act.  Since it’s rise to festival status the Bamboozle also has a festival in Chicago now and continuing it’s Anaheim, California gig again for the third year.

Just to name a few more huge festivals is the Coachella in California which has become huge for that side of the country and the All Points West festival in Jersey, City NJ which has gotten almost as big as the Coachella.  I’m not too sure who the huge act.  Coachella has some serious acts this year with Jay Z, Them Crooked Vultures, Faith No More, Muse and others headlining the monster 3 day event.  Unfortunately nothing has been listed yet for All Points West but that usually tends to be towards the end of the summer so I would expect something to be posted soon regarding the festival.  Either way it’s gonna be another good summer of music, partying and hopefully little mud throwing and fighting at this year’s festivals.