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2. If you want to get lost in the woods, go to Eaux Claires Music Festival.
Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Date: July 17 to July 18, 2015
Website: http://eauxclaires.com/
Humans need to reconnect with nature every now and then, naturally drawn to the smell and feel of fresh, crisp air, to lush forests and clear lakes. If you haven't had a good enough reason to go camping in the wilderness yet, Justin Vernon's new music festival, Eaux Claires Music Festival, offers that opportunity.
Held on July 17 and 18 in Eau Claires, Wisconsin, the backdrop to two days of an eclectic mix of acts (from The National to Boys Noize) is an ethereal forest of towering pine trees. Given that Eaux Claires' official accommodations are actual campgrounds the other 363 days of the year, this won't be anything like the usual dirty, sweltering festival campsites you may have learned to loathe. Check out the line-up here, and grab tickets here.
4. If you want to enter an alternate reality, go to Burning Man.
Location: Black Rock Desert, Nevada
Date: August 30 to September 7, 2015
Website: http://burningman.org/event/brc/
When a group of 60,000+ people materializes to build its own world in order to burn it down a week later, chances are it won't look like many other small cities. Burning Man is bizarro world, both in terms of visuals and societal norms, an opportunity for the working stiffs to strip off the suit and become a Dancestronaut.
In recent years the festival has come under fire for becoming a Silicon Valley pissing contest, but the incredible quality and scope of the buildings and costumes have never left any doubt: this is another world.
Beyond the visuals, however, Burning Man also separates itself from the rest of the world by attempting to become a more open, compassionate community than from whence they came. Walk around long enough and you'll be offered everything from food and shelter to the occasional (consensual) sexual favor.
You can probably score pretty much anything you want, but drugs at Burning Man are a touchy subject. Mainly, keep them out of sight. The festival takes place on a piece of sand rented out from the U.S. government, so rules abound, and there are those who have taken issue with the surprisingly draconian regulations. That said, Burning Man has managed to survive for 30 years and it's still going strong, so if it ain't broke...
6. If you love the environment, go to Way Out West Festival.
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Date: August 13 to August 15, 2015
Website: www.wayoutwest.se
Way Out West festival goes down in a park in central Gothenburg, Sweden, so you'll be surrounded by beautiful scenery while you're listening to artists like Florence + The Machine, Tyler, The Creator, iLoveMakonnen, and Beck (all on this year's lineup).
On top of the strong lineup, Way Out West is all about being environmentally friendly and was the first festival in Sweden to become KRAV-certified (all about ecological sustainability). In 2012, they pulled a mildly controversial move and announced, the night before the festival, that all food served to guests and artists would be vegetarian, which led to a local paper giving away away free sausages and meatballs outside the festival entrance.
Regardless, if you want to eat well, breathe clean air, and see awesome bands in beautiful Sweden, you should check out Way Out West.
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8. If you want to throw bottles, go to Reading and Leeds Festival.
Location: Reading, England
Date: August 28 to August 30, 2015
Website: http://www.readingfestival.com/
"Bottling" is a beloved tradition at the Reading Music Festival. Here's how you play: wait until a band that you hate comes onstage, and throw bottles at them. Doesn't matter if they're full or empty, as long as you can make it to the stage.
It's an opportunity for fans to react to the music itself and an artist's public persona. 50 Cent endured a brutal bottling in 2004, either in response to his misogynistic lyrics or, as festival organizer Melvin Benn concluded, because he had an attitude problem.
It's is a tradition that even boasts its own Wikipedia page, and the Reading/Leeds Festival is Ground Zero. The Great Bottling is an inevitable part of the festival's culture, and if you're on the right side of the stage, it can be a joyous memory of community togetherness.
10. If you want to mix music and comedy, go to Sasquatch!
Location: Quincy, Washington
Date: May 22 to May 25, 2015
Website: http://www.sasquatchfestival.com/
Boasting one of the most beautiful natural settings in the game, the Sasquatch! Music Festival has become a premiere stop for indie rock acts. But the festival organizers have also broadened the genre net considerably since the festival's inception—Kendrick Lamar, Run The Jewels, and Flume are all on the slate for 2015.
Sasquatch has been on the forefront of bringing comedy to the music festival circuit. They've had comedians like Rainn Wilson and Sarah Silverman host the event in years past, and have had a comedy tent since 2008. Most of the comedians perform in the afternoon, a perfect time to take a break from the non-stop music intake and try a different kind of performance. This year features acts like Doug Benson, Sara Schaffer, and Cameron Esposito. Here's Rainn Wilson talking shit on The National.
12. If you want to realize your own piddling insignificance, go to Summerfest.
13. If you want to party in a fortress that's hundreds of years old, go to Outlook.
Location: Pula, Croatia
Date: September 3 to September 6, 2015
Website: www.outlookfestival.com
You crawl out of your tent and the sun is shining, so you walk down to the beach and go for a swim. What's planned for the rest of the day? Oh, just partying in an abandoned Roman fort late into the night and early into the next morning.
Although Outlook's lineup is still built around dance music, each year sees a wider variety of acts, with people like Run The Jewels, Little Simz, Pete Rock, and SBTRKT joining some of best DJs across all styles of bass music. As well as the stages in the fort there are boat parties—what could be better than awesome DJs spinning on goddamn boats in the crystal clear Adriatic sea?!—and just general positive vibes brought on by sun, sand, cheap beer, and great music.
Just remember your sunscreen.
15. If you love neon, go to Electric Daisy Carnival.
Location: East Rutherford, NJ
Date: May 23 to May 24, 2015
Website: http://newyork.electricdaisycarnival.com/
Yeah, yeah, the dreaded "EDM," but a lot can be said for an atmosphere that is teeming with (drug-induced) positivity, especially if you're not trying to trek from stage to stage to see certain artists. The huge EDM empire known as the Electric Daisy Carnival—aka EDC—has spread from a "massive" in the Los Angeles area to Las Vegas, and EDC fests are starting up in Chicago, the NYC area, and international venues as well.
With a mixture of all kinds of EDM sounds (from the bassier vibes of dubstep and trap music to the more euphoric trance styles), this festival is all bright lights, carnival rides, psychedelic installations, and PLUR-centric appeal. Plus, any promoter who makes it a point to call the attendees the "headliners" is on the right path... even if it's chock full of the biggest in EDM.
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17. If you want to connect with strangers, go to AfroPunk.
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Date: August 22 to August 23, 2015
Website: http://afropunkfest.com/2015-tickets/
In 2003, AfroPunk started as a documentary that was meant to highlight black punks in America. Since then it has grown into an annual music festival in Brooklyn and this year the movement and festival has reached as far as Paris. Because of its foundation, this music festival serves as one of the best places to connect with strangers.
If you've ever felt like a bit of an outsider at your school, job or community—AfroPunk is meant for you. Unlike many other festivals where everyone in the crowd looks like carbon copies of each other, AfroPunk is where looking and being different is not only accepted but celebrated. There are not too many places where you can see Erykah Badu, Toro y Moi, Unlocking The Truth, SZA and TV on the Radio all in one place. But you can here, and because of that, different audiences come together.
At AfroPunk you find yourself bonding with someone you may have never thought of approaching. Besides the obvious bonds over music and fashion, it's also easy to find yourself connecting with the stranger dancing next to you, or the person behind you in line for the various food trucks, the skaters and onlookers at the makeshift skate area, or the nice person who makes room for you under the rare spot of shade. By the time the festival is over, the hundreds of people in the park feel more like new friends than just a bunch of well-dressed strangers.
19. If you want to put lobster on your funnel cake, go to Governor's Ball.
20. If you want to network, go to Red Bull Music Academy.
Location: New York City
Date: May 1 to May 30, 2015
Website: http://nyc.redbullmusicacademy.com/
Most people go to festivals for the music. Which should still take precedent—but these weekends aren't just about the artists anymore: they've become, in varying degrees, conferences, reunions, and think tanks for the industry. South by Southwest is the perennial example of a music festival that emphasizes networking and fosters discussion, but it's not the only one.
Red Bull Music Academy happens all over the world, and the New York series just started this week. RBMANYC is a month-long mix of performance, conversation, and installation. The topics are as diverse as they are numerous: PC Music is performing a night after "A Conversation with A$AP Rocky," and events like the Brooklyn Flea Record Fair bump up against Beatmaker Roundtables.
It's a vibrant collection of taste and style, and most attendees are involved, or at least passionate. The one advantage RBMA has is that it's not jammed into a weekend or two: this isn't a race to see who can black out first. On the contrary, each event caters to a specific genre/topic, so you know you'll find like-minded people no matter what you choose to attend.
22. If you want to creep on celebrities, go to Coachella.
23. If you love the sun, go to Secret Solstice.
Location:Reykjavik, Iceland
Date: June 19 to June 21, 2015
Website: http://secretsolstice.is/
For some festivals, a solid lineup and convenient location is good enough. Secret Solstice aims a little higher. "Held during the summer solstice weekend in Reykjavík, Iceland, Secret Solstice is the only festival where you can party at a time when the sun doesn't set for three entire days," their website explains. "Join us on the 19th, 20th and 21st of June 2015 in the Midnight Sun, for the most unique event on Planet Earth."
An invitation to the most unique event on the planet is good enough reason to hit up Secret Solstice, but if that's not enticing enough, they've got FKA twigs and Wu-Tang Clan on the lineup. While you're in Iceland, there's plenty more to check out. Secret Solstice's Instagram account points you in the right directions.
25. If you're torn between hip-hop and EDM, go to Trillectro.
26. If you want to eat good food, see amazing art, and party all night, go to Sónar.
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Date: June 18 to June 20, 2015
Website: www.sonar.es
Barcelona is a major tourist destination in its own right, with amazing art, history, culture, and food, but for a few days in June, you can experience all that, plus some of the world's biggest artists. Stars like A$AP Rocky, FKA twigs, and Flying Lotus will all be performing this year, but Sónar is about more than music.
It's a festival of "music, creativity, and technology," which aims to provide a meeting place for creatives and blend established artists with emerging talent from the music and audiovisual worlds. There are events during the day and at night, and if you get tired you can always stop in a bar for some tapas, or an 18th Century church for some quiet time.
