PRINTFar-out festivals
Music havens are just a road trip away
Paula Baker
March 13, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Music festivals are the kind of trips that last a lifetime — or at least until the ’shrooms wear off. Festivals are not solely the dreadlocked Birkenstock stomping grounds they once were. Nowadays, there is a festival to fit every fan. These annual shows keep the audience on their toes by keeping their lineup as fresh as the herbs sold on Shakedown Street.
Bonnaroo
Manchester, Tenn.
When: June 12-15, $209.50-244.50
Travel time: 7 hrs, 45 mins.
Headliners: Pearl Jam, Metallica, Kanye West, The Allman Brothers Band
Bonnaroo is the Neapolitan ice cream of music festivals. No matter the musical flavor, Bonnaroo’s got something for everyone. When MTV became a sponsor of the festival in 2006, ’roo regulars lamented its new commercialization, but don’t knock it till you rock it. With great money come great acts and diverse lineups.
- Packing to please
- Cross-continental cuisine
- Off the map
- Rounding the bases
- A day of big eats on the bayou
- Lights, camera, travel
- Building the skyline of a city
- Race to the coast
- White-water rush
- Rocking across North America
- Around the world in 80 minutes
- Walkin' the line in Tennesse
- Art Mecca of the West
- Stephens College Faculty Show
- Brooklyn, where New York starts
- Colombia’s walled city
- Literary Travel Writing
- Montreal rendez-vous
- Movie Travel Guide
- Social Networking
- Art break: Get out and walk around
- Couchsurfing
- Streetside Chatter
Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Telluride, Colo.
When: June 19-22, $175
Travel time: 16 hrs, 21 mins.
Headliners: Yonder Mountain String Band, Béla Fleck, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, Ani DiFranco Band
Summer solstice marks the beginning of this annual bluegrass (and more) event. Telluride offers the ideal ambience for camping, grooving and everything outdoors. This festival offers the ultimate setting for concertgoers to enjoy some of the world’s best bluegrass and folk-rock music. For music-lovers who have outgrown the camping lifestyle, lodging equipped with running water and air conditioning is available.
Wakarusa
Lawrence, Kan.
When: June 5-8, $144
Travel time: 2 hrs, 33 mins.
Headliners: The Flaming Lips, Cake, Keller Williams
At this festival, campers find themselves immersed in good music performed by big names. Wakarusa began in 2004 and has yet to lose that traditional grassroots feeling. See the shows, then after-party it up on the campgrounds with fellow fanatics who want to get down and roll around. And Wakarusa is so close to home that those on a budget won’t have to siphon gas to make the trip.
10,000 Lakes Music Festival (10KLF)
Detroit Lakes, Minn.
When: July 23-26, $130
Travel time: 12 hrs, 32 mins.
Headliners: Phil Lesh and Friends; The Flaming Lips; Medeski, Scofield, Martin and Wood; George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic
10,000 Lakes Music Festival offers a slightly more affordable option for summer festival fans. It brings an assortment of hippie favorites north. But Minnesota isn’t exactly the North Pole, so enjoy the campgrounds, which come standard with bathroom and shower facilities. Dancing alongside hippies never smelled so good.
