Music

The 5 Festivals That Will Change Your Life

by Anne T. Donahue

Every year, highly-anticipated festival lineups are released that evoke intrigue, excitement and anticipation – for those that can afford the ticket, flight or appropriate accommodations.  While some people can easily swing a road trip to California or a flight overseas, the rest of us are left to curl up and mourn, being forced to live vicariously through the adventures of others [sometimes co-workers] and trust that the blog reports are accurate and unbiased.  In honour of recent festival announcements, here are five upcoming festivals that we’d go so far as to call ‘life changing’.

Glastonbury

Every year, the images of muddy fields and seas of raincoats and Wellingtons conjure up feelings of solidarity and determination, as an abundance of concert-goers flock to Somerset to attend the prestigious and historic Glastonbury Festival.  Having begun one day after the death of Jimi Hendrix, the five-day event continually draws the biggest and best acts of the day, having featured everyone from David Bowie to The Cure to Radiohead and everyone in between.

This year, acts include Crystal Castles, Broken Social Scene, The Flaming Lips and Slash (among dozens of others), with U2 and Stevie Wonder having been named as headliners.  With a mix between underground acts, DJ sets and legendary personalities, Glastonbury manages only to top itself every year.

Lollapalooza

Perhaps one of the only festivals on this list that is realistically attainable, Chicago’s legendary Lollapalooza has become an icon of the American music landscape, having become a fixture in both pop culture and highly-anticipated yearly events.  Originally a touring festival that was meant to commemorate the end of 90’s powerhouse Jane’s Addiction, it eventually evolved into an annual celebration throughout the 90’s, and after a brief hiatus, returned in full force by the mid-2000’s.

Featuring everyone from Lady Gaga to Cypress Hill to MGMT, this year’s lineup boasts the who’s who of bankable acts, catering to indie lovers (The Dodos), electro-pop aficionados (Yeasayer) and those pining for their glory years (Green Day).  With tickets still available and relatively reasonable, Lollapalooza may be the ideal cure for the infamous “missing Coachella” aftermath.

Reading and Leeds

Unable to house all acts on a single weekend at a particular location, the towns of Reading and Leeds in the UK host simultaneous festivals that house darlings of all genres, including superstars of both past and present.  The world’s oldest popular music festival, Reading has seen countless changes throughout its nearly 50 years, especially as it first originated from the National Blues Festival and quickly became renowned as a metal and punk event throughout the 1970’s before hitting a slump in the 80’s.

Currently one of the most highly-anticipated music festivals of each year, it’s championed by both NME and The BBC, and features the likes of The Klaxons, LCD Soundsystem and Modest Mouse, while at the same time being headlined by Guns ‘n Roses, Blink 182 and the Arcade Fire.  With The Libertines also scheduled to appear and more acts to be named throughout the summer, Reading and Leeds seems to be the stuff music blogger’s dreams are made of – if only for the antics of Pete Doherty.

T in the Park

Defining the term “diversity”, Scotland’s beloved T in the Park has generated buzz since its premiere in 1994, featuring the likes of Oasis, Rage Against the Machine and Cypress Hill, and later going on to boast attendee counts of up to 80 000.  Featuring over 180 artists across 11 stages throughout three days, the festival is deemed as one of the most important in the world, and though associated with Ireland’s esteemed Oxygen Festival, it continues to maintain its own distinct presence.

With Eminem as one of this year’s headliners, T in the Park has already raised eyebrows, but in its true “miscellaneous” form, will also feature everyone from Muse to the Black Eyed Peas to Julian Casablancas to Florence and the Machine.  Suddenly it’s no longer entirely surprising that tickets have been known to sell out in a matter of hours.

Latitude

Run by Reading and Leeds orchestrators Festival Republic, it’s no surprise that Suffolk’s Latitude Festival is a Mecca of independent and buzz-worthy artists that have greatly improved since the original 2006 lineup (though Patti Smith is excellent).  Featuring countless acts as well as poetry, DJ and comedy tents, 2009’s instalment saw over 25 000 attendees and full coverage from the BBC, with performances by The Pet Shop Boys, Thom Yorke and The Gossip throughout the festival’s three days.

While no arena-esque acts will be headlining this year’s event, indie superstars supreme Belle and Sebastian, Vampire Weekend and Florence and the Machine are the big-ticket draws, with the who’s who of UK and North American underground dominating the remainder of the bill.  Seemingly tailored specifically to those with an affinity for all things across the pond, Latitude’s fifth celebration will undoubtedly eclipse the double-digit anniversaries of most other festivals.