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I've been reporting on festivals for a few years now, but up until this point, it's been as an audience member. Last Friday I got the opportunity to experience the 25th annual Chicago Blues Festival as both an attendee and a performer. I had the honor of playing a set with Fernando Jones and the Columbia College Blues Ensemble. The hour-long performance featured the current lineup of the ensemble (including myself), our instructor Fernando Jones, and past members of the band, which created a rotation of about twenty different musicians. It was a rush, to say the least.

Playing a festival was far different from any other gig, partially because it was light out and I could actually see the audience. This was beneficial because we were able to play off the audience, which gave both the band and the crowd lots of energy. 250+ people was not the largest audience I'd performed for, but certainly one of the most receptive. Fernando Jones has always been deeply rooted in the Chicago Blues scene, having been mentored by the late Willie Dixon, and his charisma (of which he has plenty) fueled the musical energy even more.

Fernando Jones (with white hat) performs his original number "Chicago" with past and present members of his ensemble

 

It's not at all surprising that Lollapalooza co-producer Perry Farrell has included his recently reunited breakthrough band, Jane's Addiction, in the lineup for this summer's festival. Being that Lolla, scheduled for August 7-9, is taking place during Jane's Addiction's long-awaited reunion tour, there's pretty much no way that the band could get away with not playing the festival. It'd be quite a stretch to say that it's a demonstration of humility on Farrell's part, but he at least showed some class and didn't put his own band at the tip-top of the lineup. Jane's Addiction is billed fourth down after Depeche Mode, Tool, and the Killers. Also near the top of the bill are Lou Reed, Kings of Leon, Ben Harper and Relentless7, and Thievery Corporation.

The Beastie Boys, who with Snoop Dogg, Asher Roth, and Atmosphere, will cater to the festival's rap/hip-hop fanbase. Another act to look out for is Dan Aurbach, the guitarist/singer for The Black Keys. His solo project still encapsulates the guitar-driven blues rock of The Keys, but many of the songs possess an old west type of feel. This band also features a broader spectrum of instrumentation.

It seems that this year, Lolla has withdrawn most of it's reggae acts and attempted to revert back to its alternative rock roots. This could perhaps be attributed to the fact that the festival was originally conceived as a Jane's Addiction farewell tour, and now it's (sort of) come full circle.

When you're done filing your taxes tomorrow, don't forget to jump on top of the Visa presale for San Francisco's 2nd annual Outside Land's Music and Arts Festival. Following a wildly successful debut, the event will be held once again in Golden Gate Park from August 28-30. The three-day-and-night musical extravaganza will be headlined by Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, and The Beastie Boys and feature more than 50 more acts. Monday's preliminary announcement pretty much covers the bases of musical genres.

Festival Preview has the full lineup here

For those in need of a high-adrenaline rock fix, Incubus, Mastodon, and The Mars Volta should definitely be added to your list of acts to see. Atmosphere will join The Beastie Boys for the small but prominent hip-hop sect of the festival, while Brett Dennen and Jason Mraz will be part of the selection of singer-songwriters at the festival. Modern/alternative rock bands seem to make up a substantial part of Outside Lands' lineup, a few of which include TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Portugal.the Man, Built to Spill, and Silversun Pickups.

A couple other acts to check out are Thievery Corporation, Ween, and Robert Randolph & the Family Band. Oh yeah, and Tom Jones is playing. That's cool, I guess.

 

April is Arizona's official month for music. What better way to welcome spring than to attend the Tempe Music Festival and McDowell Mountain Music Festival? Both in their sixth years, these increasingly popular events are coming full force with lineups that are both prestigious and unexpected.

Tempe Music Festival

April 3-4, Tempe Beach Park

Named Best Annual Music Festival by AZCentral's Reader's Choice, this eclectic festival is located next to Tempe Town Lake, providing a gorgeous setting for a (hopefully not too hot) weekend of non-stop tunage.

Well here it is folks. The initial lineup for the 8th annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is hot off the presses, and I must say, it’s not too shabby. The appealing thing about this festival is that producers Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment make it a point to mix it up genre-wise. Set for June 11-14, this Tennessee-based event one-ups festivals like Coachella and Langerado (especially since the latter has been cancelled) in terms of diversity and overall talent. Taking into account also that Bonnaroo started out as a jam band festival, its lineup continues to catch fans by surprise.
For some, Bonnaroo’s annual lineup announcement is treated as the opening of presents on Christmas morning. With the economy in the state that it’s in, fans deserve to be spoiled. It’s only fair that festivals attempt to raise the bar each year, especially if thousands of people are expected to truck it out to the swelteringly hot boonies of Tennessee.

Quite possibly the most prestigious musical event today, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has hit the big 4-0 and in turn has outdone itself in booking the cream of the musical crop. The 2009 lineup is diverse both stylistically and chronologically, embracing music from jazz, pop, rock, soul, gospel, folk, salsa, blues, R&B and funk, as well as styles rooted in Louisiana, such as Cajun and zydeco. The event takes place the weekends of April 24-26 and April 30-May 3 and it's a wonder how they've managed to cram hundreds of artists into a mere seven days. There are so many artists that one wouldn't know where to start unless they have a specific genre in mind. So for now, let's extract some of the rock bands that will be playing.

The winter months are usually a somber time for the jam band community, seeing as festivals like High Sierra, 10K, and Wakarusa don't roll around until the summer. These next couple months, however, seem to hold a lot more jam rock-centered festivals than in previous winters. It's sometimes nice to vamp on the same chord progression for an extended period of time and let the music build over it. All music is repetition, but this aspect provides equilibrium for many people. Some folks, whether they be Deadheads or not, are still very much rooted in the improv-based 60's rock n' roll scene. Many feel a connection to this type of music for different reasons, be it the counterculture, the drugs, or the peace and love vibe (although this hasn't been present in some of today's concert events). People of all ages are drawn to events like these to both be entertained and to take part in a mutual exchange of musical energy between their favorite bands and thousands of other fans. A common misconception is that a festival of this caliber implies an attempted Woodstock recreation with masses of tye-died flower children, but nowadays, the term jam band encompasses far more than Wah-driven psychedelia. Plus, many aren't held on farms or in parks. If you couldn't make it to Warren Haynes' Christmas Jam or Caribbean Holidaze, here are some upcoming jam band festivals that might catch your fancy...