Some weeks we’ll be lucky if three stories regarding festivals trickle through our newsroom. Other weeks the planets align in such a way as to generate so many festival stories that our site is practically bursting at its virtual seams. Well, this week every planet and its mother must have queued up because we covered a handful of festival stories each and every day of the past week. The news they delivered ranged from the heartbreaking to the hilarious, in a hodgepodge week that included tragic deaths, party announcements, and a convention center full of nerds.
To keep you up-to-date in the world of music festivals, we’ve compiled all of the week’s news for our resurrected Festivals in Brief feature. Here’s hoping the rest of the galaxy gets in line for next week. I’m lookin at you, Pluto.
News
— At least 19 were killed and hundreds of others injured at Love Parade in Germany.
— Festival organizers announced the initial lineup for this year’s Sonar Festival, set to take place in Chicago.
— Soundgarden announced it will play a pre-Lollapalooza show of its own at the Vic Theater.
— The Ottawa Bluesfest may have deviated from its blues roots, but this year’s edition proved it’s become one of the continent’s premiere destination festivals.
— Karina Halle traveled all the way to Finland for some riverside fun at Ilosaarirock Festival.
— Heavy rain followed heavy beats at HARD Summer.
— Sets from Warpaint and The Deadly Syndrome helped boost the otherwise lackluster experience of LA Street Food Fest.
— David Buchanan schooled us in the finer points of attending a metal fest in preparation for Mayhem Festival.
— Much to the delight of several hundred “nerds,” “nerd rock” met “nerd rap”at the aptly-titled Nerdapalooza.
— In an ongoing effort to throw as many wild parties as we can, CoS announced plans for two separate events this week. First, on August 5th, we’ll co-host a Lollapalooza pre-party featuring Lady Gaga’s DJ. Then, on September 23rd, we’ll bring A Sunny Day in Glasgow and more to Johnny Brenda’s for an official showcase as part of this year’s Philadelphia Film & Music Festival.
Lineup Additions
— Big Day Out 2011: LCD Soundsystem (rumored), M.I.A. (rumored), Manic Street Preachers (rumored), MGMT (rumored), Primus (rumored), The Black Keys (rumored)
— George Wein’s Folk Festival: Elvis Perkins in Dearland; replacing Justin Townes Earle
— MoogFest: Big Boi, Caribou, Jonsi, Pretty Lights (rumored)
— Mad Decent Block Party: Official lineup released including, Diplo, Major Lazer, Kid Sister, and many more
— SWU Music and Arts Festival: Official lineup released including Kings of Leon, Pixies, Regina Spektor and many more
— Corona Capital: Official lineup released including Pixies, Regina Spektor, Interpol, and many more
— Fun Fun Fun Fest: Cap’N Jazz, Dirty Projectors, Snapcase, The Gories, Yelle
— De Luna Music Festival: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Bush, Daughtry, Paper Tongues, The Submarines
— Nocturnal Festival: Texas: Kid Cudi, The New Deal
— Imagine Concert: Cathy Richardson(expected)
— Bridge School Benefit: Dates announced
— Constellations Festival: Broken Social Scene, Four Tet, Les Savy Fav, Local Natives, Los Campesinos!
— The Big Chill Festival: I Blame Coco, We Were Promised Jetpacks, White Rabbit
— Midpoint Music Festival: A Shoreline Dream, Birds of Avalon, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Lower Dens, Royal Bangs, The Chain Gang of 1974
— Soundwave Festival: Weezer (expected), Kylesa, 30 Seconds to Mars, Alesana
— ATP’s Release The Bats Haloween: Official lineup released including Battles, The Field, Walls(dj set) and many more.
— Rocky Mt Folks Festival: Dala, John Prine, Tift Merritt
— Summer Week&T: Lupe Fiasco, Two Door Cinema Club
— Epicenter Festival: Deuce
— OohLaLA Festival: Official lineup released including Revolver, Acid Wash, Gotan Project and many more
— Riot Fest: Anti-Flag, Off!, Propagandhi
— WhyNotWausau?: Official lineup released including .357 String Band, Blueheels, Communist Daughter and many more
— Bloodstock Open Air: Collapse, Opeth, Powerwolf
— Pacific Festival: Dates announced