Guide: Best of the Fests 2011
We went coast to coast, L.A. to Chicago, Europe, Japan and Brasil to find the best of this season’s music festivals. Check out our FREE downloadable guide of our top 20 picks and performers.
CY Magazine Presents
Best of the Fests
CY Magazine’s Top 20 picks of the world’s leading music festivals for 2011
Download our guide
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
Manchester, Tennessee, USA
June 9th -11th
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is a four-day, multi-stage camping festival held on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee every June. Bonnaroo brings together some of the best performers in rock and roll, along with dozens of artists in complementary styles such as jazz, Americana, hip-hop, electronica, and just about any contemporary music you can think of. In addition to dozens of epic performances, the festival’s 100-acre entertainment village buzzes around the clock with attractions and activities including a classic arcade, on-site cinema, silent disco, comedy club, theater performers, a beer festival, and a music technology village.
CY’s Top Five
Sonar International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art
Barcelona, Spain
June 16th -18th
www.sonar.es
Sonar is the festival of advanced music and multimedia art that takes place at various venues in Barcelona (Spain) in the third week of June since 1994 featuring an extensive line-up of emerging artists and DJs, trendsetters in today’s music and new media art. Sonar is also a meeting point for an audience eager for new ideas and specifically for professionals from all over the world from various sectors in the creative industries, who come together at SonarPro, the ideal place for doing business and making contacts. To date, Sonar has traveled to London (an annual event since 2002), New York, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Frankfurt, Chicago and Tokyo, among many other destinations.
CY’s Top Five
Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts
Pilton, England, UK
June 22nd -26th
www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk
Glastonbury Festival is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world and a template for all the festivals that have come after it. It’s like going to another country, a hip and thrilling Brigadoon that appears every year or so. British law still applies, but the rules of society are a bit different, a little bit freer. Everyone is here to have a wild time in their own way. There is only one common characteristic of a Glastonbury-goer – they understand that Glastonbury Festival offers them more opportunity than any other happening to have the best weekend of the year or even of a life-time, and they are determined to have it!
CY’s Top Five
Milwaukee Summerfest
Milwaukee, WI, USA
June 29th – July 3rd and July 5th – 10th
www.summerfest.com
The World’s Largest Music Festival and Milwaukee’s cornerstone summer celebration attracts the music industry’s hottest stars, along with emerging talent and local favorites. The 23,000 capacity Marcus Amphitheater, 10 additional stages, diverse selection of food and beverages, marketplaces and interactive exhibits are set against the Lake Michigan and downtown backdrop, creating a festival experience like no other.
CY’s Top Five
Dave Matthews Band Caravan
June 24th-26th Atlantic City, NJ
July 8th-10th Chicago, IL
August 26th-28th NY, NY
September 2nd-4th George, WA
www.dmbcaravan.com
Dave Matthews Band will host four three-day music festivals across the US this summer. The multi-stage events will feature a wide array of diverse musical talent with Dave Matthews Band performing a headlining set each night.
CY’s Top Five
Rock The Bells
August 20th- Los Angeles
August 27th- San Francisco
September 3rd- NY, NY
September 10th- Boston, MA
www.rockthebells.net
Rock the Bells is an annual hip hop festival that originally took place in Southern California only, but has since toured throughout the world. The concert features a lineup of high-profile alternative hip hop artists, often headlined by a more mainstream artist. The first festival was held in 2004, that festival is covered in depth by a documentary film also called Rock the Bells.
CY’s Top Five
Eurockéennes de Belfort
Belfort, France
July 1st- July 3rd
www.eurockeennes.fr
CY’s Top Five
Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Festival
Sete, France
July 6th-10th
www.worldwidefestival.com
The Worldwide Festival is based on one simple idea : To create a different festival, offering a unique artistic selection in stunning environments happening in different cities around the world. Gilles Peterson, music lover, record collector, broadcaster, DJ, record producer, creator and owner of several record labels like Acid Jazz, Talkin Loud & Brownswood, opinion leader for the last 20 years, is the artistic director.
CY’s Top Five
Camp Bisco
Mariaville, NY, USA
July 7th-9th
www.campbisco.net
Camp Bisco is an outdoor music festival held at the beautiful Indian Lookout Country Club, a world-class property located near Albany, NY. Camp Bisco is a 3 day rain-or-shine event with camping. Attendees may begin to arrive at 8am on Thursday morning July 7th. Camp Bisco Ten will feature 3 days and 3 nights of music on 5 stages, including 2 side-by-side MAIN STAGES, two afternoon and late night DANCE TENTS featuring top international Dance acts, a SILENT DISCO and an UP & COMING stage. This event is not to be missed! Join us at Indian Lookout Country club for our 5th anniversary at ILCC and our tenth installment of this amazing event.
CY’s Top Five
Pitchfork Music Festival
Chicago, IL, USA
July 15th -17th
www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com
The Pitchfork Music Festival is a three-day event showcasing over 40 of independent music’s best bands and artists on three stages. With so many blockbuster festivals gouging their attendees out of absolutely obscene sums of money, only to confine them in uncomfortable, tight spaces and skimp on basic necessities, our goal is to do the right thing: That is, to create a reasonably priced summer music festival that provides an overwhelmingly positive, comfortable and fun festival experience for both attendees and musicians.
CY’s Top Five
Lollapalooza
Chicago, IL, USA
August 5th -7th
www.lollapalooza.com
What started as a touring music festival in 1991 by Jane’s Addiction front man Perry Farrell, Lollapalooza has become a definitively unique music experience. Today, Lollapalooza takes place every summer in historic Grant Park, Chicago, between the iconic Chicago skyline and the shores of Lake Michigan. With thousands of music fans from all over the world taking over Grant Park every summer, Lollapalooza continues to be a destination for music lovers from all over the world. The 2011 Lollapalooza Music Festival is happening August 5-7, it is the 20th Anniversary of the Festival.
CY’s Top Five
Hard
Los Angeles, CA, USA
August 6th
www.hardfest.com
HARD was founded in 2007 by Gary Richards (who also DJs under the name Destructo) to return to his roots promoting live concert events. HARD Events such as HARD New Year’s Eve, HARD Haunted Mansion, Hard 13, and HARD Summer have become synonymous with larger-than-life performances, educated party people, stunning productions, and the brightest rising stars.
CY’s Top Five
Fuji Rock Festival
Niigata, Japan
July 29th-31st
www.fujirockfestival.com
All the artists, audience and staff together make Fuji Rock Festival the perfect place to enjoy music, meet new people and open your mind. High up in the mountains, far away from city life and daily grind, you’ll love this festival and its unique atmosphere.
CY’s Top Five
Lee Scratch Perry with Mad Professor
Way Out West Festival
Gothenburg, Sweden
August 11th-13th
www.wayoutwest.se
Way Out West, a festival in Sweden’s second city, Gothenburg, is already known as one of the best music festivals in Europe despite being in only its fifth year. For three days Gothenburg is home to the crème de la crème of national and international music.
CY’s Top Five
Pukkelpop
Hasselt, Belgium
August 18th-20th
www.pukkelpop.be
Pukkelpop is an alternative three-day music festival at Hasselt-Kiewit which is internationally recognized as the trendsetter among music festivals. Over the past years Pukkelpop has developed into one of the biggest alternative open-air festivals in Belgium.
CY’s Top Five
Afro-Punk Festival
Brooklyn, NY, USA
August 27th-28th
www.afropunk.com
In 2005, the very first annual Afro-Punk Festival debuted to wildly enthusiastic crowds at the iconic Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). The festival celebrated and unified the cultural cornerstones of Afro-Punk: music, film, skate, and most importantly, the fiercely independent and influential individuals that are the lifeblood of the AP community. Now in its 4th year, the Afro-Punk Festival is bigger than ever: 40 bands over 7 days, skate/BMX parks, visual artists, movies and thousands of audience members…Nurturing the best in multi-cultural alternative music, film, performance art, and activism.
CY’s Top Five
Northcoast Music Festival
Chicago, IL, USA
September 2nd-4th
www.northcoastfestival.com
North Coast Music Group is a collaboration of independent promoters in Chicago. With a collective 50 years producing events, we’ve presented everything from small shows to selling out large scale concerts. Some of us specialize in electronic, hip hop, jam band, indie rock and all kinds of genres. With this festival we’ve come together to celebrate the merging of all music and walks of life that enjoy it as much as we do.
CY’s Top Five
Electric Zoo
NY,NY, USA
September 2nd-4th
www.madeevent.com/ElectricZoo/
CY’s Top Five
Austin City Limits Music Festival
Austin, TX, USA
September 16th-18th
www.aclfestival.com
The Austin City Limits Music Festival began as a modest, two-day event and now, as it enters its 10th year, has become a perennial American music experience. Taking place at the heart of Austin, Texas in the legendary Zilker Park, ACL Festival has grown to 3 days, 8 stages and over 130 bands. With an amazing lineup year-after-year, from hometown heroes to world-class headliners, ACL Festival is where the year’s best music experience is created! Apart from the sounds, ACL Festival also offers fun, interactive festival activities, the child-friendly Austin Kiddie Limits and the BEST local offerings of food and art of any music festival in the world!
CY’s Top Five
Rock in Rio
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
September 23rd- October 2nd
www.rockinrio.com.br
Rock in Rio is the biggest festival of music and entertainment of the world. Always ensuring the quality of attractions, the comfort of the public and an impeccable infrastructure, is an event made for all the tribes that drives the music industry, the tourism and the economy. In its nine editions, being three in Brazil (1985, 1991 and 2001), four in Portugal (2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010) and two in Spain (2008 and 2010), Rock in Rio gathered more than 5 million people, who applauded 656 bands live. There were more than 780 hours of broadcast music for more than 1 billion viewers in 80 countries.
CY’s Top Five
Download our guide
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