Lerman: Summer music festivals not solely for hazy-eyed
Far and wide, big and small, you name it. We have festivals galore.
By Jake Lerman (Contact)
Monday, March 3rd, 2008
A marmot with an attitude may have declared that winter is here to stay, but I can smell spring just around the corner. The coming thaw and the budding trees can only mean one thing.
Festival season is on its way!
The overpowering aromas of unshaven armpits and well-trodden grass are already flooding my nostrils.
For those still a bit wary of the otherworldly experience that is festival life, this may be the year to broaden your musical horizons.
Music festivals do just that, they allow you to see the bands that you love and expose yourself to new acts that may just melt your metaphorical face off.
Discovery is half of the fun of these events, not only in a musical sense but the pilgrimage to the festival grounds can be an experience in itself.
A road trip, however far, provides a rare opportunity to see all the great land that’s in between point A and point B that so often gets overlooked as our crotches are checked for weaponry in airport security lines.
There are many who still think that festival-goers are solely composed of barefoot hippies and lotus-eaters.
This is a fallacy.
The festival crowd has grown increasingly diverse as the years have passed and you are liable to find any type of person you can imagine baking in the summertime sun.
Nowadays, there is a festival for almost anyone. For example, Jewlicious Festival 4.0, described as “a mind-expanding Jewish culture fun fest.” Or if you’re a bit less secular how about Tubeapalooza Music and Sled festival in McCall, Idaho?
Far and wide, big and small, you name it. We have festivals galore.
Then of course there are the more well known events like Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Coachella, which offer some of the big name head liners. Not to mention a new breed of festivals that have sprung up with some surprisingly great line-ups.
Take the All Points West Fest in New York City for example, which is being headlined by Radiohead for an unprecedented two days.
Of all the Festivals I have mentioned there is one you should care about more than any.
The Wakarusa music and camping festival takes place in our very own town and boasts one of the most impressive lineups year after year.
This summer they top it off with The Flaming Lips and Cake, along with a host of other great acts.
By going to this event you’re not only supporting a piece of Kansas culture — you may just see a side of Lawrence you never knew existed.
Before you write-off the festival scene as a just a romp in the woods for hazy-eyed strangers check again, you may just find the festival that was meant for you.
Lerman is a Highland Park, Ill., sophomore in journalism.
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Aromas of Unshaven Armpits: amazing warm-up band for the Strawberry Alarm Clock circa 1967.
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