The original Woodstock festival is possibly the most historic and remembered music festival in history. American music festivals, however, have not been the same since. In 1994, Woodstock was recreated but became a sad show of people trying to mimic the glory of the past. Again in 1999, Woodstock \celebrated"" its 30th anniversary, which ended in rioting and destruction.
Sadly, the entire American music festival idea faded into near oblivion and became a venue for people to destructively let out aggression instead of peacefully appreciating the music.
It seemed the only way to see a truly incredible festival with amazing artists, you needed to travel overseas to Glastonbury, England.
Lately, however, American music festivals have been slowly resurfacing, trying to mimic Glastonbury, as more people are willing to travel around the nation to see many great musicians perform together. Instead of planning your spring break, think about visiting some of the United States' finest music festivals.
Tickets go on sale soon, and many acts have already been confirmed. So here is a preview of music festivals coming this spring and summer.
Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival is scheduled for April 30 and May 1 in Indio, California. While the bands have not been formally announced, many people are speculating who will appear.
Message board speculation has exploded with rumors of an incredible line-up. The rumored and speculated acts include possible headliners David Bowie and R.E.M.
Other supporting rumored acts include The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, TV on the Radio, Wilco, Iron and Wine, The Doves, Dogs Die in Hot Cars and Arcade Fire. While these names are not set in stone and not all may end up playing at the festival, the weekend should be filled with musical delights you should surely not miss.
The Bonnaroo Music Festival is scheduled for June 10 to 12 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn. Traditionally, Bonnaroo is known as the jam band music festival with past headlining acts including the likes of Phish and the Dave Matthews Band.
Dave Matthews Band is, once again, a headliner, but by no means are they the highlight of the festival. This year the acts are far less jam with much more musical variety.
The confirmed music acts include Iron and Wine, Rilo Kiley, The Mars Volta, Modest Mouse, Secret Machines and Bella Fleck Acoustic Trio. This year, Bonnaroo will be an essential stop to catch some of the latest indie bands.
And then there is Field Day Fest in New York. For those who remember 2003, the festival gave people a field day, as the location was changed only days before the show. The festival, however, went on at Giant's Stadium.
Rain became the atmosphere of acts such as Radiohead, Beastie Boys, Elliot Smith and Spiritualized. Beck was supposed to perform, however, just before he was scheduled to take the stage, he suffered a rib injury.
All in all, the first Field Day Fest was not a complete success, but they are going to try it again this summer.
This year Field Day Fest is scheduled for either July 16 and 17, or 23 and 24 at Greig Farm, which is north of Albany, N.Y. Andrew Dreskin, the promoter of Field Day Fest, has said that he wants to include acts like Radiohead, Beastie Boys and Norah Jones his year.
Music festivals are not an easy undertaking, as seen in Woodstock with heavy wind and rain. People who attend these festivals must put up with Mother Nature, whether she provides cold rain or blistering heat. I applaud the true fans who bear the essentials because even the worst conditions will not come between them and great bands.
Still, much speculation exists with these music festivals, but it is not too early to start making plans to trek out into the middle of nowhere and see so many bands in the course of only a few hours.
True, Woodstock may never be recreated, but at least people are trying to make music festivals an unforgettable experience. If you really want to see some great bands together, then try one of these music festivals as a destination instead of Cancun, Jamaica or Florida.
You'll surely get a nice tan and will definitely be surrounded by beautiful scenery you'll always remember.
-Beth Wick's column runs Wednesdays, and she can be reached at eawick@wisc.edu.
