Recently thousands of music lovers converged on Austin, Texas for the prestigious South By Southwest Festival (SXSW). The SXSW is the largest and perhaps the most influential global music industry event of the year. In fact, some 72,000 people and artists attended the event in 2016 and the festival grows every year. If you missed it this year, don’t lose heart. There’s lots of live music to be heard throughout the country this music festival season.
Living close to New York City I have become somewhat spoiled as to where I choose to attend concerts. The last really big show that I attended was a number of years ago to see Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood at Madison Square Garden. Although it was an amazing performance I don’t think that I’ll ever go back to an arena show again. The ticket prices are totally out of control and there is no sense of intimacy in such a large place. I prefer to see a band in a club setting where I can really observe the band up close and personal, and feel the vibe of the crowd around me.
A festival event on the other hand is a different animal all together. There are multiple stages set up throughout the festival grounds featuring different bands and there is usually a fairly large merchandise area. The merchandise area shows off not only band swag such as t-shirts and albums but also numerous food vendors of various types. The festival season usually runs through the spring and summer season into late September or possibly even early October. Two of the better festivals that you might want to check out are the Audiofeed Festival in Illinois and Soulfest in New Hampshire both occurring at the height of Summer.
Audiofeed will be held June 30 through July 2 at the Champaign County Fairgrounds. It will feature some 50 bands including My Epic, The Gray Havens, John Reuben and Von Strantz among others. General admission tickets begin at $55.
This is the 20th Anniversary Celebration for Soulfest New Hampshire. It’s scheduled for August 3-5 and will be held at Gunstock Mounrain Resort in Gilford, NH. Some of the bands include For King & Country, Tenth Avenue North, Jars of Clay, Moriah Peters and Tedashii. Tickets are a little more expensive. Three-day passes range $107-$125.75. There are only 400 tickets left and sales end April 1, so if your interested in attending, best hustle.
Also, the second Nowhere Else Festival is happening Memorial Day Weekend, May 27-29 in Martinsville, Ohio hosted by one of the best bands around, Over The Rhine. Definitely Google music festivals near you for additional dates. Enjoy live music whenever and wherever you can.
