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The summer music festival season is now rounding third base and preparing for a tumultuous slide into home. As with the last two months, August is filled with great music, cold beverages, frivolity, and more than the occasional scalper. Whether it is outdoor, indoor, formal, or completely extemporaneous festivals are an ideal place for memories and enjoying the summer sense of freedom and exploration. Before long temperatures will drop, school and work will kick into high gear and the summer music festival juggernaut will desist only to slowly begin building momentum for next year. Catch the festival fever before the fun cuts out and you are left with a mouthful of dust and a pair of extremely dissatisfied eardrums. Here’s what is in stock for August.

Depeche Mode

            The Gateway to the West saunters to the plate with their answer to the urban side of the summer music festival experience with The Lot Music Festival on August 29^th. The Lot is a largely community oriented festival, attendance is free, people of different cultures and races in the St. Louis area bond to strengthen the city economically, culturally, and musically. All the bands are local showcasing the St. Louis area’s depth of musical talent and variety. The lineup includes bands such as King Thief, The Blind Eyes, The 75’s, and Hazard to Ya Booty who are all ready to rock out and represent the Lou. This festival makes away with the City Pride Award and the Surprisingly Good Local Bands Award. The event starts with a musician’s garage sale at 2 pm and concludes with a locally made intense musical stew of genre hodge-podge at the Schlafly Tap Room Downtown. Donations are accepted. For more info please visit http://www.mstl.org/lot/.

Jane's Addiction

            One of the kings of the summer music festival court is back for 2009 and ready to throw one hell of ball August 7^th-9th. As always the line-up is packing to its rupturing point with household names in rock, alternative, rap, dance, and a number of other genres. As in years past Lollapalooza will be held in the middle of the urban austerity that is downtown Chicago. Headliners include Tool, Beastie Boys, Depeche Mode, Jane’s Addiction, and the Kings of Leon. A slew of other activities will be offered for patrons such as the Playstation Center in which new games and Blu-ray movies will be available for preview or pre-play. There is also a fully-stocked, open-air biergarten, autograph booth, and the Perry’s DJ stage sure to please electronica aficionados of all types and tastes. While Lollapalooza is one of the more pricey music festivals with regular 3-day passes weighing in at $205, it is one of the two most rich and adorned music festivals in the nation. Basically, every cent of that $205 will be well spent. Lollapalooza takes the “Alt Fan’s Heaven” Award in a landslide and also gets away with the “Screw Bonnaroo, they sold out! What other outrageously extravagant summer music festival can we go to?”  Award. A long title but a much sought after award this year. For more information please visit www.lollapalooza.com.

King Thief

            This one is quite a distance from those in the Tri-State area but for those who are fans of folk music will travel coast to coast to hear their old favorites and some promising new contemporaries in the world of folk. The 2009 American Folk Festival is held in Bangor, Maine on the riverfront and will fill the temperate, salty air with traditional sounds of national and international cultures. This festival truly brings a slice of every culture on the planet. Even the activities,crafts, food, and dance spread out over August 28^th-30^th are all multi-cultured. One of the best parts about the festival is the fact that not only is it family friendly but it provides a child with knowledge of other cultures and let them experience it first-hand. For folkies this is a one-stop shop. Also, due to gracious donations the festival is able to offer free admission to its patrons. This festival snags the “Far out there, man…No, I mean really far out there, but totally worth it” Award and the “Folk Fan’s Dream” Award. For more info please visit http://www.americanfolkfestival.com/.