Festival Noize: Outside Lands, Pemberton, Forecastle, Imagine, Brooklyn Hip Hop & More

Radiohead, Lionel Richie, LCD Soundsystem, Lana Del Ray and J. Cole are headlining this year’s Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco’s renowned Golden Gate Park. Although the sounds represented span pop, alternative, EDM, hip hop and folk, the most widely represented style is that of indie rock.

The festival will be held August 5-7 and prominently features the best eateries San Francisco has to offer, but it is not a camping festival so visitors will have to find accommodations within the host city.

The festival also includes Duran Duran, Zedd, Ryan Adams, Major Lazer, Air, Sufjan Stevens and Chance the Rapper.

SF-based promotion company Another Planet Entertainment is collaborating with Superfly and Starr Hill for another year to produce what has now become its flagship festival.

Headliner Radiohead made history in 2008 when it became the first band to play Golden Gate Park after dark.

Outside Lands has sold out in each of the last five years, so those who want to lock-in their slot would do well to make time to buy their tickets on April 7, when tickets go on sale. More information is available at SFOutsideLands.com.

Pemberton Music Festival pulls no punches this year as it features some of the most recognizable names in their genres. Pearl Jam, J. Cole, Kaskade, Cheech & Chong and Snoop Dogg all head the bill at the 4-day camping festival, but the lineup is truly loaded in an attempt to make this the festival of the year.

The stacked July 14-17 lineup also features an eclectic mix of Bassnectar, Wiz Khalifa, Ice Cube, Halsey, FKA Twigs, Maria Bamford, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Craig Robinson and the Nasty Delicious, DJ Snake, the Chainsmokers, Billy Idol, Tyler the Creator, Die Antwoord, Mastodon, Girl Talk, Grace Potter, Nick Swardson and too many others to list.

The Pemberton, British Columbia festival accommodates camping and also endorses a number of off-site hotel lodging options. The function takes place in between the North and South campgrounds, so those looking to see a bit of nature in between international headliners will have plenty of space to meander.

Tickets go on sale April 8, and general admission tickets include the choice of a camping or shuttle pass, depending on which kind of accommodations visitors seek. More information is available at PembertonMusicFestival.com.

Americana and Indie sounds take center stage at the Forecastle Festival this year, with Death Cab for Cutie, Alabama Shakes and The Avett Brothers headlining the three nights of the festival.

The festival will be held at the Waterfront Park on the Ohio River in Louisville, Ky., July 15-17 and will include food and drink from many Kentucky eateries.

Outside of the headliners, the show will feature Walk the Moon, AlunaGeorge, Femi Kuti & Positive Force, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals and many others. Those interested in seeing how this more focused rock festival stacks up against Pemberton Music Festival, which is being held simultaneously, need only ask electronic artist Baauer, as he is scheduled to play at both events.

Ticket sales are already underway and VIP passes are still available. Information regarding tickets and performances is available at ForecastleFest.com.

The Southern U.S. is getting an EDM smorgasbord with the third Imagine Festival in Atlanta. The Aug. 26-28 lineup includes Benny Benassi, Borgore, Dillon Francis, Excision, and Zeds Dead.

The Counterpoint and TomorrowWorld EDM festivals were each axed recently, leaving Imagine as the last absurdly massive dance floor open to Southern glowstick-swingers this summer.

This year Imagine is offering camping for the first time, and will include circus troupes, dancers, art and classes. The event will also feature a number of “sacred teachings, ceremonies and transformational workshops” associated with its “immersive aquatic fairytale.”

Tickets are available now, but camping passes are not included in the price of general admission. A VIP package also promises special seating, “clean trailer bathrooms with running water” and meet-and-greets. More information is available at ImagineFestival.com.

Is Brooklyn in the house? It certainly will be at the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, to be held July 13-16. Nas, Talib Kweli, Fabulous, Rapsody and DJ Rob Swift will all be making appearances, and the festival also includes a day-long conference, a showcase of up-and-coming talent and a film festival.

The event has distinct segments, with the conference related to activist themes of entrepreneurship and criminal justice taking place on Wednesday July 13, the film festival the following day, then the Juicy Hip Hop Exhibition on July 15, and the headliner musicians performing on Saturday July 16 at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Tickets are on sale now and more information is available here.

Because Austin, Texas, never has anything going on in the way of music festivals (SXSW recently finished), Levitation Festival is rolling into the Carson Creek Ranch April 29-May 1, and it’s bringing Animal Collective, Ween and Flying Lotus.

The show will also feature a special performance from Brian Wilson, performing the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds.  

Formerly Austin Psych Fest, Levitation is entering its 8^th year. It will feature camping and prides itself on its psychedelic vibe.

Tickets are currently available to the festival and its pre-shows, and more information can be found at Levitation-Austin.com.

The Grid was supposed to connect artists to audiences in intimate settings throughout New York City, but instead it will be connecting interested audiences to disappointment: the “music initiative” has been scrapped.

It was scheduled for May 4-7 and was to feature such acts as AWOLNATION, Ingrid Michaelson, ?uestlove and Young the Giant but as per the official website the event is off.

Tickets will be refunded no later than April 8 and some of the venues will still proceed with the scheduled performances.