Whether you like head banging to the pounding bass of Death Grips, or gently swaying to the sounds of Grizzly Bear, you’ll find what you want at a music festival. Some hold a theme of a specific genre while others have more variety, but none can deny the power of a well-organized music event.

“This summer I saw Jake Shimabukuro at the Ark in Ann Arbor,” sophomore Max Herzog said. “It was well worth the price. Live music is always fantastic.”
Some of the more well-known festivals like Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Coachella maintained the kind of variety people have come to expect at big festivals with bands ranging from The Cure to Two Chainz. The variety of these festivals can be a big selling point but more often then not, the location and price can be an issue. Traveling to Tennessee to attend Lollapalooza could be a once in a lifetime event.

“I saw John Mayer and Phillips at DTE during the summer,” junior Nathan Brown said. “I considered going to The Common Ground Music Festival with AWOLNATION  and MGMT, but the timing did not work out for me.”

For some people, searching for a local gem could be tedious and sometimes unrewarding, but finding a good event at an affordable price was well worth the effort. Some notable Michigan music festivals were the Orion Music Festival and the Electric Forest Festival. While Orion was much cheaper than Electric Forest, both featured bands worth seeing and the benefit of them being in state was a big plus.

“I went to the Orion Music Festival this summer and saw The Orwells, Foals, Death Grips, Silversun Pickups, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers,” senior Jack Pooler said. “The price was not too bad, especially considering the amount of music I got to hear and having it close by was really convenient.”

If money and location were of no issue, there were some good out of country festivals worth considering. One well-known festival in the UK is the Isle of Wight Festival which featured such big names as The Killers, Bon Jovi and Ellie Goulding. A quick 10 hour flight from home could take you to another exciting festival: The Fuji Rock Festival in Naeba, Japan. The long distance may seem daunting, but with an impressive line up that included James Blake, Radiohead, Elvis Costello, Jack White, and Justice, it might have been worth it.

Although music festivals can leave a viewer a little less rich, the experience of a full day of live music typically makes up for the empty wallet. Tickets can go on sale very early and sell fast, so next spring, do your research early and make the best out of your summer.