Fall Music Festival Guide

I’m a huge fan of music festivals. There is nothing like a weekend round-up of great bands at one event, not to the funnel cake and occasional cultural arts exhibit. Oh, and the people who attend music festivals (myself included), are often fanatical types usually, with eclectic music tastes. You have to be a bit zealous to pay some of the festival prices and to stand in the sun for hours to see your favorite band.

The summer may be near its end but there are still plenty of festivals on the calendar for fall. It’s impossible for me to list every festival happening everywhere, so if you know of others, please feel free to add them to the comments.

Bumbershoot: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival 
When: Aug. 31 – Sept. 1
Where: Seattle Center

This is a end of Summer, beginning of fall, memorial day weekend hot ticket. Bumbershoot features a wide range of arts, from theatre and film, to music and dance. Neko Case is making a tour stop at Bumbershoot. Other live performances by Keysha Cole, Beck, Lucinda Williams, Death Cab for Cutie and more.

Pygmalion Music Festival
When: September 17-20
Where: Urbana, IL

Admittedly I didn’t recognize any of the names in the line-up for this festival. But that tends to be how it is with indie music festivals. The Pygmalion festival is in it’s fourth year and I have no doubt that there will be plenty of talented artists to explore.

Americana Music Festival
When: September 17-20
Where: Nashville, TN

The Americana music festival and conference is organized by The Americana Music Association, to bring fans together with music and showcase up-and-coming musicians. Artist showcases begin Wednesday, September 17th and an awards ceremony Thursday the 18th.

Forward Music Festival

When: September 19-20
Where: Madison, Wisconsin

This indie music festival, featuring Neko Case, bourgeoning DJ Flosstradamus, Headlights, and Lesley & The Lys. The Foward Music Festival is a two-day, multiple venue event intended to draw international attention to the growing Madison arts community and highlight the local music scene.

Treasure Island Music Feastival
When: September 20
Where: San Francisco Bay

Same weekend as the Forward Music and Americana Music Festivals, is the Treasure Island Music Festival in the San Francisco Bay. With a line-up including The Raconteurs, TV on the Radio, Goldfrapp, Vampire Weekend, The Kills, and Foals, this event promises to be one of the hottest of the season.

Austin City Limits
When: September 26-28
Where: Austin, TX

Austin is known for being the home of all things weird and for it’s live music. The ACL Festival is one of the hottest festivals of the year. The line-up includes Erykah Badu, Tegan & Sara, The Raconteurs, Robert Plant & Sara Krauss, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Iron & Wine…need I go on? An extra special treat for ShePlaysMusic readers, I’ve been granted press access to cover the festival! More on that later…

Icelandic Airwaves
When: October 15-19
Where: Downtown Reykjavik, Iceland

In typical downtown festival fashion, Airwaves is all about downtown and the thriving music culture of downtown Reyjavik. Not all of the artists have been announced, but this is likely to be a great Icelandic indie music festival.

CMJ Music Festival
When: October 21-25
Where: New York

CMJ has a long history of highlighting artists as their careers begin to break and the Marathon Music & Film Festival has been credited with launching cult followings for countless artists and films. So far the line-up includes Canadian indie powerhouse, Broken Social Scene, as well as Beach House, Lykkie Li, Juliana Hatfield and a host of others. There will be a film panel as well. Check the website for more details (not many at the moment though).

The Voodoo Festival
When: October 24-26
Where: New Orleans, Louisiana

On it’s 10th year, the Voodoo Experience is known for bringing together top acts from disparate musical genres as well as artists from the region. This year’s line-up includes Lupe Fiasco, Cold War Kids, Thievery Corporation, Erykah Badu, Lil Wayne, Panic at the Disco, Man Man and more.  

International Caribbean Music Festival
When: November 16
Where: Virginia Beach, MI

Returning to it’s original date and location, ICM promises to be one of the hottest Caribbean music events of the year. Show organizers are still working on the line-up but we can surly expect a few big names in reggae to make the list.

Bang Music Festival
When: TBA
Where: Miami, Florida

The official announcement has not been made for the 2008 festival, but if this year’s Bang Festival is anything like that in years previous, we can expect a rockin’ show with artists representing multiple genres.