Coachella is only the beginning for summer festivals


Coachella is a tall order for the average college student. It often requires spending hundreds of dollars on the ticket alone. Unfortunately, the expenses do not end there. They also include food, the cost of accommodations and any miscellaneous fun an attendee might want to join in on. Even with its exorbitant price tag, however, Coachella continues to attract the masses with its star headliners, crazy parties and California-cool reputation.

Here’s a rundown of the Weekend Two highlights:

The best headliner without a doubt, was AC/DC. On Friday, they performed with the kind of precision, musical integrity and sense of humor that is rare to find among studio-focused musicians nowadays.

AC/DC shared Friday with another big name, Nero, whose light show alone could have had its own set. Smaller must-sees included the fun and soulful pop artists Kiesza and Lykke Li, as well as the innovative funky beats coming from DJ Todd Terje and the Olsens.

Saturday belonged less to the headliners and more to the smaller acts. Even though it was blisteringly hot, festival attendees made it a mission to attend acts like hip-hop duo Run The Jewels, who pulled Travis Barker onstage to drum for them, and Deorro, the ever humble house DJ who tore down the Sahara tent Saturday evening.

“I had the opportunity this year to give a positive message,” Deorro said. “So I wanted to use this opportunity to speak to a bigger crowd and show them the positive things I live for, like family and music, that brought me to where I am today on this stage. They know that I’m here for them and then we were ready to party.”

Sunday featured an eclectic lineup that kept festival goers on their feet for most of the day, running back and forth across the Empire Polo Club grounds to catch all of the different acts. Even with a broken foot, Florence and the Machine put on a spellbinding performance and brought tears to some festival-goers’ eyes. In addition, Kaskade, Marina and the Diamonds, Duke Dumont and Stromae all gave incredible performances. Stromae’s Euro beats were keeping the crowd in a frenzy even before he brought Kanye West on stage to perform “Alors on Danse,” a guest appearance that propelled Stromae’s set into the history books.

Another highlight was the Do LaB, an EDM tent on the opposite side of the fields from the main stage that kept DJs playing in a steady rotation for more than 12 hours each day.

Though Coachella is the quintessential California music festival, it is certainly not the only one this summer.

If a festival grounded in EDM, yoga, art and sustainability sounds intriguing head to Bradley, California for Do LaB’s Lightning in a Bottle Arts & Music Festival this May. The idea for Lightning in the Bottle grew organically and collaboratively from some of Do LaB’s founding members.

“Some of our friends were musicians, artists, some liked to do lighting,” said Do LaB publicist Russell Ward. “It just grew from us wanting to create something that let us do all of that.”

Lightning in a Bottle’s star-studded line up includes ODESZA and Flume, as well as EDM powerhouse RL Grime. Tickets for this unique festival start at $260.

If trippy vibes and clean camping out in the desert do not sound appealing, BottleRock in Napa Valley is also a great spring festival option. Headliners include Imagine Dragons, No Doubt, Snoop Dogg, Robert Plant and Passion Pit. A little bit more like Coachella in flavor, BottleRock tickets go for $275, $100 less than face value Coachella tickets.

Another fun festival up north is Northern Nights in Piercy, California. Headliners include Autograf, Awesome Tapes From Africa and Basecamp. Northern Nights is for you if the idea of sharing space with hundreds of thousands of other people causes you anxiety. A smaller festival, Northern Nights features a beach stage that allows guests to float in a river while listening to their favorite artists and one of the most majestic campgrounds on the festival circuit.

And the options don’t end there. From jazz to country to dance to rock, from coast to coast there is a festival for every type of music fan. All it takes to find the perfect one is a little bit of research and maybe more than a little bit of money.