The last day of this festival began slowly with the contemplative music of Tony Vines. Visitors like me new to Rhythms on the Rio might not fully appreciate what they were hearing from this talented young man. A skilled guitarmaker and musician, Vines struggled with bipolar disorder for two decades, often diving deep into depression and near suicide. He sat on the stage on a cool Sunday morning in South Fork, Colorado, unmedicated for his disorder, healed by the power of his faith, singing songs of hope and belief.

With a positive weather forecast and a backpack full of blankets, I wandered into Golden Gate Park for my second Outside Lands Festival. This was the first year in which all tickets sold out, so the park was filled to capacity. I didn't know what it would look like, but I was ready to experience it. The first day always has a kind of anxiety to it, whether it's dealing with Muni not being able to handle the amount of passengers on the bus or deciding which band to favor during a schedule conflict.

Fresh water and blue skies await me this weekend at the 10^th annual Hoxeyville Music Festival.  Life has been rough for me the past few weeks.  I’m gonna pack my rain gear, a few hoodies, my golf bag, and for this special weekend, I am actually going to skip the sandals and bring some real shoes.

Work sucks. Bill collectors are calling.  I’m ready for an escape. 

Jomeokee Music and Arts Festival is pleased to announce the daily lineup of artists scheduled at its September 14 – 16, 2012 festival. Attendees of the Pinnacle, NC festival will be treated to world-class bluegrass, Americana, jam, funk and reggae on side-by-side stages that frame majestic Pilot Mountain.
 

It’s been another great summer for live music in Colorado. From the majestic Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison to the main stage at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, the state has again proven itself to be a major destination for all kinds of acts. As the season winds down and the weather (hopefully) starts to get cooler, the local boys of Yonder Mountain String Band still have one trick up their respective sleeve.

The final day of Outside Lands came and went, and I have never been more upset to see a festival end. My body, on the other hand, is thrilled. I spent the cloudy “Sunday Funday” of Golden Gate Park’s music festival planted at Land’s End Stage in Polo Field, determined to see Jack White with my own eyes as opposed to on the Megatron screen.

The campground was filled with the sounds of mandolin and bass into the wee hours before the Rhythms on the Rio festival officially opened. The Scrugglers kept us early campers warm at the huge community fire in the middle of the campground.

The fog didn’t let up for day two of San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival, and neither did the crowds. It seemed that no matter where you stood, there was a constant stream of people passing you either way. I set off to play fangirl today, and I succeeded.

My feet are aching, my throat is hoarse, and my ears are muffled. That can only mean one thing: Outside Lands day one was a success.

Well, the sky looks as if it’s clearing over the Rio Grande River in South Fork, Colorado. The festival grounds was busy today with stage construction and setting up shaded seating and booths….in the rain. It wasn’t a Midwestern downpour but one of those gentle southern Colorado rains that soaks into the ground. It made setting up tents a bit of a trick, but early campers like myself were game and just danced in the rain in t-shirts and jeans as we stretched rain flies and pounded in stakes.