The chill in the air and the familiar rumble of school buses tells us that summer is quietly coming to an end. If you were at Bumbershoot this past weekend, however, school lunches and winter jackets were far from a hot topic. In its 42nd year, Seattle’s music and arts festival was blessed with sunny skies, a distinct lineup, and its 7 millionth visitor ever.

Does the end of festival season leave you and your wallet feeling a little empty? Want to keep that great musical feeling going a little longer? Want to know how to do it at no cost to you? Want to know how to do all of this while helping kids in need? Well then my philanthropic, penny pinching, audiophile friend- The Life Is Good Festival, September 21st and 22nd at the fabulous Prowse Farm in Canton, MA can fulfill all of these needs and more. And did I mention the line-up?

In less than two weeks the beautiful grounds at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio will become alive again for the Werk Out Music and Arts Festival. September 12th-14th there will be a great family gathering featuring three sets of The Werks and tons of other great musicians along with camping, awesome venders, and some of the best people in the world.  This festival is truly a hidden gem in the Midwest jam band scene.Legend Valley is a great place to go for a festival.

Back for its 2nd year, Dancefestopia is soon to make a repeat appearance in Kansas City, MO.  Featuring over 60 EDM and hip-hop artists including big names such as Wiz Khalifa, Porter Robinson, Mac Miller, Lotus, EOTO, Adventure Club and more, festival goers far and wide are making their way to the Midwest to take part in the popular festival.The much-anticipated event will take place on September 13th and 14th at Berkeley Riverfront Park in Kansas City.

I wanna portray Whippersnap Arts & Music Festival 2013 as that scene from the Lion King where Rafiki holds Simba up over the African Pride Lands.  Alas, much like Scar and Mufasa there is an obscured version of the truth.  If I was to sing the praises of this festival, I would be naïve to the dark side that it did have.  Albeit the sleeper festival, the musical acts outshine the production which are the real pride of Whippersnappin to it.

Between the comedy, films, lectures, and music, Bumbershoot almost has too much going on. Almost. If you find yourself at a loss for direction, here are five musical acts that are guaranteed to leave you with a grin on your face.

Well, it wouldn’t be NedFest without a little rain and a lotta Vince Herman. As the first hopeful few sauntered on to the grounds last Friday, we dared the sky to open up wider and keep pouring down on us. It hadn’t stopped us Nedestrians before (we’re no fair-weather fans) and it certainly was not going to now that Whitewater Ramble, leaving tradition behind, plugged in and opened up the weekend with some lively tunes.

Vibrant splashes of neon color filled the rolling hills of Wisconsin the weekend of August 9th-11th, as fans from all around the Midwest came to celebrate the second annual Summer Set Music Festival. Packing the place with an average of 15,000 attendees per day, slightly up from last year’s average, the festival maintained a substantial crowd throughout the day and into the night’s major acts.

ARISE! Those are bold words that I have used in the title of this review, but I have thought long and hard about it, and I can rationalize and explain it. This inaugural festival is one that I will never miss. I was only there for Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, but I did not sleep, and in that short period of time, I was able to completely capture the magic and vibe of this festival.

True Music Festival, a brand new festival experience coming to Scottsdale, Arizona, is pleased to announce the first round of performers for the inaugural event, which will be held at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on December 14, 2013. The performer lineup at the multi-genre festival includes: wildly engaging EDM producer and DJ, Bassnectar; rock stalwarts, The Flaming Lips; hip-hop impresario, Wiz Khalifa; the indie-pop duo, Capital Cities; and indie-folk band, Lord Huron.