A hot sunny afternoon in Del Mar California greeted a sold-out crowd for the final day of KAABOO 2019. Concert goers took advantage of the copious beverages available and lounged in the air-conditioned art and comedy buildings before braving the searing early afternoon sun. Music fans swarmed the Trestles stage early on despite the hot temperatures to hear the legendary Toots and The Maytals play their traditional Reggae sound.

With just a few weeks until the gates open at the Newport Folk Festival, I find myself thinking about little else, at least musically. I go to a number of festivals and see a lot of shows, but it’s rare that a musical event can rob my attention well before it happens. It’s difficult to describe the festival to those who haven’t been; like anything magical, you really need to experience it for yourself to fully understand why it sells out instantly, without the fanfare of announcements and advertisements. In fact, the last ticket is sold long before the first artist is announced.

HEART--ANN and NANCY WILSON--will extend their massive "Love Alive" cross-country summer tour into the fall with dates now taking the group through October. New dates include stops in Newark, Little Rock, Memphis, Kansas City, St. Paul and more with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts joining as very special guests and Lucie Silvas opening.

Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend—a destination concert vacation produced by Cloud 9 Adventures in partnership with The Bowery Presents—will take place at the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico from January 29-Febraury 2, 2020 and once again feature an all female-fronted lineup. In addition to multiple sets from Carlile, the festival will include performances by Sheryl Crow, Lake Street Dive, Patty Griffin, Lucius, Wanda Sykes (comedy set), KT Tunstall, Jade Bird, Amanda Shires and Yola as well as special guests Ruby Amanfu, Natalie Hemby and Katie Herzig.

It was the second to last weekend in September which meant it was also time for the 2nd annual Bourbon and Beyond Festival to come to Champions Park in Louisville, Kentucky. Unfortunately, it also accounts for unpredictable weather, as last year’s festival had relentless sun and heat. This year was the opposite, pouring rains made the grounds spongy and turned to mud very quickly. But while that was happening, it didn’t stop 25,000 people to enjoy the music that was in store for the day.

The final day of Lockn’ 2018 dawned hot and sweaty and ended in spectacular fashion with two sets by Dead and Co., joined by master saxophone player Branford Marsalis. A cloudy sky kept the atmosphere steamy until the afternoon when the hot summer sun broke through. Keller Williams got the MainStage started just after noon with a different entourage in tow than from the day before. This time he appeared with a group he calls the Grateful Gospel. The idea was to play music in the spirit of Jerry Garcia in the tune of Black Gospel music. The concept was born at Lockn’.

Friday, June 8th was the first full day of Bonnaroo 2018. While hardcore EDM fans were just beginning to take a nap in the hot morning sunshine, early bird music fans were waking up to a full day of activities. Centeroo exploded with life expanding massively with the opening of the main stage area.