Festival Season is upon us once again. No matter where you live or what your plans are this summer, it is pretty much guaranteed that there will be a festival in a town near you. So if your thing is running from stage to stage, pushing your way through thousands of sweaty people, running to the port-o-potties between sets, eating shitty food, and seeing most of the bands you love, playing one after another in the open summer air, than this is for you!

These festivals have been going on since May, and some biggies have already gone down, such as the Sasquatch Festival, Bonnaroo and Glastonbury Festival. But have no fear, the best is yet to come. Here is a list of this summer’s top 5 most amazing upcoming festivals. Sadly, I don’t think my hometown’s Osheaga Festival is going to make the cut this year. Oh well!

O2 Wireless Festival - July 3-6 - London, UK

For my friends across the pond, this festival, which kicked off last night, has an unbelievable lineup. Highlights include: Hot Chip, Cool Kids, Annie, Morrisey, Beck, The National, Black Kids, Sea Wolf, Cut Copy, MSTRKRFT, Laura Veirs, Ben Harper, Counting Crows, Kaki King and Jay-Z. I wish I was in London for this. It takes place in Hyde Park, so go check it out.

T in the Park Festival - July 11-13 - Balado, Scotland

I had to mention this festival as well because the lineup is just insane! I don’t understand why we don’t have festivals like this in Canada. For this festival you may not even want to watch the main stages. In my opinion the smaller stages are where the action is at. If you feel like seeing Rage Against the Machine, REM, Kings of Leon, Amy Winehouse, The Verve, The Raconteurs, The Prodigy and Panic at the Disco, then hang around the two main stages. But if you want to see Band of Horses, Animal Collective, Los Campesinos!, The Pogues, Echo and the Bunnymen, Vampire Weekend, The Ting Tings, Annie, Yeasayer, Black Kids, Hot Chip, The National, MGMT and Interpol, then maybe you should hang out at the smaller stages. Wherever you are, you are bound to hear great music. This festival may be the best of the summer.

Pitchfork Music Festival - July 18-20 - Chicago, Illinois

I could go on and on about the festivals in Europe and the UK. It seems that when it comes to summer festivals, that part of the world is where it’s at. But have no fear my fellow North Americans, there are plenty of great(ish) festivals for us to see as well! One of these is the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. Love them or hate them, you have to admit that Pitchfork has put together quite a lineup. A lineup that includes the likes of: Caribou, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Animal Collective, Vampire Weeekend, Elf Power, Apples in Stereo, Spoon, Spiritualized, M. Ward, Cop Copy, Dodos and The Ruby Suns. I give this festival an 8.36666 on 10.

Lollapalooza - August 1-3 - Chicago, Illinois

It just so happens that Lollapalooza is also in Chicago. I had to mention it because the lineup is just so good. If you live in the US or Canada and you are not already planning a trip to Chicago for Lollapalooza then you should really get on that! If you live in Europe, you have enough amazing festivals so you’re not missing anything. Here are just a few of the many many bands playing Lolla this year: Uffie, The Ting Tings, Dr. Dog, Black Kids, MGMT, Grizzly Bear, Devotchka, Yeasayer, The Go! Team, Rogue Wave, The Kills, Brazilian Girls, Mates of State, CSS, Girl Talk, Okkervile River, Iron & Wine, Explosions in the Sky, Gogol Bordello, The National, Cat Power, Broken Social Scene, Gnarls Barkley, Bloc Party, The Raconteurs, Wilco, Kanye West, Rage Against the Machine, NIN and Radiohead. Wowza!

Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival - August 30 - September 1 - Seattle, Washington

Finally, I had to mention this festival because the lineup looks quite different than most of the other big festivals this summer. Different in a good way. Take a look at some of the artists: Xavier Rudd, Sons & Daughters, The Walkmen, Sondre Lerche, Saul Williams, Tim Finn, Ravens & Chimes, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Minus the Bear, Neko Case, Nada Surf, Man Man, M. Ward, Jakob Dylan, John, Vanderslice, Flobots, Final Fantasy, Dan Deacon, Beck, Blitzen Trapper, Battles, Band of Horses and The Black Keys. Kind of a different and interesting little festival.

So these are my top 5 festivals of the summer. Obviously there are many more great festivals this summer, but after going through a lot of the lineups I’ve chosen these as my tops. If you are traveling around Europe this summer, try to plan accordingly so that you can check out some festivals. For a really comprehensive list you can check out Pitchfork’s list of all the festivals happening around the world this summer. If you have been to any of these or other festivals this summer I’d love to know how your experience was, so please comment!

Until next week…

-The Middle Distance Runner