Summer music festivals are a dime a dozen but we haven't come across many that also pack pro-social punch. Paris' Solidays Festival does. The anti-AIDS event held over 4th of July weekend is part fundraiser, part concert and, this year, part anniversary: It's the festival's 10th birthday.
Last summer, artists as diverse as Lily Allen, Lauryn Hill and Sum 41 joined in solidarity at Longchamp racetrack to support HIV awareness. This year the top billers will be reggae masters Toots and the Maytals along with Asian Dub Foundation, Cesaria Evora, Yael Naim and 200 other performers.
Staying for the full three days is a no-brainer, as passes are cheap ($70) and days are jam-packed with anniversary events. Fireworks, mimes, circus performers and AIDS lecturers will help you pass the time, plus, it's Paris.
This weekend, Philadelphia was the place to be for music thanks to The Roots Picnic. The event featured performances from Diplo, The Cool Kids, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Gnarls Barkley and of course The Roots.
The picnic took place on Festival Pier at Penn's Landing, where cool breezes from the Delaware River were thankfully able to relieve the crowd from the 90+ degree heat.
Though the opening acts were hit-and-miss, Sharon Jones, The Roots and Gnarls Barkley closed out the night with a bang. One guy was actually moved to propose to his wife in the audience during their ballad "You Got Me." Roots' fans were also treated to a stunning solo from bassist Leonard Hubbard, who recently left the group after more than a decade.
The sun was rough and the venue could have used some seating, but if they do this again with an equally amazing lineup, The Roots Picnic will be worth a yearly pilgrimage to Philly. Below, our pictures of the the day's action.
You might remember that Robbie Williams is particularly unpopular in Iceland, but they certainly love their own pop stars. Sure, they don't have too many, but the eccentricity of singer Björk alone makes up for that.
If you love Icelandic singers too, you might want to check out a big event on June 28, when Björk and Sigur Rós will play a free outdoor concert for anyone who happens to be in Iceland at the time.
Iceland Express will have extra-cheap flights over the week of the concert, so getting there from other parts of Europe will be easy--and relatively cheap, with return tickets from €195 ($300), all in. If nothing else, spending a summer vacation at an Icelandic pop concert is different from what you did last year.
Friedrich Nietzsche famously proclaimed "God is dead," and nowhere does his statement feel truer than along the abandoned-factory-lined waterfront of Buffalo. But the city embraces its darkness in black humor films like "The Savages" and "Buffalo 66," where neurotic, blue-collar intellectuals suffer the existential crises that Nietzsche invented.
So it makes sense that the epicenter of this angst-ridden city's counterculture culminates at Nietzsche's, a music venue for people who like their musicians local, talented and gimmick-free.
Located along narrow Allen Street, lined with bookstores and bars where owners still stand behind the counters, Nietzsche's authenticity is the antidote to faux-dive music venues where the mirrors are intentionally hung askew. Its trademark cobweb-covered candelabras have lit the venue for decades, with the exposed wiring to prove it. Get there soon--before the fire department shuts the place down.
Tired of wasting your time in New York's Chinatown gulping down noodles and getting three I ♥ NY shirts for $10? Turn up your budget one notch, and check out Swing Fridays at Grand Harmony Palace on Mott Street.
Cover is $15 and includes live music until midnight. Food and the full bar are available but aren't included. Fear not, first-timers: Lessons are on the house at 9 pm.
Upcoming weekends will feature Michael Arenella and the Dreamland Orchestra as well as George Gee and the Jump, Jivin' Wailers. Totally reminds us of that scene in "Swingers" when Jon Favreau dances with Heather Graham. But, you know, in Chinatown instead of Hollywood.
Lollapalooza descends on Chicago's Grant Park August 1-3, and while the once-punk rock fest may have more catholic tastes these days, it's still got plenty of cutting-egde tunes. Headlining are Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine and Nine Inch Nails.
Also performing are Kanye West, Wilco, The Raconteurs, Gnarls Barkley and Lupe Fiasco. Advance 3-day passes are on sale now for $190, and the price goes up to $205 when those are gone.
If you're looking for a late spring getaway and are musically inclined, don't miss the Key West Songwriters Festival which hits Key West from April 30-May 4. This annual event draws over 100 performers in more than 30 shows on over 25 stages, so you're bound to find some tunes you like.
Shows are staged at intimate, audience-friendly tropical spots, waterfront taverns and other sites in KW and there's also a "big stage" outdoor show just off famed Duval Street. We hear it's 5 days and nights of laid-back music lover's fun.
The best perk of the whole gig? Admission to all performances is absolutely free, so you just have to pack the booze money. Oh, and find a place to stay. Try the The Conch House for a cozy B&B feel just minutes from Duval or take advantage of the "Songwriters Special" at the larger Beachside Resort & Conference Center where rooms are $199 a night.
Not burned out from the all-you-can-hear buffet of SXSW? Sandwiched in between the two weekends of New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is the 7th Annual Ponderosa Stomp, a non-profit roots music festival and conference dedicated to "rock's secret history."
Who's part of the secret history? Well, Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes and Roky Erikson among others.
At $45 each night, Ponderosa Stomp is an affordable addition to the Jazz and Heritage Fest or, should you have one of those cool jobs that allows you to take off a Tuesday and a Wednesday, an excursion all its own.
