With the FYF fest just announcing its set times for the two-day music celebration this weekend, I was thinking that Los Angeles (and its region, Orange County included) has a hella number of music festivals, this is quite incredible. Mammoth-size festivals or neighborhood-size street fairs, from April to October, festivals abound around me. I have tried to make a list of them:
Coachella in April: The biggest of all, not exactly in Los Angeles but close enough to empty Silver Lake of all its hipster population for two weekends in a row, now….It’s huge and still growing and I don’t want to go.
Silver Lake Jubilee in May: Small festival on Memorial weekend and growing every year. It is now in its third year and still a cool event but the ticket price suddenly jumped from $5 to $20 this year.
Hudson Block Party in May: It’s a micro festival, occupying just a block, so it can be very crowded. I would rather call it a beer block party. And it’s not free!
Make Music Pasadena in June: Nice and free festival but really spread throughout the city of Pasadena, so it can become a challenge to catch the acts on time because of the distance between the stages. There is also a lot going on everywhere in the streets, which are becoming too narrow for this growing fair celebrating the summer solstice.
Bloomfest in July: This festival is really growing, it started only five years ago and has really,… blossomed. It is happening in the arts district, it is still free of charge and I like that.
HARD Summer Music Festival in August: I have never been to this electronic dance festival happening in the Los Angeles State Historic Park, but I heard the crowd is very big and very high on ecstasy? Plus there was Skrillex this year, so I pass thank you.
H2O Music Festival in August: I have never been either, but it happens in other cities too…. John Legend and Snoop Dogg this year, sorry but not my kind of line-up.
Sunset Strip Music Festival in August: I wanted to go, didn’t get a pass, and didn’t want to pay the high price. It’s the West-side fair, the answer to Silver Lake/Echo Park and the old-school rock’ n’ roll celebrating as the Doors or Black Sabbath. It’s the anti SXSW in other words.
Rock the Bells festival in August: a traveling hip hop festival which stops near Los Angeles. It’s completely hip hop, so I have never been.
Echo Park Rising: A festival born from the Sunset Junction Festival’s ashes. It will probably grow over the years and get a ticket price,.. or not. The question is, will they stay exclusively local like this year or will they book bigger bands?
The Pacific festival in September: I have never been either, but it sounds refreshing because close to the Pacific ocean. It sounds good but presents the big disadvantage to happen the same weekend than the FYF fest.
FYF Fest in September: I am going again this year, and it will be the third time I am attending the punk-and-indie flavored fest happening in the Los Angeles State Historic Park on Labor day weekend. It’s always very hot, very crowded, very dusty, very thirsty, but totally great. The FYF stands for Fuck Yeah Fest, so FYF fest is totally redundant… one big complain: they should give me a press pass.
Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival in September: I have never been but it sounds cool (it’s on the ocean side) with indie bands (Saint Motel seems to play there every year!). And where else can you eat lobster while listening to music?
Doheny’s days in September: Again I have never been, it is a little far from Los Angeles, but I would totally go this year because the Flaming Lips are headlining!
Tarfest in September: Small and nice music festival where you can get educated about tar and Pleistocene fossils,.. about that!
Culture Collide Festival in October: Organized by Filter magazine, I have attended several times the free street fair on Sundays, but the festival lasts a few days in Echo Park and features artists from more than 25 countries!
Eagle Rock Music Festival in October: Again another neighborhood-bound festival that I have never attended, but Eagle Rock is a very active music scene.
I am sure there are others I have forgotten,… now how many festivals is too many?