Date/Time: June 7, 12 p.m.Place: Shoreline AmphitheatrePrice: $10.53Lineup: Cypress Hill, Pennywise, Flogging Molly, Alkaline Trio, The Kooks, Everlast, Anti-Flag, MGMT, Atreyu, Moby and more.
This is by far the cheapest BFD to date. Although it is definitely a bargain, the price might have something to do with the fact that this year’s lineup is the weakest in recent memory. In the past, Live 105 has gotten prominent bands in the current alternative music scene. This year, headliners Cypress Hill are barely even heard on the radio station. With that aside, it is still worth the price of admission if Cypress Hill does a repeat of last year’s Rock the Bells Festival by blowing up a giant golden Buddha on stage.
Date/Time: Aug. 9, 2 p.m.Place: Shoreline AmphitheatrePrice: $54.75 – $70.75Lineup: Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, The Bravery, ASHES dIVIDE, Atreyu, Hawthorne Heights, 10 Years, Armor for Sleep and Street Drum Corps
You can always count on Linkin Park to put on one of the best live performances you will ever see. With their very own annual festival that they headline every year, they usually bring on tour a diverse group of musicians which have included the likes of Korn, My Chemical Romance, Ghostface Killah and Snoop Dogg in the past. This year, however, there are no hip hop acts featured in the lineup, and aside from former Soundgarden and Audioslave singer Chris Cornell, there aren’t a lot of noteworthy bands on both the main stage and the Revolution stage. With that aside, Cornell makes up for the lack of talent this year, being one of the most recognizable voices of the 90s grunge era. Cornell alone can carry this festival and might just steal the show from headliners Linkin Park.
Date/Time: June 21, 11 a.m. (Pier 30/32) and Aug. 15, 12 p.m. (Shoreline Amphitheatre)Place: Pier 30/32 and Shoreline AmphitheatrePrice: $33 (Pier 30/32) and $27 (Shoreline Amphitheatre)Lineup: Against Me!, The All-American Rejects, All Time Low, Angels and Airwaves, As I Lay Dying, The Bronx, Charlotte Sometimes, Cobra Starship, Every Time I Die, Gym Class Heroes, Norma Jean, Relient K, Say Anything, Story of the Year, The Vandals and more
With over 30 bands on several stages playing at the same time, there is hardly any downtime for you to take a rest at this year’s Warped Tour. With two Bay Area dates, there really shouldn’t be any reason for you to miss out. Although most of these bands will only play for an average of about half an hour, there is definitely plenty of great music to go around throughout the day. The only downside is that your favorite band might be playing at the very same time as your second favorite band on another stage.
Date/Time: Aug. 22-24, 5 p.m. on Friday, 1 p.m. on Saturday and SundayPlace:Golden Gate ParkPrice: $225.50 for a three-day pass, $85 for single day passesLineup: Radiohead, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Jack Johnson, Beck, Lupe Fiasco, Primus, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Manu Chao, Regina Spektor, Dredg, Kaki King, Stars, Wilco, Little Brother, Broken Social Scene and more
This is San Francisco’s version of Coachella. The three-day festival features the most eclectic lineup of all the summer concert festivals. Although the $225 three-day pass might be a bit much for a broke college kid, this is the one festival worth going to simply because of future rock legends Radiohead, who made headlines late last year by offering their album for any price fans wish to pay. It’s just too bad you can’t set your own price for this festival.
Date/Time: July 12, 2 p.m.Place: Shoreline AmphitheatrePrice: $25 – $55Lineup: Slipknot, Disturbed, Dragonforce, Mastodon, Underoath, 36 Crazyfists, Machine Head, Walls of Jericho, Airbourne, Five Finger Death Punch, and more
With Ozzfest resorting to a single date in Texas as opposed to a touring festival as it was in the past, Rockstar Energy Drink’s Mayhem Festival takes over as the main touring metal fest this year, with much of the lineup being Ozzfest alumni. Every band on the main stage has played Ozzfest in the past. The last time headliners Slipknot played Ozzfest, they headlined the second stage, making this their year to prove that they are worthy of headlining a festival this big.
Date/Time: Aug. 16, 11 a.m.Place: Shoreline AmphitheatrePrice: $35.50 – $75Lineup: A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, The Pharcyde, Mos Def, Rakim, Method Man & Redman, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Murs and more
It is hard to top last year’s Rock the Bells Festival which featured both Rage Against the Machine and Wu-Tang Clan headlining. But this is definitely one of the better hip hop lineups you will see this year, if not the best. With hip hop legends Rakim, Nas and A Tribe Called Quest all performing, this is heaven for all you hip hop heads. Wu-Tang Clan members Ghostface Killah and Raekwon also make an appearance, as well as Method Man and Redman, who dropped a verse from their hit “Da Rockwilder” last year during Wu-Tang’s set. Immortal Technique’s live performance is not one to miss as he will surely put on the most intense performance of the day with his politically outspoken lyrics. The special appearance of the reunited Pharcyde is only icing on the cake. Let’s just hope Nas doesn’t flake out like he did on last year’s festival.
