Festivals are having their heyday. A new day, a new festival — or so it seems. To help sort through it all, here are some summer music festivals for everyone, and all are within a day’s driving distance of Marin.
COUNTRY SUMMER
JUNE 16–18
Last year, this event attracted more than 27,000 fans from 35 states and four foreign countries, making it Northern California’s biggest country music festival. It’s held on the five-acre Carnival field at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa; expect to see big country stars. countrysummer.com
SIERRA NEVADA
JUNE 16–18
Currently taking place at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds in Boonville, the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival has featured reggae and world music every June on the weekend of the summer solstice since 1994. snwmf.com
STERN GROVE
JUNE 25–AUGUST 27
Established in 1938, this San Francisco festival is free-admission. Every weekend during the summer a variety of artists, from Janelle Monae to the San Francisco Symphony, perform in a eucalyptus-wooded natural amphitheater. sterngrove.org
HIGH SIERRA
JUNE 29–JULY 2
Artists like Bob Weir, Les Claypool and the Black Crowes have been gracing the stage at this Quincy festival since 1991. An eclectic mix of some of the most famous national and international names in jam band, newgrass and funk can be found at this four-day fete. highsierramusic.com
BURGER BOOGALOO
JULY 1–2
Burger Records will hold the fifth edition of its Burger Boogaloo festival at Oakland’s Mosswood Park. For the third time, auteur director John Waters will host the event; the lineup includes Iggy Pop, Buzzcocks and X as headliners. burgerboogaloo.com
FESTIVAL NAPA VALLEY
JULY 14–23
Every year more than 200 artists — including musicians, dancers, actors and singers — gather and perform in Napa with a mission of making arts accessible to everyone. But that’s not all. Top chefs and vintners are also present, setting the stage for a multisensory wine country experience. festivalnapavalley.org
WANDERLUST
JULY 20–23
The Wanderlust Festival, first held in Squaw Valley in July 2009, has featured musicians like Michael Franti, Spoon and Broken Social Scene and a yogi lineup including John Friend and Shiva Rea. wanderlust.com
PETALUMA MUSIC FESTIVAL
AUGUST 5
Not only are proceeds from this annual event distributed among Petaluma’s elementary and secondary public schools to provide funding for music programs, the show this year includes acts like the Chris Robinson Brotherhood and Moonalice. petalumamusicfestival.org
OUTSIDE LANDS
AUGUST 11–13
Now in its ninth year, San Francisco’s Outside Lands draws huge and varied headliners — Radiohead, The Black Keys, Elton John, Metallica and Paul McCartney have all played the threeday fest. The comedy component is often equally impressive. sfoutsidelands.com
Kasia Pawlowska loves words. A native of Poland, Kasia moved to the States when she was seven. The San Francisco State University creative writing graduate went on to write for publications like the San Francisco Bay Guardian and KQED Arts among others prior to joining the Marin Magazine staff. Topics Kasia has covered include travel, trends, mushroom hunting, an award-winning series on social media addiction and loads of other random things. When she’s not busy blogging or researching and writing articles, she’s either at home writing postcards and reading or going to shows. Recently, Kasia has been trying to branch out and diversify, ie: use different emojis. Her quest for the perfect chip is never-ending.
