The lineups are in. Most of the larger festivals in the country have announced their dates and artists, and tickets are selling fast. Some of the larger touring festivals and artists have also announced plans to visit Kansas City.

The Coachella Festival starts the season off, held on the weekend of April 27-29 in Coachella, California. The headliners for this show are Bjork, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Interpol, and the newly reassembled Rage Against the Machine. The overall lineup is heavy in alternative bands such as Sonic Youth, the Lemonheads, and Placebo. Yet other styles creep in, with DJ Shadow as well as Willie Nelson on the ticket. With nearly a hundred artists playing for three days, there is something for everyone.

Closer to home is Wakarusa, a four-day festival held on June 7-10 in Lawrence, Kansas. This will be the fourth annual festival, held at Clinton Lake Park, with headliners including Widespread Panic, Les Claypool, Yonder Mountain String Band, and the North Mississippi All-Stars. The music ranges from bluegrass to jam-band to folk to jazz-fusion. Wakarusa features over seventy bands, two disc-golf courses, hiking trails, a lake to cool off in, and twenty thousand people to meet. The festival is spread out pretty far, with some campers staying over a mile from the main stages, so a bus service called the “No Waka” runs 24 hours a day. Other bands include MOFRO, John Butler Trio, Galactic, Perpetual Groove, and Michael Franti. To get tickets or more info, visit www.wakarusa.com.

The next weekend, Manchester, Tennessee is host to the Bonnaroo Festival. This is definitely the most manic of all the festivals this year. Headliners include the Police, Tool, Widespread Panic, and the White Stripes. Almost every style of music is represented at this festival. Interested in jam-bands? Go see the String Cheese Incident, Bob Weir, or Wilco. Enjoy electronica? Check out DJ Shadow or Sasha and Digweed. Do you like one man and his guitar? Keller Williams is for you. Aesop Rock holds down the hip-hop while Ziggy Marley does reggae and Gov’t Mule bangs out the blues and rock and roll. Other bands include Ween, Sound Tribe Sector Nine, the Flaming Lips, Ben Harper, the Decemberists, Railroad Earth, Pnuema Trio, and dozens more. There is even a comedy tent featuring Lewis Black and Dave Attell. Tickets run about $200 and can be purchased at www.bonnaroo.com.

The Ten Thousand Lakes Festival is held in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota on July 18-21. 10KL features such artists as Trey Anasasio, moe, Umphrey’s McGee, Zappa Plays Zappa, the Derek Trucks Band, the Disco Biscuits, Gov’t Mule, and Keller Williams. One feature of 10KL is the Everybody Orchestra, where members of any band play together and improvise the whole show. The trip is about twelve hours away from KC, but well worth it. More info can be found at www.10klf.com.

If you can’t get out of Kansas City this summer, have no fear - music is coming to town as well.

Ozzfest announced its summer tour with a twist: it's free this year. That’s right, free. You do need a ticket, but they are free online after June 12th. Aside from the original Black Sabbath, bands include Lamb of God, Hatebreed, and LORDI. The tour is scheduled to be in Kansas City on July 30th, at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.

Other big-name artists who are coming to town include Dave Matthews Band, Rush, Weird Al Yankovic, and the Doobie Brothers. Tickets to these shows can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com.

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