Music, Drugs and Blistering Heat - A Breakdown of This Summer's Music Festival Lineup

Date: June 14-17

Location: Manchester, Tenn.

Price: $184.50 - $214.50

Started in 2002, Bonnaroo was initially every hippy's wet dream. The first lineup featured a myriad of neo-flower child-friendly performers - like Widespread Panic, Trey Anastasio and The String Cheese Incident - as well a handful of outfits that seemed somewhat out of place (Old Crow Medicine Show, Norah Jones and the almighty Ween).

The artist roster slowly diversified over the past few summers, and this year's lineup is as vast as the festival's 700-acre locale. Bonnaroo has a little something for everyone. Ziggy Marley, The Decemberists, Tortoise, Aesop Rock and Damien Rice are just a very small portion of the event's ever-growing schedule.

Over the weekend, guests will also be able to see comedy performances from the likes of David Cross, Lewis Black, Dave Attell and others. Bonnaroo is a hippy-fest at heart, but the ever-evolving lineup has grabbed the attention of the meat-eating, patchouli-loathing, hackey sack-hating members of the public.

Pitchfork Music Festival

Date: July 13-15

Location: Chicago

Price: $15-$25 for one day, $35 for the weekend, $50 for all three days

Pitchfork Media take a lot of flack for its writers' style of criticism. But scraping away the convoluted writing and unnecessary first person interjections reveals one indisputable fact: Pitchfork's staff has some great taste in music.

Case-in-point: the second annual Pitchfork Music Festival. The three-day festival will host performances from alternative rock favorites like Cat power, of Montreal and the New Pornographers. This year's highlight is an appearance by indie rock gods Sonic Youth, who will perform their album Daydream Nation in its entirety.

Other activities include free performances by Chicago-based bands and music-related documentaries at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Pitchfork may some day become one of the best music festivals the Midwest has to offer, and the bargain-priced tickets only serve to sweeten the deal.

Sasquatch! Music Festival

Date: May 26-27

Location: George, Wash.

Price: $55-$75 per day

Sas-quatch: 1. "a hairy creature like a human being reported to exist in the northwestern United States ... said to be a primate between 6 and 15 feet." 2. An annual, House of Blues-sponsored music festival held in Washington state.

In a lot of respects, Sasquatch! Music festival could be considered Bonnaroo Jr. Both began in 2002 as a showcase of jam bands (Sasquatch's line-up was a bit smaller), and both have transformed into multi-genre spectacles since their inception (with Sasquatch's schedule still being a bit smaller).

This year, visitors will see performances by the Hold Steady, the Beastie Boys, the Dandy Warhols and Bjork. Hosted by Comedians Michael Showalter (from the short lived TV show "Stella") and Sarah Silverman (star of the recently renewed series "The Sarah Silverman Program"), Sasquatch is shaping up to be stiff competition for its kindered spirit, Bonnaroo.

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

Date: April 27-29

Location: Indio, Calif.

Price: $85 per day (3 day passes sold out)

Apparently, there's something very special about Coachella. After all, the three-day festival has hosted the reunions of several iconic rock bands such as Jane's Addiction, Iggy & the Stooges and the Pixies. This year is no different, because on April 29, Rage Against the Machine will reunite for the first time in nearly seven years at Coachella.

This long awaited performance is enough in itself to draw a crowd, but there's a lot more happening at Coachella. Much like a black hole in the void of space, nothing can escape this festival's awesome draw. Coachella will feature many of its competitor's headliners (Bjork, Sonic Youth) as well as an impressive array of musicians not yet onboard with the other major summer festivals (Willie Nelson, Red Hot Chili Peppers).

The few remaining single day passes are quickly disappearing and its little wonder why. Coachella is the earliest festival this season, and it may just be the best as well.

The Chicago-based Lollapalooza, schedule (August 3-5) will be announced on April 12. Special "Earlybird" three-day passes are currently available for $165. As expected, the people behind Milwaukee's Summerfest (June 28 - July 8) have been fairly tight-lipped about this year's lineup. Thus far, the few entertainers confirmed include Bon Jovi, John Mayer, the Fray and OK Go.