Your Official Guide to Spring/Summer 2007 Music Festivals

Summerfest

History: Holding the Guinness World Records title for the World's Biggest Music Festival since 1999, Summerfest was started by Milwaukee's Mayor Henry W. Maier in 1968 to be modeled after Oktoberfest in Munich.

Where: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Dates: June 28^th -- July 8^th

Lineup: Toby Keith with Miranda Lambert, Bon Jovi, Roger Waters, The Fray with OK Go and John Mayer with Ben Folds. More acts will be announced over the next month, with a near-complete line-up available online in mid-May.

Tickets: On sale now. $14 per day. Two-day passes are $23. Tickets purchased at the gate will be $8 noon-4pm and $15 evenings and weekends. (Insider's tip: Look for coupons in the local paper to get discounts on tickets.)

Crowd: About one million

Transportation You can park for free at one of 11 park-and-ride lots listed on the festival's site and take the Freeway Flyer to Summerfest for $6 roundtrip. Shuttles are also available to take you from downtown Milwaukee for $3 roundtrip. Grade: A

Where To Stay Hotels range from $40 a night (Motel 6) to $189 (Hotel Metro). Grade: B

Getting Around It takes a while to get between stages, and as there are always five or six acts going on at the same time, you might have to pick and choose what you see. Grade: D

Food Lots of options: Fish and chips ($6), Gyros $5.50, salads ($5), chicken wings ($3), etc. Bottled water is $2.50. Grade: B

Facilities: Bathrooms are standing stations much like beach bathrooms-- lots of stalls and sinks. Water fountains are located throughout the grounds. There is also a respite area with a shower, and an air-conditioned area for when you get too damned hot. Grade: A

X-Factor: It's "The World's Biggest Music Festival!!!" Translation: The biggest bang for your buck, with 550 acts over a period of 11 days -- more than any other festival listed here.

Pitchfork Music Festival

History: Pitchfork's music fest was organized by indie-rock news source Pitchfork Media in 2006. Although this festival is young, it has gained popularity as the indie music fan's mecca, booking many smaller acts that do not perform at other festivals.

Where: Union Park, Chicago

Dates: July 13^th -- 15^th

Lineup: Sonic Youth, Cat Power, Girl Talk, De La Soul, Stephen Malkmus, New Pornographers, Iron and Wine, Grizzly Bear, Of Montreal, The Ponys and more

Tickets: On sale now. Three day passes are $50, Two day passes are $35, Saturday and Sunday single day passes are $25, and Friday single day passes are $15.

Crowd: 40,000 over two days (although this year attendance is expected to go up 50% due to the addition of a special, All Tomorrow's Parties-sponsored "Don't Look Back" day during which several bands will be performing classic albums in their entirety.

Transportation The festival is just west of the Chicago Loop so public transportation is the best way to go by bus or train and the festival provides bike racks if you want to ride your bike. Grade: B

Where To Stay Downtown Chicago hotels can get pretty pricey; The cheapest we found was $129 for the Red Roof Inn, but there is a hostel -- HI-Chicago -- where you can stay for an amazing $31 a night if you're willing to rough it. Grade: B

Getting Around The festival has alternating performances on stages that are right next to each other. You can literally be standing in front of one stage, turn to your right and see a different performer. It might be sensory overload, but at least you won't have to jog to catch the next act. Grade: A

Food Food and beverages are not allowed within the festival grounds with the exception of sealed bottled water. However lots of options are available, such as items provided by Whole Foods and a handful of local restaurants. A variety of yummy foods can be had for as little as $3. Bottled water is $1 -- a rarity for festivals. Grade: A

Facilities Port-a-potties, wash sinks, and water fountains are located throughout the park. Port-a-potties are emptied daily (not the always the case elsewhere). Grade: B

X-Factor: This year, Sonic Youth will perform Daydream Nation all the way through on opening night.

Rocklahoma

History: This is the festival's inaugural year, and judging from the lineup, something tells us that it's trying to become the official metal destination fest. Its calling card seems to be bands that many of us haven't listened to (in public) since the early 90s.

Where: Pryor, Oklahoma

Dates: July 13^th -15^th

Lineup: Poison, Ratt, Vince Neil, Warrant, Slaughter, L.A. Guns, Winger, Dokken, Jackyl, Faster Pussycat, Firehouse

Tickets: On sale now. Single day passes are $30 and three-day passes are $70 until April 9^th. After April 9^th, single day passes are $40 and three day pasess are $90.

Crowd: 50,000

Transportation The only option is to drive to this venue since parking is available and public transportation is not. Grade: C

Where To Stay Hotels in the area range from $40 a night (Days Inn) to $99 a night (Comfort Inn Suites), but there aren't many in Pryor so they get booked up quickly. (Insider's tip: Tulsa is 30 miles from the venue and has more places to stay. There will also be camping areas available for $30 for all three days with room for 4,000 campers.) Grade: C

Getting Around One giant stage (the largest in all of Oklahoma and Texas) will feature all the major acts so you won't have to make your way across the grounds to catch the main performers. Tents with smaller local acts are within minutes of each other. Grade: A

Food Typical festival fare: burgers and hotdogs ($4), beer ($3), bottled water goes for $2.

Facilities: A Port-a-potties with sinks, water fountains, misting tents, and the camping area has 60 showers. Grade: D

X-Factor: Did you not see the lineup?