Rock Festival Guide 2008: From Coachella to Lollapalooza

The Bamboozle
May 3-4
Meadowlands Parking Lot, NJ

Click here for Rolling Stone's coverage of Bamboozle 2008

The Lineup: Jimmy Eat World, Paramore, Panic at the Disco, Snoop Dogg, Coheed & Cambria, Gym Class Heroes, Motion City Soundtrack, Senses Fail, The Academy Is..., The Hush Sound, Thrice, Jack's Mannequin, MxPx, PlayRadioPlay, Tokio Hotel, Cobra Starship, Envy on the Coast and more.

The Cost: $49.50 per day; Festival passes sold out.

The Skinny: Where better for the disenfranchised, disillusioned and dejected to gather than a giant slab of concrete just outside a major sports complex? Bamboozle, now in its sixth year, caters mostly to the emo set, offering endless iterations of punk and power pop by countless teenage favorites — along with a number of sets by popular bands playing under fake names. Snark all you want, Bamboozle is also surprisingly good at nabbing the next big thing: Last year's festival featured a mid-afternoon set by a little band called Paramore. This year's lineup is even stronger: Paramore return, opening for irrepressible Jimmy Eat World, who are themselves opening for the even more-irrepressible Snoop Dogg. Night two boasts a headlining slot by recent Beatlemaniacs Panic at the Disco and daytime sets by the Academy Is..., Motion City Soundtrack, the Hush Sound and, inexplicably, Bret Michaels. Every rose has its thorn, indeed.

Check out all of the 2008 Rock Festivals