OC Weekly's annual Summer Guide is officially around the corner! And while this year's comic book edition of our sunny special issue is worth celebrating all on its own, we're going big this time around, presenting an all-day beach party in honor of the mag called Summerfest! Picture us putting our Weekly stamp on a sprawling water-front concert packed with food trucks, awesome vendors, kayaking and a full lineup of kick-ass bands. That includes this year's headliner, our local faves, The Colourist.

Fresh off of a rousing double weekend at Coachella, this is the band's one and only OC show this summer in anticipation of their 7" vinyl release. They, along with a full lineup of great local acts, will perform at Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort and Marina in Newport Beach on June 9 from 12-5 p.m. Wanna go? Of course you do! For detailed info on the lineup and tickets, see below.

More »

Heidi Darby

Jason Bentley on stage during last night's preview of the Wavelength festival at the Yost.

With the seasonal upswing of festival season, it's only fitting that Orange County participates in the boom and hosts a genre-blurring festival equipped with a little something for everyone. The inaugural Wavelength Festival features big name artists from a variety of genres and OC's own Pacific Symphony.

The festival comes on the heels of the Pacific Symphony's 35th anniversary and shows foresight on their part through a willingness to crossover into other genres, and hopefully increasing its relevance to the 35-and-under crowd. The event attracted the attention of Grammy winning artist Bonnie Raitt, who kicks off the string of performances on August 22nd at the Pacific Amphitheatre. The fest also drew in local music hero and KCRW radio host Jason Bentley, who will be performing and curating his own date. The EDM inspired night promises "special guests" and aims to celebrate all forms of music. An event that blends EDM lovers with Pacific Symphony fans? Yes please.

More »

Christopher Victorio/OC Weekly

More »

Andrew Youssef / OC Weekly

By: Heidi Darby

Festivals warrant endless tales of shenanigans, close calls, extreme bladder control, and of course, unforgettable live music. Overflowing lineups and constant interaction with strangers virtually guarantee festival fans a handful of outrageous stories -not to mention a bit of wisdom for the next go-around. But what happens on the opposite side of the barricades? What mischief lies beyond those VIP fences? Fans are only part of the equation, and the time has come for the other half to start talking. Members of Dropkick Murphys, Imagine Dragons, Bat For Lashes and Local Natives pull back the festival curtain and reveal the highs and lows of festival season.

More »

Patrick Montes / OC Weekly

Juice of Flatbush Zombies

More »

Fabian Ortiz

Lulu and Alejandra at Ultra Music Festival

Ultra Music Festival celebrated its 15th annual edition by expanding over two three-day weekends (a la Coachella) making it the largest electronic music festival in the US and the only one in the world to take place over two weekends. Acts included some of the worlds biggest EDM names such as Tiësto, Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris to non dance music artist like Snoop Dogg and Yesayer.

Overlooking the breathtaking downtown Miami skyline and marina at Bayfront Park, the festival brought over 165,000 dance music fans from all over the world - literally. The sea of participants adorned flags, shirts, hats and everything you could imagine to represent their hometowns, states and countries. Among those festival revelers was myself and my mother Lourdes whom I brought along for the ride so she could see for herself what the EDM festival craze is all about. Perhaps this adventure would bring us closer and maybe she won't think I'm so crazy for making the pilgrimage year after year to attend the biggest festivals out there. I know what you're thinking: "Wow this girl must be crazy." But in actuality it was her own adventurous spirit who wanted to join me. Perhaps it's where I get it from?

More »

Matt Oliver / OC Weekly Cam'ron at Paid Dues 2012 A few months into 2013 and we're less than a week away from the first big live hip-hop experience of the year. Last year was filled with immensely enjoyable shows all across Southern California, from Nas at Rock the Bells to Juicy J and ASAP Rocky at the Observatory. And, here we are, ready to start the festival season all over again and at the beginning of a year already stocked with great performances. Times goes by fast when you spend lots of time drinking and unleashing your energy deposits at rap shows, right? Guerilla Union has been generous enough to give us a Paid Dues bill as enjoyable and as diverse as ever, with up-and-coming oddballs like Speak taking stage alongside politically-minded rappers Killer Mike and Immortal Technique and west-coast party-rappers Problem & Badlucc. There's a lot of performers to sift through and only so much time in a day, especially if you have to wade through the fog of alcohol and contact (or deliberate) highs, so we have gone ahead and made this list of acts you absolutely can't miss out on. Spoiler alert: we're not exactly thrilled to see Trinidad James or Macklemore.

More »

Facebook

A photo of the new location for Desert Daze, Ooooo.....

Today, Desert Daze--a homegrown SoCal psych fest orbiting around Coachella--announced the lineup for it's second annual event happening on April 20 (we won't make the joke...too easy). But for those expecting a repeat of last year's 11-day bacchanal at Dillon's Road House in Palm Springs, you should know that this year, things have changed quite a bit...
More »

ASAP Rocky in the midst of one of the best performances of Coachella 2012

More »

TriTone Facebook page

How different things could have been for the TriTone Latin Music and Arts Festival this weekend. The weather complied, providing overcast and cool temperatures for those assembled on the grounds of Prado Regional Park in Chino. Unfortunately, just about everything else didn't! Instead of boasting in the wake of a watershed moment for the Latin Alternative scene in Southern California, BRC Entertainment, as festival organizers, took to their Facebook page to whine about the event gone awry. "The organizers wanted to give us "The Latin Rock Scene" something no one has ever tried and the first thing we do is throw dirt at it," they wrote to the throngs of mostly angry rockeros wanting their money back.
More »