Electric Shepherdess

March:

2nd to 4th: Snowball.

Located in Vail Valley, Colorado, this festival is pretty nuts. Every video I’ve seen has crazy lasers and awesome music. If you’re in the area, I recommend buying tickets asap because they’re going fast. Acts include Bassnectar, TV on the Radio, Rusko, Ghostland Observatory, Major Lazer, MiMOSA, Dada Life, Beats Antique, Break Science, MartyParty, Soul Clap, Dillon Francis, Figure, Gramatik, Minnesota, Two Fresh, NiT GriT, Helicopter Showdown, GRiZ, Cassian, Afroman and DallasK. Tickets range from $149.50 to $229.50, and the kick-off party is $30 to $45. Seriously, go buy your tickets now!

16th and 17th: Lift.

My interpretation of Lift is that is a smaller version of Snowbombing, the Austrian snow-sports-meets-EDM held in April. Held at Whaleback Mountain in New Hampshire, each pass includes entry to the mountain as well as all the musical acts. This year’s line up includes Ghostland Observatory, Conspirator, Paper Diamond, Orchard Lounge, the Indobox, Break Science, and Lettuce. Tickets range from $155 for a regular two day pass to $225 for a two-day VIP pass. Buy tickets here.

17th: Beyond Wonderland.

Held in Southern California, Beyond Wonderland is put on by Insomniac, the group behind huge events like EDC, Electric Forest, Nocturnal, Escape from Wonderland, White Wonderland and so on, Beyond Wonderland is one that should definitely be on your to-do list. Tickets range from $75 for GA to $150 for VIP. Buy tickets here.

17th and 18th: Buku.

Raging in New Orleans for Mardi Gras is something that has always appealed to a certain type. Throw in some banging EDM acts on top of that? I’m there. Calling itself a music and arts project, Buku tickets range from $64.50 for a single day to $299.50 for Super VIP. Headlined by Avicii and Skrillex, Buku is certain to be an interesting ride. Buy tickets here.

23rd to 25th: Ultra.

Originally part of the Winter Music Conference, Ultra split off last year and became its own monster. Already sold out and with only one phase of the line up announced, Ultra is guaranteed to be an epic start to festival season (not to mention you can go to the beach!). Acts include Tiesto, Kraftwork, Justice, Avicii, David Guetta, Armin Van Buuren, Skrillex, Afrojack, Miike Snow, Pretty Lights, New Order, Groove Armada, Katy B, Duck Sauce, M83, Laidback Luke, 2manyDJs, Doctor P, 12th Planet, Netsky, Mt. Eden, Camo & Krooked, Kaskade, Bassnectar, Chase & Status, Big Gigantic and Savoy. The amount of variation in the line up alone ensures that this year will be insanity. Even if you missed snagging tickets, it might be worth considering a road trip down to Miami to experience the afterparties, pool parties and all other parties that having this many heavy-hitters guarantees.

April:

2nd to 8th: Together.

Boston’s very own electronic music festival. It’s only in it’s third year, but is already promising to bring RJD2, Break Science, Gramatik, French Fries, Treasure Fingers and many more to Beantown. Passes just went on sale and are $85 for an early-bird regular pass and $130 for an early-bird plus pass. Passes get you access to all events (depending on space) as well as priority at panels and discussions. You don’t have to buy a pass to participate, but if you plan on going to a lot of this event, it is definitely something to consider purchasing. For more information and to buy tickets, go here.

13th to 15th/20th to 22nd: Coachella.

At this point if you haven’t heard of Coachella, you probably live under a rock because it sold out both weekends in less than a day. Headlined by the Black Keys, Radiohead, Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg and featuring some serious heavyweights such as Swedish House Mafia, Afrojack, M83, Datsik, Breakbot, R3hab, LA Riots, David Guetta, Kaskade, Miike Snow, Sebastian Ingrosso, Martin Solveig, Sub Focus, SBTRKT, Flying Lotus, Zeds Dead, Borgore, Dragonette, Mt. Eden, Destructo, Justice, Avicii, DJ Shadow, Calvin Harris, Nero, Modeselektor, Dada Life, Porter Robinson, Flux Pavilion, Dr. P, Gotye, Beats Antique, aarabMUZIK, Zedd and NOISIA. If you managed to snag tickets to this event, you are going to have one heck of a dance-filled time.

May:

12th and 13th: Loaded Music Festival.

Located in Philadelphia, PA on the 12th and Pittsburgh, PA on the 13th, Loaded Music Festival is sure to be a rocking good time. Saturday’s  (in Philadelphia) acts include Rusko, Flux Pavilion, Wolfgang Gartner, Dirtyloud, Downlink, Mt. Eden, Lucky Date, J.Rabbit, Pierce Fulton, Brown & Gammon, AK1200, School Boy ansd Korew. GA tickets go for $49.50 and VIP tickets go for $55. Buy your tickets for SATURDAY here. Sunday’s (in Pittsburgh) acts include Flux Pavilion, Steve Aoki, Wolfgang Gartner, Datsik, Chris Lake, Dirtyloud, Downlink, Cookie Monsta, Lucky Date, Dieselboy, Pierce Fulton, Brown & Gammon, AK1200, School Boy and Korew. GA tickets go for $30 to $50. Buy your tickets for SUNDAY here. More information about both days here.

18th: Global Dub Fest.

I’m including this single-day event because it has a killer dubstep line up and is at Red Rocks in Denver, one of the coolest venues I’ve ever heard of. This year will have performances by Flux Pavilion, Datsik, Doctor P, Downlink and Dirtyloud. Tickets went on sale February 3rd and are only $39.75. Buy tickets here.

18th to 20th: Electric Daisy Carnival: New York.

More tickets for EDC NY go on sale April 12th at 12pm EST. The first round of tickets sold out within a day, so you know this is going to be amazing. Insomniac also had the decency to make it 18+, so you won’t have to worry about little children running around. Tickets for the 18th are on sale here, and range from $78 to $158. Three day passes, which go on sale this Friday, are $268 and you can find them here. Some artists have already been announced, but since Insomniac has since added a third day, there are loads of artists yet to be unveiled. More information here.

26th to 28th: Movement.

Formerly the Detroit Electronic Music Festival (DEMF), this marks the 11th year of this festival. I don’t know much about it, other than it is in Detroit, it usually has some acts that attract my attention and the price is really affordable. The line up has recently been announced and includes Public Enemy, Busy P, Claude VonStroke, Damian Lazarus, Major Lazer, DJ Sneak, Nadastrom, Mr. Ozio and Wolf & Lamb. Tickets range from $70 for a regular three day pass and $190 for a three day VIP one. Buy tickets here.

31st to June 3rd: Wakarusa.

A classic hippie-fest with a twist. This year includes EDM performances by Pretty Lights (and what looks like most of their label), NiT GriT, 12th Planet, LA Riots, Adventure Club, Savoy, Mimosa, and EOTO; as well as acts like Primus, G. Love & the Special Sauce, Matisyahu and Umphrey’s McGee. Located in Arkansas, Wakarusa could be a great way to get into the summer vibe. Tickets range from $149 to $635 and you can buy them here.

June:

7th to 10th: Bonnaroo.

Unfortunately scheduled on the same weekend as EDC, Bonnaroo is supposed to be one heck of a time. In fact, it was the first festival I ever heard of, which has to mean something. Pre-sale tickets sold out and the line up hasn’t been announced. I won’t go into more detail, but that is entirely because I think this weekend should be spent at EDC.

8th to 10th: Electric Daisy Carnival.

Need I say more? For those of  you who have never heard of EDC, you must be living under a rock. 2011 boasted a new venue (a RACE CAR track in VEGAS) and a huge turnout (a quarter of a MILLION people) and some of the craziest light shows I’ve ever seen on Youtube (look up Swedish House Mafia- you won’t be disappointed). Though the line up hasn’t been announced, round one of early bird tickets sold out within a week. Tickets range from $250 to $500 and you can buy them here. Phase 1 of the line up was FINALLY announced. Check it out here, as well as the initial announcement here.

9th: Starscape.

A single day festival in Baltimore, last year’s festival was a dubstep womp-fest with a moombahton twist, and featured acts such as Doctor P/Flux Pavilion, Doorly, Dirtyphonics, Exicison/Datisk,  Dillon Francis, Infected Mushroom, Sigma, Skrillex, and Zeds Dead. At $75 for GA and $175 for VIP, Starscape is a great way to start off your festival season if you missed your chance to buy Ultra and Coachella tickets. You can buy tickets here, as well as check out the STELLAR line up here.

July:

12th to 14th: Camp Bisco.

Often described as the most hedonistic three days of your year (mostly by me), Camp Bisco is entirely unique. The combination of die-hard Disco Biscuts fans with those who come for the other huge electronic artists makes for an interesting atmosphere (not to mention the security is run by bikers. Yes, actual honested-to-god bikers)  The most notable aspect of bisco? Everyone’s desire to help one another. Though the influx of Skrillex-loving bros in 2011 changed this slightly, there is an undeniable air of free love and PLUR (and attendance numbers are restricted to 20,000 this year). It’s awesome. Also, it is the cleanest festival I have ever been to. Tickets range from $155 for GA to $399 for the VIP upgrade (regular VIP tickets sold out- now you have to buy a GA ticket and an upgrade) and will include camping. If you want to camp by your car, it will be another $20 for GA. Buy tickets here. The line up was FINALLY announced! Check it out here.

20th to 22nd: Global Dance Fest.

Held at Red Rocks in Denver, Colorado, Global Dance Fest has been going on for 10 years. Prior years boasted performances from acts like Skrillex, Nero, Tiesto, Kaskade and Armin Van Buuren. I’m not sure about this year’s line up or ticket prices, but you can check their facebook page for information.

Various: Identity Festival.

Last year was the inaugural year of IDFest, and it was a huge success. A touring festival, ID stopped in over 20 different cities across the country and brought EDM to areas that had never really had much to attend. ID Fest IS happening again and will be stopping in nineteen different cities. Check out the website here. Information is finally available! Check out the cities ID Fest will occur in this year, as well as the line up, here.

August:

3rd and 4th: Hard Summer.

Early bird passes have already sold out to this two day festival held in LA. Hard events are always a good time, so if you’re looking for an end-of-the-summer option, this is definitely a good choice if you’re in the area. Tickets go on sale again at February 7th at 10am and start at $109 for a two-day pass. Buy tickets here. Check out the line up here!

17th to 19th: WEMF.

Located in South Algonquin, Ontario, Canada, this three day festival is actually quite dope. Previous years have attracted giants like Rusko, Calvin Harris, Skrillex, Infected Mushroom, Digitalism, Jack Beats, Noisia, Zeds Dead, AC Slater, Deadmau5, Dieselboy, Ed Rush & Optical, Krafty Kuts, MSTRKRFT and Pendulum. More information here, and phase one of the line up can be found here.

31st to September 2nd: Electric Zoo.

A three day long festival held in NYC. Having gone the two previous years, I can certainly say that Electric Zoo is a unique festival. Not only are you raging hard on an island in the middle of New York City, you’re also unleashed onto the city at 11pm when the festival shuts down. Last year included huge names in EDM such as Armin Van Buuren, Afrojack, Rusko, Crookers, and the Bloody Beetroots to name a few. Early bird tickets are already on sale. Prices range from $299 for a regular three day pass to $1,199 for a platinum VIP three day pass. If the previous years are anything to go on, single day passes will be available later this year. Buy tickets here. Phase 1 of the  line up was finally announced! Check it out here.

September:

Sometime this month: Virgin Mobile Free Fest.

What’s not to like about a free festival? The sign up for Virgin Mobile Free Fest is insane – last year they went within five minutes. But if you have the time and dedication to devote to getting tickets, it is definitely worth it. And if you don’t, all is not lost because they also let you buy tickets later on. Last year’s performances included Cut Copy, The Black Keys, Deadmau5, Teddybears, Calvin Harris, Ghostland Observatory, Empire of the Sun and Porter Robinson. No idea when tickets will be up for grabs, but it should be some time around August. Keep your eyes peeled! More information here.

(This page will be updated as I go along, I know I’ve forgotten a few. Bear with me.)