SXSW is officially over, thank the sweet baby Jesus. Now music fans have already begun to fan out to the four winds, seeking sunshine, swimsuits, alcohol, easy hookups and all the tunes they can handle until it gets ridiculously hot. Texans: you have about three hours.
It's already begun over in Miami with the humid insanity of the Ultra Music Festival, and will soon spread to Alabama's Hangout Festival and some two-weekend event in the desert by Palm Springs, California, a lot of Hollywood types love and whose name escapes us right now. We hear Blur and the Stone Roses are headlining one night, if you remember who they are.
But Rocks Off is here to tell you that you can also find a music festival just about every weekend -- except this coming one, unless you celebrate Easter as a music festival (which you very well could) -- for the next couple of months and never cross a single state line. Of course there's nothing wrong with Houston's own International Festival (April 20-21/27-28), except that it has so many other things going on we wouldn't dream of calling iFest "just" a music festival. All the same, we're psyched to see Los Lobos again.
Anyhow, here are several bona fide music festivals in Texas between now and Free Press Summer Fest that should be worth the relatively short drive. Drive safely and enjoy the bluebonnets, y'all.
EUPHORIA MUSIC FESTIVAL
Dates: April 12-13
Location: WhiteWater Amphitheater, New Braunfels
Headliners: Datsik, Baauer, Tommy Trash, Felix Cartal
Support: Eoto, Black Matter, Designer Drugs, Dirtyphonics, Clockwork, Le Castle Vania
Camping? Offering special rates at nearby resorts
Essentials: "Good vibes and positive attitudes" (hey, that's what the site says), sunscreen, extra glowstick, fuzzy boots, spirit hood
Info: euphoriafest.com
OLD SETTLER'S MUSIC FESTIVAL
Dates: April 18-21
Location: Camp Ben McCulloch, Driftwood (approx. 25 miles southwest of Austin)
Headliners: Del McCoury Band, Fred Eaglesmith, Leftover Salmon, Michael Franti, Justin Townes Earle
Support: Son Volt, Terri Hendrix, Bob Schneider, Wood & Wire, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Jerry Douglas, etc.
Camping? Yes
Essentials: yoga mat, KUT Austin pledge-drive mug
Info: oldsettlersmusicfest.org
TEXAS CRAWFISH AND MUSIC FESTIVAL
Dates: April 19-21/26-28
Location: Old Town Spring
Headliners: Randy Rogers Band, Robert Earl Keen, Toadies, Los Lonely Boys, Jack Ingram
Support: Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Cody Canada & the Departed, Grupo Fantasma, Los Skarnales, etc.
Camping? No
Essentials: Good DWI attorney's number; we hear people can get ridiculously drunk at this thing.
Info: texascrawfishfestival.com
AUSTIN PSYCH FEST
Dates: April 26-28
Location: Carson Creek Ranch, Austin
Headliners: Moving Sidewalks (feat. Billy Gibbons), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Black Angels
Support: Deerhunter, Raveonettes, Warpaint, Clinic, Boris, Black Mountain, Indian Jewelry, etc.
Camping: Yes
Essentials: Eliminator keychain, cheap sunglasses, beard trimmer, good brown-acid story
Info: austinpsychfest.com
LONE STAR JAM
Dates: May 4-5
Location: LBJ Library lawn, University of Texas at Austin
Headliners: Josh Abbott Band, Stoney LaRue, Kevin Fowler, Jack Ingram, Cory Morrow
Support: Reckless Kelly, Charlie Robison, Kyle Park, Whiskey Myers, Dirty River Boys, etc.
Camping: If you want, but the UT-Austin police might like a word with you about that.
Essentials: Kappa Sig cap, Lone Star coozie, Texas-flag collapsible chair
Info: lonestarjam.com
WILDFLOWER! ART & MUSIC FESTIVAL
Dates: May 17-19
Location: Galatyn Park Urban Center, Richardson (17 miles north of Dallas)
Headliners: Reverend Horton Heat, Toadies, .38 Special, Gretchen Wilson, Charlie Daniels Band, Ray Wylie Hubbard
Support: Cowboy Mouth, Blue Oyster Cult, Eleven Hundred Springs, Uncle Kracker, Grand Funk Railroad, Spin Doctors, etc.
Camping? No
Essentials: And open mind and a good sense of humor, we imagine.
Info: wildflowerfestival.com
KERRVILLE FOLK FESTIVAL
Dates: May 23-June 9
Location: Quiet Valley Ranch, nine miles west of Kerrville on Texas 16
Headliners: Hayes Carll, Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison, Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary), Trout Fishing In America, many more TBD
Support: Your old hippie neighbor will probably show up at one of the plentiful open campfire jams.
Camping? Abso-fucking-lutely
Essentials: Acoustic guitar, poncho, condoms
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