Music festivals aren’t just a North American thing. Ask System of a Down. In the United Kingdom, for example, there are about 42,000 weekend-long music extravaganzas each year and many of them are just as potent as our Bonnaroos and Lollapaloozas. Foo Fighters will headline T in the Park, System of a Down and Avenged Sevenfold are confirmed for the Download Festival, and The Strokes are rumored for Reading and Leeds. Intrigued? Coincidentally, all of those aforementioned festivals, along with a few others — Latitude, The Big Chill, and Global Gathering — will begin selling their 2011 tickets tomorrow. Sounds like a good Christmas present to me.

Reading and Leeds:

When: August 24-28

Where: Reading & Leeds, England

Cost: £180

Buy: Ticketmaster.com for Reading; for Leeds at 9AM GMT/4AM EST

T in the Park

When: July 8-10

Where: Kinross, Scotland (Balado Airfield)

Cost: £170 (no camping); £180 (w/ camping)

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 9AM GMT/4AM EST

Download Festival

When: June 10-12

Where: Leicestershire, England (Donington Park)

Cost: £140 (no camping); £170 (w/ camping)

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 9AM GMT/4AM EST

Latitude Festival

When: July 14-17

Where: Suffolk, England (Henham Park Estate)

Cost: £155

Buy: See Tickets at 9AM GMT/4AM EST

The Big Chill

When: August 4-7

Where: Herefordshire, England (Eastnor Castle)

Cost: £155

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 9AM GMT/4AM EST

Global Gathering

When: July 29-30

Where: Warwickshire, England (Long Marston Airfield)

Cost: £99

Buy: Ticketmaster.com at 9AM GMT/4AM EST