It’s been a long year. Scratch that, it’s been a veeerrrry long year. From social revolutions to the end of our occupation of Iraq, from the death of celebrities and dictators to a man who sneezes bullets and the mystery of planking, the world experienced a slew of emotions and all sorts of cultural and political upheaval in 2011. And that’s not even counting the plethora of music news that had the blogosphere abuzz this year.

So, as the question begs, what comes next? Well, 2012. If you were to believe certain factions, it’ll be the end of days. A more likely scenario, though, is that it will be another busy year, with people to meet, triumphs to celebrate, disasters to mourn, and a whole other set of memories to file away as we march perpetually onward toward the Great Unknown. A dreary prospect for sure, one that almost makes the impending Apocalypse sound warm and fuzzy. However, there is temporary respite in the form of New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Eve is that magic night where one year is all but over. It’s the chance to stop worrying for a moment. It’s an opportunity to celebrate surviving the last 364. It’s the start of a whole new scheme or design for the upcoming 365. Rather than chugging cheap champagne and letting off fireworks, NYE should be commemorated with the one thing that makes any year bearable: music.

As we have for every other major celebratory occasion, CoS has your back with our handy-dandy New Year’s Eve 2011 Concert Guide. From the beaches of Miami to life in the City of Angels, and everywhere between, our guide has everything you’ll need to know to see your favorite bands live. Whether you’re planning to rock out with Patti Smith at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, get freaky with The Flaming Lips and Yoko Ono in Oklahoma City, or hit up BOTH of Kaskade’s NYE shows (in two different state mind you), our guide is the only New Year’s Eve accessory you need (save for maybe a noisemaker). Plus, if you’re not one to brave the weather and the sea of drunks, we’ll tell you what you should be watching on the old boob tube. The point is, if it’s happening on NYE, it’s in this guide. Your only concern will be how to get home and/or where to pass out at the end of the night.

If we’ve missed any gathering or shindig, please let us know in the comments below. Call this a cliché bit of writing, but we’d like to leave you with some parting words from the immortal Benjamin Franklin to guide you into what lies ahead: “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”

See ya in 2012.

-Chris Coplan
News Editor

New York City

– AarabMUZIK, Balam Acab: 285 Kent

– Assembly of Dust: Mercury Lounge

– Avicii: Pier 34

– The Bad Plus: The Village Vanguard

– Charles Bradley, The Budos Band: Music Hall of Williamsburg

– Chuck Berry: B.B. King Blues Club

– Dark Star Orchestra: Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ)

– Deadmau5: Pier 36

– Deer Tick, J. Roddy Watson and the Business, Dead Confederate: Brooklyn Bowl

– Fitz and the Tantrums: The Gramercy Theatre

– Gogol Bordello: Terminal 5

– Gov’t Mule: Beacon Theatre

– Infected Mushroom: Best Buy Theater

– The Knocks: Gansevoort Park Avenue

– Laidback Luke: Pacha

– Lee Fields & The Expressions: The Bell House

– Los Lobos: City Winery

– Matt and Kim, Super Mash Bros., Body Language: Hammerstein Ballroom

– Neru: Webster Hall

– The New Deal: B.B. King Blues Club

– New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men: Roseland Ballroom

– Nick Catchdubs: Loreley

– Nosaj Thing: Glasslands

– O’Death: Spike Hill

– Patti Smith: Bowery Ballroom

– Phish: Madison Square Garden

– Steve Lawler: District 36

– Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Maxwells (Hoboken, NJ)

Chicago

– Alkaline Trio: Metro

– Big Gigantic: Riviera Theatre

– Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears: Double Door

– Cage the Elephant, Sleeper Agent: Aragon Ballroom

– Cave: The Hideout

– Disco Biscuits, Future Rock: Auditorium Theatre

– The Hood Internet: Lincoln Hall

– Keys N Krates: Chicago Urban Art Society

– Local H: Bottom Lounge

– Murder By Death: Subterranean

– Old 97s: Intercontinental Hotel Grand Ballroom

– Rusko, Sinden, Switch: Congress Theater

– The Spits: Cobra Lounge

Los Angeles

– The Aggrolites: Alex’s Bar

– Benny Benassi, Paul Van Dyk, Kaskade, Dada Life: Anaheim Convention Center (White Wonderland)

– DJ Quik: Key Club

– Duck Sauce, Diplo, Chromeo, Felix da Housecat, The Bloody Beetroots, LA Riots: Oak Canyon Park (Together As One)

– The Henry Clay People, Races: The Satellite

– Give Up the Ghost: Ukrainian Culture Center

– Jenny and Johnny, Cults: The Standard Hollywood

– John Digweed: The Avalon

– Junkie XL: Detroit Bar

– L.A. Guns: Whisky A Go Go

– Lupe Fiasco: Hollywood & Highland Center

– Musiq Soulchild: House of Blues

– Wanda Jackson, Best Coast, Dan Sartain: Club Nokia

San Francisco

– The Fresh & Onlys, Thee Oh Sees: Brick and Mortar Music Hall

– Furthur: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

– Kreayshawn: The Regency Ballroom

– The Limousines: Rickshaw Stop

– Maceo Parker: Yoshi’s

– Santigold, Amon Tobin Islam Live, Beats Antique, Claude Von Stroke,: Concourse Exhibition Center (Sea of Dreams)

– Primus: Great American Music Hall

– The Slip: Cafe du Nord

– Sonny & The Sunsets: Amnesia

– Talib Kweli: Sloane Squared

– Tedeschi Trucks Band, The New Mastersounds: The Warfield

– Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue: The Fillmore

– X: Slim’s

– Yeasayer (DJ Set): W Hotel

– DJ Z-Trip: Fort Mason Center

London

– The 2 Bears: XOYO

– Adam Beyer: Fabric

– Ferry Corsten: Brixton Academy

– Gabby Young and Other Animals: Royal Festival Hall

– Gary Numan: All Star Lanes

– Gross Magic: The Victoria

– Joker, Brekage, Roska, Plastician, Sigma: Electric Brixon

– Kasabian, Chase & Status, Zane Lowe: The O2

– Toddla T: The Nest

– The Wedding Present: Dingwalls

Elsewhere

Aspen

– Jane’s Addiction: Belly Up

Athens (Georgia)

– MartyParty, Dubconscious: New Earth Music Hall

– of Montreal: Go Bar

– Reptar: Georgia Theatre

Atlanta

– Against Me!, Fake Problems, Franz Nicolay: The Masquerade

– Cake: Fox Theatre

– JJ Grey & Mofro: Variety Playhouse

– Kylesa: The Earl

– Naughty By Nature, Ed Kowalczyk: Hyatt Regency

– Perpetual Groove: Center Stage

– STS9: The Tabernacle

– Zac Brown Band: Philips Arena

Atlantic City

– Brand New: House of Blues

Austin

– Big Freedia: The Mohawk

– The Black Angels, Wooden Shjips, Ume: Emo’s East

– Bob Schneider, Quiet Company: Paramount Theatre

– Designer Drugs: Austin Music Hall

– Gary Clark Jr.: Antone’s

– Groupo Fantasma: Beauty Bar

– Hayes Carll: La Zona Rosa

– Penguin Prison: American Legion Hall

– Russian Circles: Red 7

– White Denim, Royal Bangs: The Empire Space

– Willie Nelson: Moody Theater

Australia

– Arctic Monkeys, Crystal Castles, Dan Deacon, The Naked and Famous: The Falls Festival (Lorne)

– Fleet Foxes, Beirut, CSS, CANT, Unknown Mortal Orchestra: The Falls Festival (Marion Bay)

Baltimore

– Carbon Leaf: Hyatt Regency

– SOJA: Baltimore Soundstage

Boston

– David Wax Museum: Lizard Lounge (Cambridge, MA)

– Lucero: Paradise

– New York Dolls: New England Conservatory

Charlotte (North Carolina)

– Widespread Panic: Time Warner Cable Arena

Dallas

– Girl Talk, Ghostland Observatory, MSTRKRFT, Neon Indian, Pendulum (DJ Set): Lights All Night

– The Polyphonic Spree, Centro-matic: House of Blues

– Quinton and Miss Pussycat: Zubar

Denver

– Flux Pavilion, Doctor P: Colorado Convention Center

– Gauntlet Hair, Pictureplane: The Larmier Lounge

– Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad: Cervantes’ Other Side

– Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Orgone: Cervatnes Ballroom

– Ladytron (DJ Set): City Hall

– Pretty Lights: 1stBANK Center (Broomfield, CO)

– Railroad Earth: Ogden Theatre

– Truckasauras: The Summit

– Ween: The Fillmore

Detroit

– The Detroit Cobras: Magic Stick

– Greensky Bluegrass, The Macpodz: Majestic Theatre

– Maze featuring Frankie Beverly: Masonic Temple

Greenville (South Carolina)

– The Avett Brothers: Bi-Lo Center

Houston

– Blue October: House of Blues

– Christopher Lawrence: Stereo Live

– Young Jeezy: Reliant Arena

Lake Tahoe

– Bassnectar, Pretty Lights, Thievery Corporation, The Glitch Mob, Childish Cambino, A-Trak, Theophilus London, YACHT: Snowglobe Music Festival

Las Vegas

– Chris Brown: Pure Nightclub

– Guns N’ Roses, Sebastian Bach: The Joint

– John Legend: Pearl Concert Theater

– Kaskade: Marquee

– NOFX, Lagwagon: House of Blues

– Paul Oakenfold: Rain

– Steve Angello: XS Nightclub

– Stevie Wonder: Cosmopolitan

Louisville (Kentucky)

– The Pass: Butchertown Pub Studios

Miami

– The Heavy Pets: Tobacco Road

– Spam All-Stars: The Catalina Hotel

Minneapolis

– Dawes: Varsity Theater

– EOTO: Skyway Theater

Milwaukee

– Skrillex, Dillon Francis: The Rave

Nashville

– Bassnectar: Bridgestone Arena

– Moon Taxi, Apache Relay: Exit/In

New Orleans

– Big Sam’s Funky Nation: The Joy Theater

– Black Lips: One Eyed Jacks

– Dr. John: House of Blues

– Funky Meters: Tipitina’s French Quarter

– Galactic, Anders Osborne: Tipitina’s Uptown

— Rebirth Brass Band: Howlin’ Wolf

Northampton (Massachusetts)

– Josh Ritter: Calvin Theater

– Rubblebucket: Pearl Street Nightclub

Oklahoma City

– The Flaming Lips, Yoko Ono: Brickstown Events Center

Orlando

– Trivium, Sevendust, Black Tide: House of Blues

– Slightly Stoopid, The Expendables: Hard Rock Live

Ottawa

– Electric Six: Mavericks

Philadelphia

– Clutch: Trocadero

– Eternal Summers, Bleeding Rainbow: Level Room

– Good Old War, River City Extension: Theatre of Living Arts

– Lotus: Festival Pier

– Man Man (DJ Set), Dr. Dog (DJ Set), Sun Airway (DJ Set): Johnny Brenda’s

– Smoking Popes: North Star Bar

Phoenix

– Meat Puppets: Clubhouse Music Venue

Portland (Maine)

– moe.: State Theatre

Portland (Oregon)

– Leftover Salmon: Roseland Theater

– Nurses, Radiation City: Mississippi Studios

– Pierced Arrows: Ash Street Saloon

– Red Fang: Star Theater

– Reverend Horton Heat, Supersuckers: The Crystal Ballroom

– Talkdemonic: Misson Theater

San Diego

– Fedde Le Grand, Porter Robinson, Hardwell, Bart B More: Valley View Casino Center (OMFG! NYE)

– Kinky: 4th & B

Seattle

– Mustard Pimp: King Cat Theatre

– Starfucker, Champagne Champagne: The Crocodile

St. Louis (Missouri):

– Cowboy Mouth: Old Rock House

– Devon Allman’s Honeytribe: Blueberry Hill

– Excision: Koken Art Factory

– Umphrey’s McGee: The Pageant

Toronto

– Elliot Brood: Lee’s Palace

– Kyuss! Lives: Cherry Cola’s Rock N’ Rolla Cabaret & Lounge

– The Sadies: Horseshoe Tavern

– Steve Aoki, Thomas Gold: Kool Haus

Vancouver

– Tiësto: Pacific Coliseum

Washington, DC

– Animal Collective (DJ Set), Le Tigre (DJ Set), ANR (DJ Set): 1800 L Street NW (BYT NYE)

– Drive-By Truckers, Booker T, Alabama Shakes: 9:30 Club

– Gucci Mane: Love Night Club

– Morgan Page: Fur Nightclub

– Painted Face: Rock and Roll Hotel

On TV

– Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (ABC): Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, Blink-182, Nicki Minaj

– New Year’s Eve with Carson Daily (NBC): Drake, The Roots, Cee-Lo Green

– NYE in NYC (MTV): J. Cole

– Coldplay New Year’s Eve: An Austin City Limits Special (PBS)

At first, the thought of an outdoor dance festival located in Washington D.C. at the end of November seems like a crazy, illogical idea. But bring in over a half-dozen temperature-controlled tents to cover revelers roaming through four stages, secure an earthshaking sound system, and book artists like Moby, Infected Mushroom, Armand Van Helden, Diplo, Excision, and Zed’s Dead, and you have something massive. Fall Massive, to be exact.

Thanks to Steez Promo and Ultraworld Presents, the same team that delivers year after year at Starscape in Baltimore, bassheads and electro-aficionados worldwide have something to be quite thankful for this holiday season, when Fall Massive takes over our nation’s capitol this Saturday, November 26^th. At the head of this ground-breaking festival experience is Evan Weinstein, co-owner and head of marketing for Steez Promo. Amidst continued planning for Fall Massive and still in the booking phases for Starscape, Weinstein was able to chat with Consequence of Sound about planning D.C.’s largest dance party ever, how new blood has been able to keep Starscape on the cutting-edge, and the current state of electronic music.

Just to get a sense of the work you do, what’s your position with Starscape and Ultraworld?

I’ve been involved with Ultraworld from about 2001. My partner and I came in– I started as a street promoter, pretty sure he came in as a street promoter as well; now we own 50% of the festival. We do all the buying, promotions, and marketing, and play a major role with all of the planning from top to bottom.

A man of many hats. What projects are currently on the table for Steez Promotions and Ultraworld?

Right now, our main concern is with Fall Massive. The event is the largest production either Steez or Ultraworld have ever done. I’m also working on our calendar of club shows for 2012. We are working on breaking into eight to 12 new markets, while maintaining the 12 or so markets we’re already working in.

And that is going to be in Washington D.C.?

Yeah, we are going into RFK stadium and taking over Lot 8, the largest parking of the stadium, and we’ll be using the space for the largest dance event ever to come to D.C., somewhere around 16,000 to 20,000 people. This is realistically the largest indoor dance event ever to come to the East Coast.

This event, everything from promotions to lineup to sound to marketing, is the biggest thing we have ever done. We have one of the biggest media companies in the nation partnered with us on the event; they are called the Collective and are based out of LA and work with T.V., film, management, everything under the sun. We brought Ultraworld on and have Lonnie [Fisher] doing on all the logistics, and plugged the Starscape network into that, then we just went balls to the walls with the lineup. Simply, it is the biggest line-up that we could get put together.

Will the re-vamped Fall Massive also be an all-night event similar to Starscape?

This ends at 2 a.m. [the site's curfew] and starts at 4 p.m.. Again, we are not trying to be Starscape with it. Last year, it ended at 2 a.m.; before that it was at the Paradox and ended at 6 a.m.. When we outgrew that venue two years ago, we moved the event to a 2 a.m. curfew.

What we are trying to create is a club atmosphere in an outdoor environment, and doing it in a season when you normally cannot do an outdoor event. The entire thing, except for the smoking area and port-o-potties, is totally enclosed. If we can pull this off, we can do a show like this anywhere at anytime.

I have been in talks with two companies that own outdoors venues all over the country, and we could realistically just go in at anytime and set up an event. I personally think it’s ground-breaking, and I hope others do too, as I don’t know of anyone else that’s done anything like this before.

On the booking end, how early do you begin speaking with management and agencies?

For this specific event, it’s a unique situation because we used to produce this event in a 3,000 person club up the street in Baltimore, and we would still probably be doing the event there, but it closed and left the event homeless. We were then in talks with a 6,000 capacity club, and that ended up falling through, which is good because I just heard an event was canceled last week because they didn’t pay their electric bill. So then we just decided to throw the event in a parking lot somewhere in the city.

We then started conceptualizing it, got a parking lot locked down, then called Lonnie from Ultraworld, and oddly enough he had been envisioning this event for 10 to 15 years. He wanted to do an outdoor event, but create an indoor event using tents. He told us, “This is an event I have been planning for years.” So naturally we passed over the site planning and logistics to him.

We didn’t start booking until July or August. We probably started sending out offers in June or July, compared to a nine-month lead-time for Starscape, and that is late for us. We were super late in the game, but the lineup definitely worked out.

Do you know off-hand who is doing the audio and visual projects at Fall Massive?

We are working with Turbo Sound out of Canada along with Maryland Sound locally. We have a bunch of different sound items we are putting it. From what I understand, the bass cabinets for the Dub Nation Stage are the same cabinets they use to calibrate earthquake-measuring equipment.

There are several companies we are talking to for visuals and lights. We are going out of our way to find things that we don’t normally have at Starscape, like choreographed dancers and more decor. With an expanded capacity, we are looking to put more back into the event; we have crazy stadium grade lasers, next level stage displays, confetti cannons, and much, much more.

This is going to be the biggest production that we have ever done.

What do you think it is about Starscape that’s different from other dance festivals that has kept it thriving?

First, it is the only all-night music event on a city-owned property. I’ve been to DEMF, I’ve been to Ultra, and it’s just different. Our lineups have been more eclectic in the past; we went in electronic-jam music much earlier than other fests. We were a dance-music festival; we broke out into some jam music and live electronic stuff. Now we are going back more towards the DJs.

We actually had the Disco Biscuits way back in 2006. Back in 2005 was really one of the lowest points in dance music nationally, and we decided that we needed something new or this festival was going to die. At the time we had been running Sonar, a live-music venue in Baltimore, and the Disco Biscuits were doing well there, so we decided to bring them over to Starscape. Also around that time, me and my partner were getting back into DJ shows, but shortly after that time we were going more heavily into live music for Steez Promo.

Now in its 14^th year, Starscape is also one of the largest running music festivals in the country, and it’s one night. It’s 18 hours, boom, done, won’t be back until next year. People wait for this music festival all year, and after the one-night it is just done, and then they are sitting there waiting for next year. Unlike going somewhere for three days, getting all worn out, and then waiting a few months before you’re really getting ready for the following year. At Starscape, the day after people are already contacting me about who is going to be playing.

Starscape has been able to showcase a range of artists well before they reach a national stage; how have you gone about buying?

We are just really in touch with dance music. For instance, we booked Skrillex for seven shows back in September of 2010, and they all sold out. We knew it was going to be big, but we didn’t know the scale.

When we think something is going to break, we are really on top of it. Like SBTRKT and the guys from Hospital Records, we think that is going to come in big, but we have been on top of that for awhile.

Now in its 14th year and after selling out in advance in 2011, are there any expansion plans for future Starscape festivals?

We have talked about expansion plans, but a Starscape on the first Saturday in June in Baltimore is not going to change. It’s at Fort Armistead Park; it will be there until the day [the park] is gone. We have talked about alternate locations, but it has to be the right conditions. Starscape has always been an all-night event, and we would never move it somewhere that is would have to end at 2 a.m. or a place where we couldn’t create the same environment that we do at the current Starscape.

Starscape sold out three-and-a-half weeks before the event last year, and we are expecting it to sell out even sooner for 2012. But there is new competition on the East Coast with EDC: New York coming, so we are looking to be doing more festivals. We are going to be doing something in Philadelphia in May and looking to do something else in Maryland.

Will these events be produced by Ultraworld or Steez promo?

Steez promo did over 160 events this year. The guy who started Ultraworld, started Starscape, is our logistics guy. He has taken a step back and is into a lot of other things right now. He was actually one of the head people at the Baltimore Grand Prix this year. He has really just turned Starscape over to us when it comes to talent, promotions, and marketing, then he helps out with Steez’ other events like Fall Massive.

Other dance-music festivals have had issues in the last few years planning events due to regulations by local government. What type of relationship has been developed between Ultraworld/Steez and the city of Baltimore to ensure longevity of the event?

We work closely with the city and state to ensure that the event is good for everyone involved. We definitely stay on top of any and all safety concerns that the city has for the event. We work closely with police and Fire Marshall to make sure the event is positive and the safest event possible. When we sell out, the hotels and other city attractions sell out, so it is positive for everyone.

With that said, do you feel Starscape has turned into a destination festival?

Definitely. It is crazy how it has transformed into that. Luckily for us, we do sell tickets in local outlets, because due to the way information travels on the internet and Facebook, a lot of the local, longtime supporters would be shut out if we only sold tickets online.

Last year I spoke with people that came in from New Zealand and came in from Europe. People keep traveling further and further for these events. Right now, it is really turning into a global scene. And really, when a person comes one year, they will come the next with friends. It just keeps building and building.

This past year, Starscape was broken into dub, dance, bass, and main stages. Will this change for upcoming festivals? And what type of genres do you see being represented more heavily in the upcoming editions?

We are going to keep it more balanced. One of the biggest genres that we fell in love with over the last 12-months has been the Dirty Dutch movement and Moombahton. Me and my partner are always listening to music and looking for what we can incorporate more.

It is kind of hard to format by genre now, because a lot of DJs are playing a lot of different genres. One of the biggest complaints this year was that dubstep was playing on every stage. Even my partners and myself were surprised at the fact that dubstep made it into a number of sets where we didn’t expect to hear it. Not saying that’s a negative thing but definitely a surprise.

The dubstep movement is taking over everything right now, which is great for the scene. It’s finding its way into performances by artists you would never expect to play it; we can no longer make one stage the dubstep stage, another the dance stage. Right now, house artists are playing dubstep, the drum n bass artists are playing dubstep, and even the live artists are playing dubstep. But you know, you cannot tell artists what to spin.

For instance, Dieselboy’s Subhuman label is bringing together all forms of bass music.

Dieselboy’s whole thing is that he can play anything; he is one of the most technical DJs out there. It’s almost like DJs who are into DJing will play anything. But producers find what they are good at and kind of focus on that. For instance, Dieselboy’s new Unleashed is all over the place: DnB, dubstep, drumstep, he can play it all and he does. Every set is different and every set is exciting.

When Tiesto and deadmau5 start dropping dubstep into their sets, you know it’s everywhere. It was weird when, two or three Ultras ago, when deadmau5 dropped some bass music the middle of his set, and I felt the whole crowd just stopped because bass music hadn’t taken over. There were like 50,000 people there and you could have heard a pin drop.

It’s good to see everyone supporting bass music, but as a fan, I know where kids are coming from there, saying, “Oh god, I don’t really like dubstep and I cannot get away from it!”

We have discussed it a bit already, but what are the plans for Steez promo in 2012?

Right now we work in 12-14 markets, and produce 160 events per year. We are looking to produce over 200 [events] during 2012, and are already in the process of expanding into eight to 12 more markets next year. Right now, the only company on this scale is Insomniac events, and while I don’t see us competing with them because there is a mutual respect there, I definitely want to get Steez Promo up to their scale, or at least try to get Steez Promo to that scale.

The whole movement in the U.S. is crazy right now. There is a lot going on behind the scenes that is pushing the dance movement forward, everything from Jay-Z and Kanye using a tune from Flux Pavilion [on “Who Gonna Stop Me”] to Skillex music in ads to Heineken supporting dance music, is helping the scene appeal to a larger audience.

 For more information on Steez Promo and Fall Massive, please visit Steezpromo.com and Fallmassive.com.

Do you remember that scene in Men in Black where Will Smith’s character Jay is informed that he is, in fact, not alone in the universe and that aliens populate a sizeable portion of Manhattan? And Tommy Lee Jones’ character, Kay, proceeds to give a moving speech about the progression of human knowledge? As Tommy Lee Jones walks away, Will Smith asks him, “Is [joining the Men in Black] worth it?” Kay replies, “Oh, yeah. If you’re strong enough.” (Writer’s Note: if you haven’t seen Men in Black, the mid/late 90s were probably a bummer for you, and here’s the scene I’m referring to.)

This scene is a microcosmic example of what went on at 2011’s installment of Electric Daisy Carnival. Upon arrival, I felt like Will Smith’s character. As I descended the innumerable steps from the bleachers to the racetrack, I had to concentrate very hard on not tripping and falling. My eyes kept getting stuck on the bedazzling display encompassing the thousand-acres of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway –  massive stages, glimmering neon art installations, full on carnival rides, and lights and lasers galore. It was a world I didn’t know existed. I’ve been to my fair share of raves, but this was different. Just looking out across the raceway, I knew that this was the rave to end all raves.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a Tommy Lee Jones to explain the situation to me in detail. I was lost in an endless sea of neon and glitter, and I’ll be honest, I hated the first three hours I was there. But once I got acclimated to this bizarre world, I asked myself the question: “Is it worth it?” And the answer was the same as it was in Men in Black – “Oh yeah. If you’re strong enough.”

It was definitely worth it in the end. But that doesn’t automatically pardon all the hurdles it took to reach the end. Strength was absolutely a factor both physically and mentally. The festival ran from eight pm to six am every night to avoid the scorching daytime desert heat, which was only effective to a point as desert nights are only slightly cooler than the days. After three days of uncomfortable heat, immense overcrowding, complete sleep deprivation, and poor organization on the festival’s part, even the hardiest candy kids were pretty worn out. But it was all worth it. Electric Daisy Carnival successfully pulled off throwing the largest dance festival outside of Europe (you know, because Europe festivals > US festivals), and they did it without much public scrutiny.

After last year’s debacle involving the death of a 15-year-old girl and dozens of hospitalizations, and the ensuing blame game with the city of Los Angeles, EDC decided it was best to pick up and leave the city entirely to find a new home for what would be its 15th installment. And they couldn’t have landed in a better place – a city founded upon lavish consumerism and bright lights – Las Vegas, Nevada. Financially speaking, it was a mutually beneficial situation for both the festival and the city. The festival brought in an average of  80,000 attendees a night, all of whom needed hotels to stay in and food to eat, leaving the city of Las Vegas with pockets even more full than they’d been before. And Vegas provided a haven for the festival, a place where they could throw the largest dance event in the United States.

No move is easy. But this particular move proved to be a complete nightmare, logistically speaking. Traffic flow was the worst I’ve ever experienced – an hour long wait to get parked, and two hours to get out of the parking lot after the festival due to absolutely no guidelines, staff, or regulations. It was a glimpse into what might happen on the roads if there were absolutely no rules; people cutting each other off, honking and scowls galore, and people creating their own lanes, both on and off the street (I watched a man in a Scion XB high center his car on a small dirt berm in an attempt to break free from the line and head for the exit). Traffic flow was complete anarchy. In addition to that, the security line took well over an hour to get through each night, mainly due to heightened security in attempt to avoid a re-visitation of last year. Each individual was thoroughly ID-ed, then checked so scrupulously it took two minutes per person to be checked. It’s a wonder any drugs made it in at all (because they certainly did) after such thorough screening. And then finally, once you’d made it through the hell of parking and security, there were no festival grounds maps to be found. I mean, they were around, but probably under-printed by about 40,000 each night, so it was up to the festival-goers to get acquainted with the grounds themselves by wandering aimlessly through the sea of lights, people, and heavy bass.

So there are some minor tweaks that need to be done before next year’s installment. But overall it was worth it and a complete success for the festival-goers, the organizers, and the city of Las Vegas. It will undoubtedly be returning next year. Oh, and did we mention how great the music was? Here’s the part where we give you the day by day breakdown.

Winston Robbins
Senior Staff Writer

Friday, June 24th

The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew ‘77 – Neon Garden) 12:30 a.m.

Venom masks have never looked more cool, not even on Venom himself. The Bloody Beetroots (touring under their Death Crew ’77 moniker with a third member on drums), have been something of an enigma in years past. Where do we classify the Italian duo? They certainly have a knack for club beats, but we’d never call them house, they’re too good at electronic melodies. But we’d never call them electronica because they’re a little too in your face. And they have a keen sense for hip hop samples and the occasional orchestral arrangement that further complicate a good classification. Regardless of how you want to classify them, they stomped their set at EDC, and looking back, they played one of the best sets of the entire weekend. It’s a shame that over half the crowd left the raging party halfway through to go see Tiesto, because those who left completely missed stunning renditions of “Cornelius”, “Warp 1.9”, and a very unexpected but very welcomed remix of the main score from the 2007 film, 28 Weeks Later.

Tiësto – Kinetic Field – 1:00 a.m.

They don’t call this man the best DJ alive for nothing. Drawing the majority of the Speedway’s attendees, this crowd was beyond packed, in excess of 50,000. And Tiësto delivered as one would expect him to. From a ridiculously awesome remix of Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” to one of his signature Kaleidoscope tracks “Feel It In My Bones” which features vocals by Tegan and Sara, the Dutch DJ did exactly what he always does: plays a seamless set to tens of thousands of screaming fans. The pace of the show is what Tiësto does best, slowing it down at the right moments and landing the heaviest drops with expert precision. But for CoS, it was off to catch the last half of the equally legendary (in his own right) Richie Hawtin’s Plastikman act.

Plastikman (Live)  – Cosmic Meadow – 1:15 a.m.

Richie Hawtin’s been pumping out music via his Plastikman moniker since the early ’90s, and his big downtempo beats were right at home at the Cosmic Meadow stage. He played to a dismally small crowd, given the fact that everyone’s favorite DJ, Tiësto, was playing one stage over, but isn’t that how it always is? The artists that really deserve some major recognition sort of get snubbed. Such is life, and it ended up being a blessing in disguise for those in attendance, as they got an intimate look at the great with only a few thousand other onlookers. Hawtin was enshrouded in a cylindrical cage of sorts made of LED lights, so that he was mostly hidden from view, but when the lights went out or when he turned the camera on himself and showed up on the curved screen, the crowd went wild. Plastikman’s slower beats were a good change of pace for the rowdy quick drops that had been constant since the festival began.

Skream and Benga  – Bass Pod – 1:30 a.m.

Lucky for us, Plastikman ended a bit early, and Skream and Benga went on a bit longer than scheduled. The Bass Pod was a 15-20 foot high stage shaped like a Ferris wheel, reserved primarily for dubstep acts, a genre that is growing like vines into the house scene. Mark my words, dubstep will be the primary focus of Electric Daisy Carnival for 10 years now. But for this particular set, the British BFFs who’ve been at it for literally years, set a high bar for any following dubstep act. With major drops and filthy shuffles (and a very fortunately placed firework show placed directly behind them), Skream and Benga went through a bit of each of their own solo catalogue to finish out the set with Benga’s heavy “26 Basslines”, only to leave with massive smiles on their faces and praise from the audience.

Steve Aoki – Circuit Grounds – 3:00 a.m.

Steve Aoki has been around the house music block. From remixing virtually everyone from Good Charlotte to Michael Jackson, the man’s an outright legend. But he’s never released a full length album of his own work. At EDC he debuted three (possibly even more, since his set was so all over the place) tracks from his forthcoming debut album, which he promised would be “finally out this year.” According to Aoki, one of the tracks received production from Travis Barker, and it certainly sounded so. Aoki screamed his vocals through that track to huge fanfare, but nothing was better received than his remix of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness”.

Major Lazer (Soundsystem) – Neon Garden – 4:30 a.m.

The sun began to peek over the horizon as Diplo and Switch took to the stage to showcase their brainchild Major Lazer. Typically, the sunrise would not be an ideal setting for the all out parties they love to throw, but somehow it seemed fitting. I know I certainly have never been happier to hear top 20 samples played at full volume at six in the morning.

From Ace of Base to T.I., the “soundsystem” set was a collage of Major Lazer tracks mixed with excerpts from artists of every genre: Blur, Ludacris, Lil’ Wayne, Flux Pavillion, Rihanna, Nirvana, and the pièce de résistance: an incredibly apropos version of their “Pon de Floor” spliced with Harry Belafonte “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)”, as “daylight came” into full swing. Even at six am, when the show was forced off the stage, nobody wanted the party to end. Major Lazer brought their offbeat blend of music to a house festival, and they won the hearts of every candy eyed kid in attendance.

Saturday, June 25th

The Glitch Mob – Cosmic Meadow – 9:30 p.m.

A 9:30 p.m. set for The Glitch Mob seemed tragic, but, given the amount of talent that was booked for the second day of the festival, it was sadly the only place for them. The trio, enshrouded in cages made of fluorescent lights, pumped out the beats in style (they never aren’t dressed to impress) in their all too short set, ending with “Drive It Like You Stole It”, and the masterpiece of a remix on White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” that readied the crowd for the next two acts to appear on the Cosmic Meadow stage.

Bassnectar – Cosmic Meadow – 11:00 p.m.

Bassnectar‘s been a familiar face at many fests over the past few years (Coachella, Bonnarooo, Outside Lands), but Electric Daisy Carnival is where he finds his home. With the biggest, gnarliest drops of the night thus far, Bassnectar played mostly songs from his Timestretch EP, but did incorporate samples here and there, most memorably Nirvana’s “On A Plain”, which he filled with his signature robust bass. He closed out the night with a ten minute version of his dubstep mega-hit “Bass Head”.

Empire of the Sun – Cosmic Meadow – 12:30 p.m.

This set was a sight for sore eyes. As soon as Luke Steele and co. emerged holding the first guitar I’d seen in what felt like weeks, I began to feel a bit more at home. This was the opposite, however, for many in attendance, and they ran away from guitars and glam rock like bats out of hell. And honestly, if you’ve seen an Empire of the Sun show once, you’ve seen it a hundred times. Very little variation; beginning with “Standing On The Shore”, slowing things down with “We Are The People” and “Without You”, and eventually ending up with their anthemic “Walking on a Dream”, all with cosmic backgrounds, glittering dancers, and costume changes to back them up. But even though it was a production that had very little variation from previous shows, some live music was more than welcomed in my eyes, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who felt that way.

Rusko – Basspod – 1:30 a.m.

Rusko is the unmatched prince of dubstep right now. After working with M.I.A. as a producer on her last album and an insanely solid release of his own, he was the biggest name to play the Basspod stage, and as such he drew the largest crowd by far. Thousands gathered to watch Rusko as he towered above the crowd dropping the hardest, filthiest beats of the entire weekend. His last album alone contains some of the best dubstep songs released in all of 2010, and he threw them out one by one with pleasure. “Woo Boost” and “Raver’s Special” were particularly good, and he continued to impress through his live act. He’s one of the most exciting acts in dubstep right now, and has a bright future ahead of him.

Skrillex – Neon Garden – 3:00 a.m.

After seeing the UK’s prince of dubstep, it was on to see the U.S.’s answer, Skrillex. And I have to say that while Rusko handled himself in a more traditional way, Skrillex’s use of new dubstep methods was so exciting, it sort of left Rusko and all his contemporaries in the dust. Sonny Moore (aka Skrillex) used to be the frontman for the (terribly shitty) Emo/Punk outfit From First To Last, but he’s been trying his hand at dubstep for the past year or so, and has been massively successful. Many are skeptical at his background, but I say everyone deserves a second chance. And actually, I think it’s his former knowledge of guitar and vocal melodies that makes Skrillex just so good at what he does now.

Moore garnered the biggest crowd at the Neon Garden stage all weekend by far. It was impossible to move any closer to see the quickly rising star do his thing. The crowd far exceeded the space allotted to the stage, and was pushed back into areas where sound from other acts bled in, but the fans didn’t seem to mind. Skrillex pumped out jam after jam from “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” to “My Name Is Skrillex”, the crowd drank the set down as if they were dying of thirst. And Moore was more than aware of just how special this set was. He communicated his thanks to the crowd a number of times throughout his set, and kept down to earth contact with them at regular intervals, which is unusual for most DJs. The most memorable part of his set, however, had nothing to do with his music, but with a heartfelt tribute and moment of silence held for Ryan Dunn, the Jackass star, his friend, who passed a little over a week ago.

Zeds Dead – Basspod – 3:30 a.m.

We took a quick break from Skrillex to check out the lesser-known Canadian dubstep duo Zeds Dead. In addition to having one of the coolest band names in recent memory (taken from a line in Pulp Fiction), Zeds Dead have been making waves in the dub scene with their deft remixes, many of which were played during their set. Their remixes of Massive Attack’s “Paradise Circus” and The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” were both enough to satiate the small crowd gathered to see them. Their impeccable dubstep remix of Radiohead’s “Pyramid Song” was not played, unfortunately, but should be checked out here immediately.

Boys Noize – Cosmic Meadow – 4:30 a.m.

This was without a doubt, the biggest conflict at the festival, Boys Noize v. MSTRKRFT, playing on adjacent stages at sunrise. Both loud, both known for their insane live sets, and both very, very welcome at EDC. Many attendees shuffled back and forth between sets to catch a bit of what each was doing, and that’s what we at CoS decided to do. Boys Noize proved to grab the bigger amount of audience, but I’m fairly certain that’s because they were located directly in front of the grounds exit and caught the ears of the thousands of passers-by. German-based DJ Alex Ridha (aka Boys Noise) stuck to his usual guns and played his own original tracks, peaking during thumping renditions of “Jeffer” and “Lava Lava”. It was a strange way to summon the sunrise, but enjoyable all the same.

MSTRKRFT – Neon Garden – 4:30 a.m.

MSTRKRFT was inversely a little more sample-heavy, but equally, if not more, heavy heavy. The ever-cool DFA 1979 bassist/MSTRKRFT creator Jesse Keeler conjured some of the biggest drops of the night/morning. Their John Legend sampling “Heartbreaker” was played to the biggest fanfare, but each song was incredibly tight. The sun eventually rose to the point where both members of MSTRKRFT had to put on sunglasses in order for them to see their decks, but the party didn’t end when the sun came up and the Ontario-based duo kept it going til the bell tolled six in the morning.

Sunday, June 26th

Infected Mushroom – Cosmic Meadow – 12:00 p.m.

Infected Mushroom is always changing and that’s exactly why they’re an incredible act to see live. The live guitar and drums that the Israeli duo has incorporated into their set in recent years has taken them to another level entirely. As they tour endlessly (not an exaggeration), they are forced to evolve to keep things fresh, but they never stray from their bigger hits like “Saeed” and “Becoming Insane”, both of which were well received by the sizable audience that had gathered to see their unique brand of house.

Doctor P – Basspod – 12:45 a.m.

Doctor P got shorted by having to play a set that was during both Infected Mushroom and Swedish House Mafia, but the bass heads were surprisingly large in number at the British dubstep producer’s set. It could have been that Infected Mushroom wasn’t doing it for them, and they hadn’t bought into Swedish House Mafia quite yet, but far more likely it was because Doctor P was the biggest name to play the stage on Sunday, and last marquee name on the stage. He didn’t disappoint, especially when he dropped a massive combination of two of his biggest hits, “Sweet Shop” and “Big Boss”.

Swedish House Mafia – Kinetic Field – 1:00 a.m.

Swedish House Mafia were the rock stars on this otherwise comparatively weak final day. The masses assembled (and I do mean masses) to catch the big event, and they were not disappointed. The Swedish trio of producer/DJs Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso were undoubtedly the most confident act (other than Tiesto and David Guetta, whose respective egos are almost as big as the festival grounds themselves), at EDC. Any why shouldn’t they be? Since they got together in 2009 and released their debut mix in 2010, they’ve been an unstoppable force in house music.

Having been deemed the “saviors of house”, Swedish House Mafia blew up their spot with hit after hit that the candy kids ate right up. They opened with their marquee song featuring vocals by Tinie Tempah, “Miami 2 Ibiza”, and it was two straight hours of the most solid house music being produced today after that. All three DJs seemed perfectly at home in front of the 40,000+ that had gathered to see them, and in fact, seemed genuinely happy to be there. They’ve been restoring faith in house music for people left and right, and I have to say that it’s hard to ignore them. Playing mostly songs from their debut, they hit the spot again and again, with the Justice/Simian Mobile Disco/MGMT sampling “Kidsos”, the Pharell Williams driven “One (Your Name)”, and their latest single “Save The World”, Swedish House Mafia was a spectacle well worth fighting the crowd to see.

A-Trak – Neon Garden – 1:15 a.m.

A-Trak singlehandedly saved Sunday. Swedish House Mafia performed well, but it wasn’t until the Canadian hip-hop savvy DJ began to spin that the night really peaked. With enormous mash-ups left and right (Rich Boy’s “Throw Some D’s” v. Bassnectar’s “Bass Head” and Daft Punk’s “Robot Rock” v. Ludacris’ “Move Bitch” were particularly well received), and huge beats it wasn’t hard for the crowd to buy into what A-Trak was peddling. By the time his set ended, he had the crowd eating out of his hand. His remix of Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Heads Will Roll” and his Duck Sauce track “Barbara Streisand” finished off what was undoubtedly the most varied and most energetic set of the night.

Wolfgang Gartner – Neon Garden – 3:00 a.m.

As the reality that the weekend was really coming to a close set it, festival-goers exerted a noticeably higher amount of energy to finish things off in style. Wolfgang Gartner played his second set of the weekend (the first being early on Friday night), and brought everything he had to match the energy (and size) of the crowd, who’d just come in throngs from the Kinetic Field stage where Swedish House Mafia had just finished cleaning up. Wolfgang’s set was loud, it was bright, and it encompassed everything that EDC 2011 had been. After hitting hard with samples of Talking Heads’ “Once In A Lifetime” sample and his own track “Bounce”, the crowd began to peak, and give it their all. After all, it’d be the last time they were allowed to do this in a public setting on such a massive scale until next year.

After legal troubles forced the annual rave to leave its longtime home of Los Angeles, California, EDC set it sights on Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where it will host an expected crowd of over 100,000 festival-goers between June 24th and 26th. Other confirmed notables include Skream & Benga, Skrillex, The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, Felix Cartal, The Glitch Mob, Afrojak, Robbie Rivera, The Crystal Method (DJ Set), Steve Aoki, and Richie Hawtin, who will perform both a solo set and present his Plastikman project.

Among the other highlights are Steve Bug, Sub Focus, High Contrast, Sander Van Doorn, Markus Schulz, Rusko, Boris, Beats Antique, Dada Life, Datsik, Dieselboy, Feed Me, Ferry Corsten, Steve Angello, Hernan Cattaneo, Greent Velvet, Evol Intent, Christopher Lawrence, ATB, and 12th Planet.

Even more acts will be announced in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out all the current lineup at our Festival Outlook.

$215.00 GA passes and $500.00 VIP passes are now available via the festival’s website. Single-day tickets will also be available.

Electric Daisy Carnival will also be hosting off-shoot events in Denver, Dallas, and Puerto Rico this summer. Click here for additional information.

Starscape Festival, aka Baltimore’s annual all-night rave, returns for its 13th incarnation on June 4th at Fort Armistead Park. This year’s lineup features many of the usual suspects, including Bassnectar, Infected Mushroom (live), Lotus, EOTO, Rabbit (live), and Daedelus, who will all play the festival’s mainstage.

All in all, over 40 acts will play across four stages during the one-day fest, which is set to begin at 2:00pm and run until 6:00am. Other confirmed names include Excision & Datsik, Bad Boy Bill, Skrillex, Steve Aoki, Klever, Hot Pink Delorean, Feed Me, Paper Diamond, Zeds Dead, Dieselboy, Sigma, Dirtyphonics, and TC. You can find all of this year’s confirmed participants over at Festival Outlook.

General admission and VIP tickets are priced at $69.50 and $169.50, respectively, and are now available via the festival’s website.

Whether you chose to remember it or not, New Year’s Eve always becomes an event – be it a swanky party full of beautiful people, or a sad, lonely remembrance of 2010 alone in your darkened apartment. But save yourself the embarrassment of either and get out to a club and see a band. Below we’ve listed some of the major events happening in cities around the US. Do yourself a favor: go.

There are few things I regret more than not going to see Girl Talk last year in 2009, so don’t make the same mistake I did. Spend NYE with your most favorite band. Whether you know it or not, you’ll be surrounded by new friends. Oh, and you can get tumultuously drunk and rage to some amazing music. Happy New Year from CoS!

– Jeremy Larson
Senior Staff Writer

P.S. If we’re missing something, please let us know in the comments below.

New York City

– Ariel Pink (solo): 234 Starr Street

– The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set): The Wellmont Theatre

– The Butthole Surfers: Music Hall of Williamsburg

– Class Actress: Spike Hill

– Chuck Berry: B.B. King Blues Club

– Drive-By Truckers: Terminal 5

– Gov’t Mule: The Beacon Theatre

– Guided By Voices: Irving Plaza

– Har Mar Superstar: Littlefield

– Holy Ghost!: Standard

– Infected Mushroom, Shpongle: Hammerstein Ballroom

– Patti Smith & Her Band: Bowery Ballroom

– Passion Pit, Slick Rick: Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ)

– Phish: Madison Square Garden

– The Roots: Brooklyn Bowl

– Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings: Best Buy Theater

– Steve Angello: Roseland Ballroom

– Titus Andronicus, Real Estate, Julian Lynch: Ridgewood Temple

– We Are Scientists: Mercury Lounge

– Zach Deputy: City Winery

Chicago

– Big Freedia, Nobunny: Empty Bottle

– The Black Keys, Greenhornes: Aragon Ballroom

– Cave: The Hideout

– Cursive performing Domestica: Subterranean

– Flosstradamus, Gemini Club: Lincoln Hall

– Future Rock: Kinetic Playground

– Japandroids, Light Pollution: Schubas

– Local H: Bottom Lounge

– Mannequin Men, Pegboy: Abbey Pub

– Mucca Pazza: Logan Square Auditorium

– Pretty Lights, Holy Fuck, Tobacco: Congress Theatre

– Robert Randolph & The Family Band, North Mississippi Allstars: House of Blues

– Smoking Popes: Reggie’s Rock Club

– Sublime with Rome, AM Taxi, The Dirty Heads: Navy Pier Ballroom

– Umphrey’s McGee: The Riviera Theatre

– Yeasayer, HEALTH: Metro

Los Angeles

– ATB: Hollywood Palladium

– HARD NYE (Mr. Oizo, Brodinski, DJ Falcon): The Music Box

– John Digweed: The Avalon

– Lucinda Williams: The Viper Room

– Mayer Hawthorne, Classix: Viceroy Hotel

– Nite Jewel: The Echo

– NOFX, Dead To Me: The Wiltern

– The Pharcyde: Key Club

– The Raveonettes, Autolux: The Standard

– Steel Panther: House of Blues

– Together As One (Major Lazer, Diplo, Rusko, Laidback Luke): Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum & Sports Arena

– Yard Dogs Road Show: Edison

London, UK

– British Sea Power: Koko

– Caribou: The Flowerpot

– Carl Barât (DJ Set): All Star Lanes Brick Lane

– Eastern Electrics NYE (Matthew Dear, Joker, Roska): The Tunnels

– Foals: HMV Forum

– Four Tet, James Holden, Jamie XX: Corsica Studios

– Friendly Fires (DJ Set): XOYO

– Sonic Youth, Factory Floor, Shellac: Hammersmith Apollo

– Together (Mark Ronson, Annie Mac, Katy B, Fake Blood): O2 Academy

Elsewhere:

Atlanta:

– Bassnectar, Ana Sia: The Tabernacle

– Charlie Wilson, Chrisette Michele: Atlanta Civic Center

– Coolio: Hyatt Regency

– The Glitch Mob: New Earth Music Hall

– Perpetual Groove: Variety Playhouse

– Zac Brown Band: Philips Arena

Atlantic City:

– B.B. King: Harrah’s Atlantic City

– Maroon 5: House of Blues

– Sarah McLachlan: Caesars Atlantic City

Aspen:

– Jane’s Addiction: Belly Up

Athens, GA:

– The Glitch Mob: New Earth Music Hall

– of Montreal: 40 Watt Club

Austin:

– Adolescents: Red 7

– Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Grupo Fantasma: La Zona Rosa

– Cake: Austin Music Hall

– N.A.S.A., Ladytron: Seaholm Power Plant

– The Sword: The Mohawk

Boston:

– Bettye LaVette: First Night Boston–Copley Square

– Cass McCombs: The Modern

– Dean & Britta, Nina Nastasia: Paramount Center

– moe.: House of Blues

– Soulive: Paradise Rock Club

– Third Eye Blind: Wilbur Theatre

Boulder:

– Crystal Castles, The Chain Gang of 1974: Boulder Theater

Dallas:

– Ghostland Observatory: Plaza of the Americas

– Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights: Granada Theater

– Old 97′s: House of Blues

Denver:

– Big Head Todd and The Monsters: Paramount Theatre

– Impact NYE (EOTO, Dieselboy, Freddy Todd): City Hall Events Center

– Nosaj Thing: Casselman’s

– Railroad Earth, Great American Taxi: Ogden Theatre

– STS9, Tipper: The Fillmore Auditorium

– Widespread Panic, G. Love & Special Sauce: Pepsi Center

Dublin, Ireland:

– Les Savy Fav: The Button Factory

Edmonton, AB:

– deadmau5: Shaw Conference Centre

Houston:

– Warpaint: Ground Hall

Las Vegas:

– 30 Seconds To Mars: Pearl Concert Theater

– Erick Morillo: Marquee Nightclub

– Jamie Lidell: Book & Stage – The Cosmopolitan

– Jay-Z, Coldplay: Cosmopolitan

– Paul Oakenfold, LMAFO: Palms Hotel & Casino

– Pitbull: House of Blues

– Santana: The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel

Louisville, KY:

– The Pass: Headliners Music Hall

Miami:

– Nicki Minaj: The Mansion

– Tiësto: Fontainebleau Resort

– Usher, Trey Songz: American Airlines Arena

Milwaukee:

– Girl Talk: The Rave

– The Hold Steady: Riverside Theater

Minneapolis:

– Brother Ali, The Hood Internet: Marriott City Center Grand Ballroom

New Orleans:

– Better Than Ezra: House of Blues

– Bonerama: 12 Bar on Fulton Street

– Galactic, Tea Leaf Green: Tipitina’s Uptown

– Tab Benoit: Mid City Lanes “Rock ‘N’ Bowl”

Oakland:

– Primus, The Dead Kenny Gs, Les Claypool: Fox Theater

Oklahoma City:

– The Flaming Lips performing The Soft Bulletin: Cox Convention Center

Philadelphia:

– Dada: North Star

– Lotus: Electric Factory

– Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue: World Cafe

Portland, OR:

– Crooked Fingers, Heligoats: Bunk Bar

– The Helio Sequence, Ramona Falls: Mississippi Studios

– Japanther: Artistery

– Langhorne Slim: Mission Theater

– Lazer Sword, Eliot Lipp: Branx

– The Shaky Hands: Backspace

Rome, Italy:

– Aphex Twin: Palazzo dei Congressi

San Diego:

– Crocodiles: Soda Bar

– Designer Drugs: Voyeur

– Dirty South: 4th & B

San Francisco:

– The Dresden Dolls, Pomplamoose: The Warfield

– Furthur, Phil Lesh: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

– The Growlers: Hemlock Tavern

– John Lee Hooker Jr.: Biscuits and Blues

– Mike Posner: The Regency Ballroom

– Sea of Dreams (Thievery Corporation, Balkan Beat Box, Modeselektor, Beats Antique): Concourse Exhibition Center

– The Slackers: Great American Music Hall

– Steve Aoki: Fort Mason Festival Pavillion

Seattle:

– AC Slater: King Cat Theatre

– Lissie: Snoqualmie Casino

– Reverend Horton Heat, The Dwarves: El Corazon

– Z-Trip: Cirque Event Center

St. Louis, MO:

– The Crystal Method: Nightclub Europe

– Yonder Mountain String Band: The Pageant

St. Petersburg, FL:

– Cope: The Local 662

– Dead Kennedys: State Theatre

Washington, DC:

– Gogol Bordello: 9:30 Club

For 2010, organizers have once again round together quite the overwhelming bill. Deadmau5, Armin Van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Swedish House Mafia, and Benny Benassi top the festivities, while noteworthy acts like Moby (DJ Set), Kaskade, Basement Jaxx (DJ Set), Infected Mushroom, Groove Armada (DJ Set), Sasha, DJ Z-Trip, Boys Noize, and the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am are also set to perform.

Other scheduled acts include MSTRKRFT, Travis Barker & A-Trak, Steve Aoki, Spank Rock, Felix Cartal, Wolfgang Gartner, Duck Sauce, Armand van Helden, Dada Life, Christopher Lawrence, Claude von Stroke, Dieselboy, Evol Intent, Xample, and Andy C. A full list of confirmed acts can be found here; day-by-day schedule here.

Electric Daisy Carnival 2010 takes place from June 25-26. General admission tickets for Friday and Saturday (priced at $65 and $75 respectively), two-day passes ($129), and VIP packages are now available.

Deadmau5, Tiesto, Groove Armada, Swedish House Mafia, and The Crystal Method have been tapped to headline this year’s festivities, set to take from March 26-27. Also scheduled to appear are The Disco Biscuits, Faithless Sound System, Ghostland Observatory, Infected Mushroom, the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am, Armin van Buren, and Carl Cox, who will perform twice during the festival.

As a whole, the phase one portion of Ultra Music Festival 2010 looks like this:

A-Trak, Above & Beyond, Afrobeta, Alex Metric, Armin van Buren, ATB, Bassbin Twins vs. Uberzone, Bassnectar, The Bloody Beetroots, Carl Cox, Crookers, The Crystal Method, Deadmau5, Diplo, The Disco Biscuits, Dirty South, Eddie Halliwell, Eric Prydz, Evil Nine, Faithless Sound System, Felix da Housecat, Freeland, Ghostland Observatory, The Glitch Mob, Green Velvet, Groove Armada, Infected Mushroom, Kevens, Lotus, LTJ Bukem, Major Lazer, Plump DJs, Pretty Lights, Rabbit in the Moon (3D), Rusko, Skream, Steve Aoki, Swedish House Mafia, Tiesto, Will.i.am

Additional acts will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Advance two-day and VIP passes are currently available for purchase. Head to ultramusicfestival.com for additional details.

As mentioned, the festival takes place from March 26-27, 2010 in Miami, Florida. It will serve as the closing event for the annual, equally electro heavy Winter Music Conference.

Hat tip to Nicholas for the help…

Sufjan Stevens 2009 Tour Dates:

Well, if it isn’t an old stranger! Following an appearance at next month’s ATP New York, Sufjan Stevens will launch an intimate 16-date eastern North American tour with Asthmatic Kitty labelmate Cryptacize. According to Steven’s aforementioned label, these dates have nothing to do with the singer/songwriters forthcoming BQE release so, what one should expect is anyone’s guess. Tickets will be available beginning Saturday, August 15th. Due to the expected high demand and existence of such things as scalpers, there will be a two ticket limit and they may only be picked up at the venue. More rules and regulations here.

09/12 – Monticello, NY @ ATP New York
09/21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s *
09/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s *
09/23 – Ithaca, NY @ Castaways *
09/24 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom *
09/25 – Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom *
09/26 – Champaign, IL @ The High Dive *
09/27 – Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar *
09/28 – Madison, WI @ The Majestic *
09/29 – Bloomington, IN @ Buskirk Chumley *
10/01 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Place *
10/02 – Montreal, QC @ Pop Montreal *
10/03 – Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall *
10/04 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
10/05 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
10/06 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *
10/07 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *

* = w/ Cryptacize

Infected Mushroom 2009 Tour Dates:

In support of its forthcoming studio album, Legend Of The Black Shawarma, the psychedelic duo that is Infected Mushroom has mapped out a hodgepodge of tour dates for the coming. Spanning late August to late Novemeber, the trek will be highlighted by appearances at the world-renowned art festival Burning Man and a two-night stint in Boulder, Colorado. Joining Amit “Duvdev” Duvedevani (vocals) and Erez Eisen (keyboards) on the tour will be Rogerio Jardim (drums) and Tom Cunningham (guitar). Tickets for select dates are available via Ticketmaster.com.

08/21 – Houston, TX @ Escapade
08/28 – Nashville, TN @ Exit In
08/29 – Miami, FL @ Karu&Y
09/03 – Gerlach, NV @ Burning Man
09/04 – Ft. Collins, CO @ Aggie Theater
09/05 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater
09/06 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater
09/25 – Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theater
09/26 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
10/03 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
10/30 – San Francisco, CA @ TBD
11/12 – Denver, CO @ Beta Nightclub
11/14 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
11/28 – San Bernardino, CA @ TBD

Lucero 2009 Tour Dates:

Beginning October 9th, Lucero will look to support its major label debut with the launch of the aptly titled Lucero Ramblin’ Roadshow & Memphis Revue. The traveling roadshow spans two months and will feature the likes of my Amy LaVere, Cedric Burnside with Lightnin’ Malcolm, Jack Oblivian, John Paul Keith & the One Four Fives and The City Champs. Tickets for select dates are available via Ticketmaster.com.

09/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ F Yeah Fest
10/09 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom *^
10/10 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade *^
10/11 – Charleston, SC @ The Pour House *^
10/13 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle *^
10/14 – Richmond, VA @ The National *^
10/15 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *^
10/16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Starlight Ballroom *^
10/17 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall *^
10/18 – Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East *^
10/20 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Place *^
10/21 – Detroit, MI @ The Magic Stick *^
10/22 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall *^
10/23 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater *^
10/26 – Ft. Collins, CO @ Aggie Theatre #%
10/27 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre #%
10/29 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile #%
10/30 – Portland, OR @ Hawthrone Theatre #%
11/01 – San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine #%
11/04 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah #%
11/05 – Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse #%
11/07 – Ft. Worth, TX @ Longhorn Saloon ^!
11/08 – Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/09 – Houston, TX @ Meridian @!
11/10 – Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box ^!
11/12 – Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder ^!
11/13 – Tampa, FL @ Czar ^!
11/14 – Orlando, FL @ Lizzie McCormick Stage ^!
11/15 – St. Augustine, FL @ Cafe Eleven ^!
11/17 – Charlotte, NC @ Visulite Theatre ^!
11/18 – Atlanta, GA @ 40 Watt Club ^!
11/19 – Knoxville, TN @ Valarium ^!
11/20 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel ^!
11/21 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners ^!

* = w/ Amy LaVere
^ = w/ Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm
# = w/ Jack Oblivian
% = w/ John Paul Keith & One Four Fives
! = w/ The City Champs

Due for release on September 8th via Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto label, Legend Of The Black Shawarma will mark the acclaimed electro duo’s seventh full-length album. And as one would expect for such a momentous occasion, the album, which features a title said to be inspired by a shark dive the band went on during a tour of Australia two years ago, will see Amit “Duvdev” Duvedevani and Erez Eisen teaming with high-profile rockers, such as Jane’s Addicition’s Perry Farrell and Korn’s Jonathan Davis. Not much else better than that!

Well, aside from the band’s explosive live show, one which they’ll be bringing to a city near you in the coming months. Festival appearances included.

Legend of the Black Shawarma Tracklist:
01. Poquito Mas
02. Sa’eed
03. End of the Road
04. Smashing the Opponent (feat. Jonathan Davis)
05. Can’t Stop
06. Herbert the Pervert
07. Killing Time (feat. Perry Farrell)
08. Project 100
09. Franks
10. Slowly
11. Legend of the Black Shawarma

Infected Mushroom 2009 Tour Dates:
06/05 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Trump Taj Mahal
06/11 – Anaheim, CA @ Red
06/12 – San Diego, CA @ Spin
06/13 – Denver, CO @ Electric Daisy Carnival
06/20 – Moscow, RU @ Spacefestival
06/25 – Edmonton, AB @ The Empire Ballroom
06/26 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Great Saltair Magna
06/27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Electric Daisy Carnival
07/03 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
07/04 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
07/10 – San Jose, CA @ Vertigo
07/17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Grand Ballroom
07/18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Vanguard
07/24 – London, UK @ Ministry of Sound
07/25 – Hasselt, BE @ Ethias Arena
07/31 – Montreal, QC @ Divers/Cite Festival
08/14 – Lubiaz, PL @ Lubiaz Tunnel Electrocity
08/23 – Kiev, UA @ Creamfields Ukraine