It’s coming up on that time of year again, my favorite season, the summer outdoor concert season!  And that, among other things, means its festival time.  The floundering economy may have it’s dirty little fingers stuck in pretty much everyone’s pie, forcing more than a few festivals to close up shop this year (Langerado’s off, and Jackson Hole seems like a long shot), but rest assured Denver, the second annual Mile High Music Festival will be going strong right in our own backyards! 

The second annual ALL POINTS WEST MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL returns to Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey Friday, July 31, Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2 with Beastie Boys, Tool and Coldplay set to headline the three-day, multi-stage music and arts festival.  ALL POINTS WEST will also feature performances from Echo & The Bunnymen, My Bloody Valentine, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, MSTRKRFT, Gogol Bordello, The Black Keys, Fleet Foxes, Neko Case, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arctic Monkeys and more than 65 artists appearing throughout the 80-acre historic location

Colorado's Mile High Music Festival returns to the Fields at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on July 18 and 19. The 2009 festival expands to two main stages for its second year. Headliners include TOOL (Saturday), Widespread Panic (on both Saturday and Sunday), and The Fray (Sunday).

In vintage Dan Hicks form, Tangled Tales mashes the outlaw swing music, insightful charm, and brilliant melodies that have endeared him to audiences and fellow artists for four decades with his signature understated melancholy that could only be born from a creative genius.

They’re a posse of Asheville artists who play with the sort of spunk, meticulousness and joy that should be bottled and sold at some obscure roadside stand by a secret guru. The mystical, tribal and always fascinating Toubab Krewe have the ability to stir those emotions that you thought you may have lost, without singing a single phrase in any language.