Music festivals are a great way to see your favorite bands alongside your fellow fans. See scenes from some of the major music festivals around the country.
40 years after Woodstock, music festivals are thriving, with dozens of multi-day events popping up across the globe. In this gallery, we'll stop by most of the major 2009 festivals, starting in spring and catching our breath by the end of summer. Above, a crowd mingles at the 2009 South by Southwest Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas.
John Eriksson, Bjorn Yttling and Peter Moren of Swedish band Peter Bjorn and John perform onstage at the Levi's Fader Fort during South By Southwest (SXSW). The Austin, Texas, festival marks the beginning of the festival season in the United States, and it's one of the biggest: Hundreds of bands play throughout the city every March.
Andrew Bird, violinist and whistler extraordinaire, performs at Stubbs Bar-B-Q as part of SXSW 2009 on March 19, 2009 in Austin, Texas. Bird's performance was announced, but the next artist showed up unexpectedly.
In what looks like a welcome interruption, Kanye West made a surprise performance at Perez Hilton's One Night on the fourth day of 2009 SXSW. At our next festival stop, we'll visit desert country and date farms in Indio, Calif.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival takes place west of Austin in Indio, Calif. The site, the Empire Polo Club, typically hosts musical acts in April and is revered by festival goers for its striking desert scenery.
Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs strikes a pose on the third day of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2009. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are festival pros, and you may have caught them at any one of the events you'll see here.
Bilinda Butcher of the recently reunited My Bloody Valentine performs at the 2009 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. One familiar theme in recent years at big festivals is a flood of reunited bands -- and speaking of, the next act got back together in 2005.
Flavor Flav and Chuck D of hip hop group Public Enemy perform during Coachella 2009. Levitation was not a part of the show, despite appearances.
A general view of the Empire Polo Club during Coachella 2009. With festivities winding down in Indio, we can move north to George, Wash., for a concert by the mountains.
The Sasquatch! Music Festival takes place in May at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Wash., where a view of the Columbia River dominates the scene. In this photo, Santigold (formerly Santogold) performs on the third day of the festival.
Chris Taylor, left, and Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear stopped by the 2009 Sasquatch! Music Festival near the beginning of the band's summer tour to promote its third album, "Veckatimest."
Gregg Gillis of Girl Talk moves closer to the crowd to get fans clapping, encouraging general mash-up excitement during the 2009 Sasquatch! Music Festival. Although Gillis sports a beard, thing get a little woollier in the next photo from the Gorge.
Could it be? The Sasquatch himself, at the Sasquatch! Music Festival? Sorry Bigfoot enthusiasts, this time it's the bearded Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, performing on the third day of the festival. Things stay rough and rugged at the Gorge on the next page.
Legendary bassist and co-founder of the Minutemen Mike Watt, right, leans into drummer Raul Morales. Mike Watt and The Missingmen performed on the second day of the Sasquatch! Music Festival.
Kevin Barnes, center, of the band Of Montreal, leads the revelry on the second day of the Sasquatch! Music Festival. Along with his traveling band of musicians, dancers and actors in animal costumes, fans were invited during this particular performance to celebrate on stage.
Originally a festival dedicated mainly to jam bands, Bonnaroo has evolved to include musicians across a variety of genres. The 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival took place, as it does every year, on a large, open field in Manchester, Tenn.
Neko Case, solo artist and member of the New Pornographers, sings during the 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in June 2009.
Panda Bear, left, Avey Tare, center, and Geologist of Animal Collective perform at Bonnaroo 2009. As we creep into the summer, festival-goers have to endure higher temperatures -- or the occasional downpour -- during the long weekends.
Michael "Mike D" Diamond (center), Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz, left, and Adam "MCA" Yauch of the Beastie Boys perform on stage during Bonnaroo. Later during 2009, the Beastie Boys had to cancel upcoming festival appearances when Yauch underwent treatment for a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland.
Dave Longstreth of The Dirty Projectors performs on stage during Bonnaroo 2009. The group stopped by Manchester, Tenn., to promote their latest album, "Bitte Orca." To see a musician who has worked with and influenced the music of the Dirty Projectors, click on the next page.
Talking Heads founder David Byrne sings on stage during the 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival while dancers fly by. Byrne's performance included tutus, which the singer didn't refrain from wearing.
Page McConnell, Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman of the reunited Phish perform on stage during Bonnaroo 2009 in Manchester, Tenn. Many of today's music festivals, especially Bonnaroo, owe a lot to previous Phish festivals, including the Clifford Ball and The Great Went.
Bruce Springsteen, who also played with the E Street Band during the weekend, performs with Trey Anastasio of Phish during the band's Sunday set. Collaboration, community and art are common elements of Bonnaroo, which you'll also witness in the next photo.
Artist Joe Young works on a weekend-long painting during a performance at the 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Get ready to get dirty as we take a short hop across the pond in the next photo.
Festival goers jump into the mud on the third day of the Glastonbury Festival, held during late June 2009 in Glastonbury, England. One of the realities of weekend music festivals is unpredictable and inclement weather, and concert-goers and campers may have to deal with playing in the mud.
Amadou and Mariam, a husband-and-wife duo from Mali, perform on the Pyramid Stage on the third day of the Glastonbury Festival. We'll move back over to the United States, although this time we'll hit the Midwest during the middle of July.
Concert-goers hang out during the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival, which takes place at Union Park in Chicago, Ill.
Georgia Hubley and James McNew of Yo La Tengo perform during the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival. Part of the first night's draw was a concept called "Write the Night" -- after buying a ticket to the festival, attendees could vote which songs they wanted Yo La Tengo, Built to Spill, The Jesus Lizard and Tortoise to play.
The Flaming Lips also played a few fan picks during their Sunday performance at the 2009 Pitchfork Musical Festival. Also included, of course, as is the case with the Flaming Lips, was a throng of confetti, balloons and costumed dancers plucked from the audience.
Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips walks over the crowd encased in his human bubble, a familiar sight during major music festivals. On the next page you'll see another familiar image: happy faces.
Festival goers dance, cheer and smile at the Pitchfork Music Festival. As we approach August, we'll move east to New York City, a place that has experimented with the large festival format for a long time with varying degrees of success.
Rapper Jay-Z performs on stage during the 2009 All Points West Music and Arts Festival. Jay-Z's performance was unexpected, as he replaced the Beastie Boys following Adam "MCA" Yauch's cancer treatment. He opened by paying tribute to the group, performing MCA's verse from "No Sleep Till Brooklyn."
Chris Martin and his band members in Coldplay perform on stage during the 2009 All Points West Music and Arts Festival. Martin also paid tribute to the Beastie Boys, playing a solo piano rendition of "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)."
We now head back to Chicago for Snoop Dogg and the 2009 Lollapalooza Music Festival. The event took place at Grant Park in Chicago, Ill.
British Natasha Khan, also known by her stage name Bat For Lashes, performs during the 2009 Lollapalooza Music Festival, promoting her recent release, "Two Suns."
Lou Reed, the legendary founder of the Velvet Underground known as the Godfather of Rock and Roll, performs onstage during the 2009 Lollapalooza Music Festival. For a look at some up-and-coming whippersnappers, see the next photos.
Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend performs during the 2009 Lollapalooza Music Festival with a crowd of onlookers above and behind him. We'll go from Paul Simon's "Graceland" and Peter Gabriel to Woody Woodpecker and the Chipmunks on the next page.
Dan Deacon directs a cast of many performers during Lollapalooza 2009, as a sea of concert-goers dance behind him. Famed for his live shows, Deacon matches electronic vocal manipulations with fast-paced beats and often interacts with the audience.
A general view of Chicago and fans attending the 2009 Lollapalooza Music Festival. Lollapalooza takes place in August, and it unofficially marks the end of the major music festival summer season in the United States. There are still a few more afterwards, however, including Reading and Leeds in England, Austin City Limits and the CMJ Music Marathon.
