The 2010 Festivals taking place in the U.S. and Canada will be few and far between until the weather warms, but there a some located in more temperate areas that make for a worthwhile winter diversion. They are weekend-long events so, if you’re thinking of ideas for a short getaway, consider a music-themed trip and have a look through our listing below before you decide.







Harvest of Hope Fest
March 12-14, 2010
St. Johns County Fairgrounds
St. Augustine, FL
[website]

A three-day, multiple stage alternative music festival created to help benefit and raise awareness for the Harvest of Hope Foundation (www.harvestofhope.net), a nonprofit charity organization that provides educational grants, scholarships, emergency financial assistance, and service oriented aid to migrant farmworkers and seasonal farmworkers all accross the United States. You'll find incredible music on 3 daytime stages, eclectic culture, quality art, and crafts, delicious food and drinks, great microbrews, ice, an ATM machine, a General Store, and more. St. Augustine, Florida is a small town with a great natural food co-op, and outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, and swimming.

Partial line-up:
Billy Bragg
The Mountain Goats
Dr. Dog
Anvil
Rogue Wave
7 Seconds
Senses Fail
Anti-Flag
Sea Wolf
Man Man
Dead Prez
Kimya Dawson
Delta Spirit
High on Fire
Torche
Strike Anywhere
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Dr. Octagon aka Kool Keith
Dead Confederate
A Wilhelm Scream
Portugal. the Man
Leatherface
Dead to Me
Japanther
Fruit Bats
Bear in Heaven
Freelance Whales
Cobra Skulls
Small Brown Bike
Danielson
Twin Tigers
Blacksheep
Rev. Peytons Big Damn Band
Matt Pond P.A.
James Husband (of Of Montreal)
Signals (ex Mae Shi)
Ortolan
Mercury Program
Kid Sister
Gringo Star
Port O'Brien
Stars of Track and Field
Off With Their Heads
Loved Ones
Past Lives
Crime in Stereo
forgetters
Smoke or Fire
Broadway Calls
Yelawolf
Andrew Jackson Jihad







SXSW
March 12-21, 2010
Austin, Texas
[website]

Groovemine SXSW coverage:
Artist/Event Preview
Free Party Guide

One of the largest—if not the largest—music festival in the U.S., SXSW provides a forum for keeping up with the rapid changes in the music industry brought on by mergers and technology and to hear some great music—of course!. In 2009, there were 1,987 showcasing acts that performed on 88 music stages. Registrants are offered the opportunity to hear from industry leaders about the changes taking place now and what is on the horizon. Also in the convention center is the SXSW Music Trade Show featuring businesses that span the spectrum from CD/DVD manufacturers, gear and merch companies to magazines and record labels with representatives from the UK, Canada, Spain, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. During the music festival, club-hopping registrants can hear a staggering array of music from all over the world. Good music and the business which surrounds it are explored, presented and debated. Don't miss the many unofficial/non-showcase events. Many are FREE to attend with great line-up, see the Groovemine guide here.

Partial Line-up:
Akasha
An Horse
Anti-Pop Consortium
Bowerbirds
Breakestra
Califone
Choir of Young Believers
The Crystal Method
Deer Tick
Fanfarlo
Mayer Hawthorne & The County
Heartsrevolution
Here We Go Magic
Hyperpotamus
The Low Anthem
Miike Snow
Panda
Rye Rye
Tape Deck Mountain
We Are Scientists
Ze!







Winter Music Conference
March 23-27, 2010
Miami Beach, FL
[website]

Winter Music Conference, in its 25th consecutive year, is one of the most publicized annual music gatherings in the world. A pivotal platform for advancement of the industry, WMC 2009 attracted 1,910 artists and DJs, 3,228 industry delegates from 62 countries and over 70,000 event attendees for a concentrated schedule of more than 500 events presented across 5 days. Primarily focused on electronic club music, the conference has so many parties to go to, too many DJs to hear, and lots of sleep to miss. Don't expect to get into every party you want to attend...unless you have connects at the door. Always go out with a back-up plan.

A comprehensive list of events and talent line-ups can be found here. Below, is just some of our recommendations:

Tuesday Mar 23rd at 10:00PM
air london & 8 Bit Records present...
TALENT:  Nick Curly-Cecille/8 Bit, Simon Baker-2020 Vision/Cocoon, Glimpse-Planet E/Cadenza , Oxia-8 Bit, Gorge-8 Bit / Katchuli, Burnski-Poker Flat / Dessous, Ray Okpara-Oslo / 8 Bit, Nitin-No 9 Alejandro Sab.
VENUE:   Electric Pickle
ADDRESS:  2826 North Miami Avenue  
TIME:  10:00 PM - 6:00 AM

Tuesday Mar 23rd at 10:00PM
Defected In the House & Strictly Rhythm
TALENT:  Main Room: Michael Canitrot, Eddie Thoneick, David Penn, Quentin Harris, RAE (Live PA), Riva Starr, ATFC, Chocolate Puma. Upstairs Room: Aaron Ross, Baggi Begovic, Dj Yass, Ben Westbeech (dj set).
VENUE:   Cameo
ADDRESS:  1445 Washington Avenue  
TIME:  10:00 PM - 5:00 AM

Wednesday Mar 24th at 12:00PM
Amenti Music / Solid Tokyo Showcase
TALENT:  Fred Everything, Iz & Diz, Ken (ECB), LawnChair Generals, Olivier Desmet, Megumilk, Kai & Marshall (Solid Tokyo), Joshua Heath, Late Night Society, Tommy Largo, Homero Espinosa, The Sound Diggers, Erin Carroll. Basic NYC residents Sleepy & Boo.
VENUE:  Beach Plaza Hotel
ADDRESS:  1401 Collins Avenue  
TIME:  12:00 PM - 11:00 PM

Wednesday Mar 24th at 8:00PM
Compost Black Label | Gigolo | G-Stone
TALENT:  Headlined by Peter Kruder, DJ Hell, Compost & G-Stone DJs: Rainer Truby, Shahrokh, Christian Prommer, Roland Appel, Roberto Rodriguez, Michael Reinboth, Eddy Meets Yannah, Metro Area's Darshan Jesrani and special guests.
VENUE:   Sky Bar @ The Shore Club
ADDRESS:  1901 Collins Avenue (side entrance)  
TIME:  8:00 PM - 3:00 AM

Wednesday Mar 24th at 10:00PM
Turbo Presents Erol Alkan, Proxy, and Guests.
TALENT:  Erol Alkan, Proxy, more to be announced!
VENUE:   Louis @ The Gansevoort
ADDRESS:  2325 Collins Avenue  
TIME:  10:00 PM - 5:00 AM

Thursday Mar 25th at 8:00PM
D25 Detroit Techno Celebrates 25 Years!
TALENT:  Exclusive WMC sets by: Carl Craig, Juan Atkins, Theo Parrish, Kenny Dixon Jr. (aka Moody Man), Kevin Saunderson, Kenny Larkin *live, Stacy Pullen, Kyle Hall, Monty Luke + Very Special Surprise Guests!
VENUE:   The Shore Club
ADDRESS:  1901 Collins Avenue  
TIME: 8:00 PM - 5:00 AM

Thursday Mar 25th at 9:00PM
Om Miami 2010
TALENT:  Mark Farina, Peter Kruder, Aeroplane, Jazzanova, Colette, Fred Everything, Treasure Fingers, Classixx, Crazy P (PA set), Greenskeepers (Live), J-Boogie, Pezzner, The Revenge, Wagon Cooking, Nikola Baytala.
VENUE:   Klutch
ADDRESS:  136 Collins Avenue  
TIME: 9:00 PM - 5:00 AM

Thursday Mar 25th at 10:00PM
The Space Terrace presents Viva
TALENT:  Steve Lawler, M.A.N.D.Y., Tiefschwarz, Timo Maas, Radio Slave, Joris Voorn, Matthias Tanzman, 2000 and One, Leon Hugo, Darius Syrrosian & Nyra, Sean Miller.
VENUE:   Space Miami (The Terrace)
ADDRESS:  34 NE 11th Street  
TIME: 10:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Friday Mar 26th at 6:00PM
Beats Build Hope, A Benefit for NextAid, LIFEbeat, SOIL (Haiti), and Green Wave
TALENT:  DJ Rap, Mark Farina, Anané, Ultra Naté, Colette, Heather, Gene Farris, Andy Caldwell, D:FUSE, Nickodemus, Alex(Jazzanova), Chuck Love, Halo, Mark Lewis, Michael Anthony, Jay-J, Marissa Guzman, DJ G OV.
VENUE:   The Shore Club
ADDRESS:  1901 Collins Avenue  
TIME:  6:00 PM - 6:00 AM

Saturday Mar 27th at 12:00PM
Basic NYC All-Stars
TALENT:  Tom Middleton (tommiddleton.com), DJ T (Get Physical), Jody Wisternoff (UK/Way Out West), Thomas Schumacher (Get Physical) w/more special guests TBA. With Basic NYC residents Sleepy & Boo.
VENUE:  Beach Plaza Hotel
ADDRESS:  1401 Collins Avenue  
TIME:  12:00 PM - 11:00 PM







Big Ears 2010
March 26-28, 2010
Knoxville TN
[website]

The mission of BIG EARS is to offer an exciting and dynamic platform of musical and artistic discovery by artists possessed of singular and unique visions that stand apart from the mainstream. Check out the media player on the home page of the website to sample the artists that will appear.

line-up:
Abe Vigoda
Sam Amidon
Andrew W.K.
Bang On A Can All-stars
William Basinski
Adrian Belew
Iva Bittova
The Books
Buke & Gass
Calder Quartet
Clogs
Bryce Dessner
Dirty Projectors
Doveman
The 802 Tour
The Ex
Ben Frost
Gang Gang Dance
Tim Hecker
Javelin
Jj
Konk Pack
Liturgy
Andy Moor
Nico Muhly
My Brightest Diamond
The National
Joanna Newsom
Nosaj Thing
Gyan Riley
Terry Riley
Dj /rupture
Tracy Silverman
Nadia Sirota
Ches Smith
Sufjan Stevens
St. Vincent
Vampire Weekend
The xx







Sasquatch!
Memorial Day Weekend
May 29-31, 2010
The Gorge Amphitheater
Quincy, WA (about 2.5 hours outside Seattle)
[website]

The Gorge is a nine-time winner of Pollstar Magazine's award for Best Outdoor Music Venue and there is, practically, no filler acts in this year's line-up. It's a must-go, if you can get there. It seems as if anyone who's produced good independent music in the last year or so is scheduled to perform....and the list keeps growing.

Partial line-up:
My Morning Jacket
Massive Attack
Pavement
Ween
Vampire Weekend
MGMT
Band of Horses
The National
LCD Soundsystem
Tegan & Sara
Broken Social Scene
Passion Pit
Deadmau5
She & Him
Public Enemy
Nada Surf
The New Pornographers
The Hold Steady
The xx
Dirty Projectors
OK Go
Drive By Truckers
Kid Cudi
The Long Winters
Minus the Bear
The Mountain Goats
Quasi
Camera Obscura
Fruit Bats
Brother Ali
Midlake
Dr. Dog
Caribou
Simian Mobile Disco
City & Colour
No Age
The Temper Trap
Vetiver
Miike Snow
Portugal. The Man
Telekinesis
Mayer Hawthorne
Why?
Girls
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Wale
The Lonely Forest
Japandroids
Boys Noize
Yacht
Freelance Whales
Laura Marling
Patrick Watson
Past Lives
Cymbals Eat Guitars
The Low Anthem
The Very Best
Phantogram
Neon Indian
Nurses
The Tallest Man on Earth
Fresh Espresso
Mumford & Sons
Jets Overhead
tUnE-YarDs
Shabazz Palaces
Fool’s Gold
Morning Teleportation
Z-Trip
Dam-Funk
Hudson Mohawke
The Middle East
Local Natives
Avi Buffalo
Booka Shade
A-Trak
Yes Giantess
Craig Robinson
Rob Riggle
Garfunkel & Oates
Luke Burbank