Summer Music Festivals Guide

Summer Sonic 2011: the concrete one

Posted: Tue Jun 21 2011

The urban alternative to Fuji Rock makes up in convenience for what it lacks in atmosphere: there are few settings less rock'n'roll than a baseball stadium and conference centre. Still, if you'd rather leave your wellies at home and sleep in your own bed at the end of the day, this might be the one for you.

The lineup

Arrested Development, The Bawdies, Beady Eye, Black Mountain, James Blunt, Brother, Bootsy Collins, Bow Wow Wow, Death From Above 1979, Deerhunter, Esben and the Witch, Fact, Friendly Fires, The Gazette, Gypsy & The Cat, Hollywood Undead, The Horrors, House of Pain, Jessie J, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Kaela Kimura, Korn, Little Barrie, Ziggy Marley, The Mars Volta, Maximum the Hormone, Metronomy, The Morning Benders, Mutemath, Neon Trees, Nico Touches the Walls, Odd Future, Panic! at the Disco, The Pop Group, The Pretty Reckless, Public Image Limited, Queen Sea Big Shark, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shibusashirazu Orchestra, Simple Plan, The Strokes, Suede, These New Puritans, The Ting Tings, Tinie Tempah, Two Door Cinema Club, Village People, X Japan, Yelle, Zebrahead… 

The verdict

A solid if scattershot selection from Summer Sonic this year – and this is one event that you wouldn't go to unless there are acts you wanted to see. The festival does a better job than Fuji Rock at keeping abreast of current trends, but you'll need to get there early to catch many of the hipper bands. Dance music fans might be tempted to skip it and hit the Sonicmania party on Friday night instead.

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