THE SIX DEGREES OF SUMMER: FESTS

WHO: The Falcon, the Methadones, Toys That Kill, the Arrivals, Sundowner plus 30 more

WHEN: May 22-24 at Reggie’s Rock Club in Chicago

HOW MUCH: Three-day passes are $40; single-day passes range from $12-$17

THE SCOOP: So much good punk rock has come out of Chicago during the past few decades that they might as well design a fest to showcase it, right? WCSC’s bill is loaded top-to-bottom with some of the best bands pop-punk has to offer, many of whom are from the Chicagoland area, for a price that comes out to a little more than a dollar a band. That’s some recession-proof pricing right there!

YOU BETTER NOT MISS: Ryan’s Hope, O Pioneers!!!, the Sidekicks

O Pioneers!!!, who are playing the first day of the Windy City Sound Clash, spent last fall touring with the Gaslight Anthem, who are playing day three of the All Points West Music & Arts Festival.

2. ALL POINTS WEST MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL

WHO: Tool, Coldplay, Beastie Boys, My Bloody Valentine, Vampire Weekend plus 60 more

WHEN: July 31-August 2 at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ

HOW MUCH: Three-day passes are $199; single-day passes are $89

THE SCOOP: Created by the same people who brought the world Coachella, APW is entering its second year and has really upped the ante since last year’s kinda meh lineup. For under $200, you are guaranteed quality hip-hop, thinking-man’s metal and Kleenex rock from the headliners, as well as an undercard that, while diverse, isn’t too overwhelming (meaning you can get to watch more bands without having to make heartwrenching gametime decisions). Since there’s no on-site parking, as an added bonus, the light-rail train running to the festival from many parking lots in Jersey City is free with your APW ticket. Nice!

YOU BETTER NOT MISS: The Gaslight Anthem, Gogol Bordello, Silversun Pickups

Steel Train (who are playing Sunday at APW) frontman Jack Antonoff is currently dating Alia Shawkat, best known for her performance as Maeby F"unke in FOX TV series Arrested Development. Shawkat was featured in AP 207’s Made For TV Special. In that piece, she mentioned having seen Bright Eyes in concert. Conor Oberst, the leader of Bright Eyes, will be playing at XX Merge.

3. XX MERGE

WHO: Superchunk, Spoon, Conor Oberst, M. Ward plus 25 more

WHEN: July 22-26 at Cat’s Cradle and Memorial Hall in Carrboro and Chapel Hill, NC

HOW MUCH: Five-day passes are $150; individual show ticket prices TBA

THE SCOOP: While many only know Merge Records as the home of Arcade Fire, this North Carolina-based indie has been chugging along for a whopping two decades, releasing crucial discs from Neutral Milk Hotel, the Magnetic Fields, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and even the Buzzcocks. Whether any of those groups will be performing at this celebration is yet to be confirmed, but Merge has a deep enough catalog to assure you that whoever they get, it’ll be good.

YOU BETTER NOT MISS: Given Jeff Mangum of NMH’s return to the stage last year, it doesn’t seem entirely impossible that he’ll show. If he does, be there.

The current bassist of Spoon-who are performing as a part of XX Merge-is Robert Pope, also of emo godfathers the Get Up Kids. The Get Up Kids performed on Late Night With Conan O’Brien on July 20, 2002. One of Late Night’s most memorable recurring characters was Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, who is performing at this year’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival as part of their comedy tent.

4. BONNAROO MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL

WHO: Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band, Nine Inch Nails, Beastie Boys, Wilco, Phish plus 120 more

WHEN: June 11-14 in Manchester, TN

HOW MUCH: Four-day passes start at $224.50; VIP passes are $1,349.50

THE SCOOP: With the festival doing such a nice job of branching out into other genres the past few years, it’s almost kind of refreshing to see Bonnaroo return to its jam-band roots with a reunited Phish headlining (she won’t admit it, but former AP editor Leslie Simon is stoked). However, there’s still plenty to appeal to the non-patchouli-covered masses, including metal (Shadows Fall, the Dillinger Escape Plan), indie rock (Animal Collective, the Decemberists) and even comedy (Aziz Ansari, Jimmy Fallon).

YOU BETTER NOT MISS: The Mars Volta, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog

One of the festival circuit’s most ubiquitous attractions, the Flaming Lips have played Bonnaroo twice, in 2003 and 2007. The Lips will be bringing their unique brand of entertainment to Chicago’s Union Park for the first time as part of this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival.

5. PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL

WHO: Built To Spill, the National, the Flaming Lips, the Jesus Lizard, the Walkmen and dozens more

WHEN: July 17-19 at Union Park in Chicago, IL

HOW MUCH: Three-day passes are $75; two-day (Sat/Sun) passes are $60; single-day passes are $35

THE SCOOP: It’s still impressive that music-snobbery website Pitchfork has successfully made the jump into the real world with their festival, which has been kicking since 2006 (in 2005, P-fork curated the now-defunct Intonation Festival, which doesn’t count). Details for this one are sparse, but the Friday night lineup featuring Built To Spill, the Jesus Lizard, Yo La Tengo and Tortoise is an indie kid’s wet dream, made even better by the fact that everyone who buys a ticket to that night (or a three-day pass) gets to vote on what songs each band will play. That is one cool idea-hey, Warped Tour, ya listening?

YOU BETTER NOT MISS: Seriously, if you attend this and don’t watch the Jesus Lizard rip your jaw off, shit down your gullet and tie your tongue into a bow for good measure, expect editor in chief Jason Pettigrew to come to your house and kill you in your sleep. We are not kidding in any way whatsoever.

The Jesus Lizard, performing on Pitchfork Music Festival’s first night, spent much of their career on venerable Chicago label Touch And Go Records. Until recently, Touch And Go was the distributor for respected label Jade Tree, who released all three full-lengths by Paint It Black. Paint It Black performed at last year’s Sound And Fury Festival.

6. SOUND AND FURY FESTIVAL

WHO: Ceremony, Cold World, Reign Supreme, Floorpunch, Betrayed and many more

WHEN: July 31-August 2 at El Rodeo Community Center in Oxnard, CA

HOW MUCH: Three-day passes are $65; single-day passes TBA

THE SCOOP: This impressive hardcore fest, entering its fourth year, had more than 30 acts confirmed at presstime, promising another announcement with "the second half of bands" soon. Talk about a bill stacked with talent! To the layman, these bands may all sound the same-and we’ll admit, a lot of ’em are similar-but if you like hardcore, that’s probably why. Bring your flat-brimmed hat, lace up your purdiest Nike dunks and get ready to cut the shit and start the pit.

YOU BETTER NOT MISS: Sabertooth Zombie, Trash Talk, Touche Amore