People celebrate the summer months in different ways. Some use the opportunity to go camping; some go on picnics; some just sit out and enjoy the sun. Not us. For us music and entertainment junkies, summer means only one thing: it's festival season! From multi-day European festivals to hippie jam circles to Austin-aping venue-hopping urban music fests, we here at Martiniboys.com have scoured the globe and compiled the best of the best of summer fests. Get out your best tie die shirt, your finest "herbal enhancements", and get ready to experience music and culture the only way they're meant to be experienced: outdoors and inebriated.

Suoni Per Il Popolo, Montreal, Quebec, June 3 – June 30
The eclectic genre-spanning Suoni Per Il Popolo festival tends to bring out fans of experimental and leftfield music in droves. This year, it should also draw a fair share of indie-dabbling Pitchfork kids. Reading a list of scheduled performers is surprisingly low on the head-scratching factor. Not only have I heard of many of these bands, but I'm also pretty damn excited about them. You may not have heard of the festival, but you've definitely heard of some of these bands: TV On The Radio, Jay Reatard, Pink Mountaintops, The Dirty Projectors, Isis and many many more.


Wakarusa, Ozark, Missouri, June 4 - June 7
Lately, hippie festivals have gone the way of the hippie: pushed to the sidelines of culture. Sure, bulwarks like Burning Man remain, but hippies-only music festivals have been diluted by more mainstream acts. Though featuring a disparate crew of performers, Wakarusa remains one of the planet's most granola-friendly gatherings. This year's lineup includes Black Crows, G. Love and the Special Sauce, Les Claypool, Secret Chiefs 3, Buckethead, Lucero, Gomez, and Langhorne Slim. This year, the Fest moves from its former home in Kansas to Mulberry Mountain near Ozark. Incidentally, mountains, substances, and music can be dangerous. Don't wear slippy shoes. – S.T.


Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Manchester, Tennessee, June 11 – June 14
Ever since its beginnings in 2002 as a hippie-centric jam band festival, Bonnaroo has multiplied in scope every year of its existence, now presenting everything from indie rock to hip hop to classic rock to comedy. From the original Bonnaroo purists, this has brought with it a chorus of "you sold out, maaaaan," but from festival purists, it's one of the absolute biggest and absolute best. Keeping the spirit alive, bigger acts are known to stretch out their sets to epic 3 and 4 hour lengths, whether or not they're known for "jamming." It's bloated and over-the-top, but that's the way we like it. Highlights this year include Bruce Springsteen, Beastie Boys, TV n the Radio, Animal Collective, Booker T & the Drive By Truckers, MURS, Aziz Ansari, and whoooole lotta Phish. – R.T.


Isle of Wight Festival, Isle of Wight, UK, June 12 – June 14
The original Isle of Wight Festival, held, not coincidentally, on the Isle of Wight in England, was absolutely legendary. The 1970 edition, featuring Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Doors and Miles Davis, actually surpassed Woodstock in attendance (a large number of these attendees were party-crashing hippies who refused to pay the £3 entrance fee). The revived edition is a lot more Brit-centric, but still promises to be a good show. The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Stereophonics, The Human League, Neil Young, The Charlatans, and Bananarama all play, but the real can't-miss band is The Pixies, who are always one extra Kim Deal bass note away from collapse.


North by Northeast, Toronto, Ontario, June 17 – June 24
There was a time when indie music lovers had to drive all the way to Texas to get a taste of a four-letter acronym festival. However, thanks to NXNE, that epoch of international car-trips is a thing of the distant past. Taking over every stage in Toronto, the festival brings together up-and-coming Canadian bands, Pitchfork-approved buzz bands, and a few major label headliners just for good measure. Traveling from venue to venue, sharing tips on bands not to miss, and starting drunken conversations with strangers in queues, NXNE is more than just a festival; it's an all out social experience. Have I mentioned I like it? This year's schedule is sure to have something for everyone, from the Flower Punk of Atlanta's Black Lips to the lo-fi experimentalism of No Age, and everything in between. Here are a few bands that can't be missed: Timber Timbre, King Khan, Zoobombs, The Hoa Hoa's, United Steelworkers of Montreal, and Little Girls. No, you haven't heard of all of them, but that's kind of the point. – R.T.


Calgary Jazz Festival, Calgary, Alberta, June 22 – June 28
For the past several years I've been trying to return the word "cat" to common vernacular (i.e. "he's a strange cat," "those cats are crazy," etc.). Lately, I've expanded my campaign to the word "hepcat." With the Calgary Jazz Festival fast approaching, I sense an opportunity to spread the noun around like Swine Flu but, you know, in a cool way. Now in its 30th year (damn!), the gathering is massive, taking over various stages across the city. As always, this year's headliners are fantastic, with luminaries like The Branford Marsalis Quartet, Allen /Toussaint, Medeski, Martin, and Wood, and Michael Kaeshammer lining marquees. /Grab a ticket, settle in, and shout along like Neal Cassady. – S.T.