Intelligence Squared Debates

Festival season, also known as summer, is an exciting time—bands and fans come together to rock out in the sunshine or really, really unwelcome rain. To make it through the festivities in one piece, here’s an abbreviated guide to ending the weekend delighted, healthy, and with all your toes still intact. Stay hydrated. Beer doesn’t count. Drinking water beforehand is essential, but you should keep chugging (H2O, not booze!) during and after the festival too. And keep an eye out for the symptoms of dehydration: dizziness, heart palpitations, and little cartoon flames inside your eyes all indicate that something’s not right. You’ll want to get some shade, water, or help from a first-aid tent, lest you topple over onto someone else’s picnic blanket. Don’t be so quick to dismiss the value of steel-toe boots. If you’re lingering toward the back of the masses waiting to see Outkast, it might be safe to wear flip-flops, but if your plan is to get up front, closed-toe shoes are the way to go. Hobbling to the medical tent is a lousy way to miss the encore. Keep your wits (and friends) about you. Remember to indulge with moderation, pace yourself, and have a blast, but not so much that you can’t make smart choices (or operate Instagram properly). Failing all else, use the buddy system: make sure you and a friend are keeping an eye on each other or sharing a pair of three-legged pants, and arrange for a place to meet up at the end of the evening in case you get separated. Trash cans are a hot spot for the Enemy. Bees love trash cans. They love trash cans, and they hate you. This cannot be overstated. Get in, deposit trash, get out. Check out these deals for other festivals in your city. Illustration: Jessica Duff.

Every year, music-festival juggernaut Lollapalooza caters to the parental crowd with Kidzapalooza, a stage dedicated solely to acts appropriate for children. But with no disrespect to School of Rock or the pop-punk whimsy of bands like Play Date, there are plenty of other artists at Lolla that appeal to all ages without being specifically geared toward kids. Here are five of our favorites. J. Roddy Walston & The Business Friday at 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. | Bud Light Stage If you say his name fast enough, it sounds like J. “Rowdy” Walston, a moniker that would fit this Tennessee rocker to a T. No, you won’t be able to decipher his lyrics, and neither will your children. What will make sense to all ages, however, is the band’s yowling brand of Southern (with a capital “S”) rock, which combines sloppy soloing, backwoods drumming, and a barroom piano to appeal to the reptile in all of us. Lorde Friday at 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. | Bud Light Stage Pretty much everyone has heard Lorde by this point, so most Lolla attendees have probably made up their minds on whether or not they want to see the teenaged Kiwi. But if you’re a parent who’s still on the fence, we highly recommend taking your little one to her set. Even if her complex observations about youth go over younger kids’ heads, her production definitely won’t. The beats are danceable, infused with a touch of full-bodied hip-hop, and most importantly, chock-full of hooks that transcend generation. Jungle Saturday at 12:45 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. | Samsung Galaxy Stage Little is known about this London R & B by way of disco act, and that’s part of the fun—past shows have been shrouded in a fog thick enough to obscure the performers’ faces. Such anonymity will be difficult to achieve under Lolla’s midday August sun, which should leave Jungle’s Bee Gees–esque grooves out in the open. We doubt they’ll have the same elaborate, stone-faced choreography featured so prominently in their videos, but parents will dig the throwback sound while kids will most certainly be moved to dance. GROUPLOVE Saturday at 4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. | Bud Light Stage In terms of sheer fashion sense, GROUPLOVE might be the biggest spectacle at Lolla. It’s not exactly an organized spectacle—skeleton bodysuits tend to clash with sequins, fedoras, and splatters of dayglo paint—but since when does rock ‘n’ roll have to be organized? It’s hard not to get sucked into the playful chaos, especially when the band keeps the music so catchy. Like co-lead singer Hannah Hooper, you and your kid might even be moved to headbang (not too hard, mind you) and forget that this is indie pop, not heavy metal. The Avett Brothers Sunday at 6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. | Samsung Galaxy Stage Most of The Avett Brothers are fathers themselves, resulting in some of the best songs about parenthood this side of Ben Folds’s “Still Fighting It.” The band’s introspective lyrics are sure to resonate with anyone raising kids, if not with the kids themselves. Luckily, the Avetts also know how to keep things fun for younger audiences. It’s not uncommon for them to play out in the crowd, incorporate breakneck bluegrass tempos, or even cover Beyoncé. Photo courtesy of Republic Records Lollapalooza takes over Grant Park August 1–3. Regular and VIP passes are sold out, but you can still get Platinum and VIP packages online. Want to explore more music in the Windy City? Read our guide to the summer’s best outdoor music. And, as always, check Groupon for concerts in Chicago. Photos: Annette Geneva (Lorde); Dan Wilton (Jungle) ; Joseph Llanes (Grouplove). J. Roddy Watson photo courtesy of the artist; The Avett Brothers photo courtesy of Republic Records; Lollapalooza photo courtesy of Ashley Garmon.

Compared to previous years’ rainstorms and heat waves, 2014’s Pitchfork Music Festival was all sunshine and cool breezes. The idyllic weather helped set the vibe for the 43 performances spread over the three-day event. Here are our highlights of the festival’s best moments (both musical and non-musical): Musical Best Headliner: Beck Neutral Milk Hotel delivered an intimate set to loyal fans and Kendrick Lamar ended the fest on a bombastic note, but Beck’s Friday-night showmanship proved hard to top. He showcased well-known (aka funky) hits—“Loser” and “E-Pro” among them—as well as the softer, more introspective side exhibited on albums like Sea Change and this year’s Morning Phase, reminding fans of his status as a true genre chameleon. The constant hopping from hip-hop to blues to country all built to a maximalist encore that included a wicked harmonica solo, an early-career medley of “Where It’s At,” “One Foot in the Grave,” and “Miss You,” not to mention an impressive amount of dancing. Best Finale: St. Vincent The bewitching St. Vincent owned the Red stage on Saturday with her ferocious guitar playing and raw choreography. There were no straight-up dance routines, but Annie Clark practically glided across the stage, moving in synchronicity with her backup guitarist to give the show a near-cinematic quality. Clark (whose gold-embellished dress would look at home on any red carpet) ended her set by rolling around on the stage and smashing her head into a bass drum—her post-show icing was well-deserved. Best Brass: Neutral Milk Hotel It’s not every year that a tuba takes center stage at Pitchfork. Then again, few things about Neutral Milk Hotel’s set were conventional—the lack of photo and video coverage, for one, and the fact that the crowd felt “Holland, 1945” was moshing music. All shoving aside, the band delivered an emotional set that was true to the antiquated sideshow spirit of their cult album In the Aeroplane over the Sea. A heavily bearded Jeff Mangum sang in his broken-boy yowl while Scott Spillane blew the brass until his cheeks were purple and Julian Koster shredded his bow on a musical saw. Best Near-Disaster: Majical Cloudz The weekend was not without its glitches—the most severe of which was a complete keyboard failure for Majical Cloudz. Whereas Pusha T delayed his set by 30 minutes to wait on a late DJ, the electro-pop duo decided to power through their technical difficulties with a largely a cappella set, drawing on the audience for handclaps and making a few jokes along the way. Things ended dramatically with an onstage demolition of the busted keyboard. Best Rookie Rapper: Isaiah Rashad Recently signed to Top Dawg Entertainment—home of fellow Pitchfork Fest MCs Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q—the 22-year-old rapper drew a loyal crowd to the small Blue stage, no doubt recruiting some new fans in the process. Rashad laid his spitfire verses over subdued, jazz-like melodies. The end result was a fusion of West Coast party vibes and the gruff Southern style of his native Chattanooga. Best Collab: Sharon Van Etten and Goose Island Beer Near the end of her downtempo yet emotionally powerful set, Sharon Van Etten dropped in a plug for the dry-hopped kölsch she helped make for Goose Island Beer Company. “They asked me if I wanted to collaborate on a beer, and I said ‘Yeah, if you want it to be disgusting,’ but it was really good!” Indeed, the SVE Kölsch was a hit, though you won’t find the limited-edition brew outside this year’s Pitchfork Festival—yet. Non-Musical Best VIP: Marnie the Dog The 12-year-old Instagram celeb hit the festival hard, snapping selfies with fans, shopping for vinyl, and cuddling with Dum Dum Girls, DIIV, and Perfect Pussy. Best Festival Perk: Free Haircuts Tyler Scott and Will Valentine of Joe’s Barber Shop gave out more than 200 free haircuts at the festival this weekend. The catch? Their clients had no say in what kind of style they received. “I made a girl cry,” Scott said. “I shaved half her head.” Nonetheless, most festival-goers left happy. “It’s a free haircut. You get what you get!” Best Artwork: Geometric Village from Johalla Projects Johalla Projects debuted its newest public art piece at Pitchfork: a duo of tent-like structures designed by collage artists Heather Gabel and Chad Kouri. The two contrasting pieces created a sort of Choose Your Own Adventure depending on who was playing the nearby Blue stage. Kouri’s vibrant, simple prints and upbeat slogans paired well with the carefree electro-pop of Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks, while Gabel’s stark black-and-white images included a human skull and a coyote torso that complemented the darker, more contemplative compositions of Jon Hopkins. Best Craft: Mia Weiner’s Custom Embroidery In the craft tent’s sea of chunky plastic earrings, flower-adorned sunglasses, and ironic T-shirts, Mia Weiner’s booth stood out for its direct connection to the music. Her custom-embroidered pieces—each taking untold hours to complete—offered a truly unique souvenir: hand-stitched flags and pins of the festival’s featured artists. Request your own custom piece from her online shop, How Could You?. The next Pitchfork Music Festival won’t be for another year. In the meantime, check out more music in the Windy City with these deals for concerts in Chicago. Photos: Jessica Lehrman (Beck, crowd); Tom Spray (Isaiah Rashad); Ebru Yildiz (Sharon Van Etten, St. Vincent); Andrew Nawrocki, Groupon (non-musical categories)