Lollapalooza is almost as hard to plan for as it is to say, but the three-day music festival in Chicago has such a wealth of talent that it’s worth the work. There are plenty of time conflicts for indie-rock fans to consider this year, but there are tons of great acts to catch, too-meaning that no matter where you are, you’re sure to catch something you like.

This helpful guide lists the bands and artists that we think are simply unmissable at 2010’s festival.

Friday, August 6
The festival kicks off with one of the most anticipated live acts in indie-rock, San Diego’s Wavves. The band’s distortion-heavy, stoned surf rock drew a large following in 2009 with a self-titled debut, but was followed with a disastrous onstage meltdown by frontman Nathan Williams while performing at Spain’s Primavera Music Festival. He later admitted that drug use and pressure from his sudden explosion of popularity contributed to that, but recovered with a much cleaner sound and a new record, “King of the Beach.”

Fans who like distortion and electronica should look into Fuck Buttons, a band that seemed to explode around the same time as Wavves. Their atmospheric jams are emotional, bold and sometimes a little scary, but well worth checking out.
Matt and Kim, another indie-rock act, should also not be missed. The husband-wife band is packed with feel-good energy and has been a staple of a number of music festivals for the past year or so.

The headliners for Friday include a number of major acts, from Dirty Projectors and the New Pornographers to bluesy garage rockers the Black Keys. But the band we’re gearing up for is a classic: Devo, which is releasing their first new record in 20 years, entitled “Something for Everybody.” The day caps off with a choice between a series of popular acts: legendary reggae artist Jimmy Cliff, synth-rockers Hot Chip, indie-rockers the Strokes and space-age pop fashionista Lady Gaga. Gaga is the odd woman out here, but there are probably going to be a lot of fans who will check her out anyway.

Saturday, August 7
The festival is front-loaded with great bands, but you can’t go wrong with Saturday, either. Critics’ darlings Stars and Rogue Wave will be playing, as will U.K. dream-pop act the xx. But it’s Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes that have attracted the most attention in the last few months for their song “Home.” Make sure you catch them live.

Following that, there are a lot of ways to go. Metric offers great dance floor rock; Gogol Bordello is a solid pick with their gypsy punk; and Grizzly Bear, while not for everybody, is an indie-rock band that you won’t regret seeing. When it comes to headliners, we have to recommend Spoon and Phoenix to close out the night.

Sunday, August 8
There are far smaller bands the last day of the festival, and as a result the major name acts are fewer. But don’t let that discourage you from check out some new tunes. Minus the Bear and Frightened Rabbit have both received lots of No prescription cialis Professional”>Cialis Professional critical praise in the recent past. Yeasayer’s trippy indie-pop offers lots of fun weirdness, and Wolfmother is a balls-out retro rock act with a heavy debt to Zeppelin.

But the headliners are where it’s at. The National will be playing songs off their new, critically lauded album, “High Violet.” MGMT will be rocking out their new psychedelic sound, minus the glossy pop sheen of their debut from a couple years ago. But Arcade Fire is probably the headliner everyone is going to be seeing, so make sure you get a spot in front of the stage early.
Look for Lollapalooza tickets online today.

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Category: Music
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