PT: Patapalooza

Over the winter break, my esteemed colleague Taylor DeBoer and I were discussing plans for a road trip with two of his friends. Obviously, we had to plan it around a music festival, but which one would work? After going over the pros and cons, we decided on Lollapalooza in Chicago, but it really got me thinking. If I could set up a music festival with any band or artist, living, dead or on hiatus, who would I select? More importantly, what type of music would it be centered around. I've gone through phases of classic rock, indie, mainly acoustic, mainly electric and a lot more. Right now I'm more into electric than anything, especially after seeing Passion Pit the other day and Animal Collective last summer. Below is my team of dream artists in order of who is most important to the cause.



Elliott Smith Nick Drake Bob Dylan Big Star Neil Young
Bon Iver Conor Oberst Townes van Zandt Donovan
Simon and Garfunkel Jeff Buckley (solo, no band) Nico
Sufjan Stevens Jerry Garcia Ben Gibbard Hank Williams
M. Ward Jim James Magnetic Fields The Mountain Goats
The Avett Brothers Cat Power Rilo Kiley Fleet Foxes

Day 1: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Simon and Garfunkel, Donovan, Sufjan Stevens, Ben Gibbard, Magnetic Fields, Cat Power
Day 2: Nick Drake, Bon Iver, Townes van Zandt, Conor Oberst, Hank Williams, Jim James, Avett Brothers, Fleet Foxes
Day 3: Elliott Smith, Big Star, Jeff Buckley, Nico, Jerry Garcia, M. Ward, Mountain Goats, Rilo Kiley

The Process: First, I want to make clear that the Jeff Buckley that I want to play is the one from Live at Sin-e, when it's just him, a guitar and his voice. Now, on to the process. I wanted Dylan, Young and S & G on Day 1 because of everything they brought to music. Without them, a lot of these artists might not be around. Donovan seemed to fit the mood as does Magnetic Fields. Cat Power and Ben Gibbard would do a great job starting off the day.
For Day 2, I opted to go for more of the lesser known artists that deserve more attention, but I also wanted a little bit more folk than the first day. That's why I went Nick Drake, Townes, Conor, Hank and the Avett Brothers. Bon Iver, Jim James and Fleet Foxes all have amazing vocals, and Bon Iver leading into Nick Drake would be an instant orgasm.
On Day 3, I wanted to just rack it up with some of my favorites, but also have them have a connection. Eliott Smith wouldn't be the same without Big Star, so I like Big Star leading into him. Same goes for Jeff Buckley, who I like leading in to the power-pop trio. Nico has a great influence on artists like Elliott Smith as well as the Mountain Goats. M. Ward is a fantastic performer and I think his music fits on any day, so I wanted to hold him off until Day 3. Elliott had an influence over Jenny Lewis and Blake Sennet, so Rilo Kiley is in. The only unusual choice would be Jerry Garcia, but I'm talking about his blues/folk collection that most people neglect. Put all of that together and you have one hell of a festival: Patapalooza '010.