Rock-festival season has arrived

For many music lovers — myself included — the days in late January and February when the summer rock festivals announce their lineups are like Christmas morning.

The weeks of anticipation culminate in surprises and the promise of a summer road trip that will never be forgotten.

We are living in the era of the rock music festival, and there will be a gathering of like-minded fans somewhere in this country every weekend through September.

The lineups are usually designed to suit a certain taste: electronica and EDM (Electric Forest), jam (Dark Star Jubilee), power pop (looking at you, Bunbury), hard rock (Rock on the Range) and those with an indie or modern rock flavor (Forecastle, Firefly).

The big lure are the headliners, and the same ones tend to show up at multiple festivals. Some big names making the rounds this year include Jack White, the Avett Brothers, Beck, Arctic Monkeys, the Replacements, Skrillex, Foo Fighters, Flaming Lips and Outkast.

But the undercard is also tasty. It’s where you might discover your next favorite band, or maybe one that you just know will be a household name by next year.

Despite the proliferation of festivals in recent years, surprisingly — confoundingly — there are no major (or even minor) rock festivals in Northeast Ohio or western Pennsylvania.

Fortunately, there are quite a few within a day’s drive.

Topping the list, at least in my opinion, is the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Ky,

Forecastle takes place in a riverfront park in downtown Louisville, hard by the Ohio River and in the heart of Bourbon country. Headliners include Jack White, Beck, Outkast and the Replacements, in their closest-to-Youngstown appearance.

The mid-card acts include Spoon, Band of Horses, Ray LaMontagne, Dwight Yoakam, Gary Clark Jr., Jason Isbell, Jenny Lewis and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.

Milwaukee’s Summerfest is by far the biggest summer festival in the Midwest, if not the whole country. It takes place over 11 days, and its lineup is all over the map: Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Brad Paisley, Outkast, Motley Crue, Dave Matthews.

On a side note, the Gathering of the Juggalos landed in Ohio this year. The Gathering — which took place at Nelson Ledges in 2003 and 2004 — had to find a new location after nine-straight years at Cave-In-Rock, Ill. It was going to move to a site in Missouri, but folks there put up such an opposition that it had to keep looking.

The Gathering, the brainchild of Insane Clown Posse, has a reputation for behavior problems.

As for country music, the Buckeye State is Mecca. There are at least six major country festivals in Ohio.