Summer sounds: Rock, folk, and classical around the country

Santa Fe Opera 2010 Festival

Santa Fe

(505) 986-5900

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This year’s festival features the first fully staged performance of Life Is a Dream, which composer Lewis Spratlan started in 1975 and for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 2000 (July 24–Aug. 19). Other productions will include Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, with Paul Groves in the title role (July 17–Aug. 28), and Puccini’s Madame Butterfly (July 2–Aug. 26).

Pitchfork Music Festival

Union Park, Chicago

(866) 777-8932

Pitchfork, the online indie-music bible, organizes this Chicago-based festival, now in its fourth year. More than 40 bands will take the stage over three days, including Brooklyn-based dance-punk outfit LCD Soundsystem, California fuzz rockers Best Coast, and ’90s slack-rockers Pavement, recently reunited (July 16–18).

Newport Folk Festival

Fort Adams, Newport, R.I.

(401) 848-5055

Instrumental in launching the careers of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, George Wein’s Newport Folk Festival has been bringing together folk’s most talented performers since 1959. The 2010 version of the festival celebrates its legacy with performances by the likes of Richie Havens and John Prine, while casting an eye on the future with sets by indie-folk bands the Low Anthem and Blitzen Trapper (July 30–Aug. 1).

Lollapalooza

Grant Park, Chicago

888) 512-7469

Founded in the 1990s by Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, Lollapalooza created the blueprint for the current rock-fest craze. Known for its eclectic lineups, this year’s incarnation spans genres and eras, featuring mainstage performances by current pop queen Lady Gaga, 1990s grunge rockers Soundgarden, ’80s techno-wizards Devo, and R&B and gospel legend Mavis Staples (Aug. 6–8).

Solid Sound Festival

North Adams, Mass.

(888) 512-7469

Alt-rockers Wilco headline this two-day festival, which they’ve also organized, on the campus of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Performers will also include San Francisco folk rockers Vetiver, former Sun City Girls guitarist Sir Richard Bishop, Mavis Staples, and the Hammond B3–heavy Deep Blue Organ Trio (Aug. 13–15).

All Tomorrow’s Parties

Monticello, N.Y.

(800) 838-3006

This year’s festival, curated by avant-garde film director Jim Jarmusch, features a first-day performance by Iggy Pop and the Stooges, who will perform their proto-punk classic Raw Power in its entirety. Other performers include no-wave noise rockers Sonic Youth, the newly reformed Brian Jonestown Massacre, and all-girl garage trio Vivian Girls (Sept. 3–5).