With just under one month to the Nateva Music and Camping Festival we here at “Mission Control” are just as excited as you. And while you’re patching your sleeping bags and tents, getting the car tuned up, and working up your campfire cook-out recipes, the spectacular bands that will be entertaining you are prepping in their own way; by playing live shows all over the map!

But before we jump into our weekly update of what’s going on amongst your performing contemporaries we’ve absolutely got to alert you to the fact that the Nateva Festival has already been noticed by none other than Rolling Stone magazine! You can check out Nateva, right up there with the big boys like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, on pages 36 and 37 of the current edition (with Russell Brand on the cover) or online at http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/17383/96350/39. Not bad for a first year festival, eh? Sort of like a rookie making the All-Star team but then again, we knew that Nateva had all the tools to make a big splash the first time out.

Of course, many of our artists are out sampling other festivals in advance of Nateva. At last weekend’s Sasquatch Festival Nateva was well represented with She & Him, Passion Pit, and Drive-By Truckers performing sets on Monday alongside the likes of Ween, MGMT, and Band of Horses. Over 20,000 attendees gathered for the Memorial Day Event at the Gorge Ampitheatre in George, WA, pushing the festival season into high gear.

They won’t be the only Nateva artists playing on big stages, though. The Flaming Lips warm up their reputation as America’s premier festival act with a set at Houston’s “Free Press Summer Fest” in Houston this Sunday while George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic also get into the festival frame of mind with an appearance on Saturday at the “Chili Pepper and Brew Fest” in Snowmass, CO.

Umphrey’s McGee rocks two nights worth of the “Wakarusa Festival” on Friday (with Big Gigantic and STS9 also on the bill) and Saturday at Mulberry Mountain in Ozark, AR. Locust and Heavy Pets precede them with Thursday night “Wakarusa” sets and Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad plays the festival’s Sunday conclusion. Crash Kings bring their action to Milwaukee’s “Verge Music Festival” at the Henry Maier Festival Park on Friday.

It’s not just festivals where Nateva artists are sharpening up their chops, but superstar artists sure seem to have taken a shine to our guys. Just ask the Felice Brothers, who’ll be spending this weekend opening for the Dave Matthews Band at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center on both Friday and Saturday night. Nateva headliner, moe., will also be spending the weekend in upstate N.Y, playing Friday and Saturday at the Saranac Brewery in Utica.

The road to Nateva does not travel exclusively through such huge venues, though. The Ryan Montbleau Band continues touring with Martin Sexton with a New York City gig on Saturday night at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square and Toubab Krewe spend the weekend in the southeast with club gigs on Friday at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta and on Saturday at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC. On the other side of the country Jackie Greene plays Fairytale Town in Sacramento, CA on Friday. All in eager anticipation of a July weekend in Maine!

That’s all for this week, but we’ll be back in touch with you on each and ever. Friday until the 2nd of July when we can all say “hello” in person. In the meantime, stay safe, save those nickels and dimes, and don’t forget the sunscreen. From all your friends at the Nateva Music and Camping Festival, have a great weekend and stay in touch!