We’re one week closer to the Nateva Music and Camping Festival and as the summer heats up (seemingly everywhere but New England!) so does the summer festival season. This coming weekend many hearty music lovers have set their sites on Manchester, TN and the 8th Annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Among those wandering the 700 acres will be Nateva stars the Flaming Lips, Umphrey’s McGee, The Constellations, Lotus, and She & Him, along undoubtedly with some future Nateva attendees. Here’s hoping that the weather and traffic agrees with them all, and remember, if the sky turns green, that means tornado!

A little closer to home, a few Nateva acts will be close enough to case the joint as they play pre-festival shows throughout the New England region. The Adam Ezra Group offers support to Big Head Todd and the Monsters on Saturday night at the Port City Music Hall in Portland, ME and on Sunday at Manchester, NH’s Palace Theatre.

Giant Panda Guerilla Squad beats the “Big Head/Ezra” tour to the Port City Music Hall on Friday night after hitting the Paradise in Boston last night. They conclude a New England weekend with a Saturday night gig at the Stone Church on Zion Hill in Newmarket, NH. The Brew visits the crown jewel of Rhode Island on Friday night with a performance at Tazza Cafe in Providence.

Had they gotten just a few clicks further North these lucky bands would have gotten a sneak peak at the Nateva seeds starting to poke through the Oxford Plains soil. An “Art Garden,” being tended to by artists beginning this week, will be in full bloom by July 1st. In addition, everyone can rest assured that an organic “Farmer’s Market” will be operational on Saturday and Sunday mornings to make sure that both campers and day trippers have the power to run strong all day.

Running strong is surely what Passion Pit plans on during an upcoming long weekend in the Sunshine State. They bring their punchy electro rock to Firestone Live in Orlando on Saturday, followed by Sunday night at the wonderfully named Jackie Gleason Theatre at the Fillmore Miami before concluding at Tampa’s Ritz Ybor on Monday. Heavy Pets started their own long weekend in Colorado last night at the Eldo in Crested Butte and will spend the next two nights at Denver’s Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom. On Saturday they share the bill with the Original Wailers for a true Rocky Mountain high!

Moving further west Dweezil Zappa “Plays Zappa” at the “Harmony Festival” at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, CA on Friday, where they’ll catch up with Toubab Krewe who are playing both of the festival’s days. On the Eastern Shoreline the Ryan Montbleau Band spends the weekend in the lovely Carolinas, supporting Martin Sexton at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC on Friday after as how last night at the Windjammer in Isle of Palms, SC.

And finally, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic hold down the funk in the nation’s heartland with a show tonight at Milwaukee’s Turner Ballroom before rolling into Louisville’s Waterfront Park the following day for the “Soul Food Festival.” It’s a comfort to know that with so many mouth-watering food choices available at festivals from coast to coast the Nateva vendors are up to the challenge, and look forward to serving you scrumptious regional dishes.

Well, that’s one week closer, friends. Hope that your anticipation is building along with ours and that you’re making your list of essentials and checking it twice. Don’t forget the bug spray. From all your friends at the Nateva Music and Camping Festival, have a great weekend and stay in touch!