Another week and the good news keeps pouring into Nateva central.  The festival’s latest, greatest achievement?  It is now official that all weekend passes with on-site camping are sold out for the Nateva Music and Camping Festival!  That’s a whole lot of tents!  And we are looking forward to the infectious enthusiasm that will be bursting out of each and every one of them.

It’s a pretty good bet that at least a few of those tents were baking in the scorching Tennessee sun last weekend for Bonnaroo.  If the bootleg recordings of the Flaming Lips’ set are any indication they are going to be at the very top of their game by the time they land in Maine.  Their fellow ‘Roo alums, the Constellations, will spend this weekend supporting Eli “Paperboy” Reed with shows in Washington, DC at the Rock And Roll Hotel tonight and at Brooklyn’s Bell House on Saturday in advance of their Nateva appearance.

The state of Tennessee continues to rock a festive vibe even after Bonnaroo has ended as George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic bring it to W.C. Handy Park in Memphis tonight before journeying south to Birmingham, AL for a Saturday gig at Boutwell Auditorium.  Big Gigantic was in the Volunteer State last night playing the first night of “Dex Fest” in Dandridge, TN. and EOTO will re-up the Nateva presence when they arrive at the Sherman Oaks Campgrounds for the festival’s third day on Saturday.

Finally, the Drive-By Truckers spent last night at Knoxville’s “Sundown In The City” in Market Square before a show tonight at the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville.  A little time in “Music City” should be just what the doctor ordered before the Truckers latch on to the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers convoy, opening for the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Famer on Tuesday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN and on Wednesday at the Qwest Center in Omaha, NE.

As hot as Tennessee has been, both musically and meteorologically, Passion Pit should be be fully acclimated to any temperature peaks that Maine has to throw at them after a June weekend in Texas.  They will play an In-Store set at Austin’s Waterloo Records today before hooking up with Tokyo Police Club for shows at the legendary Stubbs’ Waller Creek Amphitheater on Saturday and at the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas on Monday.  Nateva’s own The Heavy Pets are also on the Stubbs’ Waller Creek bill, following a Friday night set at the Last Concert Cafe in Houston.

On Saturday night in Lisle, IL, Jakob Dylan kicks off the summer leg of his 2010 tour with a show at the Morton Arboretum before pushing west for a Monday night set at the fabled McMenamin’s Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR.  Toubab Krewe will beat young Mr. Dylan to the west coast by a day, playing tonight at the “Sierra Nevada World Music Festival” at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds in Boonville, CA.

Ghostland Observatory will find themselves surrounded by equally scenic vistas when they play the “Westwood Music Showcase” at the Golden Triangle in Denver, CO on Saturday.  Greensky Bluegrass will also spend the weekend in the middle of the country with two Michigan shows, on Friday at the Magic Stick in Detroit before a Saturday date at the Founders’ Brewing Company in Grand Rapids. 

Closer to home Keller Williams and the Felice Brothers can make tentative Nateva carpool plans when they both play the “Clearwater Festival/Great Hudson River Revival” on Saturday at Croton Point Park in Croton on Hudson, NY.  The McLovins are also in the Empire State on Saturday, playing Sullivan Hall in New York City with Ryan Vosler.  The Brew spends tonight and tomorrow at the Stone Church on Zion Hill in Newmarket, NH and The Adam Ezra Group pushes even closer to the Oxford Plains’ promised land with a Saturday appearance at “Harry’s Hoe Down” at the appropriately named Harry Brown’s Festival Field in Starks, ME.

While festivals and summer tours are the season’s obvious rage there are still a few unique one day events happening and Grizzly Bear will be part of one of the cooler ones when they join Band Of Horses and Karen Elson in Brooklyn on Saturday at the Williamsburg Waterfront.  Don’t forget that the Nateva experience can easily be a one day event as well, with single day tickets offering admission, camping, parking and shuttle to deliver you safe and sound to and from the festival site.

As hard as it is to believe we are now officially two short weeks away from the start of something truly wonderful and now’s the time to start plotting your schedules so you can be in front of the right stage at the right time to see the act that is going to be right for you.  With four stages operating you’ll have some choices to make, but isn’t that part of the fun? And speaking of festival fun, remember that nobody was ever bummed out because they thought to bring along extra papers.

From all your friends at the Nateva Music and Camping Festival, have a great weekend and stay in touch.