Pitchfork

Indiana jokes are easy. Getting serious about the Hoosier State, on the other hand, is just about beyond us. It's fortunate, then, that the owner of the modern world's best thousand-yard stare will be holding court in Bloomington, Indiana this weekend for the sixth annual Bloomingtonfest, which opens on the 26th and ends the 29th. Nearly 50 bands will play over the course of those four days, with demeanors ranging from downright goofy to Tim Kinsella's armor-piercing gaze.

Joan of Arc, Magnolia Electric Co., Mount Eerie and Br. Danielson (though not necessarily in that order) are among the biggest draws for this year's festivities. However, there are plenty more reasons to attend, including performances by Landing, Scout Niblett, The Impossible Shapes, Mock Orange, The Wind-Up Bird, Gang Gang Dance, Early Day Miners and plenty of bands you may never have heard. To help plot out your schedule, check out the Bloomingtonfest website, which neatly collates a blurb, an MP3, and weblinks for each participating band.

Passes for the event are $25, making it cheaper on a per-musician basis than pitching coins into guitar cases on the street. Plus, the venues are indoors. The only rough part is how Magnolia Electric Co. (formerly known as Songs: Ohia) and Joan of Arc are scheduled against each other on Saturday night. If it helps you pick, you might want to know about these rumors we've been hearing where Jason Molina of Magnolia plans to play all of Warren Zevon's Excitable Boy, straight through. Ah-ooooooo!