Pitchfork

The Hydro Connect festival boasts of a setting "on the banks of Loch Fyne, Argyll, Scotland," though we kind of imagine every square inch of Scotland being on the banks of some loch or another. That's not true, of course, and even if it were, Connect sets itself further apart by hosting its great lineup on the grounds of an actual castle.

This year, the folks storming Inveraray Castle from August 29-31 include Spiritualized, Franz Ferdinand, the Breeders, Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, the Roots, Bloc Party, Grinderman, Sigur Rós, Black Lips, Crystal Castles, Mercury Rev, Manic Street Preachers, Camera Obscura, the Gutter Twins, the Gossip, Santogold, Elbow, Goldfrapp, Asobi Seksu, Joan as Police Woman, Young Knives, Howling Bells, Sia, Gomez, Kasabian, the Coral, and more to be announced.