American Carnage

Aug. 30 @ Long Beach Arena

It’s thunderous. It’s the antonym of quiet. It’s American Carnage. If this is the kind of rock that you dig, you gotta get yourself to the pit and mosh with Slayer, Megadeth and Testament. 7 p.m. $40.



Epicenter Twenty Ten

Sept. 25 & 26 @ Auto Club Speedway; epicenterfestival.com

Multiple stages for artists to jam on throughout the day – that sounds like one hell of a day. Just take a look at some of the acts: Eminem, KISS, blink-182, Rise Against and Papa Roach. Whew! $79.50.



FYF Fest

Sept. 4 @ Los Angeles State Historic Park; fyffest.com

It’s another day in beautiful Los Angeles, why not go to a fest and listen to live music? Some of the musicians include !!!, the Rapture, Panda Bear and Man Man. $30.



HARD Summer Music Festival

Aug. 7 @ Los Angeles State Historic Park; hardfest.com

From noon to midnight, it’s hardcore electronica, glow sticks and dancing – nothing too hard about that. Think you can dance and keep up? Then this is the spot for you. Dance your heart out to the beats of Crystal Castles, Soulwax, Tiga and Major Lazer. $60.



HEARDfest

Aug. 14 @ Junction Block/L.A. State Historic Park Intersection; heardfest.com

It’s a multimedia festival with over 20 bands and DJs, food, art installations and guerrilla comedy. Be prepared to enjoy music by I See Hawks in L.A., Big Whup, Cue the Moon, Woah Hunx and more. 3 p.m. $7 advance; $10 door.



International Pop Overthrow

Now-Aug. 8 @ Various Venues; internationalpopoverthrow.com

Need to do something quick before the summer ends? Drop in on this year’s IPO. Each one of their festivals across the country features 25 to 180 of the best pop bands from all over the globe. This year’s L.A. lineup includes So & So (Aug. 4 @ Molly Malone’s), the Shebangs (Aug. 5 @ Echoplex) and AM Interstate (Aug. 7 @ the Joint). 1p.m. $8-$10.



Irie Reggae Festival

Aug. 28 & 29 @ Queen Mary Events Park; iriefest.net

Be a part of this celebration. Feel the Rasta vibe the minute artists take the stage. Performances include Beres Hammond, Half Pint, Mr. Vegas, New Kingston, the Lions, Inner Circle and Pato Banton. $49.



L.A. County Fair

Sept. 4-Oct. 3 @ L.A. County Fair; lacountyfair.com

Summer is one of those seasons where going to a fair makes sense. Keep the summer going and attend a few of these concerts, including Lifehouse, Carolina Liar, Gretchen Wilson, Darius Rucker, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Selena Gomez and the Scene and 3OH!3. $15-$125.



Love Festival

Aug. 21 @ L.A. Sports Arena; thelovefestival.com

What happened in Germany’s Love Parade? Please, guys and gals, let’s not have a repeat. No need to get all squishy-squashy, instead let’s get dancy-dancy at Los Angeles’ Generation Celebration, which includes some of the masters in DJing: Cedric Gervais, Tom Novy, Junior Sanchez, Bad Boy Bill and Richard Vission. 4 p.m. $40.



Nocturnal Festival

Sept. 25 @ NOS Events Center; nocturnalfestival.com

Dress up and get out to the Insomniac festival. It’ll feature some of the hottest DJs who know how to mix (Steve Angello, Ferry Corsten, Markus Schulz, etc.). Buying tickets now is recommended, as prices are likely to increase. 3 p.m. $50.



Ozzfest

Aug. 14 @ San Manuel Amphitheater; ozzfest.com

The gates of heavy metal and hard rock will strike open loudly. This year’s tour features Ozzy, Mötley Crüe, Rob Halford, Drowning Pool and more. Concertgoers are welcome to drop by the “Village of the Damned.” Noon. $15-$155.



Pershing Square Concerts

Now-Aug. 21 @ Pershing Square; laparks.org/pershingsquare

Downtown surely has it all. During this sweltering month, enjoy free entertainment outdoors. Concerts are on Wednesdays through Saturdays. Artists taking the stage include Seasons (Aug. 5), Chain and the Gang (Aug. 19) and Miranda Lee Richards (Aug. 11). Bonus: Learn how to salsa on every third Sunday and watch films at no charge every Friday (through Oct. 10). Nothing is better than free.



Rock the Bells

Aug. 21 @ NOS Events Center; rockthebells.net

Ding-dong! It’s time to get your high-rolling cool on again. Some of the artists doing their thing on stage are Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Slick Rick, Lauryn Hill and KRS-One. Noon. $84.



Rockstar Uproar

Sept. 17 @ Verizon Amphitheatre; rockstaruproar.com

Get going to the festival and bring an empty can of Rockstar Energy Drink to recycle for VIP early entry. You wouldn’t want to miss Halestorm, Stone Sour, Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed taking on the main stage. 3 p.m. $20-$79.



Summer Soundzz

Aug. 6 & 20 @ Pasadena Civic Plaza; summersoundzz.com

Evenings in Pasadena have just improved in a wild and groovy kind of way. Stroll on down to the Civic Plaza and enjoy some disco and rockin’ ’80s music by the Boogie Knights and the Spazmatics. 7:30 p.m. $20.



Sunset Concerts at the Skirball

Aug. 5-26 @ Skirball Cultural Center; skirball.org

These concerts celebrate musical traditions from around the world and encourage folks to carpool ($5 parking for those with three or more in the vehicle; otherwise it’s $10). This year features music by Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys (Aug. 5), La Excelencia (Aug. 12) and Kenge Kenge (Aug. 26). 8 p.m. (Exhibits are open until 10 p.m.) FREE.



Sunset Junction Street Fair

Aug. 21 & 22 @ Sunset Junction; sunsetjunction.org

For two days, music blasts from the junction with various performances taking place on different stages. This year’s lineup includes Dam-Funk, Fishbone, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and more. 11 a.m. $15 advance; $20 door.



Warped Tour

Aug. 11 @ Pomona Fairplex; vanswarpedtour.com

Artists such as Sum 41, Dropkick Murphys, Everclear, Anti-Flag, Alkaline Trio and Reel Big Fish are playing one of the best-known tours around. 1 p.m. $32.75.



LAST ROAD TRIP OF THE SUMMER (OUT-OF-TOWN FESTIVALS)



Austin City Limits

Oct. 8-10 @ Zilker Park, Austin; aclfestival.com

Say goodbye to summer with artists like the Eagles, Muse, M.I.A., Vampire Weekend, Flaming Lips and Norah Jones. $85 (single day).



Bumbershoot

Sept. 4-6 @ Seattle Center; bumbershoot.org

Grab some friends and jet to the front row to see Bob Dylan, Civil Twilight, Ozomatli, LMFAO, the Dandy Warhols, Mary J. Blige and more. $22-$450.



Lollapalooza

Aug. 6-8 @ Grant Park, Chicago; lollapalooza.com

Pack your bags and get out of Los Angeles for a music festival that’s packed with some of the best artists around. The list of performers is long, but here are a few: Switchfoot, Lady Gaga, Green Day, the Strokes and Soundgarden. $90 (single day).



Matador at 21

Oct. 1-3 @ The Palms Casino & Resort; matadorrecords.com/21

There’s always something going on in Vegas. Celebrate Matador’s 21st anniversary with Pavement, Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, Cat Power and Spoon.



North Park Music Thing

Aug. 13-14 @ Various Venues, San Diego; northparkmusicthing.com

Don’t want to go that far on your end-of-summer trip? San Diego is hosting this music thing, featuring a ton of SoCal bands. Price: $19 (single day).



Outsidelands

Aug. 14 & 15 @ Golden Gate Park, San Francisco; sfoutsidelands.com

Seriously, if you have yet to leave Los Angeles, do it now and head to San-Fran. Kings of Leon, Slightly Stoopid, Al Green and Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley are among the artists showing their talents. $75 (single day).



Treasure Island

Oct. 16 & 17 @ Treasure Island, San Francisco; treasureislandfestival.com

Hop in the car to catch LCD Soundsystem (yay!), Deadmau5 (awesome!), the National (bomb!), She & Him (sweet!) – just some of the artists performing. $67.50 (single day).



West Beach Festival

Sept. 24-26 @ Santa Barbara; westbeachfestival.com

Ending summer with live music on the beach could never leave a bad taste in your mouth. Enjoy rock, reggae and electro. $52.50-$299.