Audio By Carbonatix
OutKast is back. You knew that already — the Atlanta hip-hop duo’s return has been somewhat well documented. So much so, in fact, that there’s a risk that you have come to underestimate this event. We want to first take a second to emphasize what’s happening here.
Let’s simplify the problem by reminding everyone that the track represented in the screen cap above, “International Player’s Anthem” is the last official release involving the joint project of Andre 3000 and Big Boi. The last one. It’s a throw-away remix of a track produced by Three 6 Mafia and in collaboration with the South’s hip-hop godfather, UGK (in one of Pimp C’s last appearances as well, actually). And it’s wonderful, maybe the most purely enjoyable song released in the last decade. It delights in language and sound and clarity in the way most of OutKast’s best music does.
And this year, for the first time since 2006, the two great MCs will stand together on stages around the world and offer that delight once again. It’s an unusual idea — a reunion tour comprising entirely music festivals. But it’s a great forum for a group such as this: A bonafide main event in any circumstance and a party-starter of unparalleled reliability.
Probably this isn’t the last we’ll hear from OutKast. Success on this festival tour will likely beget broader touring and maybe even new music. But who knows? Maybe it won’t. There’s no way to be sure this isn’t your last chance to see one of the most universally compelling artists in any genre of the past 25 years. So we advise you make your way to one of these festivals. Here’s a map and complete list of the options in chronological order to help you out.
The pins on this map are alphabetized in chronological order. So the red “A” is Coachella, OutKast’s first scheduled stop, and that pink “Z” over in the UK is Bestival, its last. You may need to zoom out or drag the map to see all the festivals
Denver, it turns out, is among the least convenient places in the US and Western Europe for making your way to an OutKast festival. There are plenty on the coasts here and enough across the Atlantic. But if Colorado residents want to partake, they will need to embark on a pilgrimage. We’ve sought to help you do just that by finding flight and hotel costs for every one of the shows announced so far. You can peruse them below.
A few caveats:
-If the festival was within driving distance, we calculated gas cost instead. We assumed you were driving a 2001 Subaru Forester, because you live in Colorado.
-In all cases, we pursued the cheapest possible option. The idea here is to tell you what it will take to see OutKast — the rest of the amenities and talent offered by these festivals are gravy. Because of this, we presented one-day pass costs when applicable, and assumed the travel and lodging associated with getting in the day before OuKast’s set and leaving the day after.
-We did not include hotels or hostels with two or one star ratings. The cost of treatment for syphilis or whatever is greater than the savings you get there anyway.
-Some of these festivals are sold out. We included them anyway, with the original ticket costs, because there is a third-party market and presumably if you are a great OutKast fan you’re smart enough to navigate them without getting hosed.
Festival: Coachella
Other notable artists: The Replacements, Queens of the Stone Age, Pharrell, Beck, etc.
Location: Indio, California
Date: Friday, April 11 or Friday, April 18
Ticket cost: $375 for a weekend pass (sold out, though, so you’ll have to try your luck on StubHub or whatever)
Travel cost: $355.36 in gas money for a 2001 Subaru Forester
Lodging cost: $85 for a camping pass (sold out)
Total cost: $815.36
Festival: Counter.Point
Other notable artists: Pretty Lights, Foster the People, J. Cole
Location: Kingston Downs, Georgia
Date: Sunday, April 27
Ticket cost: $75 advanced GA for Sunday
Travel cost: $276 round trip flight on Delta from Denver to Atlanta
Lodging cost: $110 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cartersville
Total cost: $461
*Cheapest way to see OutKast*
Festival: Big Guava Festival
Location: Tampa, Florida
Other notable artists: Vampire Weekend, Foster the People, Cake
Date: Friday, May 2
Ticket cost: $65 single-day ticket
Travel cost: $337 round trip flight on US Airways
Lodging cost: $138 for two nights at the Howard Johnson in downtown Tampa
Total cost: $540
Festival: Hangout Music Festival
Other notable artists: The Black Keys, The Killers, QOTSA
Location: Gulf Shores, Alabama
Date: May 16 to 18 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $229.00 for a three-day pass
Travel cost: $447 on American
Lodging cost: $266 in the Key West Inn in Foley, 15 min from festival
Total cost: $953
Festival:Sasquatch! Music Festival
Other notable artists: The National, QOTSA, MIA
Location: George, Washington
Date:May May 23 to 25 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $325
Travel cost: $282 on united
Lodging cost: $0 (camping pass included in ticket price)
Total cost: $607
*Best venue at which to see OutKast. If you can’t have Red Rocks…*
Festival:Bottle Rock Festival
Other notable artists: The Cure, Weezer, TV on the Radio
Location: Napa, California
Date: May 30 to June 1 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $149 single-day pass
Travel cost: $304 on Delta
Lodging cost: $322 at the Staybridge Suites Fairbridge/Napa Valley
Total cost: $775
Festival: Governors Ball
Other notable artists: Jack White, Vampire Weekend, The Strokes
Location: Randall’s Island, New York City
Date: June 6 to 8
Ticket cost: $230
Travel cost: $278 on Spirit Airlines
Lodging cost: $262 at The Bowery House in Manhattan
Total cost: $771
*Best overall lineup value*
Festival:Orange Warsaw
Other notable artists: Florence and The Machine, Pixies, Kings of Leon
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Date: June 15
Ticket cost: $65 for a one day pass
Travel cost: $1,600 on LOT Polish Airlines
Lodging cost: $72 at the Victor Hotel
Total cost: $1,737
Festival: Firefly Music Festival
Other notable artists: Foo Fighters, Beck, Arctic Monkeys
Location: Dover, Denmark
Date: June 19 to 22 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $279
Travel cost: $389 on United
Lodging cost: $242 at the Holiday Inn Express
Total cost: $910
Festival: Fuji Rock Festival
Other notable artists: Kanye West, Franz Ferdinand, Lorde
Location: Naeba Ski Resort, Japan
Date: July 25 to 27 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $168
Travel cost: $2,000 on Alaska Airlines
Lodging cost: $126 at the Chisun Inn Niigata
Total cost: $2,294
*The coolest way to see Outkast: This depends on where your dream destination is, but as far as a experience goes, it probably doesn’t get better than seeing them on top of a mountain at a ski resort in Japan. Gorgeous views, foreign country and Outkast. Not to mention the other headliner is Kanye West.*
Festival: Summerfest
Other notable artists:
Location: Milwaukee
Date: June 29
Ticket cost: $46.60
Travel cost: $343 by car in a 2001 Subaru Forester
Lodging cost: $310
Total cost: $699
Festival:Rosklide Festival
Other notable artists: Arctic Monkeys, Deerhunter, Interpol
Location: Rosklide, Denmark
Date: June 29 to July 6 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $179 for one-day pass
Travel cost: $1,446 on Icelandair
Lodging cost: $264
Total cost: $1,889
Festival: Wireless Festival
Other notable artists: Kanye West, Drake, Bruno Mars
Location: London and Birmingham
Date: July 5 in Birmingham
Ticket cost: $113
Travel cost: $1,525 on Iberia airlines
Lodging cost: $68 at the Kingfisher Hotel
Total cost: $1,706
Festival: Openair Frauenfeld
Other notable artists: Macklemore, Pharrell Williams, MIA
Location: Frauenfeld, Switzerland
Date: July 10 to 12 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $213.95 for three-day pass
Travel cost: $2,858 on US Airways
Lodging cost: $0 (camping included in ticket)
Total cost: $3,071.95
Festival: Splash! Festival
Other notable artists: Wiz Kalifa, Earl Sweatshirt, Chance The Rapper
Location: Gräfenhainichen, Denmark
Date: July 11 to 13 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $150.22
Travel cost: $3,066 on Luftansa Cityline to semi-nearby Leipzig
Lodging cost: $0 (camping included in pass)
Total cost: $3,216.22
Festival: North Sea Jazz Festival
Other notable artists: Pharrell Williams, Hall & Oates, Sharon Jones & Dap Kings
Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Date: July 13
Ticket cost: $113
Travel cost: $1,837 on British Airways
Lodging cost: $140 at Van Der Valk Hotel
Total cost: $2,090
*Least valuable way to see OutKast — not only is the price tag over $2000, but the lineup is particularly week.*
Festival: Forecastle Festival
Other notable artists: Jack White, Beck, The Replacements
Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Date: July 18 to 20 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: Single day tickets go on sale April 4, weekend pass: $184
Travel cost: $369 by car in a 2001 Subaru Forester
Lodging cost: $170 at Staybridge Suites in East Louisville
Total cost: $723
Festival: Osheaga Festival
Other notable artists: Jack White, Skrillex, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Date: August 1 to 3 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $250
Travel cost: $495.36 on Delta
Lodging cost: $146 at Days Inn and Conference Center
Total cost: $891.36
Festival: OVO Fest
Other notable artists: Drake and “special guests” (last year that included Diddy and Kanye West)
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Date: August 3
Ticket cost: $66.50 by car in a 2001 Subaru Forester
Travel cost: $403 by car in a 2001 Subaru Forester
Lodging cost: $128 at Courtyard Toronto Mississauga/Meadowvale
Total cost: $810.50
Festival: Øya Fest
Other notable artists: Janelle Monae, Neutral Milk Hotel, Royksopp & Robyn
Location: Oslo, Norway
Date: August 7
Ticket cost: $138.84
Travel cost: $1,547 on Icelandair
Lodging cost: $144 at Anker Hostel
Total cost: $1,829.84
Festival: Way Out West Festival
Other notable artists: Blood Orange, QOTSA, Bill Callahan
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Date: August 8 to 9
Ticket cost: $295.16 for three-day pass
Travel cost: $1,368.40 on KLM
Lodging cost: $150 at Goteborg Hostel
Total cost: $1,813.56
Festival: Flow Festival
Other notable artists: The National, Charli XCX, Mac DeMarco
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Date: August 8 to 10 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $219.32 for three day pass
Travel cost: $1,194 on Blue 1
Lodging cost: $168 at Hotel Korpilampi
Total cost: $1,581.32
*North-most place to see OutKast. Hey, maybe that’s a thing you’re into.
Festival: Pukkelpop
Other notable artists: Snoop Dogg, Jake Bugg, Janelle Monae
Location: Hasselt, Belgium
Date: August 14 to 16 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $117.25 for a one-day pass
Travel cost: $1,706 on United
Lodging cost: $0 (camping included with ticket)
Total cost: $1,823.25
Festival: Rock ‘n’ Heim
Other notable artists: A Day to Remember, Parov Stelar, Die Antwoord
Location: Hockenheim, Germany
Date: August 15 to 17 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $246.81
Travel cost: $1,597 on Delta
Lodging cost: $0 (camping included in ticket)
Total cost: $1,843.81
*Festival with the dumbest name at which to see OutKast. Low blow? Probably. But no “rock ‘n’…” anything, under any circumstances.*
Festival: Bestival
Other notable artists: Chic, Foals, Busta Rhymes, Disclosure
Location: Isle of Wight, UK
Date: September 4 to 7 (schedule not yet announced)
Ticket cost: $322.14 for four-day pass
Travel cost: $1,410 on United and Flybe
Lodging cost: $110 at Mount Sorrel Hotel
Total cost: $1,842.14
*Best festival experience involving OutKast. The good vibes coming from Bestival radiate several thousand miles.*
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