Someone commented on a blog post of mine asking why he should care about festivals in other cities and why I don't focus just on the city of Charlotte and the music here... Why should the average reader care about my coverage of Bonnaroo or the Voodoo Festival, etc.

My answer — probably for the same reason that I go, to see or hear about bands that I'm not familiar with who are likely to come to Charlotte in the future.

This summer, I'll once again head back to the farmlands of Manchester, Tenn., to check out Bonnaroo 2010 and hope to find and hear bands that I haven't heard before and that I will recommend checking out.

Here's a quick look back at what I learned in previous years —

2007 — This was my first run-ins with Rodrigo y Gabriela, Tea Leaf Green, MuteMath, Cold War Kids, Girl Talk, John Butler Trio... MuteMath will be back again this summer and Cold War Kids have been here a couple of times. By seeing the bands at 'Roo, I got a head's up shortly after their first releases came out to recommend them when they were in town and know a little more about them. I saw The Roots perform and it helped with my interview with ?uestlove to preview their show here.

2008 — I saw Back Door Slam and was immediately impressed by the band's front man. That front man, Davy Knowles was here last year opening for Chickenfoot and wowed the crowd here as well. I caught Vampire Weekend shortly after the release of their first album. I caught Minus the Bear who will be here in May. State Radio has been here a couple of times and it was my first time catching them live. Local's The Avett Brothers won over a huge crowd and will be back again this year. I caught Ghostland Observatory who played at the Neighborhood Theatre last year. I caught Serena Ryder who has since released her first album and been to the Visulite twice.

2009 — This was my first time seeing White Rabbits, Hockey, Zac Brown Band, TV on the Radio, Heartless Bastards, Band of Horses... all of whom have scheduled shows in Charlotte since performing there. I caught an amazing performance by Cage the Elephant who visited Charlotte for the first time last month for an equally impressive show. Tonight at Tremont Music Hall is Dillinger Escape Plan who were on stage with Nine Inch Nails at Bonnaroo and tore the place up the next day in the same tent as Cage. I saw the band Alberta Cross there and reviewed their new CD for next week's paper. I chatted with Erin McCarley after her set at Bonnaroo and again when she appeared at Tremont over the winter. I saw Those Darlins last year, which led to a feature on them and a packed house at the Evening Muse.

So, why care about Bonnaroo? Keep an eye on the coverage and you might hear about a band you hadn't heard of before and will check out when they're stopping in town. Or you'll hear about longtime favorites and their performance in front of a big crowd.

All in all, bands that have been featured in Creative Loafing after seeing them live at Bonnaroo, or bands that have performed here since playing at Bonnaroo (aside from the obvious headliners) — MuteMath, Clutch, The Whigs, Kings of Leon, Cold War Kids, The Roots, Annuals, Michael Franti, The Flaming Lips, Davy Knowles, Nicole Atkins, Drive-By Truckers, State Radio, Zappa Plays Zappa, Tea Leaf Green, Keller Williams, Old Crow Medicine Show, Govt Mule, Cage the Elephant, Fiction Plane, Pete Yorn, Wolfmother, Salvador Santana Band, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Umphrey's McGee, Les Claypool, Minus the Bear, State Radio, The Wood Brothers, Ben Folds, Lupe Fiasco, Mastodon, Against Me!, O.A.R., Death Cab for Cutie, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, The Lee Boys, Serena Ryder, White Rabbits, Hockey, Delta Spirit, Zac Brown Band, Erin McCarley, Those Darlins, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Galactic, TV on the Radio, Ani DiFranco, Phoenix, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, The Mars Volta, Heartless Bastards, Raphael Saadiq, Alejandro Escovedo, Del McCoury, Citizen Cope, Band of Horses, Coheed & Cambria, Brett Dennen, Neko Case, Robert Earl Keen, Jessica Lea Mayfield....and probably more.

This year, you'll hear about The Flaming Lips performing the entire Dark Side of the Moon album. You'll hear about The Avett Brothers performance in front of what I guess will be an even bigger crowd. Phoenix will be at the Uptown Amphitheatre the same week as Bonnaroo. Blitzen Trapper will be here the same weekend as well.

In addition, I plan on checking out John Fogerty, Jay-Z, DMB, Tenacious D, Kings of Leon, Stevie Wonder, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Cliff, Regina Spektor, Ween, Galactic, The National, Les Claypool, John Butler Trio and a whole lot more.

I'm also planning on catching some of the latest "buzz" bands such as The XX, Baroness, The Postelles and more...

Stay tuned - it's going to be a busy summer!