Hangout Fest has carved a nice little niche of rockin’ artists, electronica, and all the indie stuff in between since it popped up on a beach in Alabama 4 years ago. When you look at the past and current lineups for a festival like this that’s on the beach in beautiful weather, it’s hard to go wrong. Alabama’s got a good thing going here. All the bands that are getting hour-long slots for this gig could easily sell out any venues around Baton Rouge. It’ll be a nice mix, a great opportunity for those with different tastes to get a lick of something new to appreciate.

With a lineup of festival style bands in tune with fests like Bonnaroo, the event seems to have drawn festival purists and anyone nearby just looking for a fun time. Festival attendance in the tens of thousands have descended upon Gulf Shores for years, growing a little more each round. Acts like Moe., Gov’t Mule, and Bassnectar typically draw crowds from far around, and there are going to be a ton of kids dropping in just because it’s there, whether that’s gulf coast Greeks, local 20 something-year-olds, or anyone looking for a fun summer kick-off. It may well culminate in one party-filled fun time for all.

In addition to the three day line up, a Thursday night pre-party promises to deliver some big name acts. With so many bands that fade improvised instrumentation into electronica (Umphrey’s Mcgee, Lotus, Conspirator). Hangout’s calling out. Nearly the entire SEC will be on the loose in time for Hangout- which runs May 17 through 18 including LSU, Alabama, and Ole’ Miss. Madness is almost a guarantee