In its 7th year, the renowned indie rock festival Waking Windows has once again announced a killer lineup. This year combines some highly respected acts like Dan Deacon, Real Estate, !!! (Chk Chk Chk), Frankie Cosmos, Big Thief & Pond with some great up-and-coming acts like Jaw Gems, Jeff Beam, Screaming Females & more. The festival also features cool punk rock bands like Rough Francis & Downtown Boys as well as experimental electronic musicians like MNDSGN & DJ Disco Phantom.

[If you are unfamiliar with the fest, check out our review from 2015 HERE]

One of the raddest parts of this festival is the enormous amount of local bands it brings in. As many people know, the Burlington-Winooski area is chock-full of musicians and talent. This year, local highlights include Iron Eyes Cody, the buzzy rock band led by singer-songwriter Evan Allis & Renn Mulloy; J Bengoy, indie rockers with pop sensibilities; Apartment 3, fuzzy, reverberated slackers; & Wren Kitz, an indie artist with long-form, reflective tunes with a melodic edge.

There are too many Vermont-based acts on the bill to go through them all. I highly suggest that you scour the line-up, google some of the names that pop out to you, and check out their music. You won’t be disappointed.

[Full disclosure: the author of this post is in both Asperos Saicos & Ellen Degenerates. Two great awesome good ole bands. You should see them at the festival, but it felt weird to include them in the list of highlights.]