Anybody who has ever been to a concert festival can tell you: It’s quite the experience. In recent weeks, the two biggest in America — Coachella and Bonnaroo — have released their lineups. Unfortunately, this year, the experience won’t sell itself, and the promoters know it.

Compared with festivals past, the 2009 lineups seem odd. Paul McCartney, Leonard Cohen and Morrissey — who all got their musical careers started more than 30 years ago — are each playing the first night of the three-day Coachella. Younger audiences attend these events more often (dozens of Sun Devils included), so the selection at first seems incongruous, but after further analysis, it begins to make sense.

Though the majority of circumstances that we blame on the economy are completely misguided (the housing crisis was caused by “those lawnmower guys from south of the border,” according to one bar patron at the restaurant I work at), there is some truth to its unfortunate effects on the music business.

The Langerado Music Festival, which was to take place in Miami in early March, was canceled last week because of poor ticket sales, despite booking Death Cab for Cutie, Snoop Dogg, Public Enemy and Modest Mouse, among others.

This cancellation just shows that despite having some quality performers, shelling out hundreds for a ticket is no longer a viable luxury in the eyes of many consumers. The easiest way to differentiate a festival is by bringing in an act that is incredibly unique, yet has a large following ... and by easiest way, I mean incredibly difficult but most effective way.

Newer bands are more a unique interest than a must-see for the general populace when compared to big names. Some artists, like Led Zeppelin, were our parents’ favorites and were inherited by us. On the other hand, we grew up not only listening to groups like Pearl Jam or Radiohead but also maturing along with them.

They all hold a special place in our hearts, and we don’t know how long they will remain respectable live performers before reducing themselves to self-parody (see: Rolling Stones). This makes seeing Bruce Springsteen, the Beastie Boys and Nine Inch Nails — bands who normally play overpriced, impersonal arena shows — more urgent, thus giving us more incentive to travel to Bonnaroo.

In addition, the Internet has hurt new bands like Fleet Foxes or Vampire Weekend, in terms of large-scale exposure. No one will ever be as big as the Beatles, and you can thank diversified media for that.

Since Napster came along, entire albums don’t mean as much — it’s all about the singles. “Album of the Year” means less to the general populace than it once did back when Moby’s “Play” and Beck’s “Odelay” were declared musical masterpieces. This makes it tougher for new acts to make it long-term, and therefore to draw large crowds long distances.

But no matter who is playing at these festivals, be it old fogies like David Byrne or newbies like TV on the Radio, any festival you make the trek to this summer will be sure to please the musical adventurer in you.

Carpoolchella? Reach Ryan at ryan.oneal@asu.edu.