My first attempt at attending an outdoor music festival was a Christian music festival at The Gorge in Washington. I wasn’t even that into DC Talk or Jars of Clay or any of the 90’s Christian staples. I grew up in Oklahoma, so I definitely had friends whose parents curated their music intake. Mine did not. Although I did hid my copy of Puff Daddy and the Family’s No Way Out album because I didn’t think that one would fly.

But back to the The Gorge.

I remember camping, I remember being hot, and I remember thinking maybe outdoor music gatherings weren’t for me.

Apparently, I forgot all of this because my junior year of college I enthusiastically agreed to go to Coachella. Taking zero cues from my previous experience, I didn’t hydrate or eat breakfast and managed to pass out IN LINE waiting to get into Coachella. That’s right, no hip story about passing out because I was pressed against a sea of passionate fans or had one too many party beverages. No, I straight up had low blood sugar.

Coachella was great (this was before flower crowns and general ridiculousness took over). I do clearly remember standing in a sea of people to watch Radiohead and thinking it was worth the passing out, the heat, and the chaos of the day.

I never headed back to Coachella and my festival going is fairly limited, but I still love reading the lineups for all the festivals each year.

I love how massive outdoor music festivals are synonymous with long summer days.

Coachella comes again this month and I thought it would be fun to pick one artist from the lineup of each year the festival has been around. It was fun (in my nerdy music way) to read all the lineups and see who is still on the circuit and who had their moment in the sun—literally and figuratively.

So whether music gatherings are your jam or not, this month’s list will hopefully bring you into this new season—flower crowns optional.

Check out past Boss Beats playlists:

Jessica Blackstock moonlights as a deejay, during daylight hours she girlbosses over at Thrive Consulting Group.   Want more beats? Your Week Curated is another playlist I, well, curate. I add four newly released songs to the list every Monday.