With music fans packing up the van for South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, this month, or dreaming of the big tie-die in the sky in June's return of the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tenn., one more outstanding music fest deserves a big red "Road Trip!" circle on your calendar. The second annual Wakarusa Festival near Lawrence, Kan., is set for the weekend of June 17. The three-day "music and camping" celebration is family-friendly with organized nature hikes, star gazing and instrument workshops. Confirmed artists include Wilco, Galactic, Gov't Mule, String Cheese Incident, Junior Brown, Son Volt, Neko Case, and Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise. ...

Two old friends return next month with the new musical explorations of The Equatorial Stars, a new album recorded last year by King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and electronic pioneer Brian Eno. The instrumental sessions are due April 5 on the Inner Knot imprint. ...

In other King Crimson news, master of the bass and the Chapman Stick, Tony Levin, has selected some of his favorite collaborations with artists on the Magna Carta Records label and collected them on one CD, due next month. Titled Prime Cuts, the sessions feature Jordan Rudess, John Petrucci, Missing Persons' drummer Terry Bozzio and Billy Idol's signature guitarist, Steve Stevens. The interactive CD also contains an audio interview and an MP3 jam.

Television Alert
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hosts Joe Cocker Wednesday, Ozzy Osbourne Friday, Good Charlotte Monday and The 5 Browns Tuesday. The Late Show with David Letterman features Michael Buble Friday and Al Green Monday. Late Night with Conan O'Brien welcomes Death From Above 1979 Thursday. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson boasts Steve Jones, Sex Pistols guitarist and DJ, on Wednesday, Collective Soul Friday and The Blue Nile Tuesday. Last Call with Carson Daly features house band Gov't Mule all week, with The Frames Thursday and Low Friday. Jimmy Kimmel Live serves up Kasabian Friday and The Music Monday. And Saturday Night Live's musical guest this weekend is Jack Johnson.

New Releases Coming Tuesday
and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change ...

Biirdie ­ Morning Kills the Dark (Pop Up Records) featuring "Open Letter To Jenny," written for Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kelly; The Blind Boys of Alabama ­ Atom Bomb (Real Word); Blood or Whiskey ­ Cashed Out On Culture (Punkcore) with guest Cait O'Riordan of the Pogues; The John Butler Trio ­ Sunrise Over Sea (Lava); Civet ­ Massacre (Disaster) female Punk quartet fresh out of high school; Daedelus ­ Exquisite Corpse (Mush) with guests MF Doom, Mike Ladd and Prefuse 73; Damon & Naomi ­ Earth Is Blue (Ba Da Bing) special vinyl issue of this first new music in five years from the original members of Galaxie 500; Devin Davis ­ Lonely People of the World, Unite! (Mousse) super swell Chicago Power Pop solo debut, packed with plenty of punch, fuzz and hipster '60s joy; Ana Egge ­ Out Past the Lights (Parkinsong) with guest Ron Sexsmith; Everything But the Girl ­ Adapt or Die: Ten Years of Remixes (Sire) featuring classic remixes, new remixes and previously unreleased rarities; The Reverend Al Green ­ Everything's OK (Blue Note) featuring The Royal Horns and The New Memphis Strings; Kaiser Chiefs ­ Employment (Universal) featuring the KROQ-FM hit "I Predict a Riot"; King Crimson ­ In the Wake of Poseidon (Discipline Global Mobile) 30th anniversary reissue featuring the rare B-side "Groon"; Konks ­ Konks (Bomp!) Boston Garage Rock band that recently won Little Steven's "Battle of the Bands"; Curtis Mayfield ­ Mayfield Remixed (Rhino) collection of remixes by Grandmaster Flash, King Britt, Louie Vega and more; New Monsoon ­ Live at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival (New Monsoon) tasty percussion and international rhythms from this San Francisco Jam band; Gruff Rhys ­ Yr Atal Genhedlaeth (Rough Trade) solo debut from the Super Furry Animals' vocalist; Sharon Shannon ­ Out the Gap (Compass) reissue from 1995 featuring guest Adam Clayton of U2 and members of The Waterboys; Soulfly ­ The Song Remains Insane (Roadrunner) live DVD with bonus videos; Stubbs the Zombie ­ original video game soundtrack (Aspyr Media) it's back to the 1950s with this covers collection, featuring The Dandy Warhols' take on "All I Have To Do Is Dream" and The Flaming Lips' spin on "If I Only Had a Brain" from The Wizard of Oz; Yann Tiersen & Shannon Wright ­ Yann Tiersen & Shannon Wright (Ici D'Ailleurs); Various Artists ­ NASCAR In 3D: The IMAX Experience (Shout Factory!) featuring Wes Cunningham's cover of ZZ Top's "La Grange"; Various Artists ­ Drum Nation: Volume Two (Magna Carta) with Josh Freese, Anton Fig, Terry Bozzio and other heavy hitters; Various Artists ­ Subdivisions: A Tribute to Rush (Magna Carta) with Sebastian Bach, Alex Skolnick, Kip Winger and others covering Rush classics; Various Artists ­ The Rough Guide To Boogaloo (World Music Network) step into the fusion of Cuban Salsa and American Soul; Various Artists ­ The Rough Guide To Dub (World Music Network) with King Tubby, Yabby You, Horace Andy, Prince Jammy and more.