Let the 2012 music festivals begin

This is the 45th year for Milwaukee's Summerfest. There's always an eclectic musical mix, as evidenced by the list of headliners which includes The Beach Boys, Megadeath, and Alice Cooper.

Heart, John Fogerty and Kid Rock are headliners for the 21st annual Moondance Jam in Minnesota. More headliner announcements are promised from the self-described "campin' and jammin' event of the summer."

Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, and Alice Cooper will represent classic rock at Wisconsin's Rock Fest. With several slots still listed as TBA, there may well be more. 2012 is Rock Fest's 18th year.

Jackson Browne is one of the headliners at Rhode Island's Newport Folk Festival 2012. Others on stage will include My Morning Jacket and Patty Griffin.

Lollapalooza is another of those festivals that doesn't book many classic rock artists (The Cars are as close as they came last year) but we mention it because it's one of the biggies. The 2012 lineup will be announced sometime in the spring.

Seattle's Music and Arts Festival usually features, at most, one or two classic rock artists. It'll be a while before we find out who's in the 2012 lineup.