Our annual Summer Stars series features a variety of groups making the rounds on the festival circuit. Today we feature Passion Pit. We’ve also checked in with John Scofield, The Lumineers, Futurebirds, Tea Leaf Green and moe..

“I have great respect for festivalgoers,” remarks Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos via phone from Brazil. “I have admiration for the crowd and a great deal of confusion in regard to the draw, but they get a real bang for their buck and get to see a ton of bands in one day.”

While this pop-purveyor might have his own questions about the allure of the mud-inundated festivals that define the summer months, Passion Pit’s electronic-tinged and falsetto-laden sound is the perfect soundtrack for these large-scale outdoor concerts. With songs like the now-ubiquitous single “Take A Walk,” from this fivesome’s smashing sophomore effort Gossamer, Angelakos and company are guaranteed to bring a feverish flavor to audiences at home and abroad.

With a marathon tour schedule supporting the new album, how does this Brooklyn-based outfit keep the live show from getting stale? “We all got really interested in making these great arrangements of the songs because we were tired of the way we were playing them,” Angelakos explains enthusiastically. "So we go to soundcheck and work two hours every day on the
songs. That’s why I look forward to the festivals because it’s going to be interesting to try out these new arrangements on new audiences.

“I have my eye on the next record,” Angelakos says ambiguously before hanging up. And while the frontman couldn’t confirm anything specific, he hinted at some exciting collaborations, perhaps in the idiosyncratic vein of the Passion Pit and rapper Juicy J remix. “I loved that,” he says about the unlikely pairing. “No one expected that one.” *

Album for a Hot Summer Night: Tom Waits, Bad As Me

Summer Drink: Really cold orange juice.

Festival Stops: Bonnaroo, Firefly, Electric Forest, Camp Bisco, more.