It's a season I always look forward to, the release of Hangout Fest's lineup for the upcoming summer. After years of envying friends who made the short jump over from Florida to Alabama for one weekend ever summer, I finally had the money saved and attended my first Hangout in 2016. It's not a word I throw around a lot, but there was something about being on that beach in Gulf Shores surrounded by old and new friends vibing to great music that was just...magical.

As engulfed in the music and the experience as I was, I couldn't help but pay attention to the demographic makeup of the people around me all weekend. Not just race and gender, for example, but specifically age. Music festivals have been a thing for much longer than I've been alive, and there are always some old timers at events like this who've been raging since before I was born. I became even more aware of divergent views when it came to the music as soon as the lineup for 2017 was released and the comment sections of Facebook pages and various articles were met with mixed reactions.

Look, I get it. You don't know what a "Lil Yachty" is, and I really don't either. Maybe the oldest band you recognize is Weezer, but you were still too old at the height of their popularity to be grungy or emo. But maybe consider that, since Hangout Fest is pretty with the times, that they use social media and data collection to get feedback about what people want to see from them. Not even a month after 2016 Hangout, they sent out an email asking attendees to fill out a survey about their experience that weekend and what they want to see in the future. Maybe the old people still have yet to master the futuristic task of opening emails and providing feedback on *gulps, is visibly shook* the World Wide Web? Beats me.

For those old timers who took one glimpse at the lineup, and with a permanent scowl on their face expressed their contempt in the comment section of some obscure article no one probably read (that's what all the "cool tweens" do nowadays, right?), here's a rundown of what to expect from Hangout 2017...if you give it a chance, that is... and why this confusing list of names in front of you is such a solid selection.

First of all: WEEZER.

I once had a friend tell me that Weezer was an "old people band". I'd say it offended me, but honestly, I'm trying to accelerate my status as a rad dad as fast as possible, and hopefully my reputation is solidified even before I have my first kid. All I know is that as soon as I posted the lineup to my Facebook feed, my middle school teachers all expressed their love for Weezer immediately. Translation: when I turn 21, I think my new drinking buddies will be the ones who taught me that the mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell.

And try and tell me "Island in the Sun" isn't the quintessential beach anthem.

Second of all: Shaggy?

Back in December 2015, I had the privilege of seeing Shaggy perform at the House of Blues Orlando alongside Tori Kelly and Walk the Moon (the latter performing at Hangout 2016). After Walk the Moon finished their set, I watched flocks of millennials leave the pit and head for the exits before Shaggy went on. Again, you'd expect me to be offended, but really I just cared more about the fact that I could get super close to a 90s/00s icon because some fetuses were too young to remember who he was (or it was past their curfew?). Apparently, he's still making new music, which he debuted for us that night. I can only imagine "Angel" and "It Wasn't Me" being even wavier in a beach setting.

Third: Whether you go to his show or not, you will be within a few nautical miles of FRANK OCEAN.

I feel like I shouldn't even have to explain this one. But for the sake of those who are out-of-the-loop, this man dropped one of the hottest R&B albums of 2012...and then like, ghosted the world for 4 years, but delivered on his promise of a new album in 2016, and boy, were we not let down. If you want to see (and hear) one of the most soulful vocalists of the 21st century in one of his sparse public appearances, don't miss this opportunity.

Did I mention the strong selection of electronic artists yet?

Major Lazer, DJ Snake, and Dillon Francis are like the power trio of Caribbean-inspired EDM. Marshmello, too, has become a cult classic in the past year. Cash Cash and Cheat Codes both do house music pretty well. Then we've got artists like RÜFÜS DE SOL, Louis the Child, NGHTMRE, and Snakehips who operate outside of the genre of EDM, and have just a little more chill and soul than their big name counterparts (Snakehips at Voodoo Fest 2016 was fantastic, I'll tell you that).

People asked for more rap/hip-hop... They got it.

Chance the Rapper (along with occasional collaborator, Towkio) are both great additions to the lineup this year - especially considering that in 2014 Chance had to cancel his show. This is essentially a makeup for him, and the fact that three years later he will have grown as an artist from when he was first selected to perform is a sign that the producers of the festival have good taste. Then you've also got Tory Lanez, who also ventures into R&B territory, as well as A$AP Ferg (who recently performed in Mobile, Alabama) and Lil Yachty (who made a guest appearance in Carnage's set at Voodoo 2016).

For those complaining about the lack of "jam bands," give some indie and alternative rock a try.

Honestly, would you drop dead if you went to the show of a band you heard about on Tumblr in 2010 that you feel has become too mainstream? If your answer in any way resembles a "yes", then you should probably stick strictly to your city's local music scene and follow nothing but undiscovered acts. Otherwise, feel free to be a fan of acts such as Mumford and Sons, MGMT, Sigur Rós, Band of Horses, Young the Giant, Franz Ferdinand, Mac Demarco, Local Natives, Mutemath, and more.

What's crazy is that every artist I just named has at least one song on my iPod Nano that I haven't updated since high school. I even remember the day I first heard of some of these artists. I remember in 8th grade, in art class, Ms. Brown allowed students to bring in their own music to play (CDs from a boom box), and my friend Oscar brought MGMT's Oracular Spectacular. I also remember him having to fast forward through songs to skip past F-bombs, but that's beside the point - MGMT for me awakens some serious nostalgia.

And really, if you're just that lost, make your way to the stage of someone whose name looks vaguely familiar because sometime in the past decade they may have had a hit in the Billboard Top 100.

Twenty One Pilots is all I seemed to see from the start to finish of 2016 when it came to new music on the radio. Lukas Graham had 7 Years right off the bat in January, Magic! had that one song Rude that we all collectively remember, and Charli XCX? I seem to remember that her heart makes a particular sound - Boom, Clap, was it?

This year, Towkio was the lowest name I recognized on the list (until someone recently put me on to Tkay Maidza). As you can see, there's so much that the festival has to offer for people with all different musical tastes and preferences. I guess it would be cool to see more musical legends from older times (Lenny Kravitz last year was pretty flame)... Hard Rock Cafe shows always offer up some pretty good names. If Hangout takes some pointers from its neighbors over in Biloxi, maybe the comment sections of its promotional material will be nothing but positive.