Attention, Tigers: don’t even think about putting away your flower crowns and fanny packs just yet.

After the first few weeks of class come to a close, feel free to gather your friends, grab your best festival-wear and hit the road for LouFest, the ideal end-of-the-summer music festival.

Sitting just two hours from campus in Forest Park, St. Louis, LouFest is a multi-day music festival boasting three stages and 30 bands, including headliners Wilco and The Killers.

And if that’s not enough to get you excited, this year the festival has partnered with C3 Presents, the company behind Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza.

“They brought resources to the table that allowed us to add stages and go after bigger bands,” LouFest founder Brian Cohen says. “This is a growth year for us, and fans will see it in every aspect of the event.”

Besides hosting bands such as The National, Icona Pop and Ra Ra Riot, the festival is also featuring the 2013 Nosh Pit, where an array of food vendors (including Kaldi’s Coffee!) from all around the St. Louis area will be working to feed hungry festival-goers.

There will also be some shopping available at the festival’s Market Square, as well as a hangout spot for those in the 12 and under crowd, appropriately called LouKidz.

And even though LouFest caters to every age group, the creators definitely put their focus on college students.

“LouFest used to be in late August, but we found that some universities were in the middle of move-in, so students couldn’t get away,” Cohen says. “This year, we pushed the dates to September to give everyone a chance to get settled in and then head to St. Louis for the weekend.”

The festival has also made an effort to help out those who may not be familiar with the St. Louis area by posting about hotels, public transportation and other travel information on [its website](www.loufest.com).

Attendants can also find a lineup and schedule for the days’ events, so fans can map out their plan of attack and be sure to catch all their must-see bands.

“From the beginning, we designed LouFest to be a festival we would like to attend,” says Cohen.

And if Cohen has one piece of advice for fans, it’s this: Come early. That way you’ll have enough time to see your favorites, discover some new bands and soak in those last drops of Missouri summer.