Spring break is the highlight of every college student’s spring semester - a week when students slam their books shut and welcome in sandy beaches, all-night parties, and enough tropical drinks to make any engineering student forget the simplest of math equations. This year, house music fans are in luck because College Travel Experts and Prime Social Group have teamed up to host Electro Beach, a 42 night spring break music experience that promises to give students a spring break like no other.

Beginning Feb. 25, college students will invade beautiful Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to take the definition of spring break raging to a whole new level. The six-week festival boasts a line-up of some of the biggest DJs in the scene such as Tiesto, Calvin Harris, Avicii, Steve Aoki, Laidback Luke, and a myriad of other superstars. College Travel Experts is no stranger to the spring break arena, with nearly five years of successful student trips under its belt. And with the help of PSG, commonly considered one of the most-respected concert promotions agencies in the college realm, Electro Beach is sure to give attendees a week they’ll never forget (or never remember, depending on alcohol consumption which is covered in the all-inclusive package).

The past year has seen a tremendous amount of talent burst into the world of electronic music. From the amateurs to the veterans, producers and DJs alike continue to raise the bar with groundbreaking genre crossing, technical innovation, and production speed that’s borderline ridiculous.

With considerable new material on the scene, there are many names that stand out in terms of who to be on the lookout for in 2012 - and we’re not just talking about your latest friend who downloaded Serato. While choosing a few from the masses is quite a task, a mix of both newcomer and professional talent should be recognized. Some of these artists have already obtained massive popularity for their work while others are still emerging from the shadows (or basements for that matter). Regardless, it is safe to say that the future seems bright for all, so make sure to give these artists a listen.

Former writer and editor for Rolling Stone, Jon Landau, reviewed a concert in 1974 and famously said the following: “I saw rock and roll’s future--and its name is Bruce Springsteen.”

Landau would go on to become a co-producer of Born to Run management, band manager and executive producer of Wrecking Ball, Springsteen’s 17th studio album, slated to be released March 6th on Colombia Records. The album will feature 11 new original tracks.

“Bruce has dug down as deep as he can to come up with this vision of modern life," Landau expresses on the Springsteen homepage.

Swedish House Mafia fans rejoice: Sebastian Ingrosso and special guests will be at The Pool at Harrah's in Atlantic City on President’s Day Weekend. As one part of Swedish House Mafia, Ingrosso is the man behind the ultimate summer anthem “Calling” with Alesso. Ingrosso also produced the “How Soon Is Now” with Dirty South, David Guetta and Julia McKnight, and the remix of “Jack You” with Steve Angello for Diddy and Felix. His remixes of MGMT’s “Kids” and Miike Snow’s “Silvia” also took the music scene by storm. The legendary artist has also worked with Kylie Minogue, Style of Eye, AN21, Max Vangeli, True Identity and Lune.

"Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun and games!" Remember headbanging to that in your neighbor's living room when you were 7 years old? Well, maybe not, but either way, Guns N' Roses has announced a 6 stop mini tour that is set to rock NYC, Chicago, Silver Spring, and Atlantic City. This mini lineup is redemption for ignoring us last year during their massive 2011 tour that stopped everywhere but the east coast. NYC will get the greatest treat, taking 3 of the 6 shows at Webster Hall, Roseland Ballroom, and Terminal 5.

According to Rolling Stone, the band will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio just before kicking off the tour. Drummer, Steven Adler also told the magazine, "I personally just want to finish what I started with those jack-offs. We started off something, let's end the career playing together, at least once. I'd love to do a whole tour of the world. I personally – and I know that Slash and Duff feel the same way – we owe it to the fans to do a tour around the world. We haven't performed for over 20 years and they've stuck by us and believe in us."

Nate Ruess, Jack Antonoff, and Andrew Dost are FUN. Well, at least that’s what they boldly state as the name of their American indie pop band, blowing up radio stations nationwide.

With Ruess (formerly of The Format) as lead vocals, Antonoff (of Steel Train) on guitars, trumpet, and Dost’s (of Anathallo) contribution of vocals, piano, drums, keyboard, guitars, and of course the flugelhorn and glockenspiel. But of course. The band formed in the winter of 2008. Their album Aim and Ignite was released in 2009 on the label Nettwerk Records and Some Nights on Fueled by Ramen will be released this February 21.

Anthony Raneri found himself in familiar territory last Saturday at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. The New York-born singer/songwriter is constantly on the road with Bayside, but his January has consisted of the 4th annual “Where’s the Band?” acoustic tour, alongside like minded-frontmen Ace Enders, Evan Weiss, Matt Pryor, and Chris Conley. Armed with his musical comrades and his debut solo release New Cathedrals, the beloved crooner is getting ready for an intimate evening of inspiring sing-alongs for his music old and new.

Popping in and out of their small backstage dressing rooms, Raneri and his tour brethren, all close to or in their thirties, enjoyed each others company with the exuberance of new college roomates. With a cigarette in hand and a big smile, Raneri sat down with me to talk about New Cathedrals, as well as what it’s like to be on a musical road trip with some of your best friends.

Starting January 14th, Kaskade will play sets all day at Marquee Las Vegas. The renowned reigning #1 DJ will showcase brand new sets at both the day and nightclubs, keeping the party going around the clock.

"After an incredible 2011 at Marquee, in particular the Halloween and New Year's Eve epic sell-out shows, I can't wait to continue the residency in 2012. Having a monthly residency in Vegas gives me the chance to stretch out musically, play longer sets, and share some really unique magical moments with my fans. Vegas has exploded in the last two years, the parties just keep getting bigger and better, the city and Marquee are can't miss destinations for dance music fans,” Kaskade says.

While we boring adults toil away at our office desks in 30 degree weather, a shit ship-load of people are having the time of their lives, bikini-clad in the tropics. Holy Ship! set sail last Friday and pictorial evidence has surfaced of what we suspected was going to be the the craziest cruise of all time. Indeed, it is. With Skrillex, Steve Aoki, A-Trak, Diplo, Jonathan Davis, and Tommy Lee amongst others, we had no doubt this was going to be quite the party. Now there's photographic evidence of what we're missing. Laugh now, cry later? Actually, cry now, cry later.

Which reminds us --we need a vacation....or at least a "field reporting" assignment.

[All photos courtesy of SPIN.com]

Coachella JUST released their official lineup, and it's possibly the best ever. The list includes a dizzying number of the biggest names in music right now. Including Avicii, David Guetta, Kaskade, Swedish House Mafia, Girltalk, Calvin Harris, Afrojack, Weeknd, and more! We wouldn't be surprised if these tickets sold out faster than Swedish House Mafia at Madison Square Garden. This is MAJOR. Check it: