The energies and spirit of a music festival create a surreal experience that turns strangers into friends who sing, dance and rock out together. Under the warm sun with a live stage in front of you and hardcore fans at your side, the event is a celebration of music impossible to forget. Plus, it’s a great excuse to travel.
Love discovering up-and-coming artists? Head to SXSW in Austin. Are you a die-hard EDM fanatic with a party side? Ultra Music Festival is waiting for you.
Music festivals are a great excuse to travel
The following breaks down twelve of the biggest music festivals where you’ll jam to smashing hits by the hottest bands, singers and DJs. They’re in order of month, so you can plan your festival trips (one or two per month) from March through to September. Just make sure to get your festival tickets and book your flights and hotel well in advance! Read on…
SXSW Music Festival – March, Texas
Austin, the “Live Music Capital of the World”, has more live music venues per capita in the nation, and stands out as a hotspot for some of the biggest music festivals. The South by Southwest (SXSW) Music and Media conference offers panels, trade shows and conference activities. They also put on a killer music festival called SXSW Music Festival, with hundreds of live performances once the Texas sun goes down. It takes place in mid-March when more than 30,000 music industry professionals and musicians attend six nights of performances in over 100 downtown venues, with a lineup featuring over two thousand acts from over sixty foreign countries.
Related: A Guide to Austin’s Best Festivals
Ultra Music Festival – March, Miami
Ultra Music Festival promises to be the best weekend of electronic music anywhere. EDM fans from all over pour into Miami in late March to rave out to the best electronic DJs and killer performances on multiple towering stages. The world’s premier electronic production takes place at the beautiful Bayfront Bay where EDM enthusiasts (18 years and older) can get lost in the sounds from a wide range of electronic genres (from house and techno to dubstep and trap). Imagine epic light shows, sick summer beats and raging pool parties — it’s a colossal dance fest right in the tropical Miami heat.
Coachella – April, California
Coachella is the ultimate music festival experience where the most epic bands and hardcore music lovers collide in the hot California desert. The dual mid-April weekends of musical debauchery draws in college kids and 20-somethings who arrive in their RVs, in costume, ready to rock out day and night.
This is definitely the place to see-and-be-seen. Girls dressed in short denim cutoffs and floral crowns give off those boho vibes (and hope to brush shoulders with a Coachella-loving celeb, ahem, Leo DiCaprio). But festival fashion aside, fans come for the music, and the performances don’t disappoint.
Jazz Fest – April/May, New Orleans
The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival invites artists of every genre (that’s right — it’s not just jazz!) to “The Big Easy” for its annual music fest. Crowds of all ages head to the heart of Louisiana from late April to early May to experience music, food, arts and crafts. But it’s the sounds and beats of classic rock, alternative pop, hip-hop, blues, country and New Orleans soul that make it a renowned celebration of American heritage and international culture. The festival lineup has included the legendary Elton John, the Who, Jimmy Buffett, Keith Urban, No Doubt, Ed Sheeran and Lady Gaga, just to name a few.
Boston Calling – May, Boston
Commence summertime and jam out at the Boston Calling Music Festival — the best way to celebrate Memorial Day weekend on the East Coast. For three days in May, some of the hottest acts in live music will hit two stages at the Boston City Hall Plaza. Music fans lose themselves in epic performances while discovering the neighborhood among a downtown city backdrop. Along with epic live performances, fans (typically between ages 18 and 35) can enjoy delicious food and beverages. It’s a laid-back vibe, and people create bonds as amazing bands crush it live.
Roots Picnic – May, Philadelphia
For the eighth year, music lovers will meet at the Festival Pier at Philadelphia’s Penn’s Landing to rock out to musical acts of multiple genres. The Roots Picnic is the hottest summer party east of the Mississippi and takes place in the Roots hometown of Philadelphia. The Roots curates the concert and handpicks the diverse lineup, including headliners like The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, Erykah Badu, Phantogram and Rae Sremmurd.
Bonnaroo – June, Tennessee
Bonnaroo originates from the Creole slang term of “good stuff” — and this music and arts festival boasts of surplus of good stuff. ‘Roo fans flock to Manchester, Tennessee in mid-June for the four-day musical event, the hottest performances and a 24/7 party atmosphere. Around 80,000 music lovers (ranging from high schoolers to early 30 somethings) will camp in a quaint farm town south of Nashville and jam to a star lineup led by Billy Joel, Mumford & Sons, Deadmau5, Kendrick Lamar and Florence + The Machine.
Live Earth Road to Paris – June, Globally
Live Earth is a unique festival that takes place all around the world — but isn’t held every year. Live Earth hosted eleven environmental awareness concerts in 2007, and the event was shelved for until its revival in 2015, when co-founders of Live Earth, Kevin Wall and Al Gore, along with Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams (serving as music director) announced Live Earth would host a series of global events on June 18, 2015. Partnered with the United Nations, the Live Earth events took place on all seven continents, including Antarctica. Paris and New York anchored the event and broadcast globally. Live Earth Road to Paris was put on to draw climate awareness leading up to the UN climate summit in December and deliver the message: Take Climate Action Now. We can only hope that they’ll continue this tradition more often in the future!
Lollapalooza – July/August, Chicago
Lollapalooza has lived on as one of the biggest musical festivals for longer than two decades. Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction created the festival in 1991 as a farewell tour. The tour ended in 1993 but was revived in 2003 to become the hottest three-day party in Chi-Town (that’s downtown Chicago). Spinoffs are happening around the world, including Lollapalooza Chile, Lollapalooza Argentina & Lollapalooza Brazil. Previous performers include Eminem, Outkast, Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, Skrillex and Calvin Harris.
Virgin Festival – August, UK
The Virgin Festival has been the UK’s leading music festival since 1996, owned and organized by Virgin Mobile. In late August, acts perform either Saturday or Sunday at Weston Park, South Staffordshire, or Hylands Park, Chelmsford, and then swap locations the next day. Not only does the weekend music festival offer an all-star lineup of A-list hits and emerging stars, the event also includes big names in comedy. Wild face paint and costumes are a regular sight at the Virgin Festival.
The Global Citizen Festival – September, NYC
New Yorkers are excited when September is around the corner, because The Global Poverty Project puts on the Global Citizen festival, an event promoting the movement to end extreme poverty. The Global Poverty Project is an advocacy organization committed to building a strong movement to end extreme poverty by 2030. Each September, Global Citizen’s founder Hugh Evans and Coldplay’s Chris Martin bring together global leaders, music artists and global citizens for the largest concert in Central Park’s history, called the Global Citizen Festival. Performers include Beyonce, No Doubt, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Fall Out Boy, Jay Z, Coldplay, My Morning Jacket and many more. The concert is televised and hosted by major celebrities like Stephen Colbert and Hugh Jackman. Tickets are free, but must be ‘earned’, and it’s well worth it because the lineup is always incredible.
You know what?? I live in New Orleans, and I really had no idea that we had music festivals over here. how ignorant of me. Have I been living under a rock? Oh my goodness! Reall learning something new from you everyday!
Sort of ashamed to admit that I’ve never been to a music festival. But your article makes them look and sound so much fun, that I decided I will give a try. I live in New York so The Global Citizen music festival is a place a good place to start for me!
Hands down the BEST festival guide EVER! I’m speechless by your endless knowledge. You really know so much about everything and anything. And what I love the most about you is that you don’t keep it all to yourself, but you share with us. Thank you so much, Hilary. You’re a wonderful woman. 🙂
I never was a big a fan of music festivals. The crowds seem so intimidating to me. But somehow, reading this guide made me feel like I’ve been missing out on so much fun.
Aw, I’m really sorry you feel that way! If you ever think of going to a music festival, this guide by Hilary should be gratly useful to you. When you know what to expect, what to do, where to stay, and who to go with, you’re all set and there’s nothing to worry about. Good luck. 🙂
I’ll keep all that in mind, thank you! 🙂 I actually bookmarked this post so I can come back and check for tips.
I’ve been some of those! But Coachella was my personal favorite! From my own experiences I can say that this article / guide is well on point! Keep up the great work, Hilary Rowland. 🙂
Ver informative article on music festivals! I would definitely love to attend some of those when I have the money and time for it. 🙂
Hello! Your guide consists of such a huge variety of music festivals, that most which I haven’t heard of before. Thank you so much for putting so much time and effort in this article for us Urbanette readers.
I’m truly amazed with finding such a well detailed music travel guide! Thank you for your time and hard work. Keep up the great work 🙂
Wow, there’s a lot! I’m having a hard time to choose which one to prioritize… LOL
But for me, the most exciting (based on how it is described in this article) is the Virgin Festival! I’m up for that wild face paint and crazy costumes…
I’ve heard of Live Earth! And if circumstances would permit, I’d like to attend in one of their “music” festivals. Concert for a cause, isn’t that fantastic?!