As temperatures begin to creep up, music festival season is fast approaching, and each year, more and more events are joining the lineup, expanding and diversifying the music festival circuit in North America. Our panel of music festival aficionados has hand-picked 20 essential festivals from coast to coast where music fans can see dozens of artists in one place. For the last four weeks, our readers have been voting for their favorites, and the results are in.
Musikfest Bethlehem, Penn.
MusikFest was founded in 1984 with 295 performances on six stages. Today, this event in the town of Bethlehem has grown to include 500-plus shows on 16 stages over the course of 10 days, with some 900,000 music lovers in attendance each year. Past headliners have included The Chainsmokers, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley and The Goo Goo Dolls. Photo courtesy of RaubDaub / Flickr
Riot Fest Chicago
Riot Fest is a multi-destination music festival taking place each year in Chicago. It began in 2005 as a weekend of punk and rock and continued to expand to include a full carnival. Yup. “Corndogs. Ferris wheels. Your Music.” That’s the short description. Fans at Riot Fest have watched bands like the Misfits and Dead Kennedys. The goal is simple and pure: to throw unforgettable shows. Photo courtesy of David T. Kindler / Riot Fest
Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival Las Vegas
Life Is Beautiful debuted in 2013 in the newly revitalized neighborhood of East Fremont in Las Vegas. Today, the three-day festival attracts more than 175,000 attendees and top talent, like Lorde, Blink-182, Muse, Wiz Khalifa, The Lumineers, Major Lazer, Arcade Fire, Duran Duran and Childish Gambino. Photo courtesy of Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for Life Is Beautiful
Outside Lands San Francisco
The Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival takes place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park every August. The festival began in 2008 and has since earned a reputation for its eco-friendly efforts, like solar-powered stages. The 50,000-plus attendees enjoy music, along with beer, wine, art and more. In fact, the thoughtful wine pairings make Outside Lands stand out from other music fests. Photo courtesy of FilmMagic / Outside Lands
Desert Daze started in Joshua Tree but has since relocated from the desert to the sands of Moreno Beach. The three-day festival is on the smaller side, so crowds don’t feel overwhelming, and it’s one of the nation’s most aesthetically pleasing music festivals thanks to a series of surreal art installations. Past talent has included My Bloody Valentine, Tame Impala, Iggy Pop and Courtney Barnett. Photo courtesy of Shane Hirschman / Flickr
BottleRock Napa Valley Napa, Calif.
What's better than stellar California wine? Stellar California wine served to the sound of live tunes. Each May BottleRock Napa Valley features rock 'n' roll, food and wine from some of the best producers in California and the world. Only in Napa does a music festival have a staff of sommeliers! Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Eric Risberg
Fortress Festival Fort Worth
Fortress Festival has already made a big impression in its first two years of existence. This event in Fort Worth takes over the Cultural District for a weekend of music and art. The lineup at the 2019 event includes Leon Bridges, CHVRCHES, Rae Sremmurd and Khruangbin. Photo courtesy of Robert Hein / Fortress Festival
Austin City Limits Music Festival Austin
Inspired by the long-running PBS series Austin City Limits, the Austin City Limits Music Festival takes over Zilker Park for two weekends featuring more than 140 up-and-coming and world-renowned acts on eight stages. The festival ranks among the largest in the country, attracting some 75,000 music lovers per day with a lineup of pop, rock, alt-country, folk, blues, gospel, EDM and R&B. Photo courtesy of Julian Bajsel / Austin City Limits Music Festival
Coachella Indio, Calif.
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (Coachella for short) in Indio, Calif., is an annual, outdoor, two-weekend fest in April that features a wide variety of music, from electronic to indie to rock – plus art exhibits, too. Coachella launched in 1993 with Pearl Jam, and has since featured a long list of musical faves. On-site camping is a popular way to enjoy the tunes during this festival that kicks off the summer music season. Photo courtesy of Zoe Meyers/The Desert Sun via USA TODAY NETWORK
The top 10 winners in the category Best Music Festival are as follows:
Rich Lesperance has more than 25 years of... Read More
Rich Lesperance has more than 25 years of experience in marketing, ecommerce, and digital strategy, and has built digital businesses for globally recognized companies like Walgreens, Dell, Grubhub and Swap.com, an online apparel startup. As Vivid Seats’ Chief Marketing Officer, Rich is focused on pushing North America’s largest independent ticket marketplace further through deep capabilities in analytics and innovation.
A graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business (MBA), Rich spends his free time playing music, remodeling his old house and having adventures with his three children.
Rich Lesperance
Rich Lesperance has more than 25 years of experience in marketing, ecommerce, and digital strategy, and has built digital businesses for globally recognized companies like Walgreens, Dell, Grubhub and Swap.com, an online apparel startup. As Vivid Seats’ Chief Marketing Officer, Rich is focused on pushing North America’s largest independent ticket marketplace further through deep capabilities in analytics and innovation.
A graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business (MBA), Rich spends his free time playing music, remodeling his old house and having adventures with his three children.
As the VP and GM of Consumer at Eventbrite, Tamara is responsible for helping event creators sell more tickets by growing Eventbrite's global audience of consumers. She was one of Eventbrite's earliest hires in 2009, and before taking on her current role, Tamara built the company's global marketing team from the ground up. When she's not at work or home, you'll find her in a yoga class or checking out a new band at one of the many great SF venues.
Tamara Mendelsohn
As the VP and GM of Consumer at Eventbrite, Tamara is responsible for helping event creators sell more tickets by growing Eventbrite's global audience of consumers. She was one of Eventbrite's earliest hires in 2009, and before taking on her current role, Tamara built the company's global marketing team from the ground up. When she's not at work or home, you'll find her in a yoga class or checking out a new band at one of the many great SF venues.
When Festicket CEO Zack Sabban was a successful investment banker, he traveled the world to fulfill his passion for live music. After attending countless festivals, Zack realized the need for a music festival community website and founded Festicket in late 2012. Festicket empowers music fans with a seamless service to discover and book tickets and travel packages to music festivals worldwide. The platform has quickly grown to become an influential live music travel platform and the world’s largest seller of travel packages for music festivals. Based in London UK with smaller bases in the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal, Festicket recently opened an office in San Francisco to accelerate its international expansion.
Zack Sabban
When Festicket CEO Zack Sabban was a successful investment banker, he traveled the world to fulfill his passion for live music. After attending countless festivals, Zack realized the need for a music festival community website and founded Festicket in late 2012. Festicket empowers music fans with a seamless service to discover and book tickets and travel packages to music festivals worldwide. The platform has quickly grown to become an influential live music travel platform and the world’s largest seller of travel packages for music festivals. Based in London UK with smaller bases in the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal, Festicket recently opened an office in San Francisco to accelerate its international expansion.
