A concert is to an a la carte meal what a music festival is to an all-inclusive vacation package. A music festival provides a multi-day, full immersion into a shared space of music and community, giving fans an opportunity to eat, drink, and breathe in all those good vibes.
This list offers the best of American music festivals worth putting on your calendar in the year ahead. With an emphasis on smaller, more intimate experiences, many of these music festivals offer onsite camping to take the immersion experience to the next level.
West
Aug. 31 through Sept. 2, 2018: Bumbershoot in Seattle, Washington. Bumbershoot takes over Seattle each Labor Day weekend. Expect big names, big crowds and lots of dancing.
Oct. 4 through 7, 2018 and May 16 through 19, 2019: Joshua Tree Music Festival in Joshua Tree, California. Held in both the fall and spring, the Joshua Tree Music Festival bills itself as a family-inclusive global experience.
May 22 through 27, 2019: Lightning in a Bottle in Bradley, California. More than just a music festival, Lightening in a Bottle also includes workshops, talks by thought leaders, wellness classes in the learning kitchen, health and healing classes and cultural experiences.
July 4 through 7, 2019: High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, California. High Sierra Music Festival has a heavy emphasis on jam bands, mountain foothills and community.
July 12 through 14, 2019: Oregon Country Fair in Veneta, Oregon. Ostensibly the Country Fair is a music festival, but it’s not the kind of festival with big-name headliners, or even with a focus on the music. The Oregon Country Fair is all about the experience. There is even an entire crew of volunteers whose sole mission is to create “ambiance.” In short, consider the Country Fair a hybrid festival, something along the lines of a family-friendly Burning Man.
Southwest
March 8 through 17, 2019: South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. South by Southwest wraps Austin up in a big hug of music, conferences and thought leaders to help create a globally connected community.
May 17 through 19, 2019: Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada. Of course a festival in Las Vegas would be more than just music. Electric Daisy Carnival includes art, carnival games and technology for an immersive party experience.
June 20 through 23, 2019: Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, Colorado. This is the granddaddy of bluegrass festivals in the picture perfect mountain town of Telluride.
Northeast
June 20 through 23, 2019: Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware. This big headliner festival had over 90,000 attendees in 2018 rocking out in the woods of Delaware.
July 11 through 13, 2019: Camp Bisco in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Camp Bisco is adults only, which is a bummer because the festival features a zip line and a water park along with some trippy electronica music.
Southeast
April 26 through May 5, 2019: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans, Louisiana. Nothing beats the full experience of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Amazing headliners and local favorites, awesome local food, Mardi Gras dancers and the love of all that is NOLA comes out each year for Jazz Fest.
May 17 through 19, 2019: The Hangout Beach Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Sandy beaches mixed with live music—need we say more?
June 13 through 16, 2019: Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee. Thousands road trip down to Manchester, Tennessee to experience the wonders of the big name and big time festival that includes next level fest food, comedy, and wellness experiences.
June 26 through 29, 2019: ROMP in Owensboro, Kentucky. This small and mighty little festival rocks the bluegrass each June.
July 13 through 16, 2019: Sloss Music Festival in Birmingham, Alabama. Big headliners head to the south for this hardcore, large scale festival.
Midwest
May 24 through 26, 2019: Summer Camp Festival in Chillicothe, Illinois. Modeled after beloved summer camp memories of our youth, the Summer Camp Festival includes favorites like campfires and color wars along with camping and music.
June 6 through 9, 2019: Rootwire Transformational Festival in Pomeroy, Ohio. Offering more than just music, Rootwire is a living organism of arts, wellness and of course, soulful tunes.
June 21 through 23 and June 28 through 30, 2019: Electric Forest in Rothbury, Michigan. This two-weekend event features electronic and jam band styles in the woods of Michigan.
June 28 through 30 and July 5 through 7, 2019: Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A truly enormous festival, Summerfest hosted over 800 bands that played to some 900,000 fans in 2018, so who knows what new attendance record 2019 will bring.
July 19 through 21, 2019: Moondance Jam in Walker, Minnesota. Rocking out and camping at Moondance Jam brings out the heavy metal fan in all of us.
July 19 through 21, 2019: Pitchfolk Music Festival in Chicago, Illinois. This big city festival focuses on new and emerging bands each summer in Chicago’s Union Park.
