Winter is all about celebrating love and life; music lovers drown in the adrenaline rush as the months of big gigs and music festivals approach. Once the music lovers get the essence of epic music festivals, there’s no turning back. People can have the best time by enjoying global music and dance culture with like-minded individuals. The annual celebrations mainly take place during the weekends to give tedious souls a transcendental escape for a while. Big cities in the USA such as Miami, New York, and New Orleans pump up the busy brains with interesting arrangements for the craziest music festivals anyone has ever heard of. They keep it in style with plenty of outdoor games, interesting movie screenings, and some out of the box events like yoga, lawn games, and art installations.
No matter what’s your go-to song for every mood swing, you will find your catch in such American music festivals. From metal to hard rock, EDM to pop, you can choose whatever you want from the following vast list of music festivals. Today you will read about the most pompous music festivals that happen in different pockets of America. Plan your party with one of the following music events before the tickets are completely sold out.
1. SXSW:
The month of the event: March
Place: Austin Texas, USA
It’s a 10-day long music festival with films and interactive business.
The annual festival of music in Austin is known as SXSW (South by South West). It is one of the biggest celebrations of music in the US that includes live music, film screenings, and business ventures. Artists from all around the world join this event to cherish the unification of world music. Over 2000 artists from 65 different nations strike a chord with the spectators by playing medleys of genres on the stage. You will find rock musicians, punk lovers, metal and hard rock music groups, and enjoy the blasts of hip hop, indie pop, or EDM numbers, all in one place. Bystanders can take the full thrill of wellness expos, trade shows, networking events, and drama plays that go on side by side while rooting for world-class musical performers. Its dynamic presentation of documentaries and comedy has heavily influenced the smart citizens. Many new and independent filmmakers have screened their films in front of a huge crowd at the music festival. It takes up a huge venue including International Day Stage Austin Convention Center, Brush Square Park, and Austin City Hall.
The next annual event will be held from March 16 – March 20, 2021. It has planted a new experience for the audience because it is going to happen digitally.
Open: It begins in early March and continues for 10 days.
2. Ultra Miami:
The month of the event: March
Place: 301 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132, USA
It’s a paradise for EDM lovers.
Ultra is the most happening music festival that is celebrated in many countries across the world. Ultra Miami is the center of the Ultra festival since 1999. It is considered to be an atypical music ceremony for celebrating the magic of electronic music. Every year, almost 150000 EDM enthusiasts visit this festival in summer at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami. Popular international EDM artists and well-versed DJs such as Diplo, Paul Van Dyk, and Tiësto make the audience fanatic every year. Fill your veins with limitless booze, and high-flown music that starts from the morning till the daylight is out. Electronic music lovers wait for the weekend-long arraignments that generally occur in late March.
In 2021, it will be back to host a series of terrific programs from 26th March.
Open: Three days in late March
3. Coachella:
The month of the event: April
Place: 81800 Avenue 51, Indio, CA 92201, USA
It’s a place where you find the solace of your soul being surrounded by flower people and may known faces from Hollywood.
If you want to know what the biggest festival is for the hippy generation, then Coachella’s name will come to your mind right away. Music fans all over the world tune their hearts with the ode to the friendship and rich diversity of music with this music festival. It has been plugging an enormous amount of crowd since 1999. People come to watch epic performances of internationally-acclaimed musicians such as Beyoncé, Radiohead, Depeche Mode, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, and Paul McCartney. You can make friends beyond any culture because they come here from different parts of the world. It can be a lucky day for you if you catch celebrities jiving to the heart-pumping beats in the venue. Hollywood celebrities stroll the spot throughout the whole event. Not only seasoned artists perform in the festival, many emerging musicians get a chance to attract music lovers with captivating shows.
Next year, the Coachella festival will start on Friday, 9th April, and will end on April 18, 2021.
Open: It goes on for 2 long weekends in the middle of April.
4. New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival:
The month of the event: Mid April or in early May
Place: 1751 Gentilly Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70119, USA
It is not only a place for music lovers, craft enthusiasts also jam pack the festival for the unique shops for handcrafted items while tapping their feet to the smooth Jazz rhythms.
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is a renowned music festival that focuses on the jazz culture, the world of gospel, blues, and global music. Two weeks’ stretch into the planet of world-class live performances can be your perfect getaway for the weekend. The jazz fest annually takes place at the Fair Grounds Race Course in central New Orleans. It has twelve different set-ups for simultaneous concerts. Such huge arrangements of concert stages and several tents cultivating heritage talks, cooking demonstrations, and children’s activities attract lots of tourists as well. It is a superior amalgam of music and small handcrafted clothing, pottery, musical instruments, and photographs.
Unfortunately, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was called off in 2020 due to the severity of the COVID-19 crisis. The abrupt interruption of the 50-year-old jazz festival was a difficult decision. People are patiently waiting for the next year as it will reload the stages again from April 22 – May 2, 2021.
Open: From late April until the beginning of May.
5. Bonnaroo:
The month of the event: June or September
Place: Great Stage Park, Tennessee 37355, USA
It is an amazing session of live music that goes on for 4 long days with some outdoor fun like yoga, and art installations.
It is the greatest music festival in Tennessee that covers the large area of Great Stage Park to set 10 different stages, making enough space for over 150 international artists. You will find all sorts of generic music culture in this annual celebration of musical momentum. The soulful sound of the gospel, reggae, jazz, Americana, bluegrass, pop, and rock will grip your mind for 4 days. If you ever feel to try out something more than just good music, you can devour the benefits of outdoor yoga, silent disco, art installations, kid-friendly games, and colorful parades. When the sun goes down, the venue lights up in all that blinding colors, managing 4 campground party barns, and an unlimited dose of entertainment. There are several stages reserved for stand-up comedy shows and environmental talks; this adds streaks of diversity to the exceptional music festivals.
Bonnaroo will take place from September 2-5, in 2021.
Open: Generally, it happens in the middle of June but next year, it will be organized from September. This festival is carried on for 4 days.
6. Governors Ball:
The month of the event: In the month of June
Place: Randalls Island, New York, NY, USA
Fill your void with giant food trucks, dynamic music shows, classic art demonstrations, and outdoor games at NYC’s Randall’s Island.
Get the deadly dose of entertainment with the hippy music festival that amuses thousands of New Yorkers annually. From travelers to festival rockers, everyone feels good with the monstrous presentation. The hyped music concerts, reloaded food trucks, booze, outdoor sports, and heavy art demonstrations at Randalls Island draw a huge crowd in the month of June. It has been cheering up the heritage of American music with big names like The xx, Beck, Guns N’ Roses, Kings of Leon, and Outkast since 2011.
The spacious arena gives plenty of rooms for the visitors who want to take a break and breathe in the sober air. People often enjoy the basic lawn games, human board games, and silent discos in the expensive landscape.
This is an extraordinary experience for the New Yorkers because it has evolved simultaneously with the music trend in New York.
Open: It occurs in the initial week of June for 3 days.
7. Lollapalooza:
The month of the event: August month
Place: Grant Park, Chicago, IL, USA
Meet the best alternative musicians at Chicago’s largest music festival.
When someone says that music reunites different nations and cultures, Lollapalooza buzzes in your mind. It is the best music festival in August because all the alternative bands and musicians collide at the same spot, at Grant Park. The celebrations take place for a week and the best musicians all around the world come to entertain the overcrowded audience. More than 170 artists perform in the fest at 8 separate concert stages. If you are a crazy fan of metal, alternative rock, punk rock, or electronic evolution of music, Lollapalooza is the right place for your soul. Alternative rock bands Arctic Monkeys, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, The Strokes, and Arctic have been performing here every year.
Open: Over the weekend in early August.
8. Afropunk:
The month of the event: In August
Place: Commodore Barry Park, Flushing Avenue & N. Elliot Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
It is the hub of celebrating African American music culture.
The summer in New York shines brighter with the weekend-long music event that is set up at Commodore Barry Park in Brooklyn every year. Music bridges the cultural differences when famous artists such as Erykah Badu, Janelle Monae, Lenny Kravitz, and Grace Jones make time to participate in the grand gala that gets your teeth into Afro music for a weekend. The venue gets jam-packed with more than 60000 melophiles. The place looks like a painted picture from the book when thousands of people gather at the same ground wearing exotic dresses and state-of-the-art accessories. The exclusive craft shops, outdoor games, and food vans can keep you all day long.
In 2020, it took place from Saturday, November 28 to 29th November.
Open: In late August for only 3 days.
9. Burning Man:
The month of the event: either in August or in September
Place: Black Rock City, Nevada, USA
On a bizarre onset, the music fest takes part in a secluded landscape surround by a dry desert.
Burning Man is planned during the long weekends keeping your spirit high for the next few weeks. It is a week-long amalgam of music in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. Nothing comes close to the set up of an entire music festival in the middle of the deserted town. Every year, a new town hosts the event and makes arrangements for thousands of festivalgoers, music rockers, and savage artists for a whole week. The audiences are turned on by the spectacular fire shows, music concerts, wild after-parties, quirky art installations, and finally, the show-stopper preparation of a massive wooden effigy at Burning Man. It is advised to bring on your goggles and facemasks due to the frequent dust storms.
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it has received donations from over 8,000 contributors.
Open: For a week from late August to early September.
10. ESSENCE:
The month of the event: In July
Place: 1500 Sugar Bowl Dr, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
It is the biggest celebration of African American songs and culture in the center of New Orleans.
ESSENCE is dedicated to the boom of African American culture in the music industry. Taking place at Mercedes-Benz Superdome stadium in New Orleans, it goes on for three long days to entertain the vast population. Apart from the striking performance from R&B and hip-hop icons such as Janet Jackson, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige, people also enjoy independent talk shows, art demonstrations, and ethnic stores full of Afrocentric fashion and accessories.
Open: From Friday to Sunday in the first week of July.