Florida being one of the best festival hubs in the US hosts thousands of amazing music festivals around the year. Thanks to its year-round warm weather, Florida is most popularly known as the Sunshine state. Every year Florida invites multiple music festivals to suit everyone. From smooth jazz festivals to electronic music festivals and events, with numerous top hip-hop artists taking the crowd by storm with their performances, there are multiple options to choose from. To help you pick your favorite, we have listed the 20 Best Music Festivals In Florida You Can’t Miss.
Let’s take the musical route to find out the best ones!
EDC (Orlando)
EDC which stands for Electric Daisy Festival happens to be one of the largest electronic dance festivals in the U.S. For those who are looking out for a wild and carnival-like musical experience, this is the place to be. The festival ground remains covered with magnificent neon lights that get you trippy eventually. Its worldly artwork and stunning dance performers let you groove endlessly. The EDC is undeniably an awesome festival that remains filled with fun activities. Staring from Ferris wheels to glow-in-the-dark artworks, this place has got it all covered required to attract the crowd. The festival is mainly hosted to spread the love for music and the community. The stages set are unique and the circuit grounds stay lighted all night for constant dance and the neon gardens, where techno music play non-stop. It surely is a must-visit spot for all.
ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL (Miami)
The Ultra Music Festival remains a major highlight for most EDM Fans and no we aren’t complaining. The epic three-day electro dance music festival attracts huge international artists like Marshmello, Carl Cox, and many more. With this comes the live stage setup that hugely surprises the guests, to keep the eyes wide open all night long. Located in Downtown Miami, the festival was founded back in 1999 and is held alongside the Miami Music Week. This festival is most popular for its out party atmosphere and the amazing musical line-ups. It is certainly one of the best places to be in.
KEY WEST SONGWRITERS FESTIVAL (KEY WEST)
Tagged as the largest music festival, totally one of its kind, the Key West Songwriter’s festival is truly the best. Started in 1997, the BMI had sponsored one of the unique festivals and now it’s the 25th. The festival goes for around 5 days with nonstop live music. Held in Key West Florida, what makes this festival so demanding is that many of the shows come for free. Bringing together almost 30 shows, 150 musicians, and 5 days of music, this has to be one of the largest music festivals.
FLORIDA FOLK FESTIVAL (White Springs)
The Florida Folk Festival welcomes a three-day celebration with all things music, folks, and crafts. The visitor can expect to find everything from Irish fiddle to music workshops, storytelling performances, techno artists, crafting pine-needle baskets, and many more exciting things here. The music festival aims to connect with others and share stories on some of Florida’s oldest communities and also the things that make Florida unique as it is. Emphasizing nature remains a major part of this festival and you can buy the locally grown plants here. It is held mainly over the Memorial Day weekend and the festival hosts over 300 performances. A theme is being chosen every year. It’s a unique festival in Florida that is also known as Florida’s Best Cultural Event.
GASPARILLA MUSIC FESTIVAL (TAMPA)
Held during the second week of March, the Gasparilla Music Festival is one of the music festivals in Florida that is popular for benefitting the charity known for supporting the youth music programs. The festival aims to support music education through its recycled tunes program and features a wide array of musical acts and cuisine from around Tampa. The festival hosts over 40 performers across four stages. The price of the tickets starts at around $40 for a single day to $60 for both days, and VIP, the prices range from $100 to $200.
SAINT AUGUSTINE CELTIC FESTIVAL (ST. AUGUSTINE)
Having reached its 10th year, the Saint Augustine Celtic Festival is produced by a non-profit cultural and arts organization and is mainly held over St. Patrick’s weekend. The music festival takes place in the oldest Celtic city in the U.S. and is also one of the best Celtic music festivals to be held in Florida. The two days long festival witnesses family fun, and Celtic bands coming from across the world, Celtic crafts, and foods. Moreover, the Celtic Clans take great pride in showing off their family heritage during a parade. The fee for general admission is $10 and for the VIP it begins at $75.
Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival (Miami Gardens)
Held in Miami Gardens in the spring, the Miami Jazz Festival is in its 15th year and takes place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. This particular music festival celebrates culture, arts, and music. Being one of Miami’s premier music festivals, this event highlights the local and international modern jazz, soul, R&B, pop, and hip-hop artists. It also hosts conferences, films, and artworks at the Jazz festival that is held during the first week of March. Do visit for a sprawling experience.
SPRINGING THE BLUES (JACKSONVILLE)
Held at the Seawalk Pavillion in downtown Jacksonville Beach, the Springing the Blues music festival is one of the best free music festivals that started in the year 1991. The three-day event brings in all kinds of local and national artists under one roof for over 125000 fans on the two sets stage on the beach of Jacksonville. The festival takes place in April and has also been included as one of the top 50 music festivals in the USA by Downbeat Magazine. What makes it so special is its child-friendly environment that has food vendors and an art marketplace as well.
SUWANNEE RIVER JAM (LIVE OAK)
The Suwannee River Jam festival is one of the music festivals in Florida that is held at an outdoor space on the banks of the River Suwannee in Live Oak. The festival is held over a grand space of 800 acres. Being one of the largest country music festivals in Florida, this festival is being celebrated for about 28 years. The event is most popular for its outdoor activities like springs, hiking, canoeing, and biking, and is completely family-friendly. Additionally, the campground offers cabins, RV spots, primitive camping for the festival, etc. The tickets for the festival start at $120 and the VIP packages, $200 for the weekend. The camping fees are extra.
TORTUGA MUSIC FESTIVAL (FORT LAUDERDALE)
The Tortuga Music Festival brings the top rock, country, and roots artists to the forefront on the stage. This music festival is one of the most popular festivals being held with thousands and thousands of people flocking from around the world to the festival’s beachside location. The three-day festival maintains a strong focus on marine conservation and its white sand beachside location compels the visitors to think more about the oceans. The Tortuga festival has risen over $2 million to support education and scientific research. The tickets range from $138 and multiday tickets cost 4239 with the VIP tickets starting at $1249.
