Your Guide to Summer Music Festivals
#14 Essence
Essence Music Festival, an annual festival celebrating contemporary African-American music and culture, is the largest event celebrating African-American culture and music in the United States. It's been held in New Orleans, Louisiana every year since 1995. This year acts include Eve, Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, Fred Hammond, Maurette Brown Clark and many more.
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15:
Summerfest
Summerfest is an annual festival held at the 75-acre Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront in Milwaukee. It lasts for 11 days, is made up of 11 stages with performances from over 700 bands. The acts are all pretty mainstream. This year they include Lady Antebellum, Foo Fighters, ZZ Top, Chicago, The Roots, David Gray and many, many more.
14:
Essence
Essence Music Festival, an annual festival celebrating contemporary African-American music and culture, is the largest event celebrating African-American culture and music in the United States. It's been held in New Orleans, Louisiana every year since 1995. This year acts include Eve, Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, Fred Hammond, Maurette Brown Clark and many more.
13:
Camp Bisco
Skrillex and Bassnectar headlines this year's event., the corner stone of the Albany, NY music scene. The festival also features DJ sets from Amon Tobin ISAM, Shpongle Presents The Masquerade, A-Trak and Dada Life. Sprawled across 200 acres of rolling hills about 30 minutes outside of Albany, the festival grounds will host two main stages, multiple late-night dance tents, a silent disco, food and craft villages.
12:
Pitchfork
The Pitchfork Music Festival is the annual summer music festival that is organized by Pitchfork Media. It is held in Union Park and focuses on artists and bands from alternative rock, rap & hip-hop, electronica, and dance music, although it has also included acts from hardcore punk, experimental/avant-garde rock and jazz. This year the line up includes Beach House, Wild Flag, Real Estate, Atlas Sound, Big K.R.I.T., Nicolas Jaar, Cults, Chavez and many more.
11:
Forecastle
The Forecastle Festival is an annual three-day music, art, and environmental activism festival held in Louisville, Kentucky since 2002. The festival has been selected as one of Outside Magazine's "Top 15 Outdoor Summer Festivals in the Country." This year the line up includes Bassnectar, Atmosphere, Sleigh Bells, Flying Lotus, Beach House, The Head and The Heart and many more.
10:
Firefly
The Firefly is a small festival located at the Dover International Speedway, near Delaware bay. It has a great reputation and headliners this year include The Killers, The Black Keys, Jack White, Death Cab For Cutie, John Legend and many more.
9:
Capitol Hill Block Party
This Capitol Hill Block Party is the 16th annual music festival near Seattle's 10th Avenue and Pike Street and it's morphing to include visual arts, a short-film contest and family-friendly activities. The music portion showcases more than 100 of the best Northwest and national bands and Dj’s. The festival’s low ticket price gives fans six stages over three days in Seattle’s South Capitol Hill neighborhood.
8:
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is the American annual folk-oriented music festival held in Newport, Rhode Island. It began in 1959 as a cousin to the established Newport Jazz Festival. The festival features performances by folk, blues, country, bluegrass and folk rock musicians. This year, the line up includes My Morning Jacket, Iron & Wine, Patty Griffin, Guthrie Family Reunion and a wide variety of other folk acts.
7:
Catalpa
The Catalpa Festival is located on Randall's Island, between Manhattan and Brooklyn. It's distinguished by High Times-curated Reggae stage and a silent disco tent where all attendees listen to the same set via wireless headphones. Headliners this year include Snoop Dogg, TV On The Radio, Matt and Kim, Hercules and Love Affair and many more.
6:
Watershed
The Gorge Amphitheater is east of Seattle and will feature a lineup of notable artists, camping, late night sets, impromptu jam sessions, collaborations and much more. The amphitheater is a picturesque backdrop for this truly unmatched festival. Headliners Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert as well as sets by Dwight Yokam and many more.
5:
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is the annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances and craft booths. It's also a platform for non-profit and political groups. The festival was conceived and created in 1991 by Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell. Lolla's top headliners this year include Avicii, Black Sabbath, The Afghan Whigs, Florence + The Machine, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, Kaskade, Neon Indian, Madeon.
4:
Pickathon
This is a festival veering from the indie/ mainstream/ dance trident that was made popular by Coachella. It's held on a farm outside Portland and features "indie roots" acts on stages inside barns, under the stars and set between camp sites. Check out this line up: Phosphorescent, Langhorne Slim, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Laura Gibson, Hot 8 Brass Band, Y La Bamba and Neko Case and many, many, many more.
3:
Outside Lands
The Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is an annual music festival held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The first one was held in 2008, and had more than 60 acts from around the world. The festival grounds includes the Polo Field, the Speedway Meadow and Lindley Meadow. This year, you've got to see this line-up to believe it: Stevie Wonder, Metallica, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Jack White, Foo Fighters, Beck, Skrillex and loads more.
2:
Bumbershoot
One of America's largest festivals, it's held at the 74-acre Seattle Center, built for the 1962 World's Fair. The center includes indoor theaters, outdoor stages, McCaw Hall, and Memorial Stadium. The festival's name is taken from the British colloquial term for umbrella. That a look at this line up and see why you ought to be there.
1:
Budweiser Made In America
Jay-Z organized this electronic dance music festival and it looks hot, hot, hot. Take a look at this headliners: Skrillex, Mike Snow, Afrojack, and Calvin Harris - some of the best in the genre. This could be a good one to catch if you're in the City of Brotherly Love.
