The 21 Most Anticipated Music Festivals Next Year
Do you prefer heavy metal or a taste of country? Is a mosh-pit your thing, or are you more of a jazz-fest lover? Whether it be screaming guitars, 60’s flower-power, the gnarly 80’s, or just about anything else of musical content, there’s a potpourri of music festivals across the globe from which you can choose.
What are some of the most anticipated music festivals next year? Some of the most anticipated music festivals next year include, but are not limited to, Coachella, Burning Man, Glastonbury, and Lollapalooza.
The music festival that is most ideal for you will depend on your taste in music and the experience that you are seeking out. Keep reading to discover 21 of the most anticipated music festivals next year.
The 21 Most Anticipated Music Festivals Next Year
Where you go to see music festivals is huge. Do you stick close to home or take a trek across the continent? Perhaps you want to jet across the world?
Maybe you desire to board a ship, hang out at the buffet and make new friends who share your musical proclivities, and experience the show from the pool or hot tub. The choices are endless.
But here’s the thing: there are some top music festivals that you’ve got to add to your bucket list, and we will look at 21 of those most anticipated venues here.
These festivals are unlimited by genre or place; indeed, these are no-brainer festivals you will enjoy no matter your favorite headliners. These are experiences that satisfy all the senses.
Remember, though, if the sense of sound is what brings you happiness, these words by the great Latin-rock guitarist Carlos Santana are powerful reminders of a life’s lesson:
‘Most People are Prisoners, Thinking Only About the Future or Living in the Past. They are not in the Present. And the Present is Where Everything Begins.’
With those words of wisdom in mind, let’s proceed to check out a list of the 21 best and biggest music festivals around the world.
In the end, your choice is made in the present; there will be no worry or uncertainty about your choice because it will have been made in the present. And the present is, after all, where everything begins!
It’s a good bet that some of the best music festivals are on all lists we might consult.
This seems to be the case: one only has to query the Internet to find many of the same festivals on most all lists. It is with this degree of consistency that we shall proceed with our investigation.
The source is connected, and the course is set. The current by which we move is found through our fellow lovers of music, so let’s jump on and see in what directions it takes us!
One thing to keep in mind: music festivals are often regional celebrations. They celebrate time and culture. We will note some of the special idiosyncrasies that have worked to enhance the various festivals.
This should add important dimensions to your decision-making, while also providing some background on each festival.
The 21 most anticipated music festivals next year are listed alphabetically. You will see that each music festival will be provided a month (an approximate yearly date), and its location.
There’s also a brief explanation/description that will give the music aficionado some information about the genre of music as well as some highlights of each festival. After all, what’s better than a festival with your favorite music included!
So, let’s see what music festival you might choose to take in next year!
The 21 Most Anticipated Music Festivals Next Year:
- Bonnaroo
- Burning Man
- Coachella
- Dekmantel
- Download
- Exit
- Firefly
- Fuji Rock
- Glastonbury
- Hangout
- Lollapalooza
- Meadows in the Mountains
- Montreus Jazz Festival
- Outlook
- Pitchfork
- Primavera Sound
- Rock in Rio
- Roskilde
- Rhythm & Vines
- SXSW (South by Southwest)
- UMF Ultra Music Festival
Bonnaroo
Mid June, yearly. Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival takes place in Manchester, TN, USA.
Bonnaroo features Indi rock, classic rock, world music, hip hop, jazz, Americana, bluegrass, country, folk, gospel, reggae, pop, electronic, and other alternative styles. It has been around since 2002.
The venues might change through the years, but the permanent ones are:
Centeroo, open 24 hours each day. The ‘What’ stage is the largest, and considered the main state.
Which Stage, This Tent and That Tent, The Other, and finally, Who Stage and New Music on Tap. It’s like talking in Abbot & Costello!
There are some various other small tents and stages, and even performances that occur within the campgrounds. Named Best Festival by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2008, Bonnaroo has received many accolades, all well deserved.
Bonnaroo is considered Green, and has added Planet Roo in recent years where festival participants can partake of green and sustainable activities.
Health-related activities, a ‘silent disco’ including a DJ playing music that participants with headphones dance to, community art and other fun projects all help make for a total experience. All in all, attendance hits about 75K except in 2012-2014 when it increased to about 100K.
Burning Man
End of Aug.-beginning of Sept., and takes place in the Black Rock Desert of NW Nevada, USA.
This is a late-summer event. It is about 33 years old, and was originally held in San Francisco, and began as a bonfire ritual.
Each year sees a different theme, 2019 being metamorphoses.
There’s large-scale interactive art that’s inspired by maker culture, technology, and a real connection to nature. You’ll enjoy music, performance, and ‘guerilla’ street theatre.
The yearly ‘Art of Burning Man’ is the largest artistic installation. Participants may bring purpose-built ‘mutant vehicles’ if their design has been accepted.
Any vehicle, 600 per festival are accepted, has a chance for entry into this Bureau of Land Management region if it’s not unrecognizable as the base vehicle. In other words, you may decorate the vehicle, but it cannot be ‘mutated’ beyond recognition.
Bicycles are popular at Burning Man, and with few vehicles, the organizers are working to comply the BLM caps for a pedestrian-friendly environment.
So, where’s the music? Some past performances have included Dierks Bentley, Acid Pauli, Brothers Osborne, Diplo, Flume, Skrilly, TOKiMONSTA, Zhu, and Tycho.
Coachella
Consecutive 3-day weekends in April, Indio, CA USA
Coachella takes place in the low desert within the Inland Empire’s Coachella Valley. The venue is in the desert, so even in April, it can become very, very hot.
Coachella adheres to presenting popular well-established music, reunited groups, and emerging artists. All three weekends showcase the same line-up, and typically draws around 250K visitors.
Coachella is somewhat of a trendsetter, and several other festivals have attempted to copy it, some with good success.
Attendees wear distinctive clothing, mostly ethnic and eclectic. Participants have experienced some great acts to include Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Jane’s Addiction, Rage Against the Machine, The Cure, Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Beyonce, Eminim, and Ariana Grande.
The festival enjoys various billboard touring Awards, and based on the popularity of the festival, they are well deserved.
Dekmantel
End of July- beginning of August, and takes place at Amsterdam Box, Amsterdam, Netherlands
This is a great techno, electronic, and house home for cutting edge music. Acts include lineups featuring upcoming creative and potentially influential techno DJs who bring crowds to their knees.
This is a favored festival in Europe with six stages of artistry and great sound. The music is varied and galvanizing. Oh, and it is a beautiful site!
Download
June, Downingtown Park, Derbyshire, England, UK
This is a busily moving festival. It began in England, has moved to Paris, Sydney, and Melbourne. Interestingly, some technological surveillance by police occurred in the UK in 2015.
It included RFID wristbands and facial recognition technology used to compare visual scans against a European criminal database. Safety first.
Download, an interesting name, represents downloading music as well as Monsters of Rock for connectivity to the Internet. The first Download brought the Hells Angels to their feet as Metallica finished a 90-minute set in a crazed frenzy.
Download is rock and roll, and some great bands who’ve performed on at least one of the three stages have included Drowning Pool, Suicide Girls, HIM, Linkin Park, Black Sabbath, Faith No More, Alice Cooper, Helmet, Billy Idol, and many more.
There are some great blues bands, but overall, this is a Rock and Roll headliner festival.
The festival has moved to Scotland and Australia, France, and Spain, but always seems to find its way back home in June.
It’s too early to know what 2020 will look like, but here are a few names from 2019 for reference: Def Leppard, Simple Creatures, Tool, Slayer, and more!
Exit
July, Novi Sad, Serbia
This event began as a student protest against government misdeeds in 2000. Now, this popular festival takes place in an iconic fortress.
Festival goers play on the city beach during the day before heading to the arena or the smaller festival when the sun sets. Food is served with hip-hop, EDM, rock, reggae, drum and bass, and more. 2019 is hosting David Guetta, Ziggy Marley, and Jax Jones.
Firefly Music Festival
First held July 20-22 in 2012. The 2019 festival is scheduled for June 21–23. Firefly takes place in The Woodlands at Dover Int’l. Speedway.
Here’s a105-acre festival venue that takes place over the span of three days. Many nationally known musical acts have performed at the festival, with over 100 performances held over the course of the festival in 2016.
The festival producers work together to establish the event at the current venue with the hopes of having “an open-air festival on the East Coast with plenty of outdoor camping.”
This festival includes seven stages; The Porch Stage, The Lawn Stage, The Backyard Stage, the Treehouse, The Coffee House, The Pavilion and The Firefly Stage.
Three different passes options are offered for your viewing pleasure; general admission, VIP, and Super VIP.
The 2018 Firefly Music Festival began a four-day event starting June 14 and lasting through June 17. Some headliners included Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Arctic Moneys, The Killers, Amillion the Poet, and more!
In addition to musical acts, The Firefly Music Festival offers other activities. An arcade tent is set up, which houses arcade and video games. Attendees can design their own pair of shoes that can be painted to their specifics by an artist.
The Pathway is a wooded path that connects the two “halves” of the festival. Each year, The Pathway has a theme, and as of the 2017 festival, fans get to choose what that happens to be.
The Thicket is another attraction at Firefly, where attendees can participate in a silent rave. For everyone with headphones on, however, the Thicket is filled with music, played by DJs, but can only be heard through the headphones.
The Coffee House offers a multiple café-style vendors, and music performances throughout the day.
Fuji Rock
July, Mount Naeba, Japan
This is the largest music festival in Japan. Its beauty in the mountains around the Naeba Ski Resorts is reported to be idyllic. Festival participants hop a cable car to travel between stages. It boasts an idyllic view, as well, as seen from the world’s longest gondola lift.
Some great entertainment has included Disclosure, James Black, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Beck.
Glastonbury
June, One year off after 4 consecutive years, Glastonbury, UK
Attracts around 175K people each year, this festival is a cornerstone of British culture. Year after year, the beautiful fields of Glastonbury are crashing with waves of music lovers ready to watch some of the biggest stars.
Speaking of water, spontaneous downpours have been known to turn this music festival into a mud-fest.
Past headliners include Beyonce, Muse, Arctic Monkeys, Ed Sheeran, and Adele. People call this a ‘need to be seen’ venue for the new artist who ‘are totally killing it now,’ including Florence and the Machine and James Bay.
Hangout
May 16-19, Gulf Shores, AL.
The Hangout Music Fest is a summer music festival that is held annually on the beach. Some of the top artists are seen performing here, with the most notable being Cardi B, Diplo, Travis Scott, Hozier, The Weeknd, and Khalid.
Lollapalooza
August 1-4 2019, Chicago IL, USA, with other dates in Paris, Germany, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Santiago
A very popular festival that has spread to worldwide stages over the years, Lollapalooza was first conceived as a farewell tour for the band Jane’s Addiction by the frontman, Perry Farrell.
The Chicago event, and all the other ‘satellites’ play huge lineups that include rock, pop, rap, EDM, and more. The scale of the festivals is described as ‘almost unparalleled’ in scale.
Meadows in the Mountains
Early June, Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria
Are you looking to get away? If so, you’ll enjoy this small and ‘secret oasis of Meadows in the Mountains’ where you can enjoy music while adding a sense of Zen to your life. Meadows is neither oversized nor a mega-fest. It is considered a forested sanctuary where participants take part in yoga and calm.
Meadows is an obvious answer to Burning Man, and offered in a wholly different setting. It is intimate and sublime. The music respects the beauty of the surroundings.
Montreus Jazz Festival
First two weeks in July in Montreux, Switzerland
What a cool venue, beautifully set on Lake Geneva’s sapphire blue waters, the Montreux Jazz Festival has made a slow but continual transformation from a jazz-only event to a large-scale music festival that boasts a broad array of artists and draws an international crowd over the course of its two weeks.
Some big names in the lineup might sound like: ZZ Top, Neil Young, Santana, and Muse.
Outlook
Early September in Pula, Croatia
Outlook serves up a celebration of soundsystem culture to include reggae, dubstep, drum and bass, jungle, grime and garage. It is set within a stunning location.
A perusal online will offer up some cool information about the Outlook festival. Pictures reveal beauty and celebratory fun as well as an old fort, Punta Christo, that makes one recall a Roman amphitheater, which it actually is.
This 5-day even takes place in and around Fort Punta, and it’s close to a lovely harbor.
Outlook is popular, and Croatia is having a recent music breakout moment. 2019’s festival will include Bugzy Malone, Chase & Status, dBridge, and Mala, among others.
Pitchfork
July of each year in Chicago, IL, USA
Here’s some of the lineup for 2019: Haim, Mavis Staples, Pusha-T, Earl Sweatshirt, Sky Ferreira, The Isley Brothers (wow…it’s their 60th birthday celebration), Kurt Vile, Amber Mark, Freddie Gibbs, Belle & Sebastian, Ric Wilson, Robyn, Clairo, Snail Mail, Amen Dunes, and lots more.
This is a festival that highlights new and emerging music. The festival has been around since 2006, and it’s enjoyed by around 60K attendees each year.
The festival is held in a park, it will include radio broadcasting, some great vendors (and a CHIRP record fair), kids’ zone, and lots more. The kids’ zone is a favorite because little ones can visit the instrument petting zoo.
That’s a great chance for the kids in your life to experience—and maybe even pick up a love for—some of the instruments they see at the festival.
Primavera Sound
May’s end and beginning of June, the festivals take place in Barcelona, Spain and Porto, Portugal.
Primavera started in 2001 in Poble Espanyol, then moved to the Parc del Forum, a much larger venue that’s on the seafront.
The festival, urban and in part of the city, offers a wide range of bands. It is successful, and brings in independent music artists and many genres to include pop, rock, electronic, and dance.
Some former lineups include the Pixies, Arcade Fire, Soundsystem, Nine Inch Nail, Kendrick Lamar, Pet Shop Boys, and Neil Young. Public Enemy, The White Stripes, and Pet Shop Boys are others.
Interestingly, the 2019 lineup has attempted to include equal numbers of female as male performers. It’s considered a ‘new normal’ for representation of equality of gender.
The 2019 festival, therefore, includes Miley Cyrus, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Nina Kravitz, among others.
Rock in Rio
1985-present in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Lisbon, Portugal, Madrid, Spain, Las Vegas, NV USA.
This is a festival that originated in Rio, and eventually branched to other locations. Rock is one of the largest music festivals. Now owned by Live Nation Entertainment, the Rock we find in the name is predominant in each venue.
Queen, James Taylor, Rod Stewart, Blitz, Whitesnake, The B-52’s, and Ozzy Osbourne are some of the big names.
As the festival has expanded, the big names continue with John Legend, Metallica, Queen & Adam Lambert, Rihanna, Sheppard, Katy Perry, Al Jarreau, and the list goes on.
Months and days of the festival are dependent on the its location.
Roskilde
End of June through early July in Roskilde, Denmark
Roskilde is a very popular music festival. In fact, it is one of the largest in Europe. Its curious history began in 1971 when a couple of high school kids desired to emulate Woodstock and England’s Isle of Wight.
The hippie foundation of Roskilde has continued, as we note the significance of culture and humanism as well as the promotion of equality throughout society that grounds the festival.
Acts have included Bob Dylan, The Cure, and The Cure. Sound includes about 1K line array system loudspeakers that bring the music to new heights.
Rhythm & Vines
End of Dec. through Jan. 1, Gusborne, New Zealand
This is a fun music festival that’s been popular down under from 2003-present.
Rhythm & Vines sits upon the Waiohika Estate vineyard, and it is a beautiful venue. Certainly, those who love sipping wine enjoy this festival a great deal.
Rhythm & Vines has had some sell-out years, and it’s only 16 years young. It began as a celebration to ensure safety in the New Year.
There’s two stages, and some names who’ve performed are Groundswell, Stevie G., Taliband, State of Mind, The Tutts, The Mint Chicks, Anika Moa, Katchafire, Digitalism, and many more.
The time of year allows the organizers to bring in bands that might normally be booked.
SXSW (South by Southwest)
Mid March for about nine days in Austin, TX, USA.
Amazingly splendid is this world’s largest new music showcase festival. SXSW includes over 1K artists who perform over two weekends with plenty of talent crammed into the weekdays, as well.
SXSW loves keeping secrets, resulting in flying rumors and tremendous build-up over the year. SXSW doesn’t use just a large performance area; instead, small areas throughout downtown Austin host various performances.
Though the festival is devoted to music, it has expanded to include film and technology. It’s a little like a small domestic Cannes that includes conferences and panel discussions. Technology? Did you know that Twitter was launched from SXSW in 2007?
Tomorrowland
July, and takes place in Boom, Belgium
This is a spirited festival. Tickets are hard to get. Some saw Tomorrowland is similar to Disney, a miracle for adults who love electronic music and festivals.
The venue sits on grass with scenes of relaxing water nearby. Some 185K music lovers visit each year, and they love the creative picks by DJs from around the world that play tunes from varying genres. The festival is creative and inclusive.
UMF Ultra Music Festival
End of March, Miami, FL, USA
The UMF sees approximately 165K people each year. Considered the world’s premier electronic music festival, it seamlessly transforms a large park into a dance floor.
The festival holds a party atmosphere and a lineup unlike any other.
Its name is derived from a Depeche Mode album; ULTRA takes place (now) at Bayfront Park. Some exclusive performances include Above & Beyond, Cosmic Gate, Fatboy Slim, Skrillex, Boys Noize, and Pete Tong.
Due to complaints, the time and place have both moved, and organizers are trying to mitigate concerns, especially by local environmental groups.
There is a competing techno festival (Rapture), and its organizers, too, have brought a lawsuit against ULTRA.
The fate of this popular festival will be of interest, especially for those who love electronic music. In the meantime, a tentative move back to March (Virginia Key) is planned for 2020.
Music Festival Tips for Beginners
If you’re a newcomer to the music festival scene, you will want a heads-up and a focused approach to how you manage your trip. You’ll need to consider, too, whether travel abroad for a whole experience to include experiencing a new country.
If that’s the road you plan to take, good for you, but be sure to plan well. Query variations and explore combinations of activities you might want to include.
And pack with practicality. If you travel regularly, you’ll already have a pretty good idea of how to approach packing. Otherwise, check out blogs and other sites where you can get some great tips.
If you plan, on the other hand, to visit a more localized festival, you have much more control and freedom. Still, some investigation is useful. You’ll probably want to secure lodging, and as much as possible, you will want to plan for flexibility.
The goal, though, is to have a great time. With that said, here are a few tips to help you stay organized and happy, momentous and fun—once you arrive:
- Plan who you want to see
- Plan that you don’t have cell reception
- Plan that you’ll get hungry and thirsty
- Book a hotel unless you are camping
- Stick with your party
- Make a plan for if you get separated
- Dress for the weather
- Carry hand sanitizer
- Wear sunscreen
- Have fun!
As you can see, there are plenty of fun and interesting music festivals coming up next year. No matter which one you choose, you are sure to have a great time, as long as you come prepared and know what kind of experience you would like to take from it.