Music festival fans have an unspoken understanding that Coachella marks the beginning of “festival season.” There are so many more amazing festivals to check out this year — here are five music and arts festivals we’re looking forward to.
1. BottleRock
May 26-28 (Napa Valley, CA)
Held during Memorial Day weekend in California’s most popular wine country, BottleRock combines A-list artists as well as culinary artists and local wines to celebrate the holiday. Line-up includes: Foo Fighters, Maroon 5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Martha Stewart and Jose Andres.
2. FYF Fest
July 21-23 (Los Angeles, CA)
FYF Fest, short for “F*CK Yeah Fest,” is actually being held a month earlier than previous years at their usual venue Exposition Park in Los Angeles. Just like its name, FYF Fest is a festival focused on having fun and enjoying music. It’ll be hard not to say “F*ck Yeah” during the fest with artists like Missy Elliot, Frank Ocean, Flying Lotus and Anderson Paak performing.
3. HARD Summer Music Festival
August 5-6 (Fontana, CA)
HARD Summer Music Festival, more commonly known as HARD Fest or simply HARD among veteran festies, is the yin and yang of music festivals. HARD combines hip-hop, house, EDM and various genres for an entire weekend of perfect musical balance. DJ Snake, Bassnectar and Snoop “d-o-double g” Dogg will headline to make sure your summer is blazin’.
4. Outside Lands
August 11-13 (San Francisco, CA)
San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park gets shut down for an entire weekend to host one of the largest music festivals of the year. Outside Lands is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and the line-up definitely shows it’ll be a wild party — music headliners include Metallica, Lorde, A Tribe Called Quest and Gorillaz. The Barbary, Outside Lands’ comedy and improv line-up has not been announced yet, but in past years, Fred Armisen, Charlyne Yi and John Mulaney have performed. Perhaps we can hope for San Francisco native Ali Wong this year?
5. Camp Flog Gnaw
November TBD (Los Angeles, CA)
Last but not least, Camp Flog Gnaw — better known as Tyler the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival — is the perfect way to say farewell to your unforgettable summer. Tyler the Creator combines his love of music, skateboarding and fun to provide Angelenos the biggest carnival of the year. Bring out your festival sneakers one last time before retiring them this season. Dates and venue are yet to be announced, but in previous years, November was the month to keep your schedules clear, and Exposition Park is the neighborhood where you should find lodging for this two-day event. Past performers include A$AP Rocky, Tyler the Creator, Chance the Rapper and Anderson Paak.
What are you looking forward to the most?
