The Best Music Festivals to Attend in the US

The best music festivals are like no other type of event in the world. There's something special about the sheer volume and energy of the crowds that are attracted to these massive gatherings. Today, we'll be taking a look at some of the best music festivals you need to consider attending in the remainder of the year. While many of the festivals are yet to release the specifics for their 2023 events, we've featured their 2022 productions and any other details that have emerged.

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Location: Chicago, IL

Featuring: Earl Sweatshirt, Toro y Moi, The Roots

Known for the sophistication of their music taste, Pitchfork tends to deliver. Their festival is just as tightly curated as their blog, which has become a staple in the music community. This year's event includes some impressive headliners, as well as up-and-comers worth noting.

Location: Chicago, IL

Featuring: Metallica, Green Day, Lil Baby

Lollapalooza: the name says it all. Every year since 1991, Lollapalooza has presented a spectacular show in Chicago. In the time since, they've expanded to other countries and have developed a major reputation for quality entertainment. The Chicago festival is a classic, and it seems like they've got this year's in the bag.

Location: Newport, RI

Featuring: BADBADNOTGOOD, Norah Jones

Jazz has been making a pretty large resurgence in recent years, especially in recent months. I mean, a few weeks ago my 18 year-old brother put me onto a Miles Davis song that he found on TikTok. That says quite a lot. The Newport Jazz Festival is a special one; it's been running since 1954. They've got an abundance of talent and a history of delivering.

Location: San Francisco, CA

Featuring: Kali Uchis, Post Malone, SZA

San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in the country, and Outside Lands' lineup has one of the most beautiful lineups we've seen this year. With underground talent and headliners to entertain concert-goers, they've got just about every slice of music you could want.

Location: Pasadena, CA

Featuring: Tems, Mac Demarco, Isaiah Rashad

It's a crime that Tems' name isn't at the very top of the list after the year she's been having, but that's just about the only critique we could have of This Ain't No Picnic. Their cup runneth with talent: Kaytranada, The Strokes, Earl Sweatshirt, LCD Soundsystem, Le Tigre, Beach House, and even underground gems like Junior Varsity and Brandon.

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Featuring: Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, Trippie Redd

Day N Vegas is one of the most well-curated festivals we've seen in recent times. Their lineup is so good, even the smallest sized font on the bill is used for acts who most people know. Day N Vegas is surely a standout for the remainder of the year.

Location: Philadephia, PA

Featuring: Bad Bunny, Tyler, the Creator, Lil Uzi Vert

Jay-Z's Made in America festival is one of the most reputable festivals in the United States. At the start of September, as summer is nearing its end, you can catch some world-famous talent in Philadelphia. This year's lineup includes Kodak Black and Burna Boy (as well as the featured acts we mentioned above).

Location: Toronto, Ontario (also in Miami, NYC, Portugal, San Francisco, and more)

Featuring: Future, Dave, Lil Yachty

Rolling Loud has built a superior reputation after starting from small shows in Florida. It is hip-hop's premier festival, and the Toronto event is the only show they throw in Canada. This year's lineup is absolutely insane; this has become the standard set by Rolling Loud.

Location: Denver, CO

Featuring: TroyBoi, CHROMEO, Tokimonsta

Electronic music fans, this one's for you. High Ground Music Festival takes place at Denver Polo Club, and is heavily geared towards the biggest Electronic fans. With some of the most highly regarded names in the genre making appearances, this one should be marked in your calendar for years to come. Outside of the names listed above, some of the most notable talent includes Shallou, Elohim, Slenderbodies, and Aluna (of Aluna George).

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Featuring: Clairo, Arctic Monkeys, PinkPantheress

In addition to the majorly impressive headliners mentioned above, if you're planning on going to Primavera Sound L.A., then you should expect to see Khruangbin, King Krule, Lorde, James Blake, Tierra Whack, and Stereolab as well. For indie music lovers, this is your go-to stop on our list.

Location: Dover, DE

Featuring: T-Pain, Isaiah Rashad, Dua Lipa, Green Day

Music festival fans are mostly aware of this four-day banger at the Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware. This year's festivities mark the ten-year anniversary of Firefly, and they came to show out. The lineup is beautifully curated, catering to all sorts of music tastes. In addition to the names mentioned above, the festival welcomed Weezer, Jungle, Porter Robinson, and Bakar, to name a few.

Location: Austin, TX

Featuring: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flume, Lil Durk

Last but not least is Austin City Limits, which is set to take place at the very start of fall in October. Omar Apollo, Oliver Tree, Lucky Daye, BIA, Benee, and The Marias are some of the many talented stars who are slated to perform at this year's festival. There's so much upper-echelon talent, they used one font size throughout the whole bill.

Location: Brooklyn, NY (as well as Atlanta, Minneapolis)

Featuring: The Roots, Burna Boy, Isaiah Rashad, Lucky Daye, Freddie Gibbs, Tierra Whack, Earl Sweatshirt, Mick Jenkins, BbyMutha

AFROPUNK was created back in 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, and in the time since, has put a heavy focus on providing platforms for black artists, both big and small. The festival's curation has always been on point, and has somehow only managed to improve over time. As of 2022, their lineup once again featured some of the most popular names amongst the culture: The Roots, Burna Boy, Freddie Gibbs, Tierra Whack, Earl Sweatshirt, and more.

Location: Manchester, TN

Featuring: Gryffin, Blu DeTiger, J. Cole, Isaiah Rashad, Disclosure, Illenium, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Still Woozy, 21 Savage, 100 Gecs

As they always have, Bonnaroo came through with a seamless production for 2022. This past year's lineup featured the likes of 21 Savage, Disclosure, Arlo Parks, Weather Station, J. Cole, Machine Gun Kelly, and Stevie Nicks, just to name a few. As this upcoming year's festivities approach, fans are anxiously awaiting another successful production featuring Gryffin, Blu DeTiger, J. Cole, Isaiah Rashad, Disclosure (yes, again), Illenium, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Still Woozy, and 100 Gecs. Talk about an ability to curate. Bonnaroo knows exactly what's going on, and gives fans their fill accordingly.

Location: Lake Perris, CA

Featuring: Tame Impala, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Beach House, BADBADNOTGOOD, The Marías, JPEGMAFIA, Men I Trust, Babe Rainbow

Desert Daze is a festival that was founded by talent director Phil Pirrone back in 2012, as he was hoping to throw a festival in block-party format. In the ten years since, the festival has endured quite a steady burst of growth. As of this year, their lineup stood tall compared to their copious amount of competitors, featuring artists like Tame Impala, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Beach House, BADBADNOTGOOD, The Marías, JPEGMAFIA, Men I Trust, Babe Rainbow, and many, many more. It's always impressive seeing a relatively new name in the festival mix, especially when they're building a reputation of quality and quantity at the same time. Desert Daze has come a long way since their start in 2012, and is ready to compete with the best of the best in the festival game at this point.

That sums it up for our list of the best music festivals to check out for this upcoming year. Take a good look at each festival and its respective lineup, and take your pick! You can't go wrong with any of these choices.

And if you're looking to get familiar with some of the up-and-coming underground acts in the music scene, check out our Curiously Curated series. Before you know it, they'll be on this tier of festival lineups, and then, some are sure to be eventually headlining. There's not many better feelings than being early on talent (and festivals, too, for that matter).