As summer is approaching and the weather is getting warmer, music festival season is also coming up. Festivals like Coachella, Stagecoach, Lollapalooza, and Watershed are on people’s calendars, some that already happened and some waiting for the date to arrive. Music festivals have become more than just hearing your favorite music live, but a whole social and cultural experience with so much more.
Music festivals have a wide variety of music, from pop music, hip hop, country, EDM, etc. Some festivals target certain demographics of people with only one genre of music, and others bring in all kinds of people with different genres of music. These festivals are also a great way to discover new music and artists. There is always an artist for someone to listen to, whether they are a very big mainstream artist or someone they have never heard of.
With the popularity of music festivals progressing exponentially over the past few years, there continue to be more add-ons to the overall experience. Some festivals have art installations, different brands have their own tent, and what has taken the biggest storm over music festivals in the media is fashion. People like celebrities and influencers are expected to go above and beyond for this few-day-long event. They will post all about their prep to get their viewers excited and engaged about what they will wear. A big part of this is people at home rating outfits and sharing their thoughts and opinions, which people look forward to. People attending any festival get the chance to wear whatever they want that they feel expresses the vibe best, and be very creative, while listening to what they love most.
If you’re interested in music festivals but don’t know much about them in specifics, here are a few of the most popular!
The most popular music festival of them all is Coachella. Hosted annually in April, Coachella is held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. It is a three-day event that is held for 2 consecutive weekends. This festival tends to bring the most celebrities/influencers and media coverage, since it is located in California and has a wide variety of music. This year’s headliners included Lady Gaga, Post Malone, Green Day, and Travis Scott.
Lollapalooza is a four-day-long event hosted in Grant Park in Chicago. The original intent of the festival was to be a touring event in 1991, but then in 2005, Lollapalooza found its permanent location in Chicago. This year, it is happening on July 31-August 3, with tickets being anywhere from $189 to $2000. Similar to Coachella, Lollapalooza has all different types of music genres. Headliners for this year’s event are Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler the Creator, A$AP Rocky, Sabrina Carpenter, TWICE, and Luke Combs.
Stagecoach is a very popular music festival, but it’s only for country music. It happens annually-a week after the last weekend of Coachella-hosting at the same location , and shares similar vibes. This festival also attracts the influencer and celebrity crowd due to its location, and since it is dedicated to one specific style of music. Headlining this year were Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, and Zach Bryan.
Lastly, Watershed is an annual country music festival hosted here in Washington. Every year it is hosted at the Gorge Amphitheatre, and this year it is August 1-3rd. The headlines this year are Jackson Aldean, Dierks Bentley, and Bailey Zimmerman. This festival attracts many high school students since it is only around a 2 hr 45-minute drive, and is a very nice venue.
There are many more options of music festivals out there to choose from. Small festivals, big festivals, country, pop, and rock, there is something for every live music lover.
