The best part of summer (well, at least for us): live music. Few things combine warm weather and your favorite musicians better than a music festival. Looking to make the most of your summer? Take a long weekend and visit one (or many) of the festivals in our region. Learn what to expect, where to go, what to bring, and who you’ll hear with our guide to the best of the fests.
June 3-5: Bunbury Music Festival
Cincinnati, OH
bunburyfestival.com
Travel time: 3 ½ hours
Weekend passes are sold out, single day tickets for $89 are still available.
Off-site camping, hotels available
Along the scenic Ohio River in downtown Cincy, this festival features headliners The Killers, Florence + The Machine, Deadmau5, Grimes and Umphrey’s McGee— all genres will be covered.
June 9-12: Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
Manchester, TN
bonnaroo.com
Travel time: 8 ½ hours
$349.50-$1,598
Campgrounds are on site
The farm comes to life with headliners Pearl Jam, Dead & Company (2 sets), Ellie Goulding, Tame Impala, and LCD Soundsystem. Along with hundreds of other artists, Bonnaroo is a mainstay in festival land.
June 11-12: Bestival Toronto
Woodbine Park, Toronto, CA
Bestival.ca
Travel time: 5 hours
(Prices are in Canadian Dollar) GA 2-Day Pass: $159.50 + $41.66 (fee)
VIP 2-Day Pass: $249.50 + $56-61
Single Day GA: $84.50 + $25.61
Single Day VIP: $134.50 + $33.86
No camping, hotels available
The chance to hear The Cure live is enough reason to travel to our northern neighbor. This two-day festival boasts impressive headliners like Grimes, Tame Impala and Odesza (and The Cure!), along with handfuls of other artists ready to feed your wanderlust.
June 16-19: Firefly Music Festival
The Woodlands, Dover, DE
fireflyfestival.com
Travel time: 8.5 hours
$129-$319
Campgrounds are on site
Travel to the east coast for a four-day music festival with an easygoing mindset. With an impressive bill featuring Two Door Cinema Club, Kings of Leon, Florence + The Machine, Deadmau5 and Mumford & Sons— but the talk of the town is about Blink 182’s comeback performance.
June 16-19: Mad Tea Party Jam
Four Quarters Interfaith in Artemas, PA
Themadteapartyjam.com
Travel time: 6 hours
$145-$245
Campgrounds are on site
Enjoy a weekend of jam-band tunes as a handful of the most popular acts from the weekend perform multiple sets: Papadosio (2 sets), Desert Dwellers, Big Something (3 sets) and Twiddle (2 sets), among others. Totally rad, man.
June 17-19: Tec-Troit Electronic
Music Festival 2016
​Tec-Troit | 1465 Centre St. | Detroit
Visit Facebook event page
Travel time: 1 hour
Free
No camping, hotels available
Immerse yourself in a weekend of electronic music held in the heart of EDM’s birth city. Presenting an eclectic mix of artists throughout each set, the performers will make festival-goers rave the night away.
June 19-Sept. 24 (select dates): Meadow Brook Music Festival
Oakland University campus in Rochester Hills, MI
palacenet.com
Travel time: 1 ½ hours
Ticket prices and dates vary
This unique music festival includes headlining acts throughout the summer. Featuring performers like Noel Gallagher and Culture Club to 98 Degrees and Fifth Harmony, these concerts are sure to make your summer a musical hit.
June 23-26: Electric Forest
Rothbury (off M-31 near Wildcat Lake)
Electricforestfestival.com
Travel time: 3 ½ hours
SOLD OUT (but you might be able to find some online)
Sensational electronica-heavy pop/hip-hop hybrid acts like Bassnectar and Major Lazer are topping this lineup, along with psychedelic jam outfit The String Cheese Incident. The idea with Electric Forest is full immersion— losing oneself in a sort of wonderland of sound (and vibrantly hued arbors).
July 15-17: Pitchfork Music Festival
Union Park, Chicago
pitchforkmusicfestival.com
Travel time: 4 hours
3-Day Advance: $165
One-day pass: $65
No camping, nearby hotels available
The city-side day festival is like a Midwest Coachella— a total fashion parade, the stage full of hipster-friendly bands like Beach House, Broken Social Scene, Sufjan Stevens and FKA Twigs, and you get to leave the grounds every day with the ability to shower. Stay with friends— or at a hotel or hostel— and be friendly to everyone during the day so you can get invited to the after-parties.
July 15-17: The Forecastle Festival
Louisville, KY
forecastlefest.com
Travel time: 5 hours
Prices and packages vary, $169.50+
No camping, nearby hotels available
Southern hospitality reigns supreme at this Louisville-based festival. With headlining acts like The Avett Brothers, Alabama Shakes, Death Cab for Cutie and Local Natives, this festival boasts an impressive lineup.
July 15-17: Faster Horses 2016
Brooklyn, MI
fasterhorsesfestival.com
Travel time: 1 hour 15 minutes
$199
Campgrounds are on site
Put on your boots and cowboy hats and enjoy some good ole’ country music from popular names in the biz. With Lady Antebellum, Alan Jackson, Big & Rich and Sam Hunt, this is a shindig larger than Texas.
July 20-22: Warped Tour ‘16
7/20: Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH (Travel time: 2 hours)
7/21: Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, OH (Travel time: 3 ½ hours)
7/22: The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI (Travel time: 1 ½ hours)
July 23 & 24: Mo Pop Festival
West Riverfront Park, Detroit
mopopfestival.com
Travel time: 1 hour
Prices and packages vary, $109.50+
No camping, hotels available
With headlining acts like M83, Father John Misty, Haim, and one of our personal favorites, Tunde Olaniran, Mo Pop will make you feel like a tourist in the Motor City.
July 22-24: Wayhome Music & Arts
Oro-Medonte, Ontario, CA
wayhome.com
Travel time: 5 ½ hours
$249.99+
Campgrounds are on site
Canada is great at many things, including festival lineups. With major acts like Kurt Vile & The Violator, Glass Animals, LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, The Killers, Major Lazer and FKA Twigs, travelling north seems like a wonderful way to enjoy mid-July.
July 28-July 31: Lollapalooza 2016
Grant Park, Chicago
lollapalooza.com
Travel time: 3 hours 45 minutes
No camping, hotels available
As always, The Windy City’s festival lineup doesn’t disappoint. This year, featuring headliners like Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Future, Major Lazer and Ellie Goulding, this outdoor fest features a breathtaking cityscape along with tunes from some of the best musicians in the industry.
August 4-6: Werk Out Music & Arts Festival
Legend Valley Music Center,
Thornville, OH
thewerkoutfestival.com
Travel time: 3 hours
$119.95+
Campgrounds are on site
For a small festival feel with a larger-than-life experience, The Werk Out is three days of musical bliss. Enjoy performances from Lettuce, Greensky Bluegrass and two sets from STS9, along with the three-night headliner, The Werks.
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August 11-14: The Peach Music Festival
Montage Mountain, Scranton, PA
thepeachmusicfestival.com
Travel time: 7 hours
GA 4-day Advance Pass: $160, price increases to $185, $210, $235.
4-Day Reserved Advance Pass: $325+
Campgrounds are on site
Along with the on-campus waterpark, festival-goers will enjoy four days of sun, music and splashing around. With headliners Trey Anastasio Band, Gregg Allman, The String Cheese Incident and Moe., this is a festival perfect for an end-of-summer closeout.
August 12 & 13: Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival
Foster Farms, Eau Claire, WI
eauxclaires.com
Travel time: 8 1/2 hours
$169
Campgrounds on-campus, hotels also available
Entertain yourself with two days of beautiful guitar riffs and vocals by artists like Beach House, Bon Iver, Lucius and Phosphorescent. The festival also features visual art and fantastic food.
August 19-21: Hoxeyville Music Festival
The Manistee National Forest, 11130 W. 48 1/2 Rd., Wellston, MI
hoxeyville.com
Travel time: 4 hours
GA Advance: $130 (Prices will increase), Additional fee for RV Pass.
Campgrounds are on site
Spend some time in the forest while listening to the tunes of Greensky Bluegrass (2 sets), Elephant Revival, Joshua David Quartet and Mandolin Orange, among others.
September 16-18: Riot Fest & Carnival
Douglas Park, Chicago, IL
riotfest.org/chicago
Travel time: 3 hours 45 minutes
No camping, hotels available
Lineup TBA
Riot your way into the city with a punk-rock heavy music bill. This year’s lineup is yet to be released, but we hope there will be musical reunions, collaborations and an overall epic list of headliners.
September 14-19: TURF Toronto Urban Roots Fest
Historic Fort York Garrison Common, Toronto
torontourbanrootsfest.com
Travel time: 4 ½ hours
Lineup TBA
One of the last festivals of the season, this genre-blending festival will hopefully feature as impressive a lineup as it did last year.
All events are subject to change and cancellation.
Visit festival websites for full information.
Music festival necessities:
- LOTS of water!
- Rain boots.
- Spare car keys 😉
- A lock for your tent.
- A sun hat/umbrella.
- Hand sanitizer will save your life.
- Take toilet paper with you EVERYWHERE!
- Bring a spray bottle and fill it up with melted ice from your cooler to stay cool in the summer heat.
- A battery operated fan for when
- you are sleeping/napping.
- Baby wipes— for EVERYTHING!
- Extra batteries.
- Snacks are important: fruits, veggies, granola bars, trail mix.
- Flip flops and a towel if you are choosing to shower, or if there’s a place to swim.
- Dry shampoo…
- Vitamins to keep your energy up.
- A blanket or tapestry to sit on for daytime performances.
- Extra garbage bags. Trust us, the two they give you at the gate will only last one day.
