Top Summer Music Festivals in California: A Must-See Guide
Wondering what are the best music events in California for 2022? Well, you have arrived at the perfect spot, since we have compiled the greatest guide to California Music Festivals to keep you dancing and partying all summer long.
There is likely no other place in the United States that can match the outstanding production, warm communities, unusual venues, and star-studded lineups found at all these California festivals. Just know one thing - there are festivals of all kinds and sizes encompassing every musical genre from Southern California to the Bay Area.
So, without further ado, here are the top California Music Festivals, to keep you dancing and partying all year long.
Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
Coachella is one of California's oldest and most renowned music and art events, and once you go there, you will realize it will undoubtedly be a weekend to remember. Every year, they deliver a tremendous line-up covering all genres, a phenomenally stunning stage production, incredible food and drink sellers, and a truly fantastic festival atmosphere. While Coachella has gained a reputation in recent years for being all about celebrities and fashion... It is still going to be a wild celebration!
Because it is a popular choice among California's dozens of excellent music festivals, tickets sell out quickly, so make sure your festival crew schedules ahead and gets some tickets while you still can!
- Dates - April 2022
- Location - Empire Polo Club, Indio, California
- Website - https://www.coachella.com/
Outside Lands Music Festival
Outside Lands is Northern California's largest and best music festival, and it is sure to be one of your favorites! While it is one of the more costly events on the list (everything in San Francisco is more expensive), it is well worth the money! The lineups are always incredibly diverse, the production is top-notch, and the multicolored lighting in the trees will astound you when you wander around the arena at night.
This annual 3-day California festival is a local and tourist favorite, and there's arguably the no better time to visit SF because there's so much going on! However, because the city is so popular, you will want to reserve your accommodations ahead of time (especially hotels near Golden Gate Park).
This annual mega-festival has been a Southern California favorite for more than a decade, and it always manages to put together an outstanding line-up, incredible stage production, and an overall fantastic festival experience.
- Date - August 2022
- Location - Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California
- Website - https://www.sfoutsidelands.com/
Hard Summer Music Festival
HARD Events has played an important role in the development of the EDM scene in the United States, and attending one of their events, such as HARD Day of the Dead, Holy Ship, or HARD Red Rocks, will always impress! Once you attend this enormous Music Festival California favorite, you are sure to rave about it to your fellow ravers!
- Date - July 2022
- Location - The Speedway in Fontana, San Bernadino, California
- Website - https://www.hardsummer.com/
DIRTYBIRD Campout Westcoast 2022
Without a doubt, Dirtybird Campout is one of the wildest California festival parties you will ever see! The Dirtybird Label goes above and beyond to give a truly amazing adult summer camp & music festival experience. Dirtybird is recognized for its unique bass house sounds, and it attracts a fun-loving crowd that goes above and beyond what you would find at a conventional festival!
Those memories of sun-drenched hours full of outdoor activities, hazy summer afternoons, and sleepless nights under the stars will foster an unmatched sense of belonging and an unparalleled community for many years to come, whether you go to the summer camp or found yourself at Campout that started over the last four years!
- Date - October 2022
- Location - Modesto Reservoir Campgrounds
- Website - https://www.dirtybirdcampout.com/west/
Day Trip Festival 2022
Insomniac's brand-new Southern California festival will feature some of house music's biggest and brightest artists for two spectacular days of pleasure! With tasty artisan cocktails, gourmet food trucks, and famous Day Trip fishbowls, celebrate the return of the festival season at a brand-new venue. This is a 21+ event, and it is the ideal way to kick off the Fourth of July weekend! This is an event that none of your trendy music lovers will never want to miss, with artists like Diplo, Artbat, Chromeo, and Justin Martin performing.
- Date - July 2022
- Location - The Lot at Hollywood Park, Los Angeles
- Website - https://www.daytripfest.com/
CRSSD Music Festival
CRSSD is a 2-day festival held twice a year in downtown San Diego. They always have a star-studded lineup spread across three stages in a stunning setting, as well as dozens of after-hours activities to select from once the festival is over. Once you are there, you are guaranteed an incredible time! It is one of San Diego's top music festivals, and you should not miss it if you are in southern California at the time!
- Date - March 2022
- Location - Waterfront Park, San Diego, California
- Website - http://www.crssdfest.com/
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Bottle Rock Napa Valley
Bottle Rock Napa Valley is an annual 3-day event that celebrates music, wine, food, and craft beer with one of the largest and most eclectic lineups ever brought to Northern California. More than 80 bands on five music stages, celebrity and chef performances on the culinary stage, excellent sightlines throughout the venue, access to gourmet food prepared by Napa Valley's finest chefs and restaurateurs, and dozens of wine cabanas where you can sip, savor, and mingle with your favorite vintners, making every festival goer feel like a VIP.
- Date - May 2022
- Location - Napa Valley, Northern California
- Website - https://www.bottlerocknapavalley.com/
Splash House Festival
When you combine a group of fun-loving folks, some rocking pool parties, and a trip to beautiful Palm Springs, California, you get Splash House. It is a little slice of heaven where people form connections while dancing to the greatest house, disco, and electronica has to offer.
Each June and August, Splash House takes place at three different hotel locations. When you buy a ticket, you get entrance to all three, as well as shuttle service between them all weekend. If you purchase a hotel package, you will get access to all three resorts as well as a room just feet away from the stage.
By night, you can travel to the skies at the Palm Springs Air Museum for our After-Hours program, which features two open-air parties set against a backdrop of historic planes and a bright airport runway. After Hours admission is available separately from Splash House tickets and can be purchased with or without a Splash House ticket.
- Date - August 2022
- Location - Palm Springs, California
- Website - http://www.splashhouse.com/
Lightning in a Bottle
Lightning in a Bottle, or "LIB," is California's largest transformational music festival. While the techno lineup is typically great, there is so much more to this spiritually uplifting festival. Many of my friends have described it as their favorite festival ever, and it may be a life-changing California festival experience.
Attend some courses, do yoga, cool off in the lake, watch the sunrise, and party like there is no tomorrow! It's been dubbed a "little Burning Man" by some, and it will be an event that will keep you going back year after year!
Art, music, performance, sustainability, and life are all celebrated here!
- Date - May 2022
- Location - Buena Vista Lake, Kern County, California
- Website - http://lightninginabottle.org/
Nocturnal Wonderland
Come one, come all to the longest-running electronic dance music festival in North America! Insomniac's yearly ode to the night, a perennial favorite among EDM lovers, features numerous stages of the greatest in dance music and cutting-edge production, as well as hundreds of costumed performers, fireworks, and carnival attractions. We also have campsites available! It's a fantastic approach to broaden your horizons and become totally immersed in the Nocturnal community
Enter a world filled with sights and sounds as bright and one-of-a-kind as the people who return year after year to marvel at its wonderful mysteries. Curious creatures of various shapes and sizes move to the night's vibrations in this region too!
- Date - September 2022
- Location - San Manuel Amphitheater, San Bernadino, California
- Website - https://www.nocturnalwonderland.com/
READ MORE:
Every year there are more and more music festivals that are hosted in the beautiful state of Oregon in the US, and every one of them attracts a host of international festival lovers and travel bugs to the place. Read more at The Top 10 Music Festivals in Oregon
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