2021 Music Festival Guide: Best Music Festival Lineups in the U.S.

Sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka

 By Zach Goins

July 12, 2021 (Updated)

Photo: Amy Harris / AP

After a year without live music, the long-awaited return of festival season is here. The weather is warm and more people are getting vaccinated as restrictions continue to lift around the country. 

The calendar looks a little bit different this year, as some festivals opted to sit out 2021 altogether. Most spring and summer events pushed their dates back a few months, but come fall the calendar is packed. With new dates, lineups, locations and festival genres to keep up with, things can get a bit confusing– that’s why we’re here to help keep it all straight with our annual festival guide.

With health and safety on everyone’s mind, nearly every event features Covid-19 FAQs front and center on their website. Every festival is addressing the pandemic in some form or fashion, mostly through reduced capacity and increased cleaning procedures. Some festivals, like Pitchfork and Lollapalooza, have announced they’ll require proof of vaccination or a negative test in order to enter, with Pitchfork even requiring masks. Others are still abiding by more general precautions as state-specific mandates continue to evolve.

Whether you’re looking for rock, folk, hip-hop and rap, the latest hits, or a little bit of everything, there’s a festival that’s perfect for you. And if you don’t see one yet, stay tuned– this list will be updated as each new festival date and lineup is announced.

Lockn’ Farm in Arrington, Virginia

August 13 – 29 (multiple events) 

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Dawes, Dr. Dog, Goose, Tedeschi Trucks, Jon Batiste, Hiss Golden Messenger, Cory Wong, John Medeski, Billy Martin, Lettuce, The Marcus King Band, and more.

Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, Illinois

August 20 – 21

Moe., Umphrey’s McGee, Billy Strings, Three 6 Mafia, STS9, GRiZ, The Wood Brothers, Houndmouth, Lettuce, The Floozies, and more.

Summer Smash Festival in Chicago, Illinois

August 20

A$AP Rocky, Lil Baby, Benny the Butcher, Earl Sweatshirt, Lil Skies, Baby Keem, Gunna, Lil Uzi Vert, City Girls, Coi Leray, Swae Lee, Ski Mask the Slump God, Lil Yachty, and more.

Railbird Festival in Lexington, Kentucky

August 28 – 29

My Morning Jacket, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Leon Bridges, Dave Matthews Band, Black Pumas, Band of Horses, Billy Strings, Margo Price, Japanese Breakfast, The Revivalists, The War and Treaty, Sarah Jarosz, John Moreland, and more.

Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee

September 2 – 5

Tyler, the Creator, Foo Fighters, Tame Impala, Sylvan Esso, Megan thee Stallion, Run the Jewels, Lizzo, My Morning Jacket, Lil Baby, Phoebe Bridgers, Jason Isbell, Brittany Howard, J.I.D, Jamila Woods, and more.

BottleRock Napa Valley in Napa, California

September 3 – 5

Stevie Nicks, Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, Cage the Elephant, Brandi Carlile, Run the Jewels, Portugal. The Man, Mavis Staples, Future Islands, Jimmy Eat World, Digable Planets, Young the Giant, Miley Cyrus, James Murphy (DJ set), and more.

Day In Day Out Festival in Seattle, Washington 

September 4 -5

Chvrches, Kaytranada, Amine, STRFKR, Big Wild, Travis Thompson, and more.

Made in America Festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

September 4 – 5

Justin Bieber, Lil Baby, Doja Cat, Roddy Ricch, Megan thee Stallion, A$AP Ferg, Baby Keem, Bobby Shmurda, Lil Durk, Freddie Gibbs, Moneybagg Yo, Morray, Tinashe, and more.

Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina

September 9 – 11

Animal Collective, Flying Lotus, Dr. Dog, Parquet Courts, Archers of Loaf, Caroline Polachek, Hippo Campus, Shannon & The Clams, Helado Negro, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Sonny Miles, LesTheGenius, Patois Counselors, and more.

Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Illinois

September 10 – 12

Erykah Badu, St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers, Flying Lotus, Big Thief, Thundercat, Animal Collective, Angel Olsen, Danny Brown, Kim Gordon, Ty Segall, Cat Power, Waxahatchee, Jay Electronica, and more.

BeachLife Festival in Redondo Beach, California

September 10 – 12

Jane’s Addiction, Ziggy & Stephen Marley, Counting Crows, The Wallflowers, Gary Clark Jr., Portugal. The Man, The Revivalists, Fitz and the Tantrums, Ben Harper, Thievery Corporation, Silversun Pickups, and more,

Moon River Music Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee

September 11 – 12

Wilco, Lord Huron, Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, Lake Street Dive, Dr. Dog, Dawes, Indigo Girls, Shovels & Rope, Yola, Mipso, Rebirth Brass Band, American Aquarium, and more.

Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion in Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia

September 10 – 12

Tanya Tucker, Dr. Dog, Blackberry Smoke, Son Little, The SteelDrivers, Hayes Carll, American Aquarium, Folk Soul Revival, Town Mountain, and more.

MerleFest in Wilkesboro, North Carolina

September 16 – 19

Sturgill Simpson, Tedeschi Trucks, Mavis Staples, Melissa Etheridge, LeAnn Rimes, Margo Price, Johnnyswim, Shovels & Rope, Milk Carton Kids, Cordovas, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, Amythyst Kiah, and more.

Life Is Beautiful Music & Art Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada

September 17 – 19

Green Day, Tame Impala, Billy Eilish, A$AP Rocky, Haim, Glass Animals, Brittany Howard, Young Thug, St. Vincent, Modest Mouse, Ludacris, 6LACK, EarthGang, Willow Smith, Megan thee Stallion, Dillon Francis, J.I.D, and more.

Telluride Blues & Brews Festival in Telluride, Colorado

September 17 – 19

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Buddy Guy, Anders Osborne, Lukas Nelson, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Larkin Poe, Samantha Fish, The Allman Betts Band, and more.

Riot Fest in Chicago, Illinois

September 17 – 19

Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins, Lupe Fiasco, Run the Jewels, Pixies, Faith No More, Dinosaur Jr., Coheed and Cambria, Taking Back Sunday, Devo, NOFX, Gogol Bordello, and more.

Imagine Music Festival in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia

September 17 – 19

Excision, GRiZ, Illenium, Kaskade, Gryffin, Fisher, Liquid Stranger, 3LAU, Adventure Club, and more.

Music Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia

September 18 – 19

Maroon 5, Jonas Brothers, Megan thee Stallion, 21 Savage, Miley Cyrus, Black Pumas, Jack Harlow, Tierra Whack, Surfaces, Machine Gun Kelly, Dashboard Confessional, Omar Apollo, 070 Shake, and more.

Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey

September 18 – 19

Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins, Lord Huron, The Avett Brothers, Patti Smith, Billy Idol, Grouplove, Dr. Dog, Tank and the Bangas, Orville Peck, Black Joe Lewis, Ani Difranco, and more.

Treefort Music Fest in Boise, Idaho

September 22 – 26

Japanese Breakfast, Lake Street Dive, Built to Spill, Mdou Moctar, Tennis, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Andy Shauf, Larkin Poe, Open Mike Eagle, Goth Babe, Pell, and more.

Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware

September 23 – 26

The Killers, Tame Impala, Cage the Elephant, Billy Eilish, Sylvan Esso, Lizzo, Wiz Khalifa, Phoebe Bridgers, Glass Animals, Khruangbin, Caribou, Megan thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch, Marc Rebillet, Portugal. The Man, Girl in Red, Denzel Curry, and more.

Louder Than Life in Louisville, Kentucky

September 23 – 26

Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Jane’s Addiction, Snoop Dogg, Korn, Cypress Hill, Anthrax, Judas Priest, The Distillers, Rise Against, Mudvayne, Pennywise, Machine Gun Kelly, and more.

Governors Ball in New York, New York

September 24 – 26

Post Malone, Billy Eilish, A$AP Rocky, 21 Savage, J Balvin, Young Thug, Megan thee Stallion, Leon Bridges, Phoebe Bridgers, Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist, Cordae, Ellie Goulding, Carly Rae Jepsen, Princess Nokia, Amine, and more.

Furnace Fest in Birmingham, Alabama

September 24 – 26

Taking Back Sunday, Underoath, Killswitch Engage, Converge, All Get Out, Andrew W.K., Comeback Kid, Hopesfall, Anberlin, Touché Amoré, Cartel, and more.

Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey, California

September 24 – 26

Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Pat Metheny, Kandace Springs, Miho Hazama, Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science, Las Cafeteras, Christian Sands Group, and more.

Ohana Festival in Dana Point, California

September 24 – 26

Eddie Vedder, Maggie Rogers, My Morning Jacket, Kings of Leon, Spoon, Mac DeMarco, Brandi Carlile, Black Pumas, Yola, Sharon Van Etten, Real Estate, Combo Chimbita, Durand Jones and the Indications, Cold War Kids, and more.

Pilgrimage Music Festival in Franklin, Tennessee

September 25 – 26

The Black Keys, Dave Matthews Band, Cage the Elephant, Khruangbin, Maren Morris, Black Pumas, Houndmouth, Valerie June, Hailey Whitters, JD McPherson, Amos Lee, and more.

Afropunk in Atlanta, Georgia 

Wale, Smino, Rico Nasty, KP The Great and Friends, Tems, Fousheé, Serpentwithfeet, Tkay Maidza, Amindi, and more.

Woodsist Festival in Accord, New York

September 25 – 26

Yo La Tengo, Kurt Vile, Parquet Courts, Kevin Morby, Steve Gunn, Bridget St. John, 75 Dollar Bill, and more.

Austin City Limits in Austin, Texas

October 1-3 + 8-10

Stevie Nicks, Tyler the Creator, Erykah Badu, Billy Eilish, Megan thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Modest Mouse, Phoebe Bridgers, George Strait, Jack Harlow, Band of Horses, Future Islands, Tierra Whack, Freddie Gibbs, and more.

Mempho Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee

October 1 – 3

Widespread Panic, The Avett Brothers, Billy Strings, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Lucinda Williams, Black Pumas, Julien Baker, Waxahatchee, Moon Taxi, and more.

Broccoli City Festival in Washington, DC

October 2

Lil Baby, Snoh Aalegra, Moneybagg Yo, Lucky Daye, Justine Skye, Soulection, Rubi Rose, and more.

Shakori Hills in Pittsboro, North Carolina

October 7 – 10

Donna The Buffalo, Sam Fribush Organ Trio with Charlie Hunter, Sonny Miles, Cory Henry, Dom Flemons, Abby Bryant & The Echoes, Consider the Source, Locos Por Juana, and more.

ONE Musicfest in Atlanta, Georgia 

October 9 – 10

Lil Wayne, H.E.R., The Isley Brothers, Masego, Ari Lennox, Burna Boy, Ty Dolla $ign, Fabolous, Lucky Daye, Kirk Franklin, SWV, Amerie, and more

III Points Music Festival in Miami, Florida

October 22 – 23

The Strokes, Wu-Tang Clan, Three Six Mafia, Jamie XX, Kaytranada, Thundercat, Khruangbin, Slowthai, Washed Out, Moses Sumney, Rufus Du Sol, Marc Rebillet, Alex G, and more.

BUKU Music + Art Project in New Orleans, Louisiana

October 22- 23

Megan thee Stallion, Illenium, Kaytranada, Jamie XX, EarthGang, Machine Gun Kelly, Flo Milli, Arlo Parks, Playboi Carti, Yung Baby Tate, Pooh Shiesty, Slowthai, and more.

Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia

October 22 – 24

Foo Fighters, The Strokes, Run the Jewels, St. Vincent, Modest Mouse, Portugal. The Man, Alice Cooper, Phoebe Bridgers, Garbage, Jay Electronica, Idles, Orville Peck, Tennis, Delta Spirit, and more.

 

Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Nevada

October 22 – 24

Deadmau5, Tiesto, Zedd, Chainsmokers, Alison Wonderland, Diplo, Zomboy, Kygo, Louis The Child, Kaskade, and more.

Suwannee Hulaween in Live Oak, Florida

October 28 – 31

The String Cheese Incident, My Morning Jacket, Skrillex, Masego, Leon Bridges, Khruangbin, Zeds Dead, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, EarthGang, Cordae, Cautious Clay, Greensky Bluegrass, Durand Jones and the Indications, and more.

Rolling Loud New York in Queens, New York

October 28 – 30

50 Cent, J. Cole, Travis Scott, Lil Baby, Gucci Mane, The Diplomats, Griselda, Rick Ross, Lil Uzi Vert, Roddy Ricch, Action Bronson, Jack Harlow, Joey Badass, Wale, Lil Durk, Kodak Black, Rod Wave, Dreezy, and more.

Outside Lands in San Francisco, California

October 29 – November 1

The Strokes, Tyler, the Creator, Vampire Weekend, Tame Impala, ZHU, Kehlani, J Balvin, Glass Animals,Young Thug, Lord Huron, Brittany Howard, EarthGang, Khruangbin, Kaytranada, Sharon Van Etten, Caroline Polachek, and more.

Electric Daisy Carnival Orlando in Orlando, Florida 

November 12 – 14

Zedd, Kygo, Kaskade, Excision, Armin van Buuren, Louis The Child, R3HAB, Devault, Galantis, Kaskade, and more.

Day N Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada

November 12 – 14

Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Jazmine Sullivan, SZA, Lil Baby, Snoh Aalegra, Ari Lennox, Saweetie, YG, Isaiah Rashad, Lucky Daye, Madlib, Cordae, Joey Badass, Griselda, Earl Sweatshirt, and more.

 

Rolling Loud California in San Bernardino, California

December 10 – 12

Kid Cudi, J. Cole, Future, Chris Brown, 2 Chainz, Ty Dolla $ign, Gucci Mane, Griselda, A Boogie wit Da Hoodie, Lil Durk, Jack Harlow, Rod Wave, Swae Lee, Lil Skies, Morray, Amine, and more.

Once Upon a Time in LA in Los Angeles, California

December 18

Al Green, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, The Isley Brothers, The Game, YG, Ice Cube, Cypress Hill, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Three Six Mafia, E-40, Too Short, George Clinton, DJ Quick, Warren G, and more.

Sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka

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