Coachella

The cream of the crop.  Coachella made huge headlines last year when (Hologram) Tupac performed. If you live on the West Coast Coachella is a must see.

• Last Year’s Lineup:  Radiohead, The Black Keys, Swedish House Mafia, David Guetta, Dr. Dre & Snoop w/ special appearance by Tupac,
• 2013 Lineup: TBA (reported possibilities include Lana Del Ray, Missy Elliot, and The Rolling Stones)
• Dates:  April 12-14, April 19-24
• Tickets: around $349 for GA
• Location: Indio, California

South By Southwest (SXSW)

SXSW is an 10 day film, music and ‘interactive’ festival. It is one of the countries most popular festivals and generates pop and indie acts alike.

• Last Year’s Lineup: Lil Wayne, Talib Kwele, Bruce Springstein, Big Sean, Kanye West
• 2013 Lineup: Vampire Weekend, Black Keys,Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Chevy Woods
• Dates:  March 12th-17th
• Tickets: From $625
• Locations: Austin, Texas

Lollapalooza

This Chicago based festival attracts over 160,000 fans a year.  New international locations now exist in Chile and Brazil.

• Last Year’s Lineup:  Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Sabbath, The Black Keys, Avici, Passion Pit, Frank Ocean
• 2013 Lineup: TBA
• Dates: August 2-4
• Location:  Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois
• Tickets: $200

Bonnaroo

One of the East Coast’s premiere music festivals.  Outside of Florida, Bonnaroo is your best bet if you’re a concert goers from the South East.

• Last Year’s Lineup:  Kendrick Lamar, Phish, Yelawolf, the Kooks, Foster the People, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flying Lotus
• 2013 Lineup: TBA
• Dates:  June 13-16
• Location:  Manchester, Tennessee
• Tickets: $224

Burning Man

More of an experience than a music festival, and definitely not for the faint of heart.  Burning man has been a staple in the hippie scene since 1986.    Trying to describe burning man to someone who hasn’t been, has been compared to trying to describe sound to a deaf person.  They erect and disassemble an entire city for this one, and it’s all not for profit.

• • Dates: August 26th to September 2nd
  • Location: Black Rock Desert, Nevada

• Tickets: $650

Electric Daisy Carnival

For electric fans only. If you’re looking for live instruments, this is not the place to be. EDC is an insane 3 day rave.

• Last Year’s Lineup:  Kaskade, Armin Van Buren, Afrojack, Knife Party, Tiesto, David Guetta, Skrillex, Avici, Swedish House Mafia, Dada Life
• 2013 Lineup: TBA
• Dates: June 21st to 23rd
• Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
• Tickets: $289

Honorable Mentions:

• Austin City Limits

• Bamboozle

• Summerfest

• Ultra

• Camp Bisco

• Electro Beach

• Governor’s Ball

• Sasquatch