Here is a guide to the best music festivals around the world, covering a diverse range of genres and a small piece of history behind each one.
Coachella (California)
Coachella is an infamous music festival hosted every year in the Colorado Desert, most well known by its promotion from social media influencers, and the star studded line-ups it hosts each year. The festival originated in 1993 from American rock band Pearl Jam boycotting venues owned by Ticketmaster, and in turn playing at The Polo Empire Club which validated its ability to host large crowds – with the first official Coachella being held later in 1999. It is the most famous and profitable music festivals in the USA, hosting the largest and most promising upcoming artists of the year.
Bonnaroo (Tennessee)
Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is held in Manchester, Tennessee and usually takes place over four days. The award winning festival hosts various music acts, as well as other activities like market stalls, yoga, parades and a 5k running challenge. Bonnaroo was also one of the first festivals to encourage sustainability, collecting hundreds of tons of waste each year from fans recycling. One of their activities, ‘Planet Roo’, focuses on giving a platform to diverse, non-profit organisations in order to promote wellness and global consciousness.
Fez Festival (Morocco)
The Fez Festival of World Sacred Music takes place in Fez, Morocco over ten days. The festival’s aim is to highlight Islam’s art, ideals and humanism. As well as live music, the festival also hosts debates and showcases other religions such as Christians by performing devotional music from artists across the world. The creators believed that since music is a universal language, it could allow the event to communicate to people from any walk of life.
Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland)
The Montreux Jazz Festival is held annually in Switzerland, on the Lake Geneva shoreline. As the second largest jazz festival in the world, each year it attracts more than 200,000 audience members.
The event was purely a jazz festival when it began but gradually presented artists that cover a wide range of genres – in 2023, it is hosting artists ranging from Lil Nas X to Buddy Guy.
Rock in Rio (Brazil)
Rock in Rio takes place in Rio de Janeiro, as well as occasionally in Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas – the biannual festival aims to bring the biggest names in the music industry to Brazil, as well as give a platform to local artists and display more talent with a dedicated dance stage. The first edition of the event took place in 1985, at a time where there were positive political changes in Brazil – and to the millions of people that attended they saw the festival as the start of a new era.
Primavera Sound Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Primavera Sound is a festival that takes place across the world, and in 2022 they hosted their first edition in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2023, the festival will be returning in November across one weekend with headliners currently TBA. As Buenos Aires has been the capital of Spanish pop and rock, the festival creators knew it made sense to host the festival there for a new audience that has been a core part of their music scene.
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