Festival organizers battle every year to get the best in musical talent for their events and are adding more and more value and better venues every year to keep you and your vacation money coming back.
We also know that there are a lot of festivals out there looking for your dollar whether it is for ticket sales or corporate sponsorship for these events.
So regardless of which side of the border you reside or work on, if you are looking to head south of the border to promote your brand or just enjoy some spectacular artist line-ups, these
are our top picks for music festivals for the Summer of 2019. You will find something in here that will fit all demographics and musical tastes showcasing the best the music industry has to offer in some of the most amazing venues to enjoy the performing artists.
Governors Ball Music Festival
Pick: # 10
When: May 31st – June 2nd,
2019
Where: Randall’s Island, New York City, NY, USA
Why: Well for starters the festival was started 10 years ago to give New Yorkers who loved music a music festival that had something for everyone and the Governors Ball Music Festival does just that with over 60 talented artists covering all genres on 4 stages.
Governors Ball Music Festival works with local charities, community organizations, and civic partners as festival organizers believe it is their responsibility as a music festival, and as New Yorkers to give back to the great city that hosts the annual festival.
Taking place on Randall’s Island, the festival is located right in the city using the famed New York skyline as a background and setting allowing festival goers to explore the city after the headliner closes the main stages each day.
With an amazing location and a star-studded lineup this year is why we have selected the Governors Ball as a one of our top picks for Summer Music Festivals in 2019 as it is one the US’s most respected, talked about, hyped, and sought-after music festivals and one that you should have on your bucket list as a festival goer or a business looking to gain exposure for your brand as it is hard to beat the Big Apple.
For more information on Governors Ball Music Festival: https://www.governorsballmusicfestival.com/
Ticket Prices: $115.00 USD – $2,190.00 USD
Follow on Twitter: @govballnyc
Follow on Facebook: @govballnyc
Follow on Instagram: @govballnyc
Newport Folk Festival
Pick: # 9
When: July 26th – 28th, 2019
Where: Newport, RI, USA
Why: The Newport Folk Festival takes place every year at Fort Adams State Park, in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1962 and is now the longest continuously running music festival in North America. The festival’s over 60 artist performances take place over the four stages located at Fort Adams which is well known for its beautiful setting.
The festival features performances by folk, blues, country, bluegrass and folk-rock musicians, and since the 1990s has featured performers from related contemporary genres, such as alternative country, indie folk and folk punk.
Since 1959, the Newport Folk Festival has held a unique place in America’s musical and cultural history as the granddaddy of all American music festivals. That influence continues today, serving the fans who crave innovation but appreciate tradition.
If you want this festival on your bucket list you need to do it early as this years event is already SOLD OUT, which is why we have selected it as one of our top picks for this Summer.
For more information on the Newport Folk Festival: http://www.newportfolk.org/
Ticket Prices: $90.00 USD – $210.00 USD
Follow on Twitter: @Newportfolkfest
Follow on Facebook: @newportfolkfest
Follow on Instagram: @NewportFolkFest
Pitchfork Music Festival
Pick: # 8
When: July 19th
– 21st, 2019
Where: Chicago, Il, USA
Why: This year the Pitchfork Music Festival is celebrating 14th year by hostingover 60,000 attendees of all ages from 45 states and 26 countries for an amazing three-day festival in July that will showcase over 40 artists and bands from alternative rock, rap & hip-hop, electronica, and dance music, performing on three stages, providing festival goers with a dynamic festival experience since 2006.
What put this internationally recognized festival on our top picks is not only the amazing talent and venue, which is Chicago’s Union Park, but that the festival maintains a commitment to keeping ticket prices low something that festival goers, vendors and businesses appreciate.
This year’s festival highlights will showcase the best in the business having a pleasant mix of iconic artists along with the best in new and emerging musical talent.
The Pitchfork Music Festival is an independently run festival, has support of local businesses while promoting the Chicago arts and food communities as a whole and when you are working with the city’s best local vendors and mix in amazing music talent it makes this one of the best festivals and one that is not to be missed.
For more information on the Pitchfork Music Festival: http://pitchfork.com/festival/chicago
Ticket Prices: $75.00 USD – $400.00 USD
Follow on Twitter: @pitchforkfest
Follow on Facebook: @PitchforkMusicFestival
Follow on Instagram: @pitchforkfest
Riot Fest
Pick: # 7
When: September 13th
– 15th, 2019
Where: Chicago, Il, USA
Why: Well for starters Riot Fest is celebrating the 15th year for this multi-day music festival that specializes in rock, punk, alternative rock, and hip hop. This festival is well known for booking reunions, guest performances, and full album performances and was first started back in 2005. Since then Riot Fest has been providing an ultimate cross between mainstream and independent acts, current punk rock megastars and legendary bands from the past.
Founded in 2005 in Chicago this music festival offers more than just music it has carnival rides, amazing food vendors, sideshow performers, and more sights and attractions to add to the atmosphere for 60,000 festival goers attending this independent music festival.
For more information on Riot Fest: http://riotfest.org/
Ticket Prices: $115.00 USD to $1500.00 USD
Follow on Twitter: @riotfest
Follow on Facebook: @riotfest1
Follow on Instagram: @riot_fest
Made in America Festival
Pick: # 6
When: August 31st – September 1st, 2019
Where: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Why: Founded by music industry icon, Jay-Z in 2012 made in America continues to get more ambitious with both the type of talent and amount of talent it brings to Philly each year.
This festival has the reputation for delivering the top talent in the pop, hip-hop and electronic music and for younger festival goers it is an excellent way to close out summer with over 100,000 friends over the Labor Day weekend.
The venue for the Made in America Festival is Fairmount Park which is equipped with the latest technology and a state-of-the-art sound system and incredible light features that add life to the artist performances and taking the festival goers experience to the next level.
So, it should come as no surprise that with an amazing line up of artists and a fantastic venue, that Made in America tickets are high in demand. So, if you are planning to be a part of this year’s festival, we strongly recommend acting fast and getting your tickets without any further delay.
For more information on the Made in America Festival: http://www.madeinamericafest.com
Ticket Prices: $175.00 USD – $695.00 USD
Follow on Twitter: @MIAFestival
Follow on Facebook: @MadeInAmericaFest
Follow on Instagram: @miafest
Now we are moving into the Top 5 picks for 2019!
Austin City Limits Music Festival
Pick: # 5
When: October 4th – 6th, 11th – 13th, 2019
Where: Austin, TX, USA
Why: Well what is better than one weekend of amazing music? Two and that is what Austin City Limits Music Festival is all about! Founded in 2002, the festival began as a one-weekend event and remained as such through 2012.
You know what they say, “everything is bigger in Texas” so, in 2012 the ACL Music Fest moved the festival to a six-day, two weekend event with eight stages of performances from all types of musical groups from genres including rock, indie, country, folk, electronic and hip hop artists.
Approximately 450,000 people attend the festival each year and in addition to the amazing music performances, there are food and drinks, an art market, a kid’s area for families, and other activities for attendees giving the festival something for everyone.
The festival itself was inspired by the famed music TV show of the same name, but we have a feeling that you would rather see the live version at this years ACL Music Fest.
For more information on the Austin City Limits Music Festival: https://www.aclfestival.com/
Ticket Prices: $105.00 USD – $3600.00 USD
Follow on Twitter: @aclfestival
Follow on Facebook: @aclfestival
Follow on Instagram: @aclfestival
WE Fest 2019
Pick: # 4
When: August 1st – 3rd, 2019
Where: Detroit Lake, MN, USA
Why: Well it is simple, We Fest has been offering an amazing experience to festival goers since 1983 when Alabama took the stage with the inaugural event for the 9,000 in attendance and they never looked back.
Now able to accommodate 50,000 people, including 7,000 reserved seats, the concert bowl contains 50+ concession stands along with 10 separate campgrounds with a total camping capacity of 35,000 people.
The WE Fest has been at the pinnacle of country music festivals for nearly four decades. Held at Soo Pass Ranch in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota the WE Fest has hosted hundreds of thousands of fans every August with countless country icons and legends having taken the stage.
This year’s line up will not disappoint with this year’s CMA’s Entertainer of the Year, Keith Urban taking the stage along with Chris Stapleton and country music icons Brooks & Dunn and Big & Rich along with many other headlining the three-day festival. With a line up like this it is easy to see why WE Fest is widely regarded as one of the most outstanding events of its kind.
Add to your festival bucket list and join the party with over 80,000 energized country music fans in the small-town Minnesota for this amazing event this Summer.
For more information on WE Fest 2019: http://wefest.com/
Ticket Prices: $150.00 USD – $1000.00 USD
Follow on Twitter: @wefestmn
Follow on Facebook: @wefestmn
Follow on Instagram: @wefestmn
Musikfest 2019
Pick: # 3
When: August 2nd – 12th, 2019
Where: Bethlehem, PA, USA
Why: Founded in 1984 by ArtsQuest, a community-based nonprofit organization, the Musikfest has grown to become the largest free, non-gated music festival in the nation, having an economic impact of more than $73 million annually in the city of Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley region. The 2018 festival featured more than 400 performers from 29 states and eight countries serving up more than 500 performances, with artists coming from as far away as Canada, Ukraine and Australia. Overall, 955,000 people from more than 40 states attended the festival in 2018 (all-time attendance record was 1,196,000, set in 2017).
This year’s festival is set for August 2-11 and features artists like the Chainsmokers, Train and Goo Goo Dolls, Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum, Incubus, Godsmack, Steve Miller Band with Marty Stuart and more. In addition to showcasing the more than 400 performers there are also 45 different food vendors and 60 artisans and retail vendors during the festival’s 10-day run.
Musikfest, which is one of the largest music festivals in the nation offers both free and ticketed concerts. It is great to see a free option and it is one of the reasons that it was selected in our top ten this year thanks to the support of government and corporate partners.
If Musikfest is not on your festival bucket list, then it should be not just this year but every year.
For more information on Musikfest: http://www.musikfest.org/
Ticket Prices: $20.00 USD – $395.00 USD
Follow on Twitter: @Musikfest
Follow on Facebook: @musikfest
Follow on Instagram: @musikfest
Summerfest 2019
Pick: # 2
When: June 26th – 30th and July 2nd – 7th, 2019
Where: Milwaukee, WI, USA
Why: Well this amazing festival inspired by a trip to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany has been happening for more than half a century, which tells this non-profit festival and board knows a thing or two about partnering with the right people to run a successful event.
Summerfest truly has something for everyone’s musical tastes with over 800 artists performing more than 1000 shows on 11 stages. It is easy to see why this has been a top pick for festival goers for more than 50 years and considered to be the Super Bowl of Music Festivals.
Every year more than 800,000 people, yes you read that correctly, will attend the Summerfest over the 11 days of the festival which has been certified by the Guinness World Records as “The World’s Largest Music Festival.”
Summerfest features a variety of music genres, with local, national and international recording artists performing throughout the grounds offering a musical experience that will be unforgettable as you are immersed in amazing artists from the past, present and future during this festival.
Make Summerfest part of your festival playlist this Summer and we are very confident that you will want to be back again next year.
For more information on Summerfest 2019: https://summerfest.com
Ticket Prices: $15.00 USD to $110.00 USD
Follow on Twitter: @Summerfest
Follow on Facebook: @summerfest
Follow on Instagram: @summerfest
Time to drop the mic!!! This year’s Spotlight on Business Magazine top music festival is:
Country Jam USA 2019
Pick: # 1
When: July 18th – 20th, 2019
Where: Eau Claire, WI, USA
Why: Well for starters before you even talk about the headlining artists let us talk about the venue, which is along the banks of the beautiful Chippewa River in Wisconsin and if that wasn’t enough to be selected as this years top pick just look at the amazing artist line up.
This year’s Country Jam USA has country music icons, Toby Keith and Travis Tritt taking the stage along with CMA’s Entertainer of the Year, Keith Urban, country music’s sweetheart, Sara Evans with up and comers Jake Owen and Maren Morris headlining this year’s festival along with many more of country music’s greatest artists from the past and present making it the Midwest’s premiere outdoor country music festival and sealing the deal for the number one spot on our list of picks this year.
If you have never been, then you need to go and if you have been to Country Jam USA before we know that you already have your tickets because you know what you will be missing, which is the hottest country music festival of the Summer!
For more information on Country Jam USA 2019: http://www.countryjamwi.com/
Ticket Prices: $99.00 USD – $4,000.00 USD
Follow on Twitter: @CountryJam
Follow on Facebook: @CountryJam
Follow on Instagram: @CountryJamUSA
Remember, before going to any festival you need to find the one that is right for you, know all the costs and what is and what is not included. The prices that we have shown are for tickets only as many will have additional costs for parking and camping so be aware of this before you head to any festival so that you do not have an unwanted surprise.
As you can see there are many amazing festivals to choose from, but you don’t want to end up somewhere you don’t enjoy. So, remember atmosphere and festival venue is just as important if not more than a spectacular line-up of artists.
Attending an amazing festival that we might have missed, then reach out to us at festivals@spotlightbizmag.com and put the spotlight on your favorite festival of the Summer for our 2020’s list.
Remember to tag us on social media (Twitter @spotlightbizmag / Facebook @spotlightbizmag / Instagram @spotlightonbizmag) and use #Top10CDNMusicfest so that we can share your experience with our readers.