The Most Anticipated Music Festivals of 2024

Photo by Shea Flynn. Image by Chris Panicker.

Summer is around the corner, and, as your more fastidiously organized friends may have made you aware, that means it’s time to plan for festival season. Peruse a list of offerings for every taste below, and get ready to pack your bags, whether with sunscreen, Wellies, or—should your journey bring you to the intemperate festival fields of England—both.

Just Like Heaven

Pasadena, CA; May 18
Featuring: The Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie, Phoenix, the War on Drugs, Alvvays, Broken Social Scene, Gossip, Be Your Own Pet

Though its name invokes the Cure’s famous heart-eyed single, Just Like Heaven focuses not on ’80s new wave, but the aughts indie rock that dominated blogs. This year’s lineup picks some of the best artists from that realm, with the Postal Service, Phoenix, Death Cab for Cutie, and the War on Drugs topping the bill. The Pasadena festival also features Broken Social Scene, Passion Pit, Tegan and Sara, the Go! Team, Metric, and Alvvays. Plus, recently reunited bands like Gossip, Be Your Own Pet, and CSS are there, too, in case you missed them on their first go-around.

–Nina Corcoran

24-Hour Drone

Hudson, NY; May 18-19
Featuring: Dragonchild, Alex Zhang Huntai, Cowboy Sadness, curated blocks by Rvng Intl.

24-Hour Drone is an immersive, mind-bending event that facilitates a full day of unbroken, uninterrupted sound from a constellation of experimental and sound artists. Staged in a repurposed industrial factory in upstate New York, the event encourages attendees to reach a meditative state through drone, by either coming and going throughout the day or—for those with higher stamina—bringing yoga mats and sleeping bags to participate in “endurance listening.” The lineup includes curated programming blocks from Rvng Intl., plus sets from Alex Zhang Hungtai, Nadah El Shazly, and the “jambient” supergroup Cowboy Sadness.

–Eric Torres

Movement

Detroit, MI; May 25-27
Featuring: Floating Points, Richie Hawtin, Solomun, Ludacris, Avalon Emerson, Fatboy Slim, Goldie (live), Jayda G, James Blake (DJ set)

Detroit institution Movement comes to Hart Plaza this Memorial Day weekend, in this case commemorating Detroit’s techno roots. Superstar DJs Fatboy Slim, Solomun, and Richie Hawtin (debuting a new show) headline, and plenty of gold resides deeper in the lineup, including a live set from Goldie himself. Among the rest of the buried treasure are legends like Kevin Saunderson, Masters at Work, Ludacris, Waajeed, and Robert Hood, as well as a new generation of their descendants: Floating Points, Jayda G, and the Blessed Madonna among them.

–Jazz Monroe

Primavera Sound Barcelona

Barcelona, Spain; May 29-June 2
Featuring: Lana Del Rey, Pulp, Vampire Weekend, SZA, Mitski, PJ Harvey, Charli XCX, Phoenix

Primavera Sound has rallied a typically mammoth lineup for this year’s Barcelona edition, including SZA, Mitski, Charli XCX, and PJ Harvey on the Sunday alone (though sadly not FKA twigs, who has dropped out). The rest of the bill is just as formidable: Pulp, Vampire Weekend, and Justice headline the Friday; Lana Del Rey, the National, and Disclosure top the Saturday bill; and, across the weekend, you’ll find Beth Gibbons, Jai Paul, Clipse, Arca, Bikini Kill, Yo La Tengo, Amaarae, Deftones, and Freddie Gibbs and Madlib. Bring your shorts and shades.

–Jazz Monroe

Primavera Sound Porto

Porto, Portugal; June 6-8
Featuring: Lana Del Rey, Pulp, SZA, Mitski, PJ Harvey, the National, Justice

Last year, Primavera’s Portuguese edition weathered a near-washout on the first night to deliver a carousel of pop and alternative delights that rivaled its big-sister festival. This year’s bill once again brings the Barcelona edition’s twin lineup to the cozy fields of Parque da Cidade. You can catch double-duty headliners Lana Del Rey, Pulp, SZA, Mitski, PJ Harvey, the National, and Justice, as well as a healthy down-bill offering including Arca, Shellac, billy woods, Blonde Redhead, Water From Your Eyes, Lambchop, Joanna Sternberg, and Julie Byrne.

–Jazz Monroe

Governors Ball Music Festival

Queens, NY; June 7-9
Featuring: SZA, the Killers, Post Malone, Rauw Alejandro, Peso Pluma, 21 Savage

For 2023, the Governors Ball Music Festival moved to Flushing Meadows Corona Park after spending 2021 and 2022 at another prominent Queens, New York, location, Citi Field. The 2024 edition is headlined by SZA, Post Malone, and the Killers. The three-day event also has notable indie-rock acts (Alex G, Blondshell, Faye Webster, Hotline TNT, and Beach Fossils), pop artists (Tyla, Kevin Abstract, Sabrina Carpenter, and Flo), and rappers (Sexyy Red, Don Toliver, and Rauw Alejandro).

–Matthew Strauss

Governors Ball Music Festival 2024

$.00, Ticketmaster

Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival

Manchester, TN; June 13-16
Featuring: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fred Again.., Post Malone, Brittany Howard, Megan Thee Stallion, Four Tet

Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival returns this summer to Bonnaroo Farm in Manchester, Tennessee, with headliners Pretty Lights, Post Malone, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Fred Again.., the latter playing his only U.S. festival set in 2024. Nostalgists can also look forward to the annual superjam on Saturday, this year themed “Once More With Feeling(s)—The Dashboard Confessional Emo Superjam.” The rest of the lineup spans Maggie Rogers, T-Pain, Mdou Moctar, Faye Webster, Brittany Howard, Teezo Touchdown, Megan Thee Stallion, Chappell Roan, Four Tet, Idles, and many more.

–Boutayna Chokrane

2024 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival

$.00, Ticketmaster

Meltdown

London, England; June 14-23
Featuring: Chaka Khan, Bruce Hornsby, Morcheeba, Speakers Corner Quartet, Big Joanie

Held annually in the plush surrounds of London’s Southbank Centre, Meltdown returns this year with Chaka Khan at the curatorial helm. The R&B legend will bring a slate of international artists from disparate genres to the riverside complex: Emeli Sandé, Bruce Hornsby, Les Amazones d’Afrique, Morcheeba, Speakers Corner Quartet, Big Joanie, Anaiis, and more. Khan herself will play a pair of shows, with sets from DJs including Norman Jay (aka Fatboy Slim) rounding out the evenings. As Khan put it in press materials, “We’re a world of beauty and wonderful things. Each of us makes up parts of a bouquet. Let's celebrate our diversity with the best of the best, from pop to punk to tech to funk.”

–Jazz Monroe

Glastonbury

Somerset, England; June 26-30
Featuring: SZA, Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Shania Twain, LCD Soundsystem, PJ Harvey, Jamie xx

Glastonbury remains the most historic, prestigious, and enormous festival in Europe, able to spark a national conversation when a headliner mints a career-high or supposedly goes rogue. More often than not, the impossibly high stakes—not to mention the physically taxing site—create ample opportunity for euphoric, once-in-a-lifetime moments, albeit rarely at the place or time you had planned in the doomed itinerary-making phase. SZA, Dua Lipa, and Coldplay step up to the plate to headline, but it is the accidental discoveries, the stumbled-upon DJ sets, or the tripping soothsayers reading your fortune at the Stone Circle who are liable to steal the show.

–Jazz Monroe

Essaouira Gnaoua Festival

Essaouira, Morocco; June 27-29
Featuring: Bokanté, Buika, Saint Levant, the Brecker Brothers Band Reunion, Labess, Issam Kamal & Mazagan

Since 1998, the Gnaoua and World Music Festival has invited artists from Africa and the rest of the world to Essaouira to fuse their sounds with traditional Gnaoua music. For its 25th edition, the three-day fest has curated a lineup of 400 performers, including 35 Gnaoua maâlems, and 53 shows across seven stages. Among the acts are Aïta Mon Amour, Buika, Ilê Aiyê, Issam Kamal & Mazagan, Jon Grandcamp, Labess, Nino de Los Reyes & Sergio Martinez, Saint Levant, and the Brecker Brothers Band Reunion. Of special mention are the six fusion concerts, where collaborative performances will blend genres like Brazilian batucada, flamenco, and Zaouli, among many others. Make sure to catch the opening concert and Maâlem Hamid El Kasri’s show with Bokanté.

–Boutayna Chokrane

Mad Cool Festival

Madrid, Spain; July 10-13
Featuring: Dua Lipa, the Smashing Pumpkins, Janelle Monáe, Pearl Jam, the Killers, the Breeders

Mad Cool routinely brings one of the world’s most absurdly high-key festival bills to Madrid for a weekend of stargazing sets that wind late into the night, the better to escape the pounding sun. This year’s sprawling bill rallies a pageant of rock and pop’s greatest—and sometimes most divisive—show people; rarely does a single festival so thoroughly embody the “something for everyone” ethos. Not in the mood for the Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Dua Lipa, Sum 41, Avril Lavigne, the Killers, or the Gaslight Anthem? Then saunter across the astroturf and indulge in Alvvays, Janelle Monáe, the Breeders, DJ Koze, Soccer Mommy, Axel Boman, or Jessie Ware. And if none of that fits the bill, you can always rely on Måneskin, a band of whom nobody has ever said a bad word.

–Jazz Monroe

Mad Cool Festival 2024

$.00, Ticketmaster

Pitchfork Music Festival

Chicago, IL; July 19-21
Featuring: Alanis Morissette, Jamie xx, Black Pumas, Jai Paul, Brittany Howard, Carly Rae Jepsen

Alanis Morissette, Jamie xx, and Black Pumas headline the 2024 Pitchfork Music Festival, which returns, as ever, to Chicago’s Union Park. A ton of other great acts make up the bill, including Jai Paul, Carly Rae Jepsen, Brittany Howard, Jessica Pratt, Crub, Amen Dunes, Kara Jackson, L’Rain, ML Buch, and Tkay Maidza. Tickets are still available, including Pitchfork PLUS and the new Pitchfork VIP upgrade, which offers side- or front-of-stage viewing at the two main stages, access to backstage lounges, free drinks, daily catered meals, charging stations, tarot readings, massages, and more.

–Matthew Strauss

Pitchfork Music Festival 2024

$.00, See Tickets

Newport Folk Festival

Newport, RI; July 26-28
Featuring: Adrianne Lenker, Killer Mike, Wednesday, Muna, Tinariwen, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

Newport Folk Festival has attained legendary status for its historic sets, often involving headline surprises like the 2022 appearance of Joni Mitchell. This year continues the festival’s swerve toward humble lineups that unite music lovers of all stripes, with Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker taking top billing on the Saturday after the likes of Wednesday, Black Pumas, and Muna. If those lower-key offerings don’t take your fancy, look no further than Saturday night headliners Bertha: Grateful Drag, self-described as “an all-star collective of queer and allied East Nashville talent” performing—yes—Grateful Dead covers in drag.

–Jazz Monroe

Junction 2

London, England; July 26-28
Featuring: Jon Hopkins, Jeff Mills, Avalon Emerson, the Blessed Madonna, LSDXOXO

Dance fest Junction 2 now sprawls across three days, held in alternative music’s new favorite outdoor venue, Boston Manor Park, in London. The lineup has pedigree but balances greats like Jeff Mills and Richie Hawtin with puckish new stars like LSDXOXO and Honey Dijon. Their attentive program and killer soundsystems defy the usual pitfalls of outdoor dance fests, attracting a pleasingly broad crowd that ranges from thrill-seeking ravers to otherwise stuffy techno-lovers.

–Jazz Monroe

Junction 2 Festival 2024

$.00, Ticketmaster

Lollapalooza

Chicago, IL; August 1-4
Featuring: SZA; Tyler, the Creator; Blink-182; the Killers; Future x Metro Boomin; Skrillex

Kicking off Lollapalooza’s return to Chicago’s Grant Park are headliners Tyler, the Creator and Hozier, followed by SZA and Stray Kids on Friday, and the Killers, Skrillex, and Future and Metro Boomin on Saturday. Sunday wraps up with Blink-182 and Melanie Martinez. Elsewhere on the lineup you’ll find Kesha, Tyla, Elyanna, Victoria Monét, Friko, Deftones, Vince Staples, and many others. Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey will perform a special set with the Chicago Philharmonic on Friday—a must see.

–Boutayna Chokrane

Lollapalooza 2024

$.00, Ticketmaster

Outside Lands

San Francisco, CA; August 9-11
Featuring: Tyler, the Creator, Grace Jones, Sturgill Simpson, the Killers, Kaytranada, Sofia Kourtesis, Schoolboy Q, Chappell Roan

Outside Lands, which takes place at San Francisco’s picturesque Golden Gate Park, returns this year with headliners Tyler, the Creator, the Killers, and Sturgill Simpson. The three-day outdoor festival will also host icons like Grace Jones and producers Sofia Kourtesis and the Blessed Madonna, the latter at the festival’s dance and electronic–focused Soma stage to guarantee a dizzying time on the dancefloor. This year’s event also includes Post Malone performing an intriguing “special country set”—don’t rule out the rap crooner throwing his Cowboy Carter cut, “Levii’s Jeans,” into the mix.

–Eric Torres

Outside Lands 2024

$.00, Ticketmaster

Green Man

Brecon Beacons, Wales; August 15-18
Featuring: Big Thief, Jon Hopkins, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Julia Holter, Sampha, Black Country, New Road

Nestled in the Welsh mountain valley of Brecon Beacons, Green Man inspires legion devotees, drawn to its promise of intimacy and pastoral escapism. Sponsorship-free and lovingly curated, the festival treats alternative favorites (this year, Big Thief, Jon Hopkins, Sampha, and Sleaford Mods take top billing) as royalty. When the dust settles, a giant effigy, the Green Man himself, is ceremonially set ablaze, symbolizing death and rebirth—a fitting finale to a festival that feels, in its own right, like an ancient ritual.

–Jazz Monroe

End of the Road

Dorset, England; August 29-September 1
Featuring: Fever Ray, Idles, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Slowdive, Yo La Tengo, Sleater-Kinney, Richard Dawson

As festival season winds down, End of the Road welcomes us into its woodside utopia for a weekend of forest frolics, hot ciders, and rambling campfire conversations. Fever Ray, Idles, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and Slowdive headline, but as ever, the heart of the festival lies in its never-ending assortment of surprises, from otherworldly forest enclosures to intimate comedy sets, library hideaways, and abundant secret shows from potential future headliners. Its relatively small scale and tight-knit camaraderie make it one of the most practical and personable UK festivals, while its formidable late-night programming promises an energy flash for those who wish not to get too comfortable.

–Jazz Monroe

Unsound

Krakow, Poland; September 29-October 5
Featuring: TBA

Unsound is one of Europe’s most revered underground festivals, coraling outré music from around the world and often adopting political concepts that inform the bookings, stagings, and one-off collaborations. The Polish city of Krakow plays the ever magnanimous host, turning wood-paneled cafés into raucous venues and shots of bison grass vodka into ostensibly light refreshment. The lineup is coming soon, but Unsound is not a festival of headliners. Its lifeblood is its community of the curious, drawn in by its promise of wondrous, chilly adventure.

–Jazz Monroe

Pitchfork Music Festival London

London, England; November 5-10
Featuring: Tierra Whack, Arooj Aftab, CASISDEAD, Sega Bodega, Empress Of, billy woods

Pitchfork once again encompasses venues around the English capital for the fourth edition of its London festival. The first wave of announced shows includes billy woods headlining the legendary club fabric—with a bill including Moor Mother and Elucid—as well as sets in the Dalston area from Shame, Mabe Fratti, and Cole Pulice, and a Sega Bodega club night in a room of the swanky Outernet complex. On the traditional closing night in the Roundhouse, Tierra Whack headlines a multi-room bill that also features Miso Extra, Jawnino, and more.

–Jazz Monroe

Pitchfork Music Festival London 2024

$.00, Dice

C2C

Turin, Italy; October 31-November 3
Featuring: Arca, Bicep, A. G. Cook, Romy, Sofia Kourtesis, Darkside, Mabe Fratti, billy woods

C2C is the ne-plus-ultra festival of avant-garde eclecticism. Part concert series, part art bonanza, and, in largest part, a premium warehouse rave, it doubles as an excuse to pound the cobbled streets of Turin, where bacchanalian indulgence stretches from the abundant wine bars, trattorias, food halls, and pizzerias out to the festival site, a giant hangar appended to a converted Fiat factory with a historic test-track on the roof. This year, the festival will host the likes of A. G. Cook, Darkside, drone maestro Kali Malone, and one of the great recent live performers, Mabe Fratti. Their concerts run alongside DJ sets from Yaeji, Hessle Audio’s Ben UFO, Pangaea, and Pearson Sound, and dozens more. At the top of the bill, Bicep return to Lingotto with their audiovisual show Chroma, and Arca, something like the festival’s house artist, continues her evolution from avant-garde trickster to operatic techno siren and now hell-raising diva extraordinaire.

–Jazz Monroe

Pitchfork Music Festival Paris

Paris, France; November 4-10
Featuring: Cate Le Bon, Sega Bodega, Mabe Fratti, Chanel Beads

Since its inception in 2011, Pitchfork Paris has evolved from a giant, single-room showcase to a weeklong multi-venue jaunt that plots a tour of the city’s abundant music venues—with opportunities aplenty for spontaneous excursions. At venues including Trianon and the Trabendo, the 2024 festival invites a bill of rising stars, cult favorites, and future legends: Cate Le Bon, Sega Bodega, Mabe Fratti, Chanel Beads, Elsy Wameyo, Ugly, and many more to be announced.

–Jazz Monroe

Pitchfork Music Festival Paris 2024

$.00, Dice

Le Guess Who?

Utrecht, Netherlands; November 7-10
Featuring: Curation and performances from Arooj Aftab, Bo Ningen, Darkside,
Mabe Fratti, and more; performers including Kim Gordon, Theo Parrish, and Meshell Ndegeocello

There’s no placing bets on who you’re going to get at Le Guess Who?, which is part of the appeal of the long-running Dutch festival. Different artists are invited to help curate the lineup, resulting in a varied, intentional, diverse bill that buries sparkling new discoveries among the cult favorites. Now entering its 17th edition, Le Guess Who? has invited Arooj Aftab, Bo Ningen, Crystallmess, Darkside, Mabe Fratti, and Touching Bass to curate and perform. Their selected guests include Kim Gordon, Theo Parrish, Meshell Ndegeocello, Wadada Leo Smith, RP Boo, and Still House Plants.

–Nina Corcoran

Originally Appeared on Pitchfork