Beyond Coachella: 10 festivals worth traveling for

Afro Nation, Puerto Rico
March 18-21, 2020

This year the tropical rainforest is the site for the first-ever Afro Nation Puerto Rico. Taking place in Balneario De Carolina in San Juan the festival brings together rich history, culture, food, relaxation, and adventure, as one would expect to find in Puerto Rico. The line up so far includes Chronixx, Burna Boy, 2Baba, Fabolous, Rick Ross, Mavado, Wizkid, Davido, Naira Marley, Teni, Yemi Alade, Afro B, Busiswa, Eddy Kenzo, Flavour, Goldlink, Jada Kingdom, Kranium, Niniola, Patoranking, Patrice Roberts, R2Bees, Runtown, Shenseea, Sho Madjozi, The Composers, Wande Coal, and many more yet to be announced.

For full lineup and tickets visit afronationpuertorico.com

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New Orleans Jazz Fest
April 23 – April 26 and April 30 – May 3, 2020

An annual celebration of the New Orleans culture and heritage. The festival takes place over two long weekends across 14 stages with over 650 bands playing a wide variety of genres with one of the world’s most diverse music festival lineups. Some of the headliners are The Who, Dead & Company, Stevie Nicks, Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Lionel Richie, The Lumineers, The Black Crowes, Lenny Kravitz, Brandi Carlile, The Avett Brothers, Norah Jones, Trombone Shorty, Erykah Badu, H.E.R., The Beach Boys, The Revivalists, Elvis Costello, Irma Thomas, and over 650 more performers.

For full lineup and tickets visit nojazzfest.com

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Governors Ball Music Festival, New York
June 5-7, 2020

One of NYC’s hottest summer festivals, Governors Ball brings together a stellar lineup of performers in Randall’s Island Park.

The day-by-day lineup has already been released. This year the festival is also celebrating a 10-year milestone with the heavy hitter headliners like Tame Impala, Missy Elliott (her first major NYC headline show in over a decade), Flume, Vampire Weekend, Stevie Nicks, Solange, Miley Cyrus, Ellie Goulding, H.E.R., RÜFÜS DU SOL, Portugal. The Man, Foals, Summer Walker, Jon Bellion, Khruangbin, Carly Rae Jepsen, Maren Morris, Of Monsters and Men, Milky Chance, Bleachers, BANKS, and many more.

For full lineup and tickets visit governorsballmusicfestival.com

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Bilbao BBK Live, Bilbao, Spain
July 9 – 11, 2020

Bilbao promises a weekend of “rich cultural, artist and gastronomical history” and historically speaking it never disappoints. The festival is a camping location on the slopes of mount Cobetas, just southwest from the city. This year’s line up featured the likes of Kendrick Lamar, The Killers, Pet Shop Boys, Bad Bunny, Caribou, Four Tet, Slowthai, Whitney, Supergrass, and The Rapture. The full line up is be announced.

For more full lineup and tickets visit bilbaobbklive.com/en

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Reggae Sumfest, Montego Bay, Jamaica
July 12-18, 2020

A week-long event celebrating reggae music and culture in the heart of Jamaica, Sumfest features a variety of events from street parties to the Global Sound Clash event all leading up to the world’s biggest reggae talent coming together on one stage over two, very long and fulfilling festival nights over the weekend. The lineup is yet to be announced but you can get a good sense of how the festival unfolds in our past coverage here.

For more info and tickets visit reggaesumfest.com

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Pickathon, Portland, Oregon
July 30 – August 2, 2020

Pickathon is a long weekend 24/7 event that features across multiple genres and often breaks musicians to the public, a leading edge music festival taking place on the outskirts of Portland, in the calm and nature that is Pendarvis Farm. In addition to music the festival also brings together some of the world’s best chefs for a Curation Series of farm-to-table meals. Notably, Pickathon is one of the world’s biggest, award-winning, zero-waste festivals with attendance purposefully never acceding 3500 people per day. The lineup is yet to be announced.

For full lineup and tickets visit pickathon.com

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Lowlands, Holland
August 21-23, 2020

Lowlands is one of Europe’s most full-on festival experiences and has been running since 1993. There are 250 acts spread over 12 stages, all covered in case it rains, a selection of artisan food, theatre, comedy, film, workshops, debates, and even yoga. The lineup will be announced in February but typically features a variety of acts across genres and this year has been nominated for Best Line-up and Best Major Festival at the European Festival Awards.

For more info and tickets visit lowlands.nl/english

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Festival Musique Emergente (FME), Rouyn-Noranda, Québec
Exact dates are yet to be announced but it is always last weekend of August

The annual festival is taking place in a small town in northern Québec, FME is a four-day showcase of up-and-coming bands and artists from across genres and across the globe. During this long weekend, the music industry and fans converge and take over the small town of Rouyn-Noranda to discover new music, make new friends and build connections. The lineup is typically announced mid-summer but you can see examples of past lineups in our previous year’s coverage here.

For more info and tickets visit fmeat.org/en

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Oasis Festival, Marrakech, Morocco
September 11-13, 2020

Destination and music combined, Oasis is a truly unique experience taking place in the ancient city of Marrakech. This year marks the 5th edition of the festival, which typically brings together 5500 festival-goers from across the world. Past lineups showcased artists like François X, Ciel, DMX Krew, Theo Parrish, Four Tet, Moodymann, Nicola Cruz, Apollinia, and Sampha, to name a few. This year’s full line up is to be announced.

For more info and tickets visit theoasisfest.com

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Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), Amsterdam

October 21-25, 2020

The festival is the world’s top meeting destination for electronic music minds, from artists to industry leaders, academics and discerning fans and this year marks the 25th anniversary. The events take place in venues of all spaces and sizes in the Amsterdam city and surrounding area. The lineup is yet to be announced but you can get a good sense of the scope and variety looking at our 2019 coverage here.

For more info and tickets visit amsterdam-dance-event.nl/en