Skip the Flight This Summer and Check Out These Local-ish Music Festivals

The crowd at When We Were Young Fest October 2024. Photo by Peyton Mott.

The U.S. is home to some of the biggest music festivals in the world. When influencers start descending upon the Californian desert clad in their trendiest attire, the masses know Coachella has begun, for example. Similarly, Lollapalooza Chicago and Austin City Limits have been known to draw crowds of 450,000, annually promising performances by some of the biggest names in music.

As lineups drop and collect buzz, many fans trek across state lines — or even cross-country — to witness the most talked about festivals of the year. Aside from paying the already inflated price of tickets, traveling attendees also shell out the money for necessities like plane tickets, gas and lodging. In 2024, for example, some spent upwards of $2,000 to attend Coachella when accounting for plane and hotel fees.

While some fans are willing to pay the price to witness the trendiest stars at the most iconic festivals, attending smaller, more local music events can not only spare your wallet the pain, but also introduce you to your new favorite acts. Below are festivals in each region of the U.S. — a subjective topic, I know, but we’re going off the U.S. Census categories — that can quench the need for weekend-long live music while not breaking the bank on travel.

Back Cove 2025 Lineup.

New England

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont

One of the most well-known summer music festivals in New England is Rhode Island’s Newport Folk Festival. The annual folk festivity started as a counterpart to the iconic Newport Jazz Festival in 1959 and has been kicking ever since. This year, artists like Mt. Joy, Sammy Rae & The Friends, Waxahatchee, Flipturn, Remi Wolf, Lucious and Hannah Cohen will head to the Ocean State on the weekend of July 25 for the festival’s 66th year.

Farther up the coast, Portland is preparing for its inaugural Back Cove Festival on Aug. 2 and 3. Headliners include Lucy Dacus, Lord Huron, André 3000, Turnpike Troubadours and Jack White, with performances from Eliza McLamb, The Greeting Committee, Sarah Kinsley and more sure to light up the Forest City.

Middle Atlantic

New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania

For a belated Jersey Shore Summer, head to Asbury Park’s seventh annual Sea.Hear.Now Festival Sept. 13 and 14. A joint music festival and surf competition that benefits environmental charities, Sea.Hear.Now has brought the best of the scene to the Garden State since its 2018 inception. Legends like Lenny Kravitz, ZZ Top and Blink-182 will join the new generation of rockers like Hozier, Royel Otis, Mannequin Pussy and Inhaler for the two-day event.

Of course, there’s also New York City’s iconic Governors Ball from June 6 to 8, featuring modern icons like Tyler, The Creator, Mk.gee, Olivia Rodrigo, Wallows, Car Seat Headrest, Clairo and The Japanese House, to name a few. Up north, Upstate New York’s Mountain Jam Festival will host headliners like Khruangbin, Mt. Joy and Goose from June 20 to 22.

Shaky Knees 2025 Lineup.

South Atlantic

Delaware, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia

If you can wait until the end of September, Atlanta’s Shaky Knees Festival is an alt fan favorite. The three-day festival offers a chance to see coveted acts like My Chemical Romance, The Marías, The Backseat Lovers, Vampire Weekend and more. Also at the end of September is Oceans Calling in Ocean City, Maryland. Big names like Green Day, Noah Kahan, Fall Out Boy and Weezer are set to headline the seaside stage from Sept. 26 to 28.

South Central

Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas and Tennessee

Kentucky is home to the annual Louder Than Life Festival, highlighting staple and up-and-coming hard rock, punk and metal artists. The four-day festival will take place Sept. 18 to 21 and feature headliners like Slayer, Deftones, Bad Omens and Rob Zombie.

Besides Tennessee’s iconic Bonnaroo Festival — which boasts a lineup similar to Gov Ball — in June, the Volunteer State will also host Deep Tropics in August and Pilgrimage in September. The latter will feature acts like Kings of Leon, Young The Giant, Father John Misty and Sam Fender.

For rock fans in the vicinity of northeast Oklahoma, Rocklahoma has your Labor Day Weekend plans covered. The three-day-event has brought hard rock legends to the Sooner State since 2007, with groups like Death Punch, Three Days Grace, Knocked Loose and Shinedown hitting the stage this summer.

East North Central

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin

If you couldn't snag tickets to the ever-popular Lollapalooza in Chicago — or you simply want to pregame one of the largest musical festivals in the country — the Windy City is home to several other dance-worthy festivals. One of which is a short drive north of the city in Winnetka, which has hosted its eponymous music festival since 2017. This year, The Revivalists, Cold War Kids and, of course, Winnetka Bowling League are among the performing artists.

Wisconsin’s long-running camping weekend Rock Fest and Ohio’s Inkcarceration Festival both return Mid-July, featuring lineups similar to Rocklahoma’s.

West North Central

Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota

Minnesota Yacht Club 2025 Lineup.

Kansas City’s Boulevardia is celebrating it’s tenth year of being the city’s largest urban street festival, with a slew of DJs joining headliners like Tech N9NE, honestav and The Greeting Committee for the June 14 festival.

Another festival in the region is Iowa’s Hinterland, which will see big names like Clairo, Lana Del Rey, Tyler, The Creator, Role Model, Still Woozy, Orla Gartland and more for the three-day event Aug. 1-3.

Aforementioned artists like Hozier, Fall Out Boy and Father John Misty are making their way to St. Paul in July for the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival, which will also feature acts like Green Day, The Beaches, Beach Bunny and Gigi Perez.

Mountain

Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming

Montana music lovers can spend their July 4 weekend dancing along to performances by Hozier, Kacey Musgraves, Mt. Joy, Lake Street Dive, Modest Mouse and more at the inaugural Zootown Festival in Missoula.

Known primarily for being a ski town, Aspen, Colorado is spreading its roots and hosting the inaugural Up In The Sky Festival Aug. 8 and 9. Acts like Rüfüs Du Sol, Suki Waterhouse, Glass Animals, Role Model and Jensen McRae will christen the festival stage in the mountains this year.

Pacific

Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington

Don’t fooled by the name of the Capitol Hill Block Party. The three-day festival is in Washington State, preparing for acts like Thundercat, The Dare, Dora Jar and 100 Gecs to take the West Coast stage on July 19 and 20. DJ Mandy, who went viral on TikTok for parody remixes, will also perform a set at the 21+ festival.

If you’re in the PNW and in the nostalgic mood, Oregon’s Harefest offers three days of tribute bands, performing hits by artists from Fleetwood Mac to Beastie Boys July 17-19. Also in Oregon is Project PABST, which will host headliners Iggy Pop, Devo, Death Cab For Cutie and Japanese Breakfast July 26 and 27.

San Francisco is home to Outside Lands, one of the buzziest festivals in the states. Taking place Aug. 8-10, artists like Doechii, Gracie Abrams, Anderson.Paak, Wallows, Bleachers, Flipturn, Marina and Finneas will hit the stage for the festival’s 17th year.