11 Can't-miss so-cal 2019 music festivals (that aren't coachella)
Every year we get excited waiting to find out the details of our favorite SoCal music festivals.
We’re all anticipating the return of the best music festivals and the new ones we’re eager to check out! Southern California has some of the dopest festivals in the world. They make our hearts race and our heads spin just dreaming about the line up. That’s why we compiled a list of the 11 Can’t Miss SoCal Music Festivals of 2019. We want you to plan your year without missing a beat! You won’t be disappointed this year. We organized a list of festivals per season so you can budget for tickets, transportation, wardrobe, and vacation time off work.
Winter 2019
Red Bull Music Festival
Red Bull’s Music Festival is one for the public, opening on February 7th to the 28th, 2019. This festival is unique as it’s not a one day or weekend ordeal, but it’s over a month period. Red Bull is doing this for their International Music Series. They will be having special music performances and events all month long. To name a few, Red Bull’s line-up will be featuring Robyn, Rae Sremmurd, San Cha, Gunner Stahl, The Weekend, and Tyler the Creator. This is a great festival because if you have a favorite artist, you can get tickets for that day!
Ecofreaks Music Fest
This concert is for all ages, and is in Echo Park, Los Angeles in February 24th. The live music is free to help raise awareness on environmental issues specifically on protecting San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. Many groups come to speak about the environment including Nature For All and ActiveSGV. This isn’t a music festival featuring huge artists, but featuring local musicians. It’s a great place to hear new up and coming artists. The line up this year: The Vignes Rooftop Revival, The Velvet Collide, Karen Joyce, The Deep Sea Divas, and Rubbish House Goons. This is definitely a festival to go to with friends and family.
Spring 2019
Crossd Festival
Crossd Festival is a music event in San Diego on March 2nd and 3rd. This festival is produced by San Diego’s FNGRS and the producers of Coachella. This year’s headlines will include names and bands like ODESZA, Phantogram, Jungle and Lane 8! This year they will be having an electronic and dance music extravaganza. This 2 day festival will be held at the Waterfront Park.
Beyond Wonderland
Beyond Wonderland is one of the more frequented festivals in so-cal. The festival is in Los Angeles and will be held on March 22nd. They have it every year, and it always tells a similar story “A whole new story comes to life beyond the looking glass, where Alice and the Queen hold court with Formal Foxes, Leopard Ladies, and many more eccentric characters” (Beyond Wonderland). If you love EDM and DJs music, you should check out the line-up for Beyond Wonderland. Aly & Fila are headlining this year and they are one of the best DJs. Their sound is out of this world and will make you want to dance and party all night long.
Broke LA
Broke LA might be the coolest festival of them all held on April 21st 2019. This seven years old festival that celebrates the indie music, comedy and art scene is held the during coachella. For the people that can’t afford to go to coachella for a fraction of the price you could experience a lot of cool activitives from yoga to art installations comedy shows to every style of music concert. The curators for this festival listen carefully to get the right lineup. If you’re into the art scene and ready to experience an underground scene broke la is the place to go. Trust me you won’t regret it.
Summer 2019
The Beach Live Festivals
If you’re looking for a so-cal experience, The Beach Live Music Festival is one of those festivals that will allow you to immerse yourself in the so-cal lifestyle. With older classic bands like Steal Pulse and artists like Grace Potter, Willy Nelson, Brian Wilson, Ziggy Marley, and Sugar Ray. You can find these amazing artists here from May 3rd until May 5th. This festival is the first of its kind and a huge beach party. If you want to relax and listen to good music on the beach this is the fun place to go this summer!
Hard Summer
Downtown LA’s Hard Summer Music Festival has been around since 2007. They do multiple annual festivals in Los Angeles, but Hard Summer is still the biggest draw.
The Hard Summer scene started with that EDM craze and all that dance music. They rode that wave all the way until 2019! HARD Fest is going to be even bigger and better this year. It’ll begin at the beginning of August and the line-up comes out in mid-April. Last year they had Marshmallow, Travis Scott and Diplo take to the stage. We can’t wait to see if the line-up this year matches up!
Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival
If you know and love Tyler The Creator as much as we do, then you’ve heard of Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival. This music festival started in 2012 by Tyler and his group Odd Future. This is one of the coolest festivals with mosh pits, stage diving and a summer favorite, from June 14th-16th, 2019. This year the festival will be located at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles! Not only is there a cool music line-up, but this festival has carnival rides and food trucks! This year they have some big artist headlining like Jaden Smith and Post Malone. They have a combination of rap, hip-hop and pop artists.
Fall 2019
Nocturnal Wonderland
The Nocturnal Wonderland Music Festival is the oldest insomniac festival and longest-running electronic desire cal in America! This festival goes for two days and has a large range of performers, mainly DJs, and artists as well as fun activities for everyone to enjoy. People love to camp and the festival builds intricate and old-school style. This year the festival starts on September 13th and the line-up comes out in April 2019! There are usually 5 stages where you can see acts like zomboy or maybe Dillon Francis as well as, flux pavilion or bassrush experience.
Joshua Tree Music Festival
May 16th-19th and October 4th-7th in the Joshua Tree Music Festival and it’s held at the JT National Park. This festival is a magical experience for three days in the desert. If you enjoy a diverse range of music, this festival is the one for you. They have music from all over the world, electronic grooves, and soulful groups. The cool thing about this festival is that it’s not just about the music, but also about a spiritual experience. The festival wants you to grow as a person through art, yoga, and myth. They want to create a positive experience for all ages and walks of life to enjoy and connect through music and art.
Jerk Fest
Jerk Fest has its island vibe at the Union Nightclub in Arlington Heights on August 3rd and 4th. This festival is the 2nd annual Jerk Fest and it’s free! It’s dedicated to the Jamaican cuisine and music. At Jerk Fest you’ll be able to purchase jerk chicken, rum punch and have live music with reggae and dancehall music. There will be a super cool line up this year with DJs and live performance. Last year they featured artists like Ky-Enie King + Courtesy + Chris, Shacia Påyne + PAGES + Crooks, and Docta + Kali Madden + Rampage Global + Nikki Kush. Enjoy a long weekend at Jerk Fest this year! You won’t regret it.
