With anticipation of summer filling the air, the U.S. is preparing to host an iconic lineup of music festivals that thousands flock to enjoy each year. All these destinations listed below showcase a wide choice of festivals that bring together diverse cultures, flavoursome cuisine, and an eclectic mix of musical genres. Here’s just a handful of the headline festivals, plus some you may not yet have heard of, but are worth experiencing, across all our destinations.
Meet Boston
Boston Calling Music Festival is a 3-day music festival taking place in the heart of the city over the Memorial Day Weekend from 23 -25 May 2025. This year an epic weekend awaits along the Charles River at the Harvard Athletic Complex, with more than 50 performances across 4 outdoor stages, the best food in Boston, 100-foot ferris wheel, art installations and life-size games await audiences. The star line up for 2025 includes; Luke Combs, Avril Lavigne, Sheryl Crow, Fall Out Boy and many more.
The 15th annual Boston Jazz Fest, taking place 29-30 August 2025 is a vibrant celebration of America’s musical heritage. This annual event brings together world class jazz musicians for an unforgettable experience. Visitors can immerse themselves in the rich sounds of this timeless art form with performances ranging from classical to contemporary. The festival is ideal for summer visitors to the city who can enjoy the location in Boston’s Maritime Park in the Seaport District. 2025 lineup to be announced soon!
https://www.meetboston.com/events/festivals-and-annual-events/
Maverick Helicopters
Have you ever experienced the buzzing atmosphere of the Electric Daisy Carnival? As North America’s largest festival, drawing in thousands of festivalgoers each year, it’s an experience like no other. For over a decade, Maverick Helicopters has proudly been the exclusive provider of VIP helicopter transfers. From lift off, the experience is nothing short of luxury, setting the tone for guests who are ready to party at one of the most unforgettable festivals in North America.
This year from 16–19 May, Las Vegas will transform into a pulsing, neon-lit playground as the Electric Daisy Carnival takes over, promising musical genius, immense stage design, dazzling pyrotechnics, and larger-than-life performers. The headline includes Afro Jack, Chase & Status, Horsegirl and Mike Posner to name just a handful.
With unrivalled production and a star-studded lineup, EDC is a crown jewel in the Las Vegas festival calendar. So, buckle in and prepare to enjoy your Maverick flight as you soak in the views and get ready to dance until dawn. After all, what flies in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
https://www.maverickhelicopter.com/electric-daisy-carnival
Explore Louisiana
With Louisiana hosting more than 400 festivals each year, covering everything from food and culture to music, it more than justifies its reputation as the Festival State of the U.S. Whatever your interests, there’s a festival for every taste, steeped in local tradition, making Louisiana a festival hub beyond compare.
Take downtown Lafayette where the Festival International from 23-27 April is set to play on all your senses, promising a gourmet culinary experience, music from across the globe, handcrafted artworks, and much more besides. Best of all, admission is free.
Chuck Fest on 18 October is one of Lake Charles’ must-visit festival experiences. Organised by the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana, it has grown into one of the city’s largest free annual festivals, with five stages across downtown delivering a mix of music, art markets, beer tents, and kids’ zones.
Ponchatoula, the Strawberry capital of Louisiana, is home to the annual Strawberry Festival taking place from 11-13 April, is the largest free harvest festival in the state. Since the festival was first held back in 1972, the event has blossomed into something much bigger, and it now draws in over 30,000 people annually as visitors flock to enjoy the rich mix of parades, stalls and live music, not forgetting the seemingly endless supply of delicious strawberries.
https://www.explorelouisiana.com/festivals-events-louisiana
Visit New Orleans
From 24 April – 4 May, New Orleans ushers in the renowned Jazz and Heritage Festival, a time-honoured event that has become a crown jewel in the city’s festival scene. Dating back to 1970, Jazz Fest’s origins can be traced to a moment when Mahalia Jackson, often hailed the greatest gospel singer, was handed a microphone and spontaneously joined in with a passing brass band. It was here, in this pivotal moment that the spirit of Jazz Fest was born. Over the decades, Jazz fest has seen performances from musical legends such as Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Lenny Kravitz, Bob Dylan and countless others. With multiple stages every year, music swings in every direction, stretching beyond jazz to include blues, funk, Cajun, gospel and Latin. It’s no wonder Life Magazine dubbed it as “the country’s very best music festival”, while the New York Times called it an “an institution, inseparable from the city”. Headliners this year include Lil Wayne, Burna Boy, Lenny Kravitz, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Patti LaBelle to name just a few.
Every year, around the birthday of Louis Armstrong, New Orleans also plays host to Satchmo Summer Fest, dedicated solely to honouring the legendary performer, one of the founding fathers of jazz. This year from 2–3 August the lineup includes musical talent guaranteed to leave you in awe. However, the experience goes beyond music, for example, festivalgoers can indulge in a culinary experience showcasing some of the finest Louisianan restaurants or attend lectures that evaluate Armstrong’s enduring impact on music, the city of New Orleans and its cultural fabric. Best of all? the festival is free to attend.
https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/festivals/music-festivals/
Tennessee Vacation
Bonnaroo is a mammoth festival set on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee from 12–15 June. Featuring an epic line up of musicians each year, this year will include acts such as Glass Animals, Tyler the Creator, Avril Lavigne and Olivia Rodrigo. Bonnaroo offers so much more than just a musical experience though, from dressing up and joining one of the vibrant parades to testing your stamina in the 5k run around the farm, or rolling out your yoga mat for a free class under the open sky. Beyond the giant stages that host some of the biggest names in music, Bonnaroo fosters a deep sense of connection, creativity, and community, leaving festivalgoers with a sense of having been inspired. There are interactive spaces to learn to grow food, plus workshops on songwriting, upcycling, and even instrument-building.
Meanwhile in Memphis, from 3-5 October, Mempho music festival returns to the urban oasis that is the Radians Amphitheatre, tucked inside the 96-acre Memphis Botanic Garden. Spanning multiple musical genres, Mempho promises an unbeatable few days under the stars, and has been voted the best place to see live music in the heart of Memphis. Standout features include the Incendia Dome whose flames illuminate, or the night sky as feverish festivalgoers pulsate to the music amidst the heat and light. With a mix of natural beauty and dazzling performances, Mempho does a great job of capturing the city’s soulful energy.
https://www.tnvacation.com/articles/add-these-tennessee-music-festivals-your-calendar
Discover New England
New England is the hot spot for summer Jazz Festivals. Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island all boast a variety of summer music festivals.
The legendary Newport Jazz Festival returns from 1–3 August at Fort Adams State Park. It has been held every summer in Rhode Island for over 60 years, always featuring jazz’s a selection of the genre’s greatest stars. Past performers include legendary musicians like Led Zeppelin and Ella Fitzgerald. This year’s headline acts are yet to be announced.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1881 is the largest orchestral organization in the world. The Orchestra’s world famous summer concert series; Tanglewood, held in its beautiful summer home in the Berkshires will this year see collaborations with John Legend, Jon Baptiste, Nas, Barenaked Ladies, Emmylou Harris and Lynyrd Skynyrd amongst others, as the orchestra demonstrates its extraordinary range. Tickets are on sale now for these concerts across the summer, beginning 21 June with A Prairie Home Companion followed by Nas with the Boston Pops on 27 June.
The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival celebrates Salem’s rich Jazz legacy featuring regional and national jazz and soul artists and interactive musical educational sessions along with a curated Artisan Marketplace.
The Hillsboro Summer Festival in New Hampshire takes places 10 -13 July 2025 and features live music, fireworks, a 5k road race and a hometown parade too. The fireworks extravaganza is one of the premier fireworks displays in all of New Hampshire.
Connecticut’s Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz in July offers a weekend of live music in Bushnell Park. It’s the largest free jazz festival in New England and the 2025 lineup includes artists Michelle Coltrane and Alexander Claffy performing over the 3 day festival taking place from 18-20 July 2025.
The Burlington Discover Jazz Festival in Vermont is one of the biggest in the region with thousands attending the festival. The 2025 festival takes place from 4-8 June with the opening and closing acts soon to be announced.
Maine is renowned for its summertime chamber music and classical festivals. In addition to hearing live performances with some of the finest chamber musicians in the world, audiences get to mingle with the artists in an informal setting and share musical insights and personal connections. The Bar Harbour Music Festival and Portland Chamber Music Festival are some of the Chamber Music festivals to check out in Maine.
https://discovernewengland.org/world-cultures/
Visit Mississippi
Mississippi is home to America’s largest block party, the renowned Cruisin’ The Coast. The festival began in 1996 as a celebration of classic cars and music from bygone eras. Every year, car enthusiasts from across the globe descend upon the Mississippi Gulf Coast to showcase exceptional antique vehicles as they cruise along the 30-mile beach-side highways. This year’s block party will be from 5–12 October. Each stop along the highway transforms to become its own mini festival, with live music which fills the coastline, and vendors serving up mouthwatering Mississippi cuisine, giving visitors the chance to taste the Deep South whilst enjoying that world-famous Southern hospitality. Spectators to the block party can expect an array of events, from car auctions to a mirage of vibrant parades, Cruisin the Coast isn’t just a celebration of chrome, but of a strong sense of community on the block.
Set in the historical college town of Oxford, Mississippi, the Double Decker Arts Festival is gearing up to celebrate its 28th annual festival this year from 25-26 April. The festival, as you may have guessed, has its own double decker bus imported straight from the UK in 1994, along with an iconic red telephone box, adding a touch of British charm to the aptly named town of Oxford. What started with a humble gathering of old pickup trucks repurposed as makeshift stages has since become something else entirely. It has blossomed with age into a beloved celebration of art, music and local flavour.