Best Music Festivals of 2018
As the year comes to an end, it’s time to look back on 2018 and all the music festivals that helped make it such a spectacular year. The best music festivals of 2018 was not an easy list to make, there’s a lot more to a great music festival than just the lineup. Sure, an amazing lineup will help bring in fans, but this list is about the best of the best music fests. Ones that offer up more than just music. Festival that combine music, art, interactive displays and great vibes. An all-around perfect and immersive experience. Where all your troubles are left at the gate, and you’re able to escape into an alternate universe. A place where dancing until sunrise is normal, where strangers become friends, and where water stations are readily available. These are the best music festivals of 2018, as chosen by the MusicFestNews staff.
#5 Lightning in a Bottle – Bradley, California
Lightning in a Bottle kicks off our list of best music festivals in the United States. Held in Bradley, California, this fest is a transformative experience filled with nothing but good vibes, amazing music. and beautiful scenery. The lineup in 2018 was stacked with amazing electronic artists, some of alternative rock and hip hop’s most talented musicians.
Lightning in a Bottle’s goal is to keep you dancing all the time, and they achieve that and more. While it’s one hell of a party, they have a lot more to offer than just music: art, yoga, amazing campgrounds, awesome fans, and perfect weather. It was three days of pure glee and bliss. They even offer attendees the opportunity to connect with global cultures through ancient practices and earth-based wisdom traditions. Presale tickets for 2019 go on sale January 19th.
#4 Shaky Knees Music Festival – Atlanta, Georgia
The only non-camping festival to make our list is Shaky Knees Festival. This alternative rock-driven powerhouse is held in Atlanta, Georgia, in early May each year. There are some things about Shaky Knees that are not perfect, but they have consistently given fans some of the best lineups year after year. From top to bottom, Shaky Knees Festival has an absolutely stacked lineup year. Ticket prices are typically a steal, especially if you grab them when they first go on sale, when they are priced at $159.
The music stops before midnight, but you’re in the heart of one of the United State’s best cities. There’s plenty to do once festival doors close if you have the energy to do so after rocking out for 12+ hours. The Shaky Knees 2019 lineup recently dropped, and as expected it is spectacular. It might be their best yet. With headliners Tame Impala, Beck, Incubus and Cage the Elephant, Shaky Knees has earned the #4 spot on our list for best music festivals.
#3 Electric Forest – Rothbury, Michigan
Electric Forest has already sold out for 2019. If this coming year is anything like 2018, then all who bought tickets are about to have the time of their lives. This EDM-driven camping festival is held at the end of June in Rothbury, Michigan, every year and has been a fan favorite since it first launched in 2011. It was created by music legends The String Cheese Incident, who helped bring their love of music festivals and good people to flourish in the woods.
Electric Forest offers up a fully immersive festival experience with infinite amounts of bass and good vibes. It’s rightfully named Electric Forest. Held in the middle of the woods, you are truly transported to a different dimension as you wander around the grounds. Gorgeous light displays, amazing art, and good vibes are everywhere around this festival-goer’s paradise.
#2 Hulaween – Live Oak, Florida
Hulaween has been a favorite of festival-goers for years and has rightfully earned our #2 spot on our list for best fests. The grounds that Hulaween is held on are festival perfection. Nestled in the Spirit of Suwanee Music Park, there is everything a camping festival should have and more. From gorgeous hanging moss to huge camping spots, there may not be a better place to camp for a music festival.
Hulaween is smaller than most major festivals; they usually cap ticket sales at 20,000. Compared to the 80,000+ that most major U.S. music festivals boast, Hulaween offers an amazingly intimate festival experience. The vast majority of the 20,000 attendees are the best people you will ever meet, with good vibes to spare. Combine that with the wild art installations, a consistently amazing lineup, and music throughout the day and night, and you are guaranteed to have a spectacular time. We’re already giddy waiting for Hulaween’s 2019 lineup.
#1 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival – Manchester, Tennessee
One of the most beloved and greatest music festivals in the United States is Bonnaroo. It won by a landslide among our staff as our favorite music festival of 2018. The experience that Bonnaroo has been consistently delivering for nearly 20 years is unprecedented. Driven by a diehard fan base, an amazing assortment of artists, perfect vibes and nearly 24/7 music, Bonnaroo is a monster in a now-oversaturated festival scene. Bonnaroo has busted out some awesome improvements over the past few years, including real bathrooms, better sound systems, a new stage, crazy art installations, and various interactive places for fans to stumble upon, from a confessional with Space Jesus to a surprise intimate set from Cage the Elephant in the middle of the campgrounds.
Bonnaroo is king. There is an indescribable energy that fills the air at this music festival; you truly have to have been there to understand it. Yes, things have changed over the past decade, but change is inevitable. Bonnaroo Music Festival is still producing one of the most magical and perfect music festival experiences out there. We can’t wait to see what Bonnaroo has in store for 2019.
Honorable Mentions for Best Music Festivals of 2018
There are so many amazing music festivals out there, making a top five list of the best music festivals in the country was not easy. Some of the other greats that didn’t make our list include: Riot Fest, Governor’s Ball, Austin City Limits, Lost Lands, Voodoo Fest, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Coachella, and Wanderlust Festival… and Fyre Festival, just because of how much of a disaster it was!