Where To See the Biggest Musical Acts This Summer

The long-anticipated return of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Southern California this April signals the unofficial start of the summer music festival season. Whether it's scratching an iconic weekend experience off of your bucket list, catching your favorite artist live and in person or simply enjoying some great music and even better vibes along with the spectacular summer weather, 2022 is guaranteed to deliver after two hard years. The coming weeks and months will see some of the industry's most recognizable names take the stage all across the country, from New York City all the way out to San Francisco. Experiencing these marquee musical acts starts with getting to the right destination. Here are the places where travelers can catch the best live music this summer.

Travelers will have plenty of time to experience the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in the Big Easy taking place from April 29 to May 8. The iconic festival combines music with food, crafts and culture and features a robust schedule of musical acts, including the beloved Red Hot Chili Peppers, who will take the stage on Sunday, May 1. Other notable performers will include Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Norah Jones and Willie Nelson & Family. Guests can also get excited about tasting some of the best local cuisines and shopping for unique contemporary crafts.

Tennessee will be buzzing with awesome live music all summer long. The Beale Street Music Festival will take over the Fairgrounds at Liberty Park in Memphis from April 29 to May 1. A few weeks later, country music fans will descend on Nashville from June 9-12 for CMA Fest. The event will feature multiple stages throughout the downtown area, including Nissan Stadium, which will host the biggest stars such as Darius Rucker and Carrie Underwood as well as Luke Bryan, Carly Pearce, Jason Aldean, Alan Jackson, Keith Urban, Gabby Barrett and Luke Combs, among others.

One week later, the annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will return to Manchester, Tennessee about an hour southeast of the Music City. The four-day festival running June 16-19 will feature 150-plus musicians performing on more than 10 stages and four campground party barns. Headlining acts for 2022 include Machine Gun Kelly, Illenium, Tool, J. Cole, Stevie Nicks, 21 Savage, Flume, The Chicks, Gryffin and Roddy Ricch.

Electric Daisy Carnival or EDC Las Vegas will take over Sin City from May 20-22. Hosted by Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the three-day event will celebrate everything electronic dance music with showcases from some of the genre's top stars like Tiesto, A-Trak and much more as well as thrilling carnival rides, awe-inspiring art installations, themed bars and many more attractions.

The second weekend of June will see The Governors Ball Music Festival return to New York City. The three-day event taking place June 10-12 will be held at Citi Field in the city's Queens borough. Headliners this year include Kid Cudi, Halsey and J. Cole, but attendees can also look forward to performances by hitmakers such as Migos, Glass Animals, Jack Harlow and Flume, among other well-known acts.

Milwaukee will be one of the hottest tickets for music fans during the first three weekends of summer as the city plays host to Summerfest, a three-weekend, nine-day event taking place June 23-25, June 30-July 2 and July 7-9. This year's headliners include Jason Aldean, Justin Bieber, Halsey, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Rod Steward, Machine Gun Kelly, Backstreet Boys, Wu-Tang Clan and Thomas Rhett along with another act still to be determined for Thursday, June 30.

The Windy City's Union Park will host the Pitchfork Music Festival from July 15-17. The three-day party will be highlighted by performances by The Roots, Earl Sweatshirt, The National and more. Two weeks later, the four-day Lollapalooza music festival returns to Chicago's historic Grant Park. Taking place from July 28-31, this year's stacked lineup is headlined by Metallica, Dua Lipa, Green Day, Doja Cat, J. Cole, Machine Gun Kelly, Lil Baby and Kygo and will feature special guest Jane's Addiction. Attendees can look forward to a whopping nine different stages hosting more than 170 bands over the course of the long weekend. In addition to great music, the festival will highlight some of the best local eats through its unique culinary offerings.

The first weekend in August will see some of the hottest acts in music bring all the energy to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park for Outside Lands. The three-day event will take place from August 5-7 and feature the likes of Post Malone, Green Day, SZA, Weezer, Jack Harlow and Phoebe Bridgers in addition to a special hometown performance by Illenium. Beyond the tunes, attendees can look forward to spectacular food and drink at Taste of the Bay Area, Wine Lands and Beer Lands as well as a next-level cannabis experience at Grass Lands.

The busy summer festival season will conclude with the four-day 2022 Firefly Music Festival at The Woodlands in Dover, Delaware taking place from September 22-25. This year's lively East Coast event will be headlined by Green Day, Halsey, My Chemical Romance and Dua Lipa and also feature appearances by Weezer, Zedd, Gunna, Big Sean, Porter Robinson and The Kid LAROI.