Festival

Three Music Festivals You Need to Attend in 2021

Festival season will be different this year. With summer about to start, we are one step closer to the return of concerts. But as dates and artists drop, we see that it will be the fall before we are roaring along with complete strangers to the sounds of our favorite beats and riffs. Both 2020 and 2021 have given us great chart-toppers, albums, debuts, and returns from artists we never thought possible. We are literally on the edge of our seats, waiting to rush through the ticket gate and straight to the pit.

These are the three festivals you NEED to attend in 2021.

1. The Governor’s Ball- September 24-26. New York City

Few things are better than experiencing a concert in New York City. That’s why we recommend you pack your bags and head to the big apple. This year’s Governor’s Ball festival is headlined by the top artists of the last few years. Billie Eilish is ready to release her second full-length album.

Phoebe Bridgers took the world by storm with her album Punisher and it is sure to be a hit when the sounds of that record play on the stage and directly to your ears. Not to mention Bridgers is joined on Saturday by Big Thief who has seen a surge in popularity (thanks to their incredible singer Adrianne Lenker), and Bleachers who just announced their new album Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night will come out in July. The cherry on top of that second night comes in the form of A$AP Rocky.

Post Malone headlines Sunday and will take the stage after sets from 21Savage, Young Thug, Princess Nokia, and 100 Gecs.

Start your festival season off with the best of your favorite artists in the heart of New York City.

2. Austin City Limits- October 1-3 & 8-10. Austin, TX

Everything’s bigger in Texas, including festivals. Austin City Limits is no exception as the festival goes across two weekends in early October. This should help everyone find a weekend to strap up their cowboy boots and hit the road.

The best thing about Austin City Limits has always been variety. They host music’s best headliners no matter the genre and balance it with the best small-label artists who have the catalog and potential to be the future of other festivals.

This year’s festival will have two of music’s most legendary performers of their generations in Stevie Nicks and Miley Cyrus joined by DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, and Machine Gun Kelly.

The lesser-known artists are sure to hit too. Alt rockers White Reaper bring a fresh feel to poppy guitar riffs and scratchy vocals. Claud will also be at the festival after releasing their first album Super Monster under Phoebe Bridger’s label Saddest Factory. Goth Babe, Mob Rich, and Deezie Brown are some other names to keep an eye on.

3. Outside Lands- October 29-31. San Francisco, CA

This is the best pound-for-pound festival in 2021. Headliners. Location. Halloween Weekend. Is there anything not to like about Outside Lands?

Taking place in the vibrant art scene of San Francisco and headlined by the awesome Tame Impala who is ready to share the sounds of The Slow Rush on the live stage for the first time ever, this festival is already set to be legendary. Imagine anything better than singing and rapping along to the likes of Lizzo and Tyler the Creator in a Halloween costume. We doubt you can.

The Strokes are also notable headliners. This fall they will finally have a chance to tour their newest record The New Abnormal, which is arguably the best thing they have released in over a decade.

Those acts will be followed by electronic superstar ZHU, indie darlings Vampire Weekend and the soothing tones of Kaytranada. You can also jam out with the talented Khruangbin and Grammy winner Brittany Howard.

Do you think we missed any other festivals on this list? Where are you going this fall?

Purchase tickets for:

The Governor’s Ball

Austin City Limits

Outside Lands (limited)

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Ben Pagani

Music Projects Manager at Beyond The Stage Magazine

Joining BTS as an intern in summer 2021, Ben stayed with the team as a writer and has been an editor for several years. Ben’s journalistic background includes 4 Emmy award wins for news producing. They grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and lived in Cleveland, OH for several years before finding a new home in Minneapolis, MN. They’ve found new and exciting ways to tap into the local music scene no matter where they’ve lived. Working at BTS has now opened the gates to chatting with top global artists. When they aren’t writing for BTS, they can be found riding a bicycle or spinning records while DJ’ing across the midwest.