Summertime is upon us! School is out and the weather is warming up — making now the ideal time for getting a couple of friends together and hitting the road in search of new experiences. But where will the open road lead you? Well… somewhere cool, we hope. And we’re here to guide you.
Every month, we’re picking the dopest festivals in the country to help make your road-tripping less aimless. Grab your sunglasses, queue up that summer playlist, and get ready for an adventure. They say the journey is the destination when road tripping, but these destinations are pretty awesome, too.
GoPro Mountain Games — Colorado, June 6-9
If you’re looking for something more on the active end of the festival spectrum this summer, consider checking out the GoPro Mountain Games in Vail Colorado. Professional athletes compete head-to-head in extreme sports like mountain biking, slacklining, and freestyle kayaking to crowds of adventure-hungry onlookers. The fest also acts as the only U.S. stop in the Climbing World Cup series, a worldwide climbing competition featuring climbers from all around the world.
The best part about the GoPro Mountain Games is that they’re totally free, and you still get to enjoy all the joys of other, less active festivals — live music, abundant food options, and interactive art.
Splash House — California, June 7-9
Palm Springs’ Splash House is so much party that they had to split it up between three different hotels. Spread across three poolside stages at The Renaissance, Riviera, and Saguaro Hotels, it’s strange that they didn’t just call the three-day event Splash Houses, or you know, Splash Neighborhood. But hey, we don’t throw parties, we just attend them, and as long as we’re invited we promise we won’t bring this issue up poolside.
Unless we have at least three drinks in us. Then we’re going to have some words!
If you can’t attend Splash House this coming weekend don’t fret, the festival is also being held in August with its own unique lineup, but that’ll mean missing out on a headlining DJ set by Justice, Jai Wolf, Armand Van Helden and TroyBoi. Which sounds like a mistake.
Pick up your tickets to Splash House here.
Mountain Jam — New York, June 13-16
Ditch New York City and the Governor’s Ball for the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York for Mountain Jam. Four days, three stages, and over 40 artists held at the very birthplace of the music festival itself. Just 50 years ago, 400,000 people filed into a dairy farm near White Lake in Bethel to watch Jimi Hendrix shred his way through the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock.
While we can’t promise that you’re going to witness anything quite as iconic, if you’re a lover of classic rock and folk music you’re going to find a lot to love about Mountain Jam. Between Willie Nelson, Phil Lesh, and The Avett Brothers, you’re bound to satiate your need for the type of intricate and tasteful guitar work that you just don’t hear from more modern acts.
Plus, smoking a joint and listening to Willie? It hardly gets better than that. The spirit of rock n’ roll is alive at Mountain Jam.
Get you Jam on with tickets here.
Bonnaroo — Tennessee, June 13-16
Manchester, Tennessee’s Great Stage Park is home to one of the summer’s renowned music festivals. Spanning four-days, Bonnaroo’s roots are in the jam-band tradition, and to this day the festival stays true to its origins, with bands generally taking to the stage earlier than most other music festivals. This year, jam-band favorites like Grand Ole Opry, and Phish will be bringing the vibes but we get it, jam-bands aren’t everyone’s thing.
So you’ll be glad to know you can still catch Childish Gambino, Solange, Post Malone, Cardi B, or Hozier and if you’re in denial about being into jam bands, well, there is always Mac DeMarco. Single day passes are available, but for less than double the price, you could just pick up the four-day general admission pass.
Grab tickets to Bonnaroo here!
Firefly Music Festival — Delaware, June 21- 23
Take a car out of Philadelphia and venture into the woods of Dover, Delaware for Firefly Music Festival — a fairly new event that is rapidly becoming one of the East Coast’s best festivals. This year, Firefly has pulled together some major headliners in Panic! At The Disco, Travis Scott, and Post Malone, and will also feature anticipated sets from Vampire Weekend, Brockhampton, and Tyler the Creator for a solid and eclectic mix of indie and hip-hop.
Ticket options include weekend passes, as well as single day general admission, with on-site camping, glamping, lodging, and hotel packages. Make a whole weekend of it, or catch a single day and spent the rest of your weekend exploring the woodlands of Dover! Either way, you can’t go wrong.
