When: August 6 – 8
Where: San Francisco, CA

Bigger than NYC’s Central Park, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park has a natural layout of meadows and lush, cypress tree-encrusted fields. There’s really no better place for a music festival in the country. The 3-day weather-agnostic event will welcome headliners in Post Malone, Green Day, and SZA to the Lands End Stage on a polo field, while the dance-focused SOMA Tent has doubled in size for 2022 with Claude VonStroke and Tokimonsta leading the way there.

Dubbed “Taste of the Bay Area”, Outside Lands’ food options are highlighted by accessible choices from trendy and often Instagrammable eateries. The fest has leaned fully into the crafty beverage landscape with Wine Lands offering wine country’s best, Beer Lands showcasing buzzy Bay Area craft brews, and cocktail magic featuring drinks by local mixologists. Not hungry? Stop off at Grass Lands, a legal cannabis-palooza set within a misty grove. It’ll do the trick.

When: August 6
Where: New York, NY

In its heyday, Rock The Bells was a touring festival with mostly high-profile cult hip-hop acts to major cities around the world. Now after the brand went dormant for a decade, it’s been given new life by Queens native LL Cool J, who is bringing it back to his backyard at Forest Hills Stadium with a slightly different focus.

Instead of underground rappers, it’s unquestioned legendary MCs and reunion performances that will make any OG turn their head. LL and Ice Cube lead the way on a lineup that also includes Lil Kim, The Diplomats, Fat Joe & Remy Ma, Rick Ross, Digable Planets, and more. The festival is merely one arm of LL’s new Rock The Bells media company and it presents an opportunity to be there for the start of a new movement.

When: August 9 – 13
Where: Oslo, Norway

Taking place primarily among Tøyen Park’s grassy hills, Øya Festival’s contiguous layout stretches across the Finnmarkgata street, all the way to the Edvard Munch Museum (of “The Scream” fame) and the botanical garden. The five stages across five days make for a relatively intimate affair, with under 20,000 attendees per day.

Øya is as much a place to come see headliners in Gorillaz, Florence and The Machine, and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, as it is a canvas for a healthy dose of homegrown Norwegian stars like Girl In Red, Sondre Lerche, and Aurora (the latter will close out the festival on Sunday night.) Øya also prides itself on its sustainability efforts, like a commitment to serving over 90% organic food at the festival.

When: August 10 – 15
Where: Budapest, Hungary

Sziget Festival is commonly referred to as “The Island Of Freedom,” because once there, the world might as well not exist beyond the 60 stages (!!!) of entertainment. Everywhere you turn, there is sensory stimulation before your eyes via more than 1,000 performances on the 266-acre island on the Danube River.

It’s incredible just how much Sziget packs in on the island. From the massive open-air Samsung Colosseum with a stage in the center of a 360-degree experience, to acrobats and high-tech circus performers at a multitude of pop-up theaters sprinkled throughout the grounds. And we haven’t even mentioned the headliners: The Main Stage will feature Arctic Monkeys, Justin Bieber, Calvin Harris, Dua Lipa, Kings of Leon, and Tame Impala. Perhaps you’ve heard of them? It all plays out like an international meeting place for music lovers from faraway lands. Camping is free with a multi-day pass and you can even lay back and go for a swim in the river.

When: August 12 – 14 and 19 – 21
Where: Rosarito, MX

Baja Beach Fest’s popularity has exploded considerably over the past two years and is now a full-fledged three-day festival with identical lineups across two consecutive weekends. In fact, Baja Beach’s success as a premier destination for musica Latina also spawned Chicago’s Sueños Festival this past May. But there’s nothing like this party on Rosarito Beach.

Daddy Yankee will be headlining under the closing fireworks display above the Pacific Ocean shore. The legendary Wisin y Yandel make a grand return, and modern stars like Anuel AA and Farruko remain fixtures at the fest. But there’s a growing dedication to Mexican artists, like the traditional Mexican music of Banda MS, narcocorrido rapper Natanael Cano, and others.

When: August 12 – 14
Where: Seattle, WA

Now in its second year, Day In Day Out is the sister festival to the Capitol Hill Block Party, both produced by Neumos promoters Daydream State. This continuity is a prime example of how Seattle’s historic independent music scene is bustling, and along with headliners in The National, Mitski, Mac DeMarco, and Japanese Breakfast, there’s a commitment to Seattle bands as well. Local standouts like Shabazz Palaces, La Luz, and DJs from the influential KEXP radio station will all be appearing at the three-day fest.

But the fact that it goes down at the Seattle Center is what truly makes this a special function. Fisher Pavilion is built into a hillside with the Space Needle towering overhead and with views of Queen Anne Hill from the expansive rooftop. Not bad right? And before you ask — given Seattle’s weather stigma — it’s a rain or shine affair.

When: August 19 – 28
Where: London, UK

After a shortened edition in 2021, All Points East will once again stretch across two weekends. There’s nothing like this experience, where each day is separately ticketed and might as well be its own festival with an equally eye-popping lineup and meticulously built stages that have a different look and feel based on the music. Gorillaz headline the opening bill with support led by Idles and Pusha T. The National and Fleet Foxes lead another, Disclosure with James Blake and Charli XCX have a turn, as do Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds with The Smile and Michael Kiwanuka.

Meanwhile, the electronically focused Field Day will feature Kraftwerk 3D and The Chemical Brothers. Speaking of which, the 6 Music Stage is a non-stop dance party curated by BBC Radio 6 DJs, while at In The Neighbourhood, free activities and community-based events take place during the week like movies, music, street food, pop-up bars, sports, wellness, and more.

When: August 20 – 21
Where: New York, NY

The brainchild of Afropunk founder Matthew Morgan and a series of partners, the inaugural LETSGETFR.EE Carnaval wants to be a “diversity-focused, purpose-driven music experience.” For starters, the music at this “conscious carnaval” at Queens’ Flushing Meadows Corona Park is a total heater. Jhené Aiko and Kali Uchis are headlining each day’s marquee Carnaval Stage. While Major Lazer Sound System, Ferg, Flatbush Zombies, and Bomba Estéreo will play on stages that move called “Trios.”

But it gets really interesting on the “Party” stage, where the respective lineup for each is starring and curated by Missy Elliott or Wizkid on Saturday and Anderson .Paak or Ozuna slates on Sunday. Elsewhere, the Bazaar is a community marketplace dedicated to inclusion and equity that lets makers, artists, and designers hawk their fare and there’s even a weekend soccer tournament on deck.

When: August 20 – 21
Where: Pasadena, CA

From K-Pop to hip-hop and then some, 88 Rising presents an ultimate showcase of the diverse musical styles that Asian artists from all over the world are putting down.

88 Rising has been leading what’s nothing short of a revolution of Asian artists. The music and media company has been shining the light on the stars of tomorrow who all share a similar heritage. Earlier this year at Coachella, the Head In The Clouds Forever showcase was easily one of the highlights of the weekend, and now those artists and more will show out at an entire festival dedicated to K-Pop, hip-hop, pop, and more.

The rolling grass of Brookside at the Rose Bowl will play host to signature acts from the 88 Rising roster like Hong Kong rapper Jackson Wang, Indonesian folk-pop singer Niki, K-Pop singer Chung Ha, rappers Rich Brian and Bibi, and a much-anticipated DJ set from Joji under his Yeji Labs alter-ego. Now in the festival’s fourth iteration, SoCal’s 626 Night Market returns to curate food offerings that mimic the late-night eats typical of Asian cities.

When: August 25 – 30
Where: Paris, France

20 minutes west of Europe’s alpha city, the 1,100-acre Domaine National de Saint-Cloud welcomes 40,000 people a day for the four-night Rock En Seine festival. Now in its 18th year, it’s hard to escape the feeling of the history of this extravagant park while relishing in the fest. It was an opulent abode for French royals as far back as the 16th century. Heck, King Henry III was assassinated here and Louis XVI and Marie Antoniette threw over-the-top parties at the location.

So now instead of a nobility bloodbath, you get Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and Stromae on the main stage. Instead of tyrannous rich kings and queens, you get Jamie XX, James Blake, and Kraftwerk, plus the Club Avant Seine stage showcasing the French stars of tomorrow. Pretty sweet trade.

When: August 26 – 28
Where: Reading, UK and Leeds, UK

For one weekend this summer, 105,000 people will have 105,000 counterparts experiencing the exact same festival 200 miles away. Sounds impossible, but this is the setup at Reading and Leeds, which sports an insane lineup with a brilliant balance of the best British and American acts.

So when Dave, Arctic Monkeys, Rage Against The Machine, Halsey, Megan Thee Stallion, and Bring Me The Horizon play the main stages Friday through Sunday at Reading’s Richfield Avenue, they’ll play slots on a different weekend day at Branham Park in Leeds. You think it’s possible to attend both editions? We’ll let you marinate on the answer to this brain-twisting thought.

When: August 27 – 28
Where: Pasadena, CA

You can’t really talk about This Ain’t No Picnic without bringing up the erstwhile FYF Fest. FYF scratched the itch in the LA market for people who either didn’t want to go to Coachella in April, or were thirsty for a spectacularly-curated festival later in the year. Also produced by Goldenvoice, This Ain’t No Picnic is exactly that, a swoon-worthy collection of indie rock, hip-hop, electronic, and punk acts in the middle of summer.

Going down at the surging Brookside at the Rose Bowl venue, stages sit at the end of golf course fairway greens, where in lieu of sand traps, you have LCD Soundsystem, The Strokes, Le Tigre, and Jorja Smith. And instead of putting greens, you get Beach House, Phoebe Bridgers, Kaytranada, and Jungle. Fore!