A Brief History of American Music Festivals
Adam M. Young
| March 9, 2023
It’s the middle of festival season, which means it’s time to pack up the sunscreen, load up the camper and head out to a big field to watch 100 different bands play. While the first music festival can be traced all the way back to ancient Greece, their modern-day counterparts are alive and well in the U.S. Here’s a look at the history of music festivals and the country’s most jam-worthy jubilees.
Widely regarded as the founding father of modern American music festivals, the Newport Jazz Festival began in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1954. Early performances included the likes of Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. As the festival got bigger, it started featuring rock acts like Led Zeppelin and The Allman Brothers. Eventually, it got too big for the little Rhode Island city and moved to New York for nine years before returning to its roots in 1981, where it remains to this day.
This 1967 three-day festival held in Monterey, California, was the first major rock music festival, paving the way for others like Woodstock and Bonnaroo. The Monterey Pop Festival featured some of the biggest acts of the day, including Otis Redding, The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, who famously set his guitar on fire during the festival while playing “Wild Thing.”
It’s no secret that Woodstock changed pop and rock music forever. The festival took place in 1969 on a farm in New York. The organizers originally sold 200,000 tickets, but when 500,000 people showed up, the concert became free for many due to the lack of security and proper fencing. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Who and Jimi Hendrix highlighted the three-day mud fest.
Started in 1999 in the Coachella Valley of California, the Coachella Music and Arts Festival has gone on to become a major event each year. The first lineup featured Beck and Nine Inch Nails, with 10,000 people attending. Today, the festival draws nearly 20 times more concert-goers and boasts big names like Calvin Harris, Drake, Lady Gaga and Guns N’ Roses. Learn more about Coachella’s 2018 Festival here.
The early years of Bonnaroo focused on jam bands and folk music. While it began in 2002 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, the event has grown substantially and embraces many genres of music today. Notable acts that have appeared onstage include U2, Phish, Stevie Wonder, Kings of Leon and The Police.
Started in 1986, Burning Man is turning 31 with, thankfully, no sign of actually growing up. First held on a beach in San Francisco, Burners now call the Black Rock Desert in Nevada home. This weeklong steampunk art and music festival takes place in a manmade city that is built just for the event, and the event promotes principles such as radical inclusion, radical self-reliance and radical self-expression. Sounds radical.
Lollapalooza is a music, comedy and dance festival that is held all over the world: Chicago; Santiago, Chile; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Berlin, Germany; and Paris, France. It started in 1991 as a touring event and settled into Grant Park in Chicago in 2005. It is said to draw over 160,000 people over three days and has featured such diverse bands as Jane’s Addiction, Eminem, Metallica, The Killers, Fat Boy Slim and The Cure.
South by Southwest, commonly known as SXSW, has been going strong in Austin, Texas, for 30 years and counting. What started as a small music show featuring Texas bands has morphed into a full-blown festival and conference of music, film, interactive, education and even environmental industries. Held in March of each year, SXSW takes its name as a play on the title of the Alfred Hitchcock film North by Northwest.
Held in October, just as the Texas heat begins to fade, the Austin City Limits music festival is held in Zilker Park over two consecutive weekends. It is associated with the venerable PBS television series of the same name. This year’s line-up includes top-name acts like JAY-Z, Foster the People, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ice Cube, Gorillaz, Chance the Rapper, Run the Jewels and The Killers.
From north to south, east to west, there’s a music festival near you where you can see a wide variety of bands, dance in the grass and make lasting memories. Get out and be part of history.
The Newport Jazz Festival
Widely regarded as the founding father of modern American music festivals, the Newport Jazz Festival began in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1954. Early performances included the likes of Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. As the festival got bigger, it started featuring rock acts like Led Zeppelin and The Allman Brothers. Eventually, it got too big for the little Rhode Island city and moved to New York for nine years before returning to its roots in 1981, where it remains to this day.
The Monterey Pop Festival
This 1967 three-day festival held in Monterey, California, was the first major rock music festival, paving the way for others like Woodstock and Bonnaroo. The Monterey Pop Festival featured some of the biggest acts of the day, including Otis Redding, The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, who famously set his guitar on fire during the festival while playing “Wild Thing.”
Woodstock
It’s no secret that Woodstock changed pop and rock music forever. The festival took place in 1969 on a farm in New York. The organizers originally sold 200,000 tickets, but when 500,000 people showed up, the concert became free for many due to the lack of security and proper fencing. The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, The Who and Jimi Hendrix highlighted the three-day mud fest.
Coachella
Started in 1999 in the Coachella Valley of California, the Coachella Music and Arts Festival has gone on to become a major event each year. The first lineup featured Beck and Nine Inch Nails, with 10,000 people attending. Today, the festival draws nearly 20 times more concert-goers and boasts big names like Calvin Harris, Drake, Lady Gaga and Guns N’ Roses. Learn more about Coachella’s 2018 Festival here.
Bonnaroo
The early years of Bonnaroo focused on jam bands and folk music. While it began in 2002 on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, the event has grown substantially and embraces many genres of music today. Notable acts that have appeared onstage include U2, Phish, Stevie Wonder, Kings of Leon and The Police.
Burning Man
Started in 1986, Burning Man is turning 31 with, thankfully, no sign of actually growing up. First held on a beach in San Francisco, Burners now call the Black Rock Desert in Nevada home. This weeklong steampunk art and music festival takes place in a manmade city that is built just for the event, and the event promotes principles such as radical inclusion, radical self-reliance and radical self-expression. Sounds radical.
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is a music, comedy and dance festival that is held all over the world: Chicago; Santiago, Chile; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Berlin, Germany; and Paris, France. It started in 1991 as a touring event and settled into Grant Park in Chicago in 2005. It is said to draw over 160,000 people over three days and has featured such diverse bands as Jane’s Addiction, Eminem, Metallica, The Killers, Fat Boy Slim and The Cure.
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, commonly known as SXSW, has been going strong in Austin, Texas, for 30 years and counting. What started as a small music show featuring Texas bands has morphed into a full-blown festival and conference of music, film, interactive, education and even environmental industries. Held in March of each year, SXSW takes its name as a play on the title of the Alfred Hitchcock film North by Northwest.
Austin City Limits
Held in October, just as the Texas heat begins to fade, the Austin City Limits music festival is held in Zilker Park over two consecutive weekends. It is associated with the venerable PBS television series of the same name. This year’s line-up includes top-name acts like JAY-Z, Foster the People, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ice Cube, Gorillaz, Chance the Rapper, Run the Jewels and The Killers.
From north to south, east to west, there’s a music festival near you where you can see a wide variety of bands, dance in the grass and make lasting memories. Get out and be part of history.
