Festival Season 2019: A Guide

Today festivals reign supreme over all forms of live music consumption. They offer the sounds, the scene, the social media posts, and the sense of being at the center of something important and bigger than oneself. It’s almost becoming inaccurate to say that we are about to enter “Festival Season”– South by Southwest ended in mid-March, Ultra two weeks after that. A countless number of vast, multi-concert events will be offered from now until early September. That’s basically a full six months of Festival Season.

At the same time, hip-hop has become the most popular music genre in the country. And it has mostly been absorbed into that festival machine. The biggest festivals are attracting the biggest stars, and therefore the biggest hip-hop acts. Kendrick at Coachella, 21 Savage at Lollapalooza. Some artists, such as J. Cole, are trying to fight the inequities by bringing festivals to their home states, to take back ownership of their culture. And the larger festivals, it can be argued, are helping to put on small acts too, people who will go on to have small, affordable tours.

Below we have compiled a list of some of the biggest festivals to look forward to in the coming months, with focus on the hip-hop acts you’ll have a chance to see there. We’ve only listed those festivals that have already announced lineups.

Which festival are you planning to attend? Let us know in the comments.