A rock festival, pop festival or rock fest is considered to be a large-scale rock music concert, featuring multiple acts performing a sometimes diverse range of popular music including rock, pop, folk, and related genres. As originally conceived in the late 1960s, rock festivals were held outdoors, often in open rural areas or open-air sports arenas, fairgrounds and parks, typically lasted two or more days, featured long rosters of musical performers, and attracted very large crowds. However, as soon as they became popular, promoters took considerable license with the terms “rock festival” and "pop festival", and some events advertised as such took place in indoor arenas on a single evening featuring only a handful of acts.
By no means the first outdoor music festivals, rock festivals nevertheless took on a unique identity and attracted significant media attention when they first appeared. Preceded by several precursor events in the San Francisco area, it is generally acknowledged that the first two rock festivals were staged in northern California on consecutive weekends in the summer of 1967: the KFRC Fantasy Fair & Magic Mountain Music Festival on Mount Tamalpais (June 10–11) and the Monterey International Pop Festival (June 16–18). The concept caught fire and spread quickly, not only across America but the world.
According to Bill Mankin, in their dawning age rock festivals were important socio-cultural milestones: “… it would not be an exaggeration to say that, over a few short years, rock festivals played a unique, significant – and underappreciated – role in fueling the countercultural shift that swept not only America but many other countries [during the 1960s]. It seems fitting… that one of the most enduring labels for the entire generation of that era was derived from a rock festival: the ‘Woodstock Generation’.”[1]
In the 1980s a minor resurgence of festivals occurred with charity as the goal.[citation needed]
Today, they are still usually open air concerts spread out over several days. Many are annual events sponsored by major corporations.[citation needed]
Besides rock, many feature multiple genres of music such as pop, dance, and electronic. Some owners of radio stations produce radio festivals that only include bands of a specific style of rock (according to what the station wants to promote).[citation needed] The size of these events means that large temporary infrastructures are installed, supplying amenities like water-based ablution facilities.
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Historic festivals
The following is a sample of rock festivals of historical significance, with an emphasis on multiple-day, outdoor events.
- KFRC Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival (June 10–11, 1967, Mt. Tamalpais, Marin Co., CA)
- Monterey Pop Festival (June 16–18, 1967, Monterey, CA)
- Fantasy Faire and Magic Music Festival (July 15–16, 1967, Devonshire Meadows, Northridge, CA)
- Northern California Folk-Rock Festival (1968)
- Miami Pop Festivals (May 1968) and (December 1968)
- Los Angeles Pop Festival (1968)
- Sky River Pop Festival & Lighter Than Air Fair (1968), (1969) and (1970)
- Newport Pop Festival (1968)
- San Francisco Pop Festival (1968)
- Toronto Pop Festival (1969)
- Newport 69 Pop Festival (1969)
- Aquarian Family Festival (1969)
- Northern California Folk-Rock Festival (1969)
- Big Rock Pow Wow (1969)
- First Annual Detroit Rock & Roll Revival (1969)
- New Orleans Pop Festival (1969)
- Atlanta International Pop Festival (1969) and (1970)
- Seattle Pop Festival (1969)
- Midwest Rock Festival (1969)
- Saugatuck Pop Festival - Second Annual (1969)
- Texas International Pop Festival (1969)
- Laurel Pop Festival (1969)
- Atlantic City Pop Festival (1969)
- Woodstock festival (1969), Woodstock 1994, and Woodstock 1999
- Denver Pop Festival (1969)
- Toronto Rock and Roll Revival (1969)
- Palm Beach Pop Festival (1969)
- Altamont Free Concert (1969)
- Bath Festival (1969)
- Miami Rock Festival (1969)
- Phun City (1970)
- Winter's End Festival (1970)
- Wadena Rock Festival (1970)
- Sound Storm (1970)
- Kickapoo Creek Rock Festival (1970)
- Powder Ridge Rock Festival (1970)
- Goose Lake International Music Festival (1970)
- Love Valley Rock Festival (1970)
- New York Pop Festival - Randall's Island (1970)
- 1st Annual Central Texas Music Festival (1970)
- Strawberry Fields Festival (1970)
- Holland Pop Festival - Rotterdam/Kralingen (1970)
- Isle of Wight Festival (1970)
- Vortex I (1970)
- Celebration of Life (1971)
- Roskilde Festival (1971)
- Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival - Bull Island (1972)
- Concert 10/Mt. Pocono Rock Festival (1972)
- Sunbury Pop Festival Australia (1972–1975)
- Mar y Sol Festival (1972)
- Summer Jam at Watkins Glen (1973)
- California Jam (1974)
- Ozark Music Festival 1974
- Nambassa festival series New Zealand 1976-1981
- Florida Sunfest (1977)
- Canada Jam 1978
- Knebworth Festival (1979)
- Heatwave festival 1980
- Spring Rhythms. Tbilisi-80 (1980)
- US Festival (1982 & 1983)
- Rendez-vous Houston (1985), largest outdoor "rock concert" ever in North America
- Live Aid (1985)
- concierto de conciertos (1988) Bogota, Colombia
- Moscow Music Peace Festival (1989)
- Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto (2003), largest outdoor ticketed event in Canadian history, 450,000–500,000 attendees
- Crossroads Guitar Festival (2004, 2007 & 2010)
- Live 8 (2005)
- Live Earth (2007)
Travelling festivals
A recent innovation is the travelling rock festival where many musical acts perform at multiple locations during a tour. Successful festivals are often held in subsequent years.
- Anger Management Tour
- Area Festival
- Big Day Out
- Crüe Fest
- Curiosa
- Family Values Tour
- Festival Express
- G3
- Gigantour
- Hard Electric Tour
- Lilith Fair
- Lollapalooza
- Mayhem Festival
- Monsters of Rock
- Ozzfest
- Projekt Revolution
- Rock Never Stops Tour
- Sonisphere Festival
- Sounds Of The Underground
- Summer Sanitarium
- Taste of Chaos
- The Unholy Alliance Tour
- Warped Tour
Current festivals
The following is a list of some rock festivals that took or take place on a regular basis. Most are held at the same location on an annual basis. Some, like Farm Aid are held at different venues with each incarnation. For a full list of festivals, see the external links at the bottom of the page.
North and Central America
- 98.9 The Rock, Rockfest (Kansas City, Missouri)
- All Tomorrow's Parties (California)
- Austin City Limits (Austin, Texas)
- The Bamboozle (East Rutherford, New Jersey)
- Big Ass Show (Salt Lake City, Utah)
- Bonnaroo Music Festival (Manchester, Tennessee)
- Bridge School Benefit, annually since 1986, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California, usually in October, organized by Neil Young
- Bumbershoot (Seattle, Washington)
- Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (Indio, California)
- Cornerstone Festival Bushnell Illinois
- Day on the Green
- DC101 Chili Cookoff (Washington D.C.)
- Diversafest LLC DFEST (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
- Dog Jam (Beaumont, Texas)
- Edgefest (Canada)
- Farm Aid (USA)
- Festival Presidente de la Musica Latina (Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic)
- HFStival (Washington D.C.)
- Lollapalooza
- Manifest (Mexico)
- Monterrey Metal Fest (Monterrey, Mexico)
- Moondance Jam (Walker, Minnesota)
- Mountain Jam (Hunter, NY)
- NEARfest (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
- Orlando Truthfest (Orlando, Florida)
- Osheaga (Montreal, Canada)
- Pointfest (Mexico City)
- Pointfest (St. Louis, Missouri)
- Rock Fest (Cadott, Wisconsin)
- Rock on the Range (Columbus, Ohio)
- Rock N Resort Music Festival (North Lawrence, Ohio)
- Rockin' the Fields of Minnedosa (Manitoba, Canada)
- Rocklahoma (Pryor, Oklahoma)
- Rogers Picnic (Toronto, Ontario)
- Rites of Spring Festival (RoSFest) (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania)
- Sasquatch (George, Washington)
- Shiprocked (USA, cruise ship)
- Siren Music Festival (Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York)
- South by Southwest (Austin, Texas)
- Street Scene (San Diego, California)
- Summerfest (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
- V Festival (North America) (Canada, USA)
- Vive Latino (Mexico City, Mexico)
- Volunteer Jam (Tennessee)
- Voodoo Music Experience (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival (Ozark, Arkansas)
South America
- Bue Festival (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Corona Music Fest (Mexico City)
- Cosquin Rock (Cordoba, Argentina)
- Festival El Abrazo (Santiago, Chile)
- Maquinaria Festival (Santiago, Chile)
- Lollapalooza Chile (Santiago, Chile)
- The Metal Fest Chile (Santiago, Chile)
- Gesell Rock (Villa Gesell, Argentina)
- Nokia Trends (Mar del Plata, Argentina)
- Moonpark (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Pepsi music festival (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Personal fest (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Quilmes Rock (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Rock al Parque (Bogotá, Colombia)
- Altavoz (Medellin, Colombia)
- DelPutasFest (Medellin, Colombia)
- Rock in Rio (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- Tim Festival (São Paulo, Brazil)
- Pop Music Festival (São Paulo, Brazil)
- SWU Music & Arts (Paulínia, Brazil)
- Viña del Mar International Song Festival (Viña del Mar, Chile)
Europe
Belgium & The Netherlands
- Arrow Rock Festival (Biddinghuizen, Netherlands)
- Dour Festival (Dour, Belgium)
- Dynamo Open Air (Eindhoven, Netherlands)
- Graspop Metal Meeting (Dessel, Belgium)
- Groezrock (Gestel, Belgium)
- Lowlands (Biddinghuizen, Netherlands)
- Parkpop (The Hague, Netherlands)
- Pinkpop Festival (Landgraaf, Netherlands)
- Pukkelpop (Kiewit, Belgium)
- Rock Werchter (Werchter, Belgium)
Finland
- Ankkarock (Vantaa)
- Down By The Laituri (Turku)
- Finnish Metal Expo (Helsinki)
- Funky Elephant (Helsinki)
- Ilosaarirock (Joensuu)
- Jalometalli Metal Music Festival, (Oulu)
- Jalometalli Winterfest (Oulu)
- Lumous Gothic Festival (Pyhäjärvi)
- Miljoona Rock (Töysä)
- Pori Jazz (Pori)
- Provinssirock (Seinäjoki)
- Ruisrock (Turku)
- Sauna Open Air (Tampere)
- Tammerfest (Tampere)
- Tuska Open Air (Helsinki)
France
- Eurockéennes (Belfort)
- Hellfest (Clisson)
- Soy Festival (Nantes)
- Transmusicales (Rennes)
- Vieilles Charrues Festival (Carhaix)
Germany
- Hurricane Festival (Scheeßel)
- Rock am Ring (Nürburgring)
- Southside (Neuhausen)
- Wacken Open Air (Wacken)
Denmark
- Roskilde Festival (Roskilde)
- CopenHell (Copenhagen)
- Jelling Musikfestival (Jelling)
- Copenhagen Live (Copenhagen)
Norway
- Bukta Tromsø Open Air Festival (Tromsø)
- Jorddunstfestivalen (Frøya)
- Hove Festival (Tromøy)
- Quart Festival (Kristiansand)
- Øyafestivalen (Oslo)
Sweden
- Hultsfred Festival (Hultsfred)
- Metaltown (Gothenburg)
- Peace & Love (Borlänge)
- Storsjöyran (Östersund)
- Sweden Rock Festival (Sölvesborg)
- Way Out West Festival (Gothenburg)
United Kingdom
- All Tomorrow's Parties (Camber Sands, East Sussex, England)
- Download Festival (Donington Park, Castle Donington, England)
- Glastonbury Festival (Pilton, Somerset, England)
- Greenbelt Festival (England)
- Hevy Music Festival (Folkestone, England)
- High Voltage Festival (London, England)
- Isle of Wight Festival (Isle of Wight, England)
- Offset festival
- Radio 1's Big Weekend
- Reading and Leeds Festivals (Reading, Berkshire and Leeds, Yorkshire, England)
- Sonisphere Festival (Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire, England)
- T in the Park (Kinross Scotland)
- V Festival (Chelmsford and Staffordshire, England)
- Y Not Festival
Romania
- Artmania Festival (Sibiu, Romania)
- BestFest (Bucharest, Romania)
- Death Fest (Oradea, Romania)
- Gărâna Jazz Festival (Gărâna/Wolfsberg, Romania)
- OSTFest (Bucharest, Romania)
- Peninsula / Félsziget Festival (Tîrgu Mureș, Romania)
- Plai Festival (Timișoara, Romania)
- Rock Evolution Festival (Oradea, Romania)
- Rock the city (Bucharest, Romania)
- Samfest Jazz/Rock (Satu Mare, Romania)
- Sibiu International Jazz Festival (Sibiu, Romania)
- Stufstock (Vama Veche, Romania)
- Summer Well Festival (Stirbey Domain, Romania)
- Transylvania Calling Gathering Of The Tribes (Transylvanian woods, Romania)
- Transylvania International Guitar Festival (Cluj-Napoca, Romania)
Rest of Europe
- Aerodrome (Wiener Neustadt, Austria)
- Baltijos Garsas (Kernavė, Lithuania)
- Electric Picnic (County Laois, Ireland)
- Exit (Novi Sad, Serbia)
- FM4 Frequency Festival (Salzburg, Austria)
- Gitarijada (Zajecar, Serbia)
- Green Christmas Festival (Rakvere, Estonia)
- Hard Rock Laager (Vana-Vigala, Estonia)
- Iceland Airwaves (Reykjavík), Iceland
- Independent Days Festival (Bologna, Italy)
- InProg (Moscow, Russia)
- Masters of Rock (Vizovice, Czech Republic)
- Metal Heads Mission (Yevpatoria, Ukraine)
- Montreux Jazz Festival (Montreux, Switzerland)
- Nashestvie (Moscow Oblast, Russia)
- Nova Rock (Nickelsdorf, Austria)
- Open'er festival (Gdynia, Poland)
- Oxegen (Punchestown, Ireland)
- Paléo Festival (Nyon, Switzerland)
- Paredes de Coura Festival (Paredes de Coura, Portugal)
- Pohoda (Trenčín, Slovakia)
- PositivusAB (Salacgrīva, Latvia)
- Przystanek Woodstock (Kostrzyn), (Poland)
- Rabarock (Järvakandi, Estonia)
- Rock for People (Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic)
- Rock'n Coke (Istanbul, Turkey)
- RockIstanbul (Istanbul, Turkey)
- Rockwave Festival (Athens, Greece)
- Roskilde Festival (Roskilde, Denmark)
- Slane Concert (Slane, Ireland)
- Spirit of Burgas (Burgas, Bulgaria)
- Sudoeste Festival (Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal)
- Sziget (Budapest, Hungary)
- Trutnov Open Air Music Festival (Trutnov, Czech Republic)
- Vilar de Mouros Festival (Vilar de Mouros, Portugal)
- Zvērā (Saldus, Latvia)
- Slezskoostravský Rock-Fest (Ostrava, Czech Republic)
- Open Air Krumlov, (Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic)
Australia
- Big Day Out (Australia and formally New Zealand)
- Edgefest (New Zealand)
- East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival
- Falls Festival
- Golden Plains Festival (Meredith, Victoria, Australia)
- Good Vibrations Festival
- Homebake (Sydney, Australia)
- Meredith Music Festival (Meredith, Victoria, Australia)
- Pyramid Rock Festival (Phillip Island, Australia)
- Soundwave (Australian music festival)
- Splendour In The Grass (Byron Bay, Australia)
- V Festival
Asia
- BlackBird Rock Festival (Calcutta, India)
- Concert on the Rock (Kyūshū, Japan)
- ETPFEST (Seoul, South Korea)
- Fuji Rock Festival (Naeba, Japan)
- Hard Electric Tour (India)
- Hohaiyan Rock Festival (Gongliao, Taiwan)
- Java Rockin'land (Jakarta, Indonesia)
- Jisan Valley Rock Festival (Icheon, South Korea)
- Kaguluhan Music Festival (Cavite City, Philippines)
- Pentaport Rock Festival (Incheon, South Korea)
- Pulp Summer Slam (Quezon City, Philippines)
- Rock In India (Bangalore, India)
- Rock Ethos (Bangalore, India)
- Summer Sonic Festival (Chiba and Osaka, Japan)
- Templeton Rock Festival(Imphal,India]
Middle East
Africa
No fixed location
- Terrastock (historically North America or Britain)
Most famous and biggest festivals
North America:
- Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (Indio, California)
- Lollapalooza (Chicago, Illinois)
- Bonnaroo Music And Arts Festival (Manchester, Tennessee)
South and Central America:
United Kingdom:
- Glastonbury Festival (Pilton, Somerset, England)
- Reading and Leeds Festivals (Reading, Berkshire and Leeds, Yorkshire, England)
- V Festival (Chelmsford and Staffordshire, England)
Europe:
- Nashestvie (Moscow Region, Russia)
- Oxegen (Punchestown, Ireland)
- Paléo Festival (Nyon, Switzerland))
- Rock Werchter (Werchter, Belgium)
- Roskilde Festival (Roskilde, Denmark)
- Sziget (Budapest, Hungary)
- Wacken Open Air (Wacken, Germany)
- Pinkpop (Landgraaf, The Netherlands)
Australia:
- Big Day Out (Australia and New Zealand)
Asia:
- Summer Sonic Festival (Chiba and Osaka, Japan)
See also
Notes
- ^ Mankin, Bill. We Can All Join In: How Rock Festivals Helped Change America. Like the Dew. 2012.
External links
- Festivalguide with more than 500 international TOP Rock Festivals all over the world
- Rock Festivals 2012 - Listing of all Rock festivals 2012