Summer concerts in L.A., including free shows

The San Bernardino rave scene injects itself with a bit of Halloween flair at this annual music fest. Insomniac Events—the group behind EDC and the Wonderland series—is setting up multiple stages at the NOS Events Center; headliners include Zedd, Ice Cube, Excision, Richie Hawtin, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Galantis, Steve Aoki, Benny Benassi, Alok and Morten. Explore the grounds to find mazes alongside ominous artwork and freak show performers.

This Halloween mini-fest makes the jump from Union Station to the Arts District with a block-sized celebration centered around 613 Imperial Street. You’ll find two stages set across an indoor-outdoor space, including a live performance from electronic duo the Blaze, plus Claude VonStroke and an Arcade Fire DJ set. Organizers SBCLTR and Minimal Effort have added the latter to the lineup in the wake of the passing of Kavinsky, the French DJ and producer originally slated to play the event; THE MAZE will now honor him with a special installation and themed areas. Outside of the music, you can expect hidden pathways, roaming live performers and immersive environments.

With its tongue exercise of a title, the Tyler, the Creator–curated hip-hop fest returns to Dodger Stadium for two days of live tunes, carnival rides, games, food trucks and more. The lineup for the 12th edition of the carnival Turnstile, Steve Lacy, Future and Don Toliver, plus a performance from Tyler himself.

Time to dance away the sadness to the beat of a whole lot of drum machines: Darker Waves is bringing a bunch of ’80s new wave, post punk and alternative rock legends to Huntington Beach. Morrissey and Smashing Pumpkins top the lineup, with additional sets from Simple Minds, Bad Religion, Adam Ant, the Psychedlic Furs, Soft Cell and more, including some more contemporary picks like Silversun Pickups, Cold Cave and Mariachi El Bronx.

Your online obsessions head IRL during this music, comedy and podcast-filled festival in Irvine. For You Fest features a who’s who of online personalities at Great Park on November 14 and 15. Quenlin Blackwell, Owen Thiele, Tana Mongeau, Trisha Paytas and Caleb Hearon and Drew Afualo top the conversation-focused part of the lineup, and a DJ set from Trixie Mattel leads the music stage, with additional performances from Meg Stalter, Rebecca Black and many more. Expect meet and greets, a trend-driven marketplace and a food and beverage village to round out the offerings.

This returning fest from industry titans Insomniac takes four stages of trance music to the Queen Mary waterfront—including the new Long Beach Amphitheater. For this year’s fest, you’ll find the likes of Above & Beyond, Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten and Marsh, Dash Berlin, Aly & Fila, Vini Vici, Infected Mushroom, Artbat and Enrico Sangiuliano.

Ring in the New Year with confetti, pyro and thousands of your closest friends at Countdown. After moving to Downtown L.A. last year—John Summit, Above & Beyond, Pryda and Madeon topped that edition of the fest—it’s now moving back to San Bernardino for an expanded two-day format at the NOS Event Center.

This year’s festivals that have already happened

Not to be confused with a similarly named fest at L.A. State Historic Park a few years ago, this Skyline comes from mega promoter Insomniac. For the fifth edition of the fest, held now next to the Sixth Street Viaduct at Ace Mission Studios, you’ll find Richie Hawtin, Marco Carola, Chris Stussy, I Hate Models, Joseph Capriati, VTSS and many more on the house and techno-heavy lineup that celebrates the city’s underground scene.

This springtime spinoff in Insomniac’s Wonderland series adds a whimsical, carnival-like atmosphere to the house, techno, dubstep, trance and bass-heavy festival. Go down the rabbit hole in San Bernardino with multiple themed stages, where the likes of Tiësto, Zedd, GRiZ, SLANDER, Steve Angello, Diesel and more will perform.

Nearly 125,000 music lovers make a pilgrimage to the Empire Polo Club during each identical weekend of Coachella, whether bound for campgrounds or shuttling over from golf resorts and midcentury modern homes. Though its bespoke dining experiences and hotel party scene may try to steal headlines, Coachella remains about the relaxed desert air euphoria of a well-curated music festival. Coachella’s all-embracing three-day lineup consistently crafts the pool of performers from which all other summer music festivals borrow. This year’s headliners lead a stacked lineup: Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, Karol G and Anyma, plus the XX, the Strokes, Addison Rae, Young Thug, BIGBANG and more.

RECOMMENDED: See our complete Coachella coverage

Strap on your cowboy hat and make the pilgrimage to country music’s biggest jamboree, taking up residence at Coachella’s digs, the Empire Polo Club. Stagecoach is coming back for a three-day fest; expect the usual mix of contemporary and classic country. Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson and Post Malone headline, with additional sets on the lineup from Bailey Zimmerman, Red Clay Strays, Riley Green, Journey, Brooks & Dunn, Hootie & the Blowfish, Diplo, Pitbull and Ludacris, among others.

This laid-back, Gen X-ish music fest will once again take over the Redondo Beach coastline for three days in May. Duran Duran, the Chainsmokers, the Offspring, Slightly Stoopid and James Taylor and His All-Star Band headline the 2026 edition, with additional sets from My Morning Jacket, Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Grouplove, Peach Pit and more.

Born out of a forested stage at Belgium’s Tomorrowland festival, this Insomniac-presented EDM event heads stateside with sets from Eric Prydz, Four Tet, Nina Kraviz and more across two days at L.A. State Historic Park.

This chill fest—quite literally compared to the scorching desert outings—brings a few dozen acts to San Luis Obispo. This year’s lineup includes Chris Lake, the Backseat Lovers, Magdalena Bay, INJI and TOPS at Dairy Creek Golf Course.

Make your way to the desert for the Joshua Tree Music Festival, a gathering of like-minded indie musicians who will be rocking out to a dance-world-electro-funk’n groove. The biannual festival is a four-day party with over 30 bands in a unique lineup of artists who aren’t necessarily household names. There’s free water to all patrons, minimal service charges on tickets and yoga classes aplenty.

On the outskirts of town at the Motor Speedway, Electric Daisy Carnival is pure, condensed Vegas. There is a VIP Ferris wheel. Helicopters shuttle in high rollers. The massive crowd is soaked in ecstasy and spray tan. Every millionaire DJ that plays the laser-riddled nightclubs on the Strip is here. EDC introduced EDM as a Day-Glo spectacle for the masses in America, and its lineups in recent years have certainly lived up to the hype (this year’s includes John Summit, Martin Garrix, Tiësto, Zedd, Kaskade, the Prodigy, the Chainsmokers and many more). Once you let the neon and bass wash over you, it is the time of your life.

After years on the Central Coast, the annual event has more recently made a move significantly closer to L.A., at Bakersfield’s Buena Vista Aquatic Recreational Area. Sure, it’s still a bit of a trek, but where else can you find a sustainable, vegetarian festival dedicated to equal parts music, food, art, yoga and wellness? Expect to do some serious soul-searching during this five-day retreat, all while immersing yourself in everything from a speaker series to an old timey trading post. Empire of the Sun, Mau P, Sara Landry, Zeds Dead, Chase & Status, Mochakk, Barry Can’t Swim and Tinashe top the 2026 lineup.

This weekend-long concert will once again return to West Hollywood Park as part of WeHo Pride; the reunited Pussycat Dolls, Jade and Ava Max top the 2026 edition, with additional sets from Ashlee Sumpson, Confidence Man, Flo, Blue Man Group and a DJ set from Melanie C. If the ticket prices have you down, don’t worry: Friday night’s programming is usually free with an RSVP.

House music hits the Queen Mary waterfront during this two-day fest from Insomniac. This year’s event, which features two existing stages plus the brand-new Long Beach Amphitheater, includes sets from Cloonee, Odd Mob and Gordo—plus a DJ set from Rebecca Black.

Aughts indie nostalgia has been running rampant, but here’s its mainstream, alt-rock radio counterpart: The Vans Warped Tour, at one point the largest traveling music fest in the country, returned last year after a six-year absence and is back again this year at the Long Beach waterfront. Close your eyes, and you’ll swear you’re tuned in to KROQ—the lineup of over 100 bands is full of familiar names including Jimmy Eat World, Phantom Planet, Plain White T’s, Taking Back Sunday, Third Eye Blind, Papa Roach and many more. 

EDM juggernaut HARD Summer hopped around Southern California for a while, but now it’s settled back in town—and for 2026 again heads to the grounds of Hollywood Park, next to SoFi Stadium. No matter the location, its dedication to bringing the biggest names in the hip-hop and electronic scene has stayed the course. This year’s lineup includes Kali Uchis, DJ Snake, Tokischa, 2hollis, Zack Fox and many more.

Pan-Asian music and media collective 88rising’s music fest once again returns to the grounds outside the Rose Bowl, albeit only for a single-day fest this time around. The 2026 edition’s headliners include KATSEYE (only a few months after their Coachella performance), XG, Dabin.kr, Rich Brian and more.

Say goodbye to dusty thoroughfares and violent porta-potties: Splash House takes the music festival concept off of sweltering desert land and places it poolside. Movers and shakers at this multi-location getdown are shuttled between the Saguaro, the Renaissance and the Hilton Palm Springs (with after-hours programming at the Palm Springs Air Museum) to lap up big-name dance acts and DJ sets. With the added comforts of air-conditioned rooms and critically acclaimed restaurant fare just steps away from the party scenes, the experience will make you question whether to bother with more punishing locales come next year’s festival season.

Aughts indie nostalgia shows no signs of stopping, so it’s no surprise that Just Like Heaven—a music fest that’s featured basically every beloved 2000s indie band—is coming back for its sixth edition. The fest—now moved to the late summer, an often sweltering stretch in Pasadena—will take over the golf course next to the Rose Bowl with a lineup that’s partially pulled from your old iPod: the Strokes and LCD Soundsystem top the lineup, with additional sets from TV Girl, Chromeo, the Rapture, Feist, Twin Peaks, Matt and Kim, Whitney and more.