Music festivals within driving distance of L.A.

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.

Too bad Goldenvoice just used the Just Like Heaven moniker because the promoter has another nostalgic fest lined up, and this one actually involves the Cure. Pasadena Daydream, a single-day concert curated by and featuring the Cure, will take over Brookside at the Rose Bowl. The spectacularly moody lineup also features Pixies, Deftones, Mogwai, Throwing Muses, the Joy Formidable, Chelsea Wolfe, the Twilight Sad, Emma Ruth Rundle and Kælan Mikla.

Kaaboo is returning to the Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds with another eclectic lineup of adult alternative favorites—including Kings of Leon, Dave Matthews Band, Mumford & Sons and Duran Duran. The “mix-perience” (yep) comes with clean amenities, artisanal cuisine, fashion pop-ups and local artwork. Views of the main music stage can be enjoyed from a variety of vantage points: on a chaise lounge, in a pool, on a volleyball court or inside a premium cabana.

Bask in the glow of the blinking Las Vegas lights during this beautiful mess of a music festival. Eighteen city blocks become a playground for music lovers of all types at the genre-spanning Life is Beautiful. Embrace all of the things that are both wonderful and awful about Vegas trips and you’ll be rewarded with a fantastic lineup; the 2019 iteration includes Post Malone, Chance the Rapper, the Black Keys, Billie Eilish, Vampire Weekend, Zedd, Lil Wayne, Janelle Monae and more.

Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Festival once again lands at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, with sets from the Strokes, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tash Sultana, Incubus, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats and Vedder himself. The fest’s name comes from the Hawaiian concept of family, and as such the beachfront festival will give back to its own community by donating a portion of proceeds to the San Onofre Parks Foundation and the Doheny State Beach Interpretive Association.

Desert Daze is your antidote to the typical desert gathering (think a noisier, more indie lineup than Coachella and less dirt than Burning Man). Though it’s close enough to L.A. to go just for the day, the fest caters to campers with easy access to hiking trails and a bazaar of mystics and wanderers. The fest announces its lineup in phases, and first up are Stereolab and Animal Collective.

Looking for free concerts in L.A.? Well, you’re in luck—music (aside from film, possibly) is the city’s most abundant form of entertainment.