Music festivals within driving distance of L.A.

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.

Kudos to Olivia Rodrigo for curating what just might be the best festival lineup of the entire year. Rodrigo leads a Lilith Fair–like lineup of women performers, set for Irvine’s Great Park on August 29, that includes Bikini Kill, Chappell Roan, Doechi, Garbage, Katseye, Mitski, Santigold and the Breeders, with special billing for Karen O, Sarah McLachlan and Stevie Nicks. Net proceeds benefit nonprofits advocating for women and girls.

Kaskade sends his beachfront festival back to SoCal with sets from Cassian, Matroda, BUNT., D.O.D, Me N Ü, Lavern, Bobby Harvey and Esse at Huntington State Beach.

While you won’t find much Alice in the Wonderland series of festivals, you will find a whimsical, carnival-like atmosphere drenched in Day-Glo and pulsating lasers. The multiple stages at Glen Helen Regional Park are musical platforms just as much as they’re art installations, with names like Mystic Wild and the Rave Cave. This year’s lineup includes the likes of deadmau5, James Hype, Illenium, SVDDEN DEATH, Malaa, Deorro and a DJ set by T-Pain.

Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Festival once again lands at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point—and as usual, Vedder pulls double duty with both a solo set and with Pearl Jam frontman. The 2026 edition runs from September 25 to 27 and also includes sets from Maná, Billy Idol, Bad Religion, Tyler Childers, Alabama Shakes, Jon Batiste, Fontaines D.C., Pixies, Courtney Barnett, Rilo Kiley and the Format.

L.A. old-timers: Remember rolling out a blanket on the beach and listening to tunes float over from the Santa Monica Pier? The Twilight series and its various incarnations may be gone, but live music is returning to the beachfront there thanks to Coachella promoter Goldenvoice. The inaugural Ocean Way—which will, notably, offer zero on-site parking and instead opt for a transit-friendly strategy—will set up two stages on the sand just east of the pier on September 26 and 27. There’s a noticeable generational divide to the mostly-chill-vibes lineup, so it makes sense that both single-day and two-day tickets will be available. The Killers, Jack White, Sublime and Alvvays lead the rock-leaning Saturday lineup, while Olivia Dean, Khruangbin, Durand Jones & the Indications and Hiatus Kaiyote top the slightly more soulful Sunday bill.