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.

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 Margaritaville and the Renaissance to lap up big-name dance acts and DJ sets.

For this year’s June lineup, you’ll find sets from Diplo, Channel Tres, Dombresky back-to-back with Noizu, Hayden James and more.

German EDM superstar Zedd (given name: Anton Zaslavski) has graduated from the festival circuit to his very own mini fest. Once again, Zedd in the Park will find the wunderkind headlining an evening at L.A. State Historic Park that also includes sets from Loud Luxury, Wolfgang Gartner, Regard, So Tuff So Cute and GOJ!RA b2b Fernet (Brownies & Lemonade).

“Life is abysmal but music can help make it better.” That’s the inspiration behind this fest from—and headlined by—Jonny Pierce of the Drums, who’s curated a reverb-drenched lineup of bands set for the grounds of the Shrine, including DIIV, Teezo Touchdown, EKKSTACY, CoCo & Clair Clair, SALES, Lil Mariko and a few others.

Though locally born EDM juggernaut HARD Summer has hopped around Southern California in recent years, its dedication to bringing the biggest names in the hip-hop and electronic scene has stayed the course. 

Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Uzi Vert and Porter Robinson top this year’s lineup, with additional performances from Joji, Zeds Dead back-to-back with Subtronics, Alison Wonderland, Madeon, Chris Lake, Gunna and a whole lot more.

Flannel Nation’s lineup goes all in on those ’90s bands that were sort of grunge, sort of pop and best known for meloncholy earworms: Everclear, Soul Asylum, Candlebox, Filter, Cracker, Fastball and Sponge—plus another to-be-announced headliner—at the Port of L.A.

Pop a top and drop a tailgate at this late summer country music festival. Jake Owen, Billy Currington, Eli Young Band and Chris Janson top the lineup. Find the event at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.

Feeling like you’ve outgrown Coachella and sleepaway camp vibes? Then how about something closer to home with the Strokes, LCD Soundsystem and a reunited Le Tigre? You’ll find a genre-spanning mix of on-the-horizon acts and familiar names outside the Rose Bowl, including Beach House, Phoebe Bridgers, Earl Sweatshirt, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Four Tet and Floating Points, some longtime local faves like the Descendents and Sparks, and ASMR trailblazers the Ying Yang Twins.

The long-delayed L.A. debut of this fest, which originated in Barcelona, will see Arctic Monkeys, Lorde and Nine Inch Nails atop its 2022 lineup. The three-day event at L.A. State Historic State Park, also includes the likes of James Blake, Mitski, Clairo, Darkside, Khruangbin, Arca, Stereolab and Kim Gordon.

The vibes are still beachy but the lineup has gone a little bit country for this offshoot of BeachLife Festival. The Lumineers, Hall & Oates, Brandi Carlile, Dierks Bentley, Wilco and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real top the lineup of this three-day music fest at Redondo Beach.