Burning Man
Burning Man is celebrated in Nevada, US, as an event that focuses on art, community and self-expression. It is named after its culminating ceremony in which a large wooden effigy called ‘Man’ is symbolically burned. The event was first started in 1986 on Baker Beach in San Francisco. It initially began as a small function with its founders Larry Harvey and Jerry James. Since then, it is held annually, usually stretching up to nine days following Labour Day. Each year, it is seeing a growing number of attendees. There are various camps in the festival, including the music camp. The electronic music camp played by live DJs was first introduced in 1992 and ever since, influential names in the DJ fraternity have been added each year. Performance arts and guerrilla theatres are other art forms prominent in the festival.
Coachella
The annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival also known as Coachella Festival or Coachella is a music and arts fest that is held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. The festival has raked in huge profits with a large number of attendees that adds up every year. Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen co-founded the festival in 1999. Music artistes from various genres like indie, rock, pop, hip hop, electronic dance music, besides live music, art installations and sculptures are part of the festival. The festival was not held in 2020 and 2021 owing to the pandemic. This year, it was held in April. The fest also has a number of global celebrities as attendees.
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Rock in Rio
The popular and recurring music fest Rock in Rio began in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It has spread to locations like Lisbon, Madrid and Las Vegas. Eight editions of the festival have been organised in Rio de Janeiro, nine in Lisbon, three in Madrid and one in Las Vegas so far. The festival was started by Brazilian entrepreneur and advertiser Roberto Medina. In 2011, the festival returned to its original location, Rio de Janeiro, with a new line-up of singers and groups. It is one of the most prominent and largest music fests globally. In 2022, Rock in Rio Brazil has been announced to be held in September. It is being touted as the biggest ever music fests with top performers and artistes attending. Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber, Cold Play and Post Malone will be some names performing.
UMF: Ultra Music Festival
Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that happens in March in Miami, US. It was founded by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes in 1999. Between 1998 and 2006, it was organised as a two-day festival. Since 2011, it has taken place over three days. Suspended in 2020 due to Covid, it resumed in 2022. This year, it was held in March at Bayfront Park in Miami. Artistes like Amelie Lens, David Guetta, Carl Cox, Adam Beyer, among others, participated in the festival. While the entire fest is known as the Miami Music Week and is one of the world’s most recognised electronic music events, its grand finale is the world’s premier electronic music festival, Ultra Music Festival.
Lollapalooza
The annual four-day music festival Lollapalooza is held in Grant Park in Chicago every year. It began in 1991. Its music genres include alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock, hip hop, and electronic dance music. More than 4,00,000 attendees visit the longest running and the biggest festival in the US every year. In the July 2022 edition of the festival, performers like Dua Lipa, Metallica, Lil Baby, Glass Animals, Machine Gun Kelly, Wallows, The Kid Laroi and so on performed. In January 2023, the festival is being brought to India for the first time.
Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland is a Belgian electronic dance music festival that is annually held in Boom, Flanders. It began in the year 2005 in August. The festival has seen some of the biggest performers perform and a huge crowd from across the globe attends it. This year, the festival was held in July over three weekends. It was a digital event in 2020 and continued virtually in 2021 during the pandemic. For this year’s edition, the festival had a huge line-up of artistes and performers. The performances were also streamed on YouTube.