Insomniac’s HARD Summer Festival will return to Los Angeles to celebrate its 15th anniversary on Aug. 5-6. (Photo by Keiki-Lani Knudsen for Insomniac Events)
The music festival scene in Southern California is alive and thriving in 2023.
We’ve already experienced major events like the back-to-back weekends of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and its sister country music festival, Stagecoach, out at the Empire Polo Club in Indio in April. Enthusiastic fans quickly sold out the ’80s-infused Cruel World Festival and partied it up at the ode to the early ’00s, Just Like Heaven Festival, both of which both took over Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in May.
Earlier in the year, there was a condensed version of Punk in the Park in Ventura led by Pennywise, Boots in the Park brought Cole Swindell and Flo Rida together in Norco and the Rolling Loud hip-hop festival made its debut at Hollywood Park in Inglewood.
As summer is rapidly approaching, several more music festivals hitting Southern California and just beyond have been added to the 2023 calendar. Here’s a list of the festival events still to come this year.
JUNE
LA Pride in the Park
The annual two-day LA Pride in the Park event is happening at Los Angeles State Historic Park with rapper Megan Thee Stallion and pop diva Mariah Carey headlining. King Princess, Fletcher, Symone, Gigi Goode and others will also perform.
When: June 9-10
Where: Los Angeles State Historic Park, 1245 N Spring St, Los Angeles
Tickets and more information: Two-day general passes start at $209; two-day VIP passes start at $589; one-day passes start at $139; one-day VIP passes start at $349. lapride.org.
Splash House
The summer concert series is taking over three different Palm Springs resorts over three weekends to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The June lineup includes performances from Armand Van Helden, Ash Lauryn, Azzecca, Black Loops, BONES, Bontan, Chelina Manuhutu, Chromeo (DJ set), Cloonee, Dennis Ferrer, DJ Susan and more. There are also after-hours parties scheduled at the Palm Springs Air Museum.
When: June 9-11; Aug. 11-13; Aug. 18-20
Where: Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel (888 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs); Margaritaville Resort Palm Springs (1600 N. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs); The Saguaro Palm Springs (1800 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs); Palm Springs Air Museum (745 N. Gene Autry Trail).
Tickets and more information: General admission passes for one weekend start at $165. Combo passes, which include entrance to the after-hours performances, start at $210. Season passes for all three weekends start at $499. Hotel packages start at $1,000. After-party passes are $60-$80 for general admission and $100 for VIP. All passes are available at splashhouse.com.
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Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival
The 43rd annual two-day jazz festival will take place at the Hollywood Bowl with pianist Herbie Hancock and Los Angeles jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington co-curating the event. Kamasi Washington, Leon Bridges, Digable Planets and Samara Joy are among the artists set to perform.
Where: The Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles
Tickets and more information: Single-day tickets start at $60-$205. hollywoodbowl.com
Old Town Music Festival
The Old Town Music Festival will return for a third year with country music act Big & Rich headlining the event along with support from Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry, Coffey Anderson, Creed Fisher, Runaway June and Cowboy Troy.
When: June 17
Where: The Temecula Stampede, 28721 Old Town Front Street, Temecula
Tickets and more information: Tickets start at $69-$129. oldtownmusicfestival.com.
Day Trip Festival
Insomniac’s house music festival is hitting The Queen Mary Waterfront for two days with Dombresky, Duke Dumont, James Hype, Dom Dolla, Archie Hamilton, Eli Brown, Blond:Ish, CID, Lupe Fuentes and more taking over the decks.
When: June 24-25
Where: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach
Tickets and more information: Single-day general admission passes start at $129; Two-day general passes start at $249; single-day VIP passes start at $249; Two-day VIP passes are sold out. daytripfest.com/tickets.
JULY
Freestyle Festival
The old-school soul and R&B festival is returning to Los Angeles for a one-night-only event with performances by Lisa Lisa, Taylor Dayne, Stevie B, Cover Girls, Expose, Trinere, Sweet Sensation, Nocera and more.
When: July 8
Where: The Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles
Tickets and more information: Tickets start at $59-$410. Ticketmaster.com.
Sad Summer Fest
The cross-country Sad Summer Festival, hosted by Journeys and Converse, is stopping in Irvine with sets by Taking Back Sunday, The Maine, Pvris, Andrew McMahon, Hot Mulligan, Mom Jeans, Stand Atlantic, Daisy Grenade, Sincere Engineer and Cliffdriver.
Tickets and more information: Tickets are $39.50-$158. LiveNation.com.
Salsa Festival
Fans will be able to dance to the sounds of salsa music from all over the world as this event hosts salsa legends Willie Colón, El Gran Combo, Victor Manuelle, Jerry Rivera, Rey Ruiz, Los Adolescentes, Fruko y sus Tesos and Wilfrido Vargas.
When: July 29
Where: Crypto.com Arena, 1111 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles
Tickets and more information: Tickets are $87-$205. AXS.com.