A list of music festivals around the world. A music festival is a

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

oriented towards

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

that is sometimes presented with a theme such as

musical genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are some ...

nationality Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is th ...

or locality of musicians, or

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or t ...

. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending,

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

, and social activities. The

Pythian Games The Pythian Games ( grc-gre, Πύθια;) were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honour of Apollo at his sanctuary at Delphi every four years, two years after the Olympic Games, and between each Nemean and ...

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracl ...

included musical performances, and may be one of the earliest festivals known. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

festivals were often held as competitions.

Related lists and categories

Lists by type

The following is a list of music festival lists by genre or type:

Categories by region

* Music festivals by continent * Music festivals by country

Categories by type

Festivals by region

Africa

Angola

* Luanda International Jazz Festival,

Luanda Luanda () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major Angola#Economy, industrial, Angola#Culture, cultural and Angola#Demographics, urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atl ...

(2009–present) Jazz

Democratic Republic of the Congo

* Zaire 74, Kinshasa (1974)

Egypt

* Cairo Congress of Arab Music,

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...

(1932)

Mali

* Festival au Désert (2001–2012)

Malawi

* Lake of Stars Music Festival,

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fres ...

(2004–present)

Morocco

Namibia

* Windhoek Jazz Festival,

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

Nigeria

South Africa

* Ebubeleni Festival,

Nelson Mandela Bay Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality ( af, Nelson Mandelabaai Metropolitaanse Munisipaliteit; xh, uMasipala wase Nelson Mandela Bay or ''uMasipala waseBhayi'') is one of eight metropolitan municipalities (also called Category A municipalities) in So ...

(2012–present)

Tanzania

* Sauti za Busara,

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

Tunisia

Uganda

Milege Festival The Milege World Music Festival or just Milege Festival is an annual music festival, happening every November, organized by Milege Afrojazz Band. The festival is a celebration of world music, games, cultural dances, stories, poems, and so on. A ...

Entebbe Entebbe is a city in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. The ...

(2010–present) *

Pearl Rhythm Festival Pearl Rhythm Festival is a world music festival organized by the Pearl Rhythm Foundation to celebrate Ugandan music and hosted annually at the National Theatre. The festival is the climax of all the activities in the Pearl Rhythm Foundation.. ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and ...

(2012–present)

Asia

* ABU Radio Song Festival * ABU TV Song Festival

China

Hong Kong

* Clockenflap, Hong Kong

India

Indonesia

Israel

Japan

Lebanon

* Beirut Nights,

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Malaysia

* Future Music Festival Asia,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

Rainforest World Music Festival The Rainforest World Music Festival (often abbreviated as RWMF) is an annual three-day music festival celebrating the diversity of world music, held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, with daytime music workshops, cultural displays, craft displays, ...

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River at the southwest tip of the state of Sara ...

Nepal

Fête de la Musique The Fête de la Musique, also known in English as Music Day, Make Music Day or World Music Day, is an annual music celebration that takes place on 21 June. On Music Day, citizens and residents are urged to play music outside in their neighborho ...

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Nepal, Province , subdivision_name1 ...

Himalayan Blues Festival Himalayan Blues Festival is an annual international music festival showcasing live performances followed by cultural events. Since its inception in 2007, The Himalayan Blues Festival has featured a diverse range of blues artist from around the gl ...

* Jazzmandu,

Philippines

Singapore

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

SAGA is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to the Pl ...

South Korea

Taiwan

* Amis Music Festival,

Taitung County Taitung County (; Mandarin pinyin: ''Táidōng Xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Tâi-tang-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Thòi-tûng-yen''; Paiwan: ''Valangaw'';lit:Eastern part of Taiwan) is the third largest county in Taiwan, located primarily on the island' ...

Beigang International Music Festival The Beigang International Music Festival () is a project of the Beigang Philharmonic Association (Chinese: 雲林縣北港愛樂協會) and takes place in Beigang, Yunlin County, Taiwan. Since its inception in 2006, the festival has grown and dev ...

, Beigang * Hohaiyan Rock Festival, Gongliao * Spring Scream,

Kenting Kenting National Park (), commonly known as Kenting (), is a national park located on the Hengchun Peninsula of Pingtung County, Taiwan, covering Hengchun, Checheng, and Manzhou Townships. Established on 1 January 1984, it is Taiwan's oldest ...

Taroko Music Festival The Taroko Music Festival () is an annual music festival in Taroko National Park, Xiulin Township Xiulin Township / Sioulin Township () is a mountain indigenous township of Hualien County, Taiwan. It is located northwest of Hualien City, a ...

Hualien County Hualien County (Mandarin Wade–Giles: Hua¹-lien² Hsien⁴; Pīnyīn: ''Huālián Xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Hoa-lian-koān'' or ''Hoa-liân-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Fâ-lièn-yen''; Amis: ''Kalingko'') is a county on the east coast of Taiwan ...

United Arab Emirates

Dubai Desert Rock Festival The Dubai Desert Rock Festival was an event celebrating various styles of rock and metal music on one stage in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Originally a one-day festival, it was expanded to two days in 2007 and 2008, before its eventual cancel ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...

Vietnam

* Coca-Cola SoundFest,

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

Europe

* Eurovision Song Contest *

Junior Eurovision Song Contest The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (often shortened to JESC, Junior Eurovision or Junior EuroSong) is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003. It is held in a diff ...

Türkvizyon Song Contest The Turkvision Song Contest (TSC, tr, Türkvizyon Şarkı Yarışması), also known as the Türkvizyon Song Contest, is a recurring song contest created by Turkish music channel TMB TV, inspired by the format of the Eurovision Song Contest. T ...

Tuborg GreenFest Tuborg GreenFest was an annual series of rock music events that takes place in a few European countries during the summer months. Since 2005, Danish beer makers Tuborg, part of the Carlsberg Group, have brought together well-known rock bands and art ...

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

* Reggae Sunjam,

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Kaziuko mugė Kaziuko mugė or Saint Casimir's Fair is a large annual folk arts and crafts fair in Vilnius, Lithuania, dating to the beginning of the 17th century. The fair is traditionally held in city's markets and streets on the Sunday nearest to 4 March (Fe ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

Kilkim Žaibu Kilkim Žaibu (from Lithuanian language, Lithuanian "arise/soar with the lightning") is an extreme metal festival in Lithuania, held annually since 1999. The festival distinguishes itself from other major metal festivals by incorporating the sho ...

Varniai Varniai (; Samogitian: ''Varnē''; pl, Wornie) is a city in the Telšiai County, western Lithuania. In the Middle Ages the city was known as Medininkai ( Samogitian: ''Medėninkā''). It was established in the 14th century, on the bank of the ...

Tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mo ...

, Zarasai

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Malta

Montenegro

Netherlands

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

North America

Canada

Dominican Republic

* Festival Presidente de la Musica Latina,

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

Haiti

Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival The Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival (french: Festival International de Jazz de Port-au-Prince), also known as PAPJAZZ, is a large annual jazz festival held in Haiti, that features many well-known international jazz musicians, and emphas ...

Mexico

United States

Oceania

Australia

New Zealand

South America

Argentina

Bolivia

* Bach Festival,

Cochabamba Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 6 ...

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

Ecuador

* Quito Fest,

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, Pichincha ...

References

External links

SoundAndScene.com
– The most extensive music festival listings (worldwide) {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Music Festivals *

Music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...