Under Pressure –
TOP 5 list of for the Summer 2021 Festival Season
Under pressure….The SHOWS must go on!!!!!!
This struggle is real! We all are feeling it!
LET ME OUT!!!!!!!
It has officially been a year since your feet have stepped on to any of our nation’s LIVE festival venues and witnessed the magic. You KNOW this too shall pass and we will all be together again…just hang in there!
The one thing we know for certain is that the GREATEST healing take place once live music returns!
Fresh Air, Good VIBES, Good times – GOOD news is on the way for all of us my dear music lovers!
Festival Season 2021 may be a bit different, some of the the dates are not what we are used to and some will not return until 2022, but that’s alright, with a little planning and preparation, there are plenty on the 2021 festival list to choose from for every style and fan. For some of them that have moved to Fall, camping then will be just as nice or if not even better than those HOT summer camps. Just plan for it with the right gear!
VENDOR VILLAGE at The Festival Marketplace.
As much as I wanted to put out a festival planning article for everyone, I also wanted to wait and not put out any disinformation, with things still being so fluid. But I do think we have rounded the corner and I have started to hear some little birds in my ear. So that being said – Just know that I am making a list, checking and checking it twice so we can all get together and party all night!!!
This year, I have a few honorable mentions as far as my festival list goes and this announcement season has been a nail biter…I know like some of you who are holding roll-over alumni tickets or had the grueling process of getting a cancellation refund – you can understand the industry trepidation and mine.
We all know this all really hinges on what the CDC has to say and IF the restrictions will get lifted.
I have scoured every piece of information that I can find, and it looks like by the time JULY 4 rolls around, we should be able to start attending outdoor, multi-person events. These words came out of the mouth of Dr. Fauci, so let’s all have a collective “WISHFUL THINKING” that the scheduled shows on my list WILL go on this Summer.
Here is my 2021 list – with a few with insider confirmations.
One thing I do know, is we can expect much, much smaller capacity at these shows and the tickets will move fast! Also one quick acknowledgment, all the links on this website go directly to the Official Festival’s Websites – this blog just providing a directory and direct links for your festival planning pleasure. I already put this much effort into my festival planning research every year before I started writing about it, now I just share it with all of you.
(Just a moment of appreciation and LOVE – Thank you for your SUPPORT – some of our Vendors in The Festival Marketplace have SOLD out a lot of their inventory – thanks to this amazing community)
That being said, Let’s get into it –
TOP 5 list of for the Summer 2021 Festival Season: This year it is all about that FIRE in the MOUNTAINS!!!!!!
1 Floyd Fest
Always at the top of my list EVERY Summer, Floyd Fest is by far one of my favorite festival venues.
Nestled in the mountains in Floyd County, Virginia – this little jewel really does demonstrate why they say, “Virginia is for MUSIC LOVERS.”
Floyd Fest which received top honors in Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine’s ‘Best of the Blue Ridge 2020:’ “Best Festival Overall” and “Best Kid-Friendly Festival” They also snagged Runner-Up honors for the following: “Best Kid-Friendly Adventure”, so if you have little ones and have always wanted to experience a music festival with them, this is the BEST one to enjoy.
This one is also an all-volunteer run so definitely check it out if you have some free time in July.
The BEST way to fest this one is to WORK it! The on site camping perks are so worth the 4 or 5 days it takes to really enjoy this one to the fullest. The DELTA lot is a bus ride away so those coveted spots on the “inside” are what makes this one so cool for the those willing to go spend a little time on the mountain!
Also, BEWARE of scammers – I hear FLOYD will likely sell all passes within the MONTH!
2
Back at ACE Adventure Resort June 3-5, 2021 with over 30 bands in the heart of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve this one is sure to keep u up all night with excitement!!
If you have never been to the WET and WILD New River Gorge area, you are missing out on some of the most beautiful WILD areas on the EAST Coast! Just this year, New River Gorge area has been recognized as one of our countries most valuable natural resources and it has been made into a National Park and Preserve!
The ACE Adventure Resort offers adventures on some of the WILDEST white water on the New River Gorge.
If your friends all go jump off a bridge, would you?
West Virginia camping at it’s finest and music! You can’t go wrong with this adventure this Summer!
in Scranton, PA, started by The Allman Brothers Band always brings the jammiest bands for the celebration at the Pavilion at Montage Mountain and Montage Mountain Ski Resort.
This year boasts FIREWORKS every night and all different kinds of bands! With DOUBLE DOSES of String Cheese and Joe Russo’s Almost DEAD.
Although, I do highly recommend this one if you can go…I have not heard back from my inside staff contact on confirmed dates – KEEP those fingers crossed! (hopefully by July it will all be good)
For all the OKEE Crew who missed out this year, and anyone who is ready to hit those warmer temps soon – The inaugural Resonate Suwannee music festival will be held at the Spirit Of The Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida May 21 – 23. Keller Williams, Papadosio and Marcus King are just a few of the major acts on the Resonate Suwannee 2021 lineup.
Officials have decided on PODS for this one and have said that they are monitoring the situation over the next 4-6 weeks in order to throw the safest and most responsible event possible.
“We’ll be offering a limited GA in addition to a pods configuration. No matter what option you choose, every attendee will be able to enjoy a great looking and sounding show,” add the event’s producers. “For some, this might come too soon, but for us it can’t come soon enough!”
Tickets for this one just went on sale last week – so you’d better get them while the gettin is GOOD!
5 MAYPOP Music and Arts Festival
This year in conjunction with the Tennessee Wildflower celebration of the MayPop AKA Purple Passion Flower in Nashville this JUNE there is another independent festival that boasts 40 ACRES OF NON-STOP OF MUSIC: EPIC SHOWS !
Held in the hills Of Tennessee @ Further Farms Outside the Music City of Nashville! this festival has a little something for everyone from 2 to 92 we got something for you whether you’re into Jams and Bluegrass. Or even a dubstep loving granny come out and enjoy the weekend. In celebration of this beautiful flower, amazing venue, talented artists, unbelievable performances, and out of this world production! Plenty of top choice food vendors here. From hot dogs & BBQ to something new even something if your vegan too! All throughout the weekend’s festivities! Not to mention our craft and live art vendors!”
For those of you missing the ROO Farm this Summer, this one might just have all those NEW MUSIC discoveries that you are jonesing for – definitely if you are looking for a TENNESSEE farm fix MayPop might get you though until September!
The SHOWS must go on
Pressing the pause button on the Live music industry has affected the lives of all of us during this time in profound ways, but for some the unexpected economic downturn will reverberate for many years to come. All you have to do is look around your local community to see once loved venues now gone.
Good News in the music industry is that Live Nation’s ‘Crew Nation’ Fund Raises $18 Million for COVID-Impacted Touring Staffers! To read the full article from Variety Magazine, click here.
And Slowly across the nation the it looks like things are starting to start back up with smaller crowds in some places and other places it looks like the covid restrictions will remain strict until well into the Fall.
The Fall festival list is stacked and packed with so many in September and October it is really going to be hard to choose. I’ll save the FALL FESTIVAL planning guide for another day!
Let us and our bank accounts survive the Summer of 2021 festival season!
(Please let there be a FESTIVAL SEASON!)
Stay safe out there festival fam and be sure and like our page on FB, Instagram, Pinterest, and subscribe to our YouTube for festival updates, new articles, and more camping music festival gear tips!
