Tickets to see live shows are soaring these days. It feels like you need a specific pros and cons list to justify your purchase and settle to catch the rest of your favorites on TikTok. But how do you decide on which music festivals to attend in 2025? Which festivals are actually worth traveling to?
Music festivals are experiences that go beyond musical talent. Yes, you’re bound to watch the most promising emerging artists and the hottest headliners of the year in one place. That alone could justify the ticket price, knowing that two headliners’ arena tickets would cost around the same price as a festival entry — and that’s not counting paying for parking… But beyond that, what other perks do they offer to make it worth our hard-earned dollars?
Up to recent years, Coachella was one of a music enthusiast’s favorite go-to’s, but nowadays, it seems like the budget for a weekend in the desert can reach even higher than traveling outside of the U.S. I mean, three-day tickets are currently $549 a pop (versus $50 a day in 1999), similar to a flight to Europe or Latin America from the U.S. So why not broaden your horizons and make a festival a full experience all while getting to know a different city or country and even culture?
But hold up. If you’re like me, you need to know which festivals are worth saving up for and traveling to and why from a trusted source. Well, Remezcla’s music writers are here to help. Here are reasons why these specific national and global festivals are worth the travel. From Tecate Pa’l Norte in Monterrey, Mexico, to Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Spain, and beyond, here are 10 festivals worth treating yourself to.
Before cementing its place as Colombia’s flagship music festival, Estéreo Picnic faced a decade-long road of location shakeups and challenging weather conditions. But in 2024, the massive, colorful, and always stacked event made its new home in Bogotá’s Parque Simón Bolivar, the historic site of the multitudinous Al Parque concert series, now boasting ramped-up walkways and greater access to public transportation. That’s just the logistics of it all. When it comes to curation, Estéreo Picnic is second to none in the region, drawing crowds from around the country, Central America, and the Caribbean eager to see world-class shows from a parade of superstars. While this year’s pop-timist lineup includes Olivia Rodrigo and Justin Timberlake, you should arrive early to catch the diverse and wildly talented crop of homegrown artists. From folky singer-songwriter Gabriela Ponce to art-punks Yo No La Tengo, cumbia scientist Felipe Orjuela, and música del Pacífico bastions De Mar y Río, the plurality of Colombian sound will be on full display, this March. – Richard Villegas
If you’re looking to travel to your next music festival held in a city worth traveling to, Tecate Pa’l Norte is for you. Popstars Olivia Rodrigo and Justin Timberlake are set to headline the 14th edition of the annual festival in Mexico. This massive music haven has been held annually in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, and has attracted thousands of music lovers from all over the world. You’ll have access to see a range of 180 acts across nine stages and diverse cuisine. Other acts featured this year include Caifanes, The Black Keys, Nathy Peluso, Jasiel Nunez, and many more. The festival is held at the Parque Fundidora, which I highly suggest wearing comfortable shoes as you’ll be walking a lot. The city itself has a long history of Spanish settlements and beautiful mountains that you can visit while you’re in town, not to mention incredible cuisine, which is worth the trip alone. – Grecia Lopez
Early November, in the heat of the Southern Hemisphere’s spring, Santiago de Chile welcomes Fauna Primavera, the city’s go-to festival for concertgoers who resonate with indie music, legacy acts, and dance artists alike. Last year, Fauna Primavera was held in the city’s Parque Ciudad Empresarial on Nov. 8 and 9 and spread out across two stages, hosting headliners such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Air, and Franz Ferdinand while making sure to include Chilean and overall Latin American acts both established and up-and-coming, including Dënver, Sofia Kourtesis, Usted Señálemelo, and Francisco Victoria. With 11 editions under its belt, Fauna Primavera is one of the top festivals of the season in the region and is also Chile’s antidote to large-scale events such as Lollapalooza. It’s the perfect size, and with programming that prevents set times from overlapping, it’s clear they always have the audience in mind. Fauna Primavera is also known for its side shows, which further bring music to the city beyond its two official days, making this an even more tempting option if you travel to Santiago de Chile to experience the festival and its curation. Add to the equation the city’s own buoyant offer in parties, nightclubs, and weekly events, and this will have you checking for flights to Chile for this November. – Cheky
In its 10-year lifespan, what started as Tyler The Creator performing with his friends behind a club in Los Angeles has quietly grown into one of the most consistent and fun festivals to come out of Southern California. Camp Flog Gnaw represents the allure and whimsy of Tyler The Creator to the most physical degree. Tyler’s music, while edgy and uncomfortable at its start, created a healthy avenue for an audience of young, alternative people of color to explore their creative identities. As his art matured, his fan base evolved with it, and what started as a space mainly for Tyler fans grew into a more contemporary showcase of alternative fashion and culture. Held in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium, it’s the perfect size. Everything is within close proximity, so you don’t feel like you’re missing out. You can see Sza and Doechii dance on stage while waiting in line for a churro. Coupled with carnival games and the iconic Ferris wheel, you’re treated to a manageable festival with like-minded attendees and an ever-consistent lineup. – Alan Baez
For as much as it consistently manages to stay at or near the center of Latine music, Puerto Rico surprisingly doesn’t have a particularly robust festival scene. Eagerly filling that space is Color Caribe, an annual festival that takes place over two weekends every November, recently wrapping up its fourth year. While local acts such as iLe, Chuwi, PJ Sin Suela, and more are abundant in the lineups, the festival always brings artists from outside the island as well, such as this last edition, which featured Los Cafres and Él Mató a un Policía Motorizado from Argentina, Akapellah from Venezuela, and Poolside from California. The diversity of sounds is an essential part of Color Caribe’s appeal, with everything from rock to hip-hop and tropical music always being well-represented over its multiple nights. Faithful to its namesake, the festival — which has free entrance — also emphasizes showcasing local artists by way of large colorful murals that attendees can watch be created in person and also an artisan’s market where curios, apparel, and trinkets can be purchased. Food trucks and kiosks from local restaurants also have their own space, giving people the chance to try diverse cuisine. The festival calls the northern coastal town of Dorado home and seems poised to stake a claim to grow and become a guaranteed yearly attendance for many music fans. — Juan J. Arroyo
Primavera Sound is worth the travel and money if your music taste is diverse and curious. Case in point: over two nights, I was able to catch Arca’s eccentric DJ set, headliners Lana Del Rey and SZA’s sad girl vibes, veteran rockers PJ Harvey and Bikini Kill, and Japanese girl group Atarashii Gakko! And I truly don’t feel like I scratched the surface of it all. With that in mind, thinking about post-pandemic arena ticket prices alone justifies the roundtrip costs from L.A. to Barcelona (if you budget well enough). As an avid L.A. concert-goer, I know ticket prices for Lana and SZA alone will most likely start at $200 — and that’s if you’re lucky enough to beat the bots and buy them. Money aside, what makes this festival worth it is that besides the big names, they also have exclusive spaces like the intimate 150-ish capacity Red Sound room where they host face-to-face performances by artists like Bb Trickz and Villano Antillano. Artists tend to make special appearances all over the festival map too — take Charli xcx’s last-minute DJ set last year, for example. Moreover, another highlight is festival-goers’ accessibility to go in and out of the premises, making it feasible to enjoy music from the afternoon to 6 a.m. (on weekend dates) and take outside breaks when needed. The U.S. could never! – Jeanette Hernandez
If you seek a music festival made for the girls and the gays, look no further than Tecate Emblema in Mexico City. As most festivals aim to cast a wider net of audiences with their genre selections, Tecate Emblema is specifically curated as a pop music festival. Over the years, its lineup has featured international superstars like Nelly Furtado, the Backstreet Boys, and Gwen Stefani, as well as Latin American talent like Belanova, Miranda!, Emilia, and Danna. Having attended in 2024, one moment I was experiencing the first Latin American festival performance by a K-pop group, RIIZE, then I was seeing Christina Aguilera sing tracks I never thought I’d ever witness like “Pero Me Acuerdo de Ti,” and then danced my butt off to Esteman. Not to mention, big festivals in Mexico offer multiple VIP packages that actually give you perks, including clean bathrooms, exclusive bars and merch stores with shorter lines, access to wider food selection, go-carts to move between main stages, free food and drinks with the most expensive ticket, and upfront sections for the performances. After attending Tecate Emblema as a normal festivalgoer and not press, I was convinced that music festivals in the U.S. have a lot of catching up to do. As a true pop girl, I can attest to Tecate Emblema being the most fun I’ve ever had at a festival, but also one where I felt the safest in a crowd. – Alexis Hodoyán-Gastélum
The unofficial kick-off for Latin America’s Spring festival circuit, Isle of Light in the Dominican Republic is often the first stop for major international acts heading South for Lollapalooza and their respective solo tours. Past editions of the festival welcomed stars like Phoenix and Nicki Nicole while showcasing a bevy of rising local talent, including Tokischa, Solo Fernández, and Letón Pé. This year’s lineup is led by alt-rock legends Incubus and will also feature buzzy sets from Argentine enfants terribles CA7RIEL and Paco Amoroso, as well as Dominican pop chanteuse Snenie. But why should you spend your hard-earned cash to catch cool shows in Erredé? For starters, Isle of Light takes place at Punta Torrecilla in Santo Domingo, in the shadow of a graphic yellow lighthouse and with stunning vistas of the Caribbean Sea. The festival also boasts cutting-edge art and lighting installations, a bountiful array of food stands, and a comfortable turnout that makes each experience feel boutique, increasingly attracting revelers from nearby territories like Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Colombia. But watch out, the sunshine gets intense, so don’t forget your SPF. – Richard Villegas
Arguably, Mexico City’s Festival Hipnosis can be considered one of the best psychedelic music festivals in the world. Established in 2017 and taking place in early November, Hipnosis boasts a lineup that includes acts that play any iteration of what one can define as psych — from rock to folk to metal to dance music and beyond — including big name alt rock headliners like Air, Flaming Lips, and The Mars Volta, to acts from faraway places like Japan, Turkey, and even the African Sahara. Having said that, what truly makes Hipnosis a festival unlike any other else is its celebration of Latin America’s history within psychedelic music, boasting appearances by bands such as Los Pirañas, Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, Boogarins, and many others from Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, and other countries in every edition. Hipnosis is one of the friendliest, most easy-going experiences you can have at this kind of event. The festival grounds are usually laid out to keep walking distances short between the stages and other amenities. While details of the 2025 edition are still under wraps, we can bet that the festival will continue its great traditions while expanding its reach to give us more far-out music to bliss out to. – Marcos Hassan
As a SoCal native who’s always disdained crowded metropolitan cities, San Francisco and I always had beef, but there’s a charm to the festival they host every year that changed my tune. Outside Lands is undoubtedly the largest festival I’ve been to, hosting three miles worth of activities in the beautiful Golden Gate Park. What started in 2008 and was organized as a “love letter to San Francisco” has since reflected the multi-faceted intersections of art, food, music, and culture of the city. There’s a host of character that bleeds into every aspect of the festival and gives attendees a taste of day-to-day life in the Bay. From the jump, the shuttles start from downtown, giving you a glimpse of staple buildings like the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and City Hall. The ocean layer, named Karl the fog, rolls into the park throughout the day, giving an edge to the local food trucks and stages, all of which are named after famed San Francisco hotspots. From the diverse lineups to the whimsical side activities like getting married on-site, there’s something for everyone. – Alan Baez
