Over Coachella? Hit Up the Hottest Music Fests in and Around Los Angeles

After Beyoncé’s life-altering Coachella performance in 2018, music festival–goers might be ready to retire their flower crowns and fringe in search of more obscure events. If so, you’re in luck. In the midst of Los Angeles and its environs, you’ll find life after big-name fests like Coachella and Stagecoach with plenty of diverse festivals … and probably at a price that won’t break your budget.

Here are the most amazing Los Angeles music festivals (and a few within an hour’s drive) to get your beyond-Coachella groove on.

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Broke LA

Formerly known as “Brokechella,” the Broke LA Music & Arts Festival is a budget-friendly alternative to those big, mainstream fests down south. Held in downtown Los Angeles each April, it primarily focuses on featuring up-and-coming local bands.

In fact, more than 50 acts perform over the course of the weekend-long fest, interspersed with visual arts and comedy acts. Since tickets are only $25, you can splurge on street food and indie crafts within Broke LA’s marketplace.

HARD Summer Festival

About an hour’s drive northeast from L.A. in San Bernardino County, HARD Summer Festival has become one of the bigger California music fests, drawing major headliners like Zeds Dead, Marshmello and Dillon Francis. Mostly EDM themed, the two-day August fest has embraced the hip-hop vibe in last few years with artists like Travis Scott, Jaden Smith and Snoop Dogg.

All My Friends Festival

The newest festival to grace downtown L.A., All My Friends Festival takes place over two August days in a cool outdoor venue called ROW DTLA. There are two stages with mostly dance, hip-hop and R&B music acts. Headliners include M.I.A, Gucci Mane and Jamie XX, to name a few.

Ohana Festival

The beach and Beck? Yeah, sign us up for some #sundayfunday mellow vibes. Founded by pro surfer Kelly Slater and Eddie Vedder (former Pearl Jam lead singer), this three-day fest in Orange County is held each September and is the only one that takes place on the sand, just a Frisbee toss from the ocean at Doheny State Beach.

Singer-songwriters and acts that tend to show up here were popular in the ’90s and 20-ohs, like Fiona Apple, Norah Jones and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but you’ll find more recent acts like Mumford & Sons, too.

Cloak & Dagger

Located inside Hollywood’s most exclusive goth nightclub in November, the Cloak & Dagger one-day fest features live bands, like The Faint and DAF; DJs spinning; and plenty of other creepy surprises.

“It’s about dark music but from all different genres. The same approach I take to spinning at the club is what the festival is all about,” said DJ and festival promoter Adam Bravin in an interview with LA Weekly.

Showing off your fangs and body chains is encouraged; just make sure to follow the strict, all-black dress code or else be condemned for eternity to some happy, sunny place.

Wake Up Call

Party in paradise with Wake Up Call, a multi-day music festival exclusively for Marriott Bonvoy members — getting members closer to the music with insider access. Wake Up Call 2018 has ended. Stay tuned for 2019 dates!

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