These are the top EDM festivals in the world during the summer of 2018, as selected by Slutty Raver Costumes.
Best EDM Festivals – June 2018
In early summer the best music festivals are on the east coast and in the midwest, including Governor’s Ball in New York City, Bonnaroo near Nashville, Tennessee and Electric Forest in Michigan. You could totally road trip to all three.
Governor’s Ball 2018
- When: June 1 – 3, 2018
- Where: Randall’s Island, New York
- Lineup: Silk City (Diplo + Mark Ronson), Halsey, Eminem, Cut Copy, Galantis and more.
- Website: https://www.governorsballmusicfestival.com/
Governor’s Ball Music Festival 2018 covers several musical genres such as pop music, hip hop, indie rock and EDM. Silk City are making their official debut, which is Diplo and Mark Ronson DJing at the same time. That’s on Day 2, and on Day 3 then there’s this guy called Eminem.
Bonnaroo 2018
- When: June 7 – 10, 2018
- Where: Manchester, Tennessee
- Lineup: Bassnectar, Kaskade, Dua Lipa, Chromeo, Rufus du Sol and more.
- Website: https://www.bonnaroo.com/
Then head down to Coffee County, Tennessee, halfway between Nashville and Chattanooga on Interstate 24, to enjoy another eclectic music festival. The combination of country and EDM suits space cowgirls in particular. Activities include camping, live comedy and farm experiences.
Electric Forest 2018
- When: June 21 – July 1, 2018
- Where: Grant Township, Michigan
- Lineup: Bassnectar, Marshmello, Galantis, Rufus du Sol, Zhu and more.
- Website: https://www.electricforestfestival.com/
In Michigan, Electric Forest is more of an EDM-jam band type of music festival that happens in the forest during two consecutive weekends. The the most recent installment of The Once Upon The Forest Series, this year’s theme is TIME, so listen very carefully to the tempo of each DJ set.
Best EDM Festivals – July 2018
There are not a lot of legendary EDM events midsummer except in Europe. So July 2018 will be a good time to plan a trip, maybe go backpacking, and get away from music festival season for awhile. Or to save money before traveling to Creamfields and Burning Man in August.
Ultra Europe 2018
- When: July 6 – 8, 2018
- Where: Split, Croatia
- Lineup: Armin Van Buuren, David Guetta, The Chainsmokers, Hardwell, Steve Angello and more.
- Website: https://ultraeurope.com/
Ultra Music is a house label so Ultra Europe is one of their biggest events of the year, other then Ultra Miami at Miami Music Week. Split, Croatia is located on an ancient peninsula renowned for their beaches with sparkling blue waters. It is like the Ibiza of the eastern Mediterranean.
Tomorrowland 2018
- When: July 20 – 29, 2018
- Where: Boom, Belgium
- Lineup: Alan Walker, Afrojack, Axwell x Ingrosso, Steve Aoki, Tiesto and more.
- Website: https://www.tomorrowland.com/en/festival/welcome
Tomorrowland is the biggest deal ever in European progressive house music. Every year they build an intricate series of baroque stages to create the illusion of a magical wonderland using special effects and props. Then all the Top 100 DJ’s post two hour recordings of their live sets on YouTube.
Best EDM Festivals – August 2018
August is a magical time during EDM festival season to dance around with sparklers and plastic cups. It is going to take some careful planning if you want to make it to each one, and several of the schedules overlap, so that you must choose between Burning Man and Electric Zoo.
Hard Summer 2018
- When: August 4 – 5, 2018
- Where: Fontana, California
- Lineup: TBA
- Website: https://www.hardsummer.com/
HARD Events has announced the return of HARD Summer. The event takes place at the Speedway in Fontana, California, which is a race track east of Los Angeles. This year they decided to move it to the grassy area rather than the hot pavement. They haven’t dropped a lineup just yet.
Outside Lands 2018
- When: August 10 – 12, 2018
- Where: San Francisco, California
- Lineup: The Weeknd, Janet Jackson, Odesza, DJ Snake, Chromeo and more.
- Website: https://www.sfoutsidelands.com/
Outside Lands happens every summer in the historic Golden Gate Park of San Francisco, California. So you have the chance to make a dangerous new friend that tries to sell you drugs from their tent. This year’s lineup includes pop, synth pop, indie dance pop and hip hop.
Creamfields 2018
- When: August 23 – 26, 2018
- Where: Daresbury, United Kingdom
- Lineup: Above & Beyond, The Chainsmokers, Hardwell, Major Lazer, Tiesto and more.
- Website: https://www.creamfields.com/
Creamfields is a large dance music festival in England that has happened every summer since 1998. Last year glitter boobs and bums were the big trend that went viral. This year it could be anything including body tape, body paint, vinyl, micro bikinis or even temporary tattoos.
Burning Man 2018
- When: August 26 – September 9, 2018
- Where: Black Rock Desert, Nevada
- Lineup: N/A
- Website: https://burningman.org/event/
Burning Man is the most famous music festival other than Coachella. But don’t call it one, because it’s more like a temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance, or a creative crucible as they put it. One full of celebrities taking semi-nude selfies. There will be DJ’s performing, but they do it through a network of independent art co-ops.
Electric Zoo 2018
- When: August 31 September 2, 2018
- Where: Randall’s Island, New York
- Lineup: Kaskade, Marshmello, Martin Garrix, Wax Motif, Zed’s Dead and more.
- Website: http://electriczoo.com/
Wrap up the summer back in New York City at Electric Zoo 2018 during Labor Day Weekend. It’s your last chance to wear an all white slutty raver costume until the winter wonderland raves of the holiday season. Plus there are pre-parties in Brooklyn, the hippest place in the world.
There you have it, the top ten EDM festivals for the summer of 2018. If you go to one music festival to dance to EDM this summer, make it one of these ten. If you can think of a better EDM related event happening from June to September, by all means let us know.
Looking for outfit inspiration? Here are four different ideas for candy raver costumes. Maybe you could do temporary face tattoos with liquid eyeliner and glitter.