As an up and coming act, playing music festivals is 100% in your best interest. Festival venues are usually style specific with the music that they feature so for acts that don't have a huge fan-base, it’s a great opportunity for them to connect with new fans that like and support the style of music that they do.
Take a look through this list of festivals going on and see if there are any in your area that you could connect with and possible play at.
To get more specific information on each festival, just copy and paste the name into google and their site should come right up.
| Festival Name | Location | Confirmed Dates |
| Moogfest | Ashville, North Carolina | October 26-27, 2012 |
| Fun Fun Fun Fest | Austin, Texas | November 2-4, 2012 |
| Sun and Sand Festival | Biloxi, Mississippi | November 7-11, 2012 |
| Bear Creek Music Festival | Live Oak, Florida | November 8-11, 2012 |
| Electric Daisy Carnival Florida | Orlando, Florida | November 9-10, 2012 |
| Old City Music Fest | St. Augustine, Florida | November 11, 2012 |
| Dancegiving | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | November 23-24, 2012 |
| BonfireJam | Jay, Florida | December 7-8, 2012 |
| Ur1 Music Festival | Miami, Florida | December 8-9, 2012 |
| Trinumeral Music Festival | Atlanta, Georgia | December 12, 2012 |
| Contact Winter Music Festival | Vancouver, British Columbia | December 26, 2012 |
| SnowGlobe Music Festival | South Lake Tahoe, California | December 29-31, 2012 |
| Holy Ship! | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | January 4-7, 2013 |
| The MusicFest | Steamboat, Colorado | January 5-10, 2013 |
| 30A Songwriters Festival | Rosemary Beach, Florida | January 18-20, 2012 |
| Ann Arbor Folk Festival | Ann Arbor, Michigan | January 25-26 2013 |
| 70,000 Tons of Metal | Miami, Florida | January 28 - February 1, 2013 |
| Virginia Key Grassroots Festival | Miami, Florida | February 14-17, 2013 |
| AURA Music and Arts Festival | Live Oak, Florida | February 15-17, 2013 |
| Noisepop Festival | San Francisco, California | February 26 - March 3, 2013 |
| 35 Denton | Denton, Texas | March 7-10, 2013 |
| Savannah Stopover | Savannah, Georgia | March 7-9, 2013 |
| BUKU Music and Art Project | New Orleans, Louisiana | March 8-9, 2013 |
| Musink | Costa Mesa, California | March 8-10, 2013 |
| San Jose Jazz Winter Fest | San Jose, California | March 8-10, 2013 |
| Winter Music Conference | South Beach, Florida | March 15-24, 2013 |
| Beyond Wonderland, SoCal | San Bernardino, California | March 16, 2013 |
| Canadian Musicfest | Toronto, Ontario | March 19-24, 2013 |
| Suwannee Springiest | Live Oak, Florida | March 21-24, 2013 |
| Treefort Music Fest | Boise, Idaho | March 21-24, 2013 |
| Runaway Country | Melbourne, Florida | March 22-24, 2013 |
| Tin Pan South | Nashville, Tennessee | April 2-6, 2013 |
| POP | Oakland, California | April 6, 2013 |
| Country Thunder, AZ | Florence, Arizona | April 11-14, 2013 |
| Euphoria Music Festival | New Braunfels, Texas | April 12-13, 2013 |
| Tampa Bay Blues Fest | St. Petersberg, Florida | April 12-14, 2013 |
| Shakori Hill Grassroots Festival, Spring | Pittsboro, North Carolina | April 18-21, 2013 |
| Merlefest | Wilkesboro, North Carolina | April 25-28, 2013 |
| Austin Psych Fest | Austin, Texas | April 26-28, 2013 |
| Stagecoach Country Music Festival | Indio, California | April 26-28, 2013 |
| Sunfest | West Palm Beach, Florida | May 1-5, 2013 |
| Suwannee River Jam | Live Oak, Florida | May 1-4, 2013 |
| California Roots Music and Arts Festival | Monterey, California | May 24-26, 2013 |
| Movement Electronic Music Festival | Detroit, Michigan | May 25-27, 2013 |
| Free Press Summerfest | Houston, Texas | June 1-2, 2013 |
| Winstock | Winsted, Minnesota | June 7-8, 2013 |
| Bonnaroo | Manchester, Tennessee | June 13-16, 2013 |
| Firefly Music Festival | Dover, Delaware | June 21-23, 2013 |
| Solid Sound | North Adams, Massachusetts | June 21-23, 2013 |
| Country Fest | Cadott, Wisconsin | June 27-30, 2013 |
| Romp Bluegrass Festival | Owensboro, Kentucky | June 27-29, 2013 |
| Essence Festival | New Orleans, Louisiana | July 4-7, 2013 |
| Jamboree in the Hills | Belmont, Ohio | July 18-21, 2013 |
| WE Fest | Detroit Lakes, Minnesota | August 1-3, 2013 |
| Electric Zoo | New York, New York | August 30 - September 1, 2013 |
Festival Name
|
Location
|
Unconfirmed Dates
|
| Hopscotch Music Festival | Raleigh, North Carolina | September 2013 |
| Music Fest North West | Portland, Oregon | September 2013 |
| FYF Fest | Los Angeles, California | August / September 2013 |
| Bumbershoot | Seattle, Washington | August / September 2013 |
| Burning Man | Black Rock City, Nevada | August / September 2013 |
| Summer Set | Somerset, Wisconsin | August 2013 |
| Sunset Strip Music Festival | Hollywood, California | August 2013 |
| Outside Lands | San Francisco, California | August 2013 |
| Lollapalooza | Chicago, Illinois | August 2013 |
| HARD Summer Music Festival | Los Angeles, California | August 2013 |
| What The Festival | Tight Valley, Oregon | July 2013 |
| Wanderlust California | North Lake Tahoe, California | July 2013 |
| The Love Festival Hawaii | Honolulu, Hawaii | July 2013 |
| Whippersnap Music and Arts Festival | Rockford, Illinois | July 2013 |
| Xponential Music Festival | Camden, New Jersey | July 2013 |
| All Good Music Festival | Thornville, Ohio | July 2013 |
| Edgefest | Toronto, Ontario | July 2013 |
| Vancouver Folk Music Festival | Vancouver, British Columbia | July 2013 |
| Pitchfork Music Festival | Chicago, Illinois | July 2013 |
| Common Ground Festival | Lansing, Michigan | July 2013 |
| Boise Music Festival | Boise, Idaho | July 2013 |
| The Great Blue Heron Music Festival | Sherman, New York | July 2013 |
| Calgary Stampede | Calgary, Alberta | July 2013 |
| CBGB Festival | New York, New York | July 2013 |
| Wavefront: Beachside Music Festival | Chicago, Illinois | June 2013 |
| Digital Dreams | Toronto, Ontario | June 2013 |
| Charlottetown Summerfest | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | June 2013 |
| Electric Forest | Rothbury, Michigan | June 2013 |
| River’s Edge | St. Paul, Minnesota | June 2013 |
| Sierra Nevada World Music Festival | Boonville, California | June 2013 |
| Rockapalooza | Jackson, Michigan | June 2013 |
| 4 Peaks Music Festival | Bend, Oregon | June 2013 |
| Wanderlust Vermont | Bondville, Vermont | June 2013 |
| Telluride Bluegrass Festival | Telluride, Colorado | June 2013 |
| Sonic Bloom | Georgetown, Colorado | June 2013 |
| Spring Awakening Music Festival | Chicago, Illinois | June 2013 |
| The Bounce Festival | Belden, California | June 2013 |
| Impulse Music Festival | Union Point, Georgia | June 2013 |
| The Friendly Gathering | Windham, Vermont | June 2013 |
| Atlanta Fest | Atlanta, Georgia | June 2013 |
| North by Northeast | Toronto, Ontario | June 2013 |
| Starscape Festival | Baltimore, Maryland | June 2013 |
| H20 Music Festival Texas | Dallas, Texas | June 2013 |
| Riverbend Festival | Chattanooga, Tennessee | June 2013 |
| PrideFest | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | June 2013 |
| Electric Daisy Carnival Nevada | Las Vegas, Nevada | June 2013 |
| Desert Rocks | Moab, Utah | June 2013 |
| CMA Music Festival | Nashville, Tennessee | June 2013 |
| Hot 97 Summer Jam | East Rutherford, New Jersey | June 2013 |
| Bobolink Music Festival | Belden, California | May / June 2013 |
| Soundset | Shakopee, Minnesota | May 2013 |
| Santa Cruz Blues Festival | Santa Cruz, California | May 2013 |
| Neon Desert Music Festival | El Paso, Texas | May 2013 |
| Bayour Country Superfest | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | May 2013 |
| Summer Camp Festival | Chillicothe, Illinois | May 2013 |
| Sasquatch Music Festival | George, Washington | May 2013 |
| Rocklahoma | Pryor, Oklahoma | May 2013 |
| Riverfest | Little Rock, Arkansas | May 2013 |
| Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival | Las Vegas, Nevada | May 2013 |
| Florida Folk Festival | White Springs, Florida | May 2013 |
| Bella Music Fest | Geneva, Minnesota | May 2013 |
| Backwoods Bash | Tulsa, Oklahoma | May 2013 |
| Strawberry Music Festival, Spring | Yosemite, California | May 2013 |
| Maryland Deathfest | Baltimore, Maryland | May 2013 |
| Lightning in a Bottle Festival | Silverado, California | May 2013 |
| DelFest | Cumberland, Maryland | May 2013 |
| Rock on the Range | Columbus, Ohio | May 2013 |
| Nelsonville Music Festival | Nelsonville, Ohio | May 2013 |
| Joshua Tree Music Festival | Joshua Tree, California | May 2013 |
| Hangout Festival | Gulf Shores, Alabama | May 2013 |
| Gulfport Music Festival | Gulfport, Mississippi | May 2013 |
| Electric Daisy Carnival New York | New York, New York | May 2013 |
| Kinetik | Montreal, Quebec | May 2013 |
| North Carolina Brewers and Music Festival | Huntersville, North Carolina | May 2013 |
| M3 Rock Festival | Columbia, Maryland | May 2013 |
| Karma Music and Arts Festival | Morehead, Kentucky | May 2013 |
| Welcome to Rockville | Jacksonville, Florida | April 2013 |
| Sweet Life Festival | Columbia, Maryland | April 2013 |
| Shadrock | Richmond, Virginia | April 2013 |
| Nocturnal Wonderland, Texas | Rockdale, Texas | April 2013 |
| Elements Music Festival | Edmonton, Alberta | April 2013 |
| Norman Music Festival | Norman, Oklahoma | April 2013 |
| Deltafest | Monroe, Louisiana | April 2013 |
| Wanee Music Festival | Live Oak, Florida | April 2013 |
| Old Settlers Music Festival | Austin, Texas | April 2013 |
| New England Metal and Hardcore Festival | Worcester, Massachusetts | April 2013 |
| Mid West Music Fest | Winona, Minnesota | April 2013 |
| Florida Music Festival | Orlando, Florida | April 2013 |
| Rites of Spring | Nashville, Tennessee | April 2013 |
| Jacksonville Superfest | Jacksonville, Florida | April 2013 |
| McDowell Mountain Music Festival | Scottsdale, Arizona | April 2013 |
| Paid Dues | San Bernardino, California | April 2013 |
| Middle of the Map Fest | Kansas City, Missouri | April 2013 |
| Coachella | Indio, California | April 2013 |
| Together Festival | Boston, Massachusetts | April 2013 |
| Caffeine Music and Arts Festival | Broomfield, Colorado | March 2013 |
| Spin Electronic Music Festival Texas | Dallas, Texas | March 2013 |
| Nowadays | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | March 2013 |
| Mission Creek Festival | Iowa City, Iowa | March / April 2013 |
| Aspen Songwriters Festival | Aspen, Colorado | March 2013 |
| Lift Festival | Enfield, New Hampshire | March 2013 |
| Ultimate Music Experience | South Padre Island, Texas | March 2013 |
| Never Say Never Music and Arts Festival | Mission, Texas | March 2013 |
| Spin Electronic Music Festival Alaska | Anchorage, Alaska | March 2013 |
| Foburg | New Orleans, Louisiana | March 2013 |
| The Snowball Festival | Vail Valley, Colorado | March 2013 |
| Adams Avenue Street Fair | San Diego, California | September 2013 |
| 80/35 Music Festival | Des Moines, Iowa | July 2013 |
| 9 Mile Music Festival | Miami, Florida | March 2013 |
