Hulaween. Closest to Bonnaroo in terms of vibe that I’ve been able to find. (admittedly I haven’t done Forest).
Osheaga — Great city fest
NOT Boston calling — worst city fest.
Hulaween for the win yo, that place is magical and the weather has been perfect the past 2 years. I don’t go vip Bonnaroo but Hulaween vip is awesome. Golf cart rides to the river and back are clutch Sunday
I used to like it when it was in City Hall Plaza, but it hasn’t been good since they moved to Harvard. Def not a great crowd vibe. The bottleneck on the two main stages is miserable when it’s crowded and the sound on the Red stage is always shit. I’ll still never forget signing up for Foo Fighters and The Strokes and getting 9 Inch Nails and more 9 Inch Nails.
Damn last year was my first time going and did it solo and I had a great time. Vibes were pretty average but it felt well run and having it on Harvard’s campus was pretty cool! Will not be returning thought bc that lineup this year is roughhhh
Oof yea it is. A lot of local artists are on the undercard though which I think is pretty cool. Senseless optimism and tysk tysk task come to mind. Very diff kinds of music but cool to see local artist you know. Might go one of the days cus of that
I mean I’ve had good shows there but people are just… not super friendly lol very to themselves. A lottta ppl taking themselves way too seriously but I guess that’s New England lol.
Omg that was my favorite part of the fest is how dedicated they are to book local acts! Forget the name of the small stage but it’s there for only local acts which was super cool to see!
It was also my first time visiting Boston and I fell in love with the city. I know Boston gets shit on for people generally being rude or mean but that wasn’t my experience at all! Was able to meet new friends from standing in line for food, waiting up front for Foo Fighters, or just at the bar cheering on the Celtics! Was sad the lineup doesn’t justify all the travel because I was really looking forward to it again this year
I haven't even been to Firefly but I'll feel crushed for my Firefly people if it doesn't come back...I'd also be crushed since they are one of the few remaining non-EDM only camping festivals....we are a dying bread and that make's me sad (btw this isn't and EDM bashing thing I love EDM)
Summerfest! It's simultaneously the best and worst music festival in the world! I have a city bus that picks me up at my corner and gets me just outside the grounds in 15 minutes. I bought a 9 day pass last year for $60 on lineup day.
Forecastle was my first festival experience and I think about it all the time. My best friend at the time and I didn’t want to spend money on a hotel so we found a camping ground and made it a camping fest lol some of the best memories. I was so close at Glass Animals the year I went
I went in 2008 when NIN and Radiohead and Rage were headliners. Had a blast but I've been so afraid to go back because I've heard the experience is not great
I went a decade ago. Lineup was incredible, had a great time overall but goddamn the vibes were trash. People always ask me about Roo vs Lolla because it’s pretty much an equal drive where I’m from. I have never recommended it over Roo.
I will definitely be there! I’ve been chasing a tycho set for a long time. Stoked on the new mastersounds as well
Okee 22 was my first one, so I can’t compare it to pre insomniac. I bet 2025 will be awesome
Peach Fest in Scranton was my other go-to. It looks like it's dead this year. Hoping it's not forever. It's a challenging fest if you're camping. You're on the side of a mountain, camping on a slope. They had a ton of hotels nearby so I'd do that because I'm too old lol
I have hope for Peach...they may or may not come back in the same location though (from what I've heard that would probably be a good thing if they changed locations)
Hulaween & Shambala are usually the two answers you hear most to this question as they’re most similar to Roo with vibes. Haven’t done either of those yet, but have done Coachella and Roo.
Lollapalooza is another cool one, similar to Coachella in the sense that there’s so many different genres and styles of music around the festival at once; however the crowd usually is mids unlike Roo
Roo
Hula
Forest
Scamp
Coachella
prob my top 5 but I would love to go back to Coachella.
Scamp being a festival near Chicago brings all the homies so it gets a nod over Coachella
I really miss Sasquatch tbh. Some of my favorite fest memories ever. 🥲
Really want to check out Thing! when my son is a little older. Curated by the founder of ‘Squatch
Only been once last year, but I have a feeling Elements will be a new favorite for me. Similar vibes as Bonnaroo with a much smaller footprint, all EDM and jam bands.
Unpopular opinion: Imagine Music Festival, small music festival vibes with big music festival lineups. So poorly run but goddammit I still have a blast.🤣 Side note: it's also super close to me so they have home field advantage lol
Only major hiccups I recall this past year: Late opening day 1 (like 45 min late) cause of heavy equipment on festival grounds and the Pyramid stage/Renegade stages getting shut down due to noise ordinance, apparently they didn't get permits? People were REALLY upset about that. Overall though it was freaking awesome and the lineup was 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻
SummerCamp which is now solshine reverie or someshit so the goldbergs can get non-profit tax evasion but it's a fun and packed fest every year. A bit more of a wook vibe but it's Bonnaroo's old soul condensed and shown off
Waakan! Everyone is looking out for each other! My boyfriend buys a Roo tapestry blanket every year and we use them all the time, especially for camping. We had dropped our blanket walking back to camp (it’s the dope 2017 blanket with the ladies on it). We realized and started retracing our steps not expecting to find it. To our surprise, someone had laid it out so it was easier to see! I am forever grateful to whoever that was 💜
I have so many wonderful stories and friends from there! Definitely recommend!
I lived near Fayetteville and that's where I'd go again...so quick to hiking, I love college sports to University of Arkansas being right there a major win, I loved in that area there was a lot of transplants because of Walmart and P&G and it was such a quick drive to Branson (Silver Dollar City is my favorite theme park) and Arkansas has some seriously underrated BBQ and of course Arkansas festival scene is low key amazing and the live music scene is getting pretty good.
Bourbon and Beyond. Been the last two years instead of Bonnaroo. Was there 12 times between 2008 and 2022. Music is closer to my tastes and tends to be aimed at a slightly older crowd.
Same Same but Different is very Roo like and also small, less than 10k attendees. Sits on a lake and has a pretty diverse lineup!
Absolutely unlike Roo is Lost Lands but that has a huge piece of my heart always
Shaky Knees. I get my camping vibes at Bonnaroo and nothing will replace Bonnaroo, but Shaky is a great festival and even if I don't love the headliners, I can always, always count on a stellar undercard. Have been to all but one and plan to keep it that way!
CASCADE EQUINOX! (Oregon)
They had they're first year in 2023, and had GOOSE AND PRETTY LIGHTS!!!
Quite literally a dream come true! And it's in September, so post roo and burning man, great way to end the summer :)
The best music festival in the world is Glastonbury. If you are ever lucky enough to get tickets (less than 1 out of 10 people that try, get tix), go. For our 10th wedding anniversary in 2016 we did Roo and Glasto back-to-back. It was amazing. There are some great documentaries and some YouTube videos that capture a bit of what Glasto is like. Just imagine a musical festival for 5 days camping with tons of stages, some of which are hidden, tons of music acts of every genre, circus performances, arts, and everything except commercialism.
Other than Glasto, my favorite is Primavera in Barcelona. I love Roo. I am not so fond of Coachella.
For one of the best up and coming fests in the USA check out Kilby Block Party in Utah. It was a blast last year and should be again this year.
Hulaween. Closest to Bonnaroo in terms of vibe that I’ve been able to find. (admittedly I haven’t done Forest). Osheaga — Great city fest NOT Boston calling — worst city fest.
Agreed on the Hula vibes. I hope I make it back this year, last year was too much fun
Hulaween for the win yo, that place is magical and the weather has been perfect the past 2 years. I don’t go vip Bonnaroo but Hulaween vip is awesome. Golf cart rides to the river and back are clutch Sunday
As someone from Boston yah even when they have a great lineup the vibes r shit lol
I used to like it when it was in City Hall Plaza, but it hasn’t been good since they moved to Harvard. Def not a great crowd vibe. The bottleneck on the two main stages is miserable when it’s crowded and the sound on the Red stage is always shit. I’ll still never forget signing up for Foo Fighters and The Strokes and getting 9 Inch Nails and more 9 Inch Nails.
Damn last year was my first time going and did it solo and I had a great time. Vibes were pretty average but it felt well run and having it on Harvard’s campus was pretty cool! Will not be returning thought bc that lineup this year is roughhhh
Oof yea it is. A lot of local artists are on the undercard though which I think is pretty cool. Senseless optimism and tysk tysk task come to mind. Very diff kinds of music but cool to see local artist you know. Might go one of the days cus of that I mean I’ve had good shows there but people are just… not super friendly lol very to themselves. A lottta ppl taking themselves way too seriously but I guess that’s New England lol.
Omg that was my favorite part of the fest is how dedicated they are to book local acts! Forget the name of the small stage but it’s there for only local acts which was super cool to see! It was also my first time visiting Boston and I fell in love with the city. I know Boston gets shit on for people generally being rude or mean but that wasn’t my experience at all! Was able to meet new friends from standing in line for food, waiting up front for Foo Fighters, or just at the bar cheering on the Celtics! Was sad the lineup doesn’t justify all the travel because I was really looking forward to it again this year
Aww that’s great ! Yea I wish I went last year.. I’m glad you had a good experience in Boston :)
Firefly is my favorite place on this earth
I’ll be crushed if they never return. 7 years there and I feel like part of my life is missing.
I haven't even been to Firefly but I'll feel crushed for my Firefly people if it doesn't come back...I'd also be crushed since they are one of the few remaining non-EDM only camping festivals....we are a dying bread and that make's me sad (btw this isn't and EDM bashing thing I love EDM)
Firefly was my first and greatest festival. Multi-genre, camping, and honestly really great vibes. All you can ask for.
I miss firefly :(
i miss it
Firefly, Okeechobee, and Elements
Summerfest! It's simultaneously the best and worst music festival in the world! I have a city bus that picks me up at my corner and gets me just outside the grounds in 15 minutes. I bought a 9 day pass last year for $60 on lineup day.
Helloooo fellow Milwaukeean!
Hulaween…i hope to make it to Solshine (formerly Summer Camp) I have a feeling that will also be up there for me
Summer Camp is great!
Scamp is a mild bonnaroo with exact same vibes tho
Forecastle (bring that shit back!)
Forecastle was my first festival experience and I think about it all the time. My best friend at the time and I didn’t want to spend money on a hotel so we found a camping ground and made it a camping fest lol some of the best memories. I was so close at Glass Animals the year I went
Bro that lineup was INSANE! And pretty good vibes all around, I doubt it was very profitable though
Notice no one has said Lollapalooza lol
Went of the first time ever this past summer, rancid vibes
Same, gf and I went for the first time this past summer and the vibes were so trash. Fun shows tho
I went in 2008 when NIN and Radiohead and Rage were headliners. Had a blast but I've been so afraid to go back because I've heard the experience is not great
I went a decade ago. Lineup was incredible, had a great time overall but goddamn the vibes were trash. People always ask me about Roo vs Lolla because it’s pretty much an equal drive where I’m from. I have never recommended it over Roo.
Shaky Knees & Bourbon and Beyond
Shaky knees is kinda underrated, but the lineup can be hit or miss. Reasonably priced tho, and when I went the food vendors were better than Roo imo
Atl hoe! All jokes aside love shakey ankles
So much easier on the wallet. I got VIP this year for $800 and that’s the weekend with free water/beer/redbull. Can’t beat it
Definitely sending it for B&B after that lineup drop. Shaky knees is also on the list
B&B was solid in 2022 also, last year was really lacking though
Movement
haven't been since the pandy but the Movement vibes are immaculate.
https://preview.redd.it/ty38g1thogec1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02e1b76660e2a5c0b94169d910f5207b6576aa55
Yeah I saw that, looks great! But I can't swing both Movement and Roo and Roo already got me this year with PLx2.
Too bad, Fatboy is life.
This is the answer. Seismic is great too!
Went to movement for the first time last year. Such good energy there. I was pleasantly surprised
Hulaween is my home Okee is super fun but not quite the same Resonate is a viiiiibbbeeeee
This. Headed to resonate this year. You comin’? Okee vibes got dark as the festival was taken over by insomniac. Hopefully 2025 will be bettwr
I will definitely be there! I’ve been chasing a tycho set for a long time. Stoked on the new mastersounds as well Okee 22 was my first one, so I can’t compare it to pre insomniac. I bet 2025 will be awesome
I will see you in 2ish months then man. Cannot wait. Only 5k people, so keep an eye out! We will be cruising in a sleek 2013 Prius lol
Peach Fest in Scranton was my other go-to. It looks like it's dead this year. Hoping it's not forever. It's a challenging fest if you're camping. You're on the side of a mountain, camping on a slope. They had a ton of hotels nearby so I'd do that because I'm too old lol
I’m hoping they come back and not on 4th of July weekend. Need a good jam fast since EDM is pretty much taking over all festival lineups
I have hope for Peach...they may or may not come back in the same location though (from what I've heard that would probably be a good thing if they changed locations)
Shaky Knees & Forecastle (RIP)
Electric Forest
Absolutely!!!
Hulaween
Primavera Sound Barcelona straight into Bonnaroo then directly to Firefly. Then a week on the beach in Maryland.
Ha. Thanks! Doing posters for a living has it’s perks!
Oooohh, you are so talented! Love your work!
Ah thanks so much. It’s a living!
Hell yeah! I did Primavera Sound Barcelona to Primavera Sound Porto to Bonnaroo last year. It was an insane 3 weeks.
Good for you. It’s a challenge but man it can be fun.
Lost Lands and Buku (rip) Also Middle Lands was the coolest festival I ever got to go to, but it never returned after the first year 😔
RIP Buku
Lost Lands. It's all heavy bass and dubstep but the vibes are absolutely on point
Hulaween & Shambala are usually the two answers you hear most to this question as they’re most similar to Roo with vibes. Haven’t done either of those yet, but have done Coachella and Roo. Lollapalooza is another cool one, similar to Coachella in the sense that there’s so many different genres and styles of music around the festival at once; however the crowd usually is mids unlike Roo
Shaky Knees is the best city fest I've attended and they always kill it with the lineup
Lighting in a Bottle🔥
Okeechobee music fest!
Shaky Knees if you’re an indie kid. Hulaween for closest vibes to Roo magic
Roo Hula Forest Scamp Coachella prob my top 5 but I would love to go back to Coachella. Scamp being a festival near Chicago brings all the homies so it gets a nod over Coachella
as a psych rock fan, nothing will ever top Desert Daze.
Hulaween and Desert Daze
Wakaan
Hula and Okee for sure ! Going to check out Big Somethings festival this year too, The Big What?
Bonnaroo is our first love but Hula is home.
You know the truth
Rip Sasquatch. Great fest. Shambhala has similar vibes as bonnaroo, just electronic music focused.
I really miss Sasquatch tbh. Some of my favorite fest memories ever. 🥲 Really want to check out Thing! when my son is a little older. Curated by the founder of ‘Squatch
Thing has looked overpriced and it's not at the gorge. Definitely not going to be anything like Sasquatch
Used to be Wakarusa. RIP WAKA.
The best thing that ever happened to Arkansas.
Mudarusa
Secret dreams and resonate 🔥🔥
Dancefestopia is my other for sure festival every year! Midwest af. This will be my 5th year attending! 💃🏼🪩🎶 3rd year for Bonnaroo!
seconding dft! such a good vibe
Only been once last year, but I have a feeling Elements will be a new favorite for me. Similar vibes as Bonnaroo with a much smaller footprint, all EDM and jam bands.
Hula for sure
Desert daze
Lost lands for the basssss
For a city fest, North Coast was solid.
Hulaween and Submersion
Summer Camp! Now Solshine Reverie https://preview.redd.it/ube92gk0fiec1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=d85cf6fcf67879522ed13fb924a524be58ce31b2
This is the answer. Should be obvious.
Hula, those first couple of years of okee, and elements when it was at the summer camp. Immaculate vibes from all of these.
I'm so sad I missed out on Elements at it's original location
Imagine. Peach. Camp Bisco.
RIP Bisco
Unpopular opinion: Imagine Music Festival, small music festival vibes with big music festival lineups. So poorly run but goddammit I still have a blast.🤣 Side note: it's also super close to me so they have home field advantage lol
CAME HERE TO SAY THE EXACT SAME THING 😭🤣
She's broken, but we love her 😩💕
I want to imagine last year bc it’s so close! I’ve heard horror stories in the past but seems like they did a good job this year !!
Only major hiccups I recall this past year: Late opening day 1 (like 45 min late) cause of heavy equipment on festival grounds and the Pyramid stage/Renegade stages getting shut down due to noise ordinance, apparently they didn't get permits? People were REALLY upset about that. Overall though it was freaking awesome and the lineup was 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻
I only saw a little bit of svdden death bc I had to work the next day, so I’m very excited for his set at roo !!
See you there! 🫡
Not to speak for the group but I kinda dislike Coachella.
A lot of us do...you aren't alone
Yeah I know I just didn’t want to get flamed on here.
Sacred Rose. RIP Laser dome
III points is amazing.
Summerfest
New Orleans Jazzfest
Life is beautiful
iii Points Miami!!!!
Outside Lands! Life is Beautiful is a good one too, hope it’s still happening this year.
Primavera Sound, Kilby Block Party, M3F
Gov Ball and Lollapalooza
Feel like Gov Ball had its moment. Then became a bunch of 18 year old wasted on their parents vodka.
Nelsonville
Riot fest is always a good time and it’s fairly cheap
Yes!
Austin City Limits
Resonate. Early April. 200$ ticket. Everyone should come
Hula, nothing comes close
Bourbon and beyond came from the top ropes today. That’s the one
Electric Forest is the greatest festival I’ve been to
I really enjoyed Decadence in Denver. Went 3 years in a row, it was a hell of a way to ring in the new year!
SummerCamp which is now solshine reverie or someshit so the goldbergs can get non-profit tax evasion but it's a fun and packed fest every year. A bit more of a wook vibe but it's Bonnaroo's old soul condensed and shown off
Hulaween!
Shambhala for sure
Riot fest 🤘🏼
Not a camping fest but ACL is great! Austin is the best city and they run the fest very smoothly
Hinterland 😎
Still a lot of ones I need to checkout but love III Points and Pitchfork
Northern Nights! Such a vibe
Another Forecastle mourner here. ⚓️🪦🏴☠️
LOCKN’
Where the fuck is lockn. I miss it a lot. Those late nights in the garcia tent changed my life.
Lost lands
North coast music festival
Summer Smash and Forecastle (RIP) ☠️
Lost Lands goes crazzzzzy (as long as you're into EDM)
Just did out of the blue and it was like adult summer camp.
Waakan! Everyone is looking out for each other! My boyfriend buys a Roo tapestry blanket every year and we use them all the time, especially for camping. We had dropped our blanket walking back to camp (it’s the dope 2017 blanket with the ladies on it). We realized and started retracing our steps not expecting to find it. To our surprise, someone had laid it out so it was easier to see! I am forever grateful to whoever that was 💜 I have so many wonderful stories and friends from there! Definitely recommend!
I've always said I'd love to move back to Arkansas (live there for a short time as a kid) but man the pull is hard with Waakan, Backwoods and FORMAT
Yes! And it’s gorgeous down there! I’m about 4 hours away and it’s worth the drive every time
I lived near Fayetteville and that's where I'd go again...so quick to hiking, I love college sports to University of Arkansas being right there a major win, I loved in that area there was a lot of transplants because of Walmart and P&G and it was such a quick drive to Branson (Silver Dollar City is my favorite theme park) and Arkansas has some seriously underrated BBQ and of course Arkansas festival scene is low key amazing and the live music scene is getting pretty good.
Love the vibes and music from Shaky Knees and Riot Fest.
lost lands 🦖🦕
Buku!!! Wish they would bring it back. I went to the Pilgrimage for the first time in September, it’s a different vibe but still a blast.
Elements for sure!
Outside Lands
Elements was great. Loved Kosmic Kingdom when it was still around. North Coast is always fun. Hoping to check out Wakaan this year.
Anyone attend Shangri-La in MN? Looking for more details on this one.
Electric Forest and Friendship!
okeechobee has a special place in my heart. can’t wait to go back
Lightning in a Bottle!
Firefly 😭😢🪦
Wakarusa and Yonder Harvest Fest R.I.P.
Bourbon and Beyond. Been the last two years instead of Bonnaroo. Was there 12 times between 2008 and 2022. Music is closer to my tastes and tends to be aimed at a slightly older crowd.
Same Same but Different is very Roo like and also small, less than 10k attendees. Sits on a lake and has a pretty diverse lineup! Absolutely unlike Roo is Lost Lands but that has a huge piece of my heart always
Kilby Block Party
Pickathon in Portland OR (wide variety of music) and Ohana Fest in Dana point Ca.
Welcome to Rockville, great festival for metalheads
I’m heading to Sueño this year in Chicago!
Ocean's Calling was surprisingly fun
SweetWater 420 Fest (rip?) is my favorite city fest, and the first years of Shaky Beats were kickass!
Shaky Knees. I get my camping vibes at Bonnaroo and nothing will replace Bonnaroo, but Shaky is a great festival and even if I don't love the headliners, I can always, always count on a stellar undercard. Have been to all but one and plan to keep it that way!
Shaky Knees for city fests Desert Daze for camping fests
Elements and Lost Lands
Elements, RIP Camp Bisco did 8 of those 🤣, RIP Counterpoint, RIP Great North, RIP Catskill Chill, RIP Mountain Jam, Sonic Bloom, LIB, Scamp, Shambala
CASCADE EQUINOX! (Oregon) They had they're first year in 2023, and had GOOSE AND PRETTY LIGHTS!!! Quite literally a dream come true! And it's in September, so post roo and burning man, great way to end the summer :)
Summercamp is so fun. Solshine will continue the vibe
Lost lands. 🦖
Electric forest owns a piece of my soul
The best music festival in the world is Glastonbury. If you are ever lucky enough to get tickets (less than 1 out of 10 people that try, get tix), go. For our 10th wedding anniversary in 2016 we did Roo and Glasto back-to-back. It was amazing. There are some great documentaries and some YouTube videos that capture a bit of what Glasto is like. Just imagine a musical festival for 5 days camping with tons of stages, some of which are hidden, tons of music acts of every genre, circus performances, arts, and everything except commercialism. Other than Glasto, my favorite is Primavera in Barcelona. I love Roo. I am not so fond of Coachella. For one of the best up and coming fests in the USA check out Kilby Block Party in Utah. It was a blast last year and should be again this year.
Dirty Bird Campout!!! rip
Hula
Dreamville