About This Quiz
As temperatures rise and summer weather beckons, music lovers worldwide flock to festivals. How much do you know about your fave fests? It's time to face the music.Ultra, held in Miami, is typically held over a weekend for fans of EDM (electronic dance music). Past Ultra festivals have featured sets by Armin Van Buuren, Skrillex and Deadmau5.
The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival started in 1970. In 2014, it attracted over 430,000 people over the week-long event. Headlined by artists like Elton John, The Who, and dozens of jazz and blues artists, the festival also features art, food and other local culture.
Coachella, held out in the desert in Indio, California, attracts many celebrities due to its proximity to Los Angeles. Founded in 1999, it takes place over two weekends and features a who's who of popular music and art.
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Held each year in Denmark, Roskilde is one of Europe's largest music festivals. Created in 1971 by two high school students, it boasts a mix of popular and cutting-edge artists. It unfortunately made international news in 2000 when, during Pearl Jam's set, nine fans were crushed to death when the crowd rushed the stage.
After fan footage of Prince performing Radiohead's 1993 hit song "Creep" went viral, Prince had the video pulled. In late 2015, Radiohead publicly asked Prince to put it back up, stating it was their song, after all. And the Internet once again went nuts.
Summerfest, held each year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, boasted 850,000 attendees in 2014. Bands call the weeklong event "the Big Gig." It's also a cheap ticket, charging as low as $15 for a one-day pass.
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Perry Farrell, the lead singer of the band Jane's Addiction, founded Lollapalooza in 1991 as a farewell tour for the band. Since then, the festival has evolved into a three-day affair of music, comedy, and art.
The Sasquatch! music fest, held in Washington state, takes place over two weekends each May. It attracts dozens of eclectic acts, and the main stage is a cliff overlooking a giant gorge. In 2013, the festival tickets sold out in 90 minutes.
Billboard reported the 2015 Coachella music fest grossed more than $84 million in ticket sales, a world record. Tickets went on sale — and sold out — nearly a year in advance, without buyers even knowing the lineup.
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The Warped Tour, featuring pop-punk, metalcore and everything in between, builds up and tears down an entire festival each day — for an entire summer every year. It started in 1995 and as of 2015 shows no signs of slowing down.
The 2013 Governor's Ball on Randall's Island in NYC was deluged with heavy rains and high winds. Several acts were cancelled, and transportation delays turned the area into a mess. Many people were forced to leave their vehicles behind, trapped in the mud.
In the wee hours of the morning in upstate New York, Sly & the Family Stone weren't ready to let the party end. They took to the stage with a bombastic set widely considered one of the band's finest.
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Sarah McLachlan founded the all-women artists festival Lilith Fair as a response to radio stations and concert promoters who wouldn't play or book two female artists in a row. Hopefully the fact that Lilith Fair is now defunct means that times have changed.
Although it might sound more like a cute Australian animal, the Bonnaroo music festival is held each year in Tennessee. It lasts four days, and although it started out with mostly folk and jam bands, it's expanded to include rock, indie and hip-hop acts as well.
Live Aid, a dual-venue concert held in both London and Philadelphia, had an estimated global broadcast audience of almost 2 billion people. In addition to legendary performances by bands like Queen and U2, the festival raised millions of dollars.
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To protest albums being labeled with "Parental Advisory" stickers by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), Rage Against the Machine stood naked and silent onstage. They let it all hang out, with PMRC spelled out on their chests, until the police hauled them off.
In their first performance in the States since 1997, Daft Punk's Coachella performance blew the audience away. An hour-long set with an LED pyramid and spectacular light show, fans agreed it was worth the wait.
Austin City Limits is an American music program on PBS television that has run since 1976. It spawned the Austin City Limits music festival in 2002, which now runs for two weekends and attracts acts from country and rock to jazz and folk.
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Donauinselfest is, without a doubt, the biggest music fest on the planet. Held annually in Vienna, 3 million people attended in 2014. It takes place on an island in the Danube River, and attendees must take a ferry to get there. A mix of local and international artists perform. And we bet you've never even heard of it.
Roskilde, held in Denmark each year, holds a nude running competition. Each male and female winner receives free tickets to the next year's concert.
Bonnaroo, the music fest in Tennessee, is actually New Orleans slang for "best on the streets." It's a blend of two French words — "bon" and "rue."
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Pink Floyd is known for its two-story inflatable pig used onstage. At Coachella in 2008, it broke free and floated away. It was later found two miles away in a neighborhood. Organizers paid the homeowner $10,000 and lifetime festival tickets for the pig's safe return. The owner donated the money but kept the tickets.
Tickets for the first Glastonbury music fest were only 1 pound. The headliner was T-Rex (after The Kinks suddenly cancelled), and concertgoers were treated to free milk from a neighboring farm. Today, Glastonbury tickets go for more than 220 pounds.
According to a 2014 Nielsen report, 32 million Americans go to music festivals each year.
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During The Who's set, activist Abbie Hoffman jumped onstage to protest … something. Guitarist Pete Townsend whacked him in the head with his instrument and continued on with the song.
Held in Boom, Belgium each year, Tomorrowland consistently wins awards for best music festival. It began in 2005 and features the best in electronic dance music, with artists like Alesso and Armin Van Buuren.
Stagecoach Festival is held in the same venue as Coachella each year. Featuring country, alt-country, bluegrass and folk, the fest grows each year at a rapid pace.
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KCON, a K-Pop music festival, celebrates Korean pop music and culture. It features three days of panels, meet-and-greets and games and two nights of concerts by K-Pop artists.
Riot Fest started out moving from venue to venue but found an outdoor home in 2012 at Chicago's Humboldt Park. The festival is known for featuring punk and alternative acts, as well as hosting reunions for various bands such as The Replacements.
The Firefly Music Festival in Delaware lasts four days, with camping and activities in addition to the music. One such attraction is the Thicket, a silent rave in the woods where people dance with headphones.
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