Time to get your gear in order: music festival season is upon us.
From San Francisco to Monterey, Oakland to Napa, the Bay Area loves an outdoor music-food-drink situation. Live jazz, pop, reggae, punk, and classical music are warm-weather traditions that never gets old—especially when the musical acts are H-O-T.
A few boldfaced names you'll have a chance to see this year: Charli XCX, Iggy Pop, Spoon, Lorde, Foo Fighters, Bomba Estéreo, and so much more. But whatever your musical leanings, there's one thing everybody can agree on—the early (ear)worm gets the festival ticket. Buy yours, stat, before shows sell out. Roger that?
Jump ahead to the season's most popular festivals:
Analog Reunion (formerly Cosmico) is a boutique three-day festival celebrating presence, creativity, and connection.(Courtesy of @analogreunion)
Analog Reunion
The good vibes will be flowing at the immersive three-day celebration of music, arts, food, and vino now known as Analog Reunion (formerly Cosmico). Taking place beneath the redwoods along the Russian River at Wildhaven Sonoma, the boutique festival has an eclectic lineup spanning several genres of indie music, with acoustic sets in the morning and a DJ by the river in the afternoon. This year’s musical acts include The Heavy Heavy, Gilligan Moss, Alex Amen, Maggie Koerner, and more. Beyond the tunes, you’ll find additional experiences in food, wine, and nature. It's a weekend built for presence, creativity, and connection. // May 15-17; Wildhaven Sonoma, 2411 Alexander Valley Rd. (Healdsburg); tickets at cosmi.co
BottleRock Napa Valley
Wine Country's most epic music fest always makes Memorial Day weekend planning easy---and this year’s lineup is one of the best in recent memory. On Friday, Lorde and Teddy Swims are at the top of the ticket, followed by Foo Fighters, LCD Soundsystem, Zedd, and Rilo Kiley on Saturday. Sunday ushers in the Backstreet Boys, Sombr, Ludacris, Mt. Joy, and more than a dozen other can’t-miss acts to close out the weekend. Don’t forget: there are plenty of other experiences worth grabbing a ticket for too, like the celeb-studded Williams-Sonoma culinary stage, the all-day silent disco, spa services at The Beauty Bar by Ulta, and, of course, some of the best food and drink Napa Valley has to offer. //May 22-24; Napa Valley Expo, 575 3rd St. (Napa), bottlerocknapavalley.com
California Roots Festival(Courtesy of California Roots Festival)
California Roots Festival
Get a reggae fix of epic proportions at the much-loved California Roots Festival. It’s a magical showcase for all the reggaes (rock, island, and roots), along with folk, conscious hip-hop, and more. This year's headliners include Ice Cube, Rebelution, Tash Sultana, and Soja. Rounding out the lineup are Burning Spear, The Roots, Skip Marley, The Elovaters, and more. // May 22-24; Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairgrounds Rd. (Monterey); tickets at californiarootsfestival.com
The Ramble
The Ramble, a one-day festival mashup of grassroots music, wine, and philanthropy, gets down at Healdsburg winery BloodRoot on June 6th. With major musical acts performing in an intimate venue, this boutique event organized by Bloodroot owners Kelly and Noah Dorrance is the Bay's best kept music secret. This year, Spoon and Lucius headline the performances and proceeds go to benefit Giffords, a national gun violence-prevention organization. Other acts, including Devon Gilfillian, Tropa Magica, and The Plastic Cherries, will be accompanied by the kind of excellent food and drink you'd expect from Sonoma Wine Country. // June 6th; Abel de Luna Community Center Fields, 1557 Healdsburg Ave. (Healdsburg); tickets at bloodrootramble.com
The indomitable Diana Ross at last year's Stern Grove Festival(Courtesy of @sterngrovefestival)
Stern Grove Festival
Celebrating its 89th season, the Stern Grove Festival continues to bring world-class performers spanning rock, jazz, pop, and classical to the open-air amphitheater, 100 percent free. The lineup hasn't been announced yet—though we do know that Grammy-nominated Bad Bunny collaborators Bomba Estéreo will take the stage on June 21st—but it's sure to be as full of big acts as past years (hello, Diana Ross!). A ticket lottery opens six weeks before each concert, giving possible attendees a full week to win up to four tickets. // Consecutive Sundays from June 14th to August 16th; Sigmund Stern Grove, 19th Ave. and Sloat Blvd. (Parkside), sterngrove.org
Festival Napa Valley
Hold on to your hats and wine tumblers: Festival Napa Valley’s 2026 summer season is about to heat up. Daily performances will showcase performers across classical, jazz, contemporary, and opera, including the LMR Jazz Orchestra, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Ray Chen, and Nickel & Nickel featuring Wynton Marsalis. There will also be a night at the ballet, the world premiere of opera The Judgment of Paris, the multimedia project Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene, and more paired with Napa Valley’s acclaimed food, wine, and hospitality. The program has something for every budget, including admission-free concerts. Foodies won't want to miss the Taste of Napa at The Meritage Resort on July 11th. // July 4-19 at venues throughout Napa Valley; for the full lineup and tickets, go to festivalnapavalley.org
Oakland's Mosswood Meltdown is hosted by the legendary John Waters.(Courtesy of @mosswoodmeltdown)
Mosswood Meltdown
Oakland’s beloved Mosswood Meltdown is a two-day celebration of punk. The legendary Iggy Pop tops this year’s marquee. Bikini Kill, Otoboke Beaver, The Return of Jackie & Judy, The Spits, The Dead Milkmen, and others will also be playing sets sure to have crowds pogo dancing. Our favorite feature of this festival? Sets don’t overlap, so you never have to make an impossible decision between two faves. And of course, the event wouldn’t be complete without John Waters, celebrating his 12th year as host. Don't miss a pre-party on July 17th headlined by Pavement. //July 18-19; Mosswood Park, 3612 Webster St. (Oakland); tickets at mosswoodmeltdown.com
Outside Lands
Outside Lands returns to the Polo Fields August 7-9 with some of the biggest acts in music. So, who exactly will be gracing the many stages throughout Golden Gate Park? Charli XCX, The Strokes, Rufus Du Sol, Turnstile, The XX, and so many more. Beyond the major tunes and good times, you can count on a stellar food and wine lineup, and much more. P.S. Three-day tickets are already sold out. //August 7-9; Polo Fields (Golden Gate Park), sfoutsidelands.com
