APRIL

4/20

Slawburger Festival, Fayetteville, TN The town just north of Huntsville celebrates its signature burger with mustard-based slaw (Info)

4/20-21

High Water Fest, Charleston, SC Highlights: The Flaming Lips, Noah Kahan, Hozier, Fleet Foxes, Grace Potter (Info)

4/20-21

SweetWater 420 Fest, Atlanta, GA Jam band heavy lineup featuring Govt’ Mule, Grace Potter, Big Shorty, and lots of dazed and confused attendees. (Info)

4/27-28

Main Street Fest, Franklin, TN Dozens of vendors, a buskers’ corner, and local food help Nashville’s biggest suburb ring in the spring (Info)

4/27

Square Fest, Gallatin, TN Over two hundred vendors and two entertainment stages ring in the warm weather in downtown Gallatin. (Info)

4/27

Rarity Festival, Memphis, TN Beer festival held by Wiseacre. Breweries from all over the country showcase their beers. A ticket gets you a taster glass and 4 hours of unlimited drinking. (Info)

4/25-28

Merlefest, Wilkesboro, NC One of the largest bluegrass festivals in the country. Large lineup, a variety of stages, camping, and, unfortunately, thain't no alcohol allowed. (Info)

MAY

Every Weekend in May 

Tennessee Renaissance Festival, Arrington, TN Fancy costumes, LARPers, lutes, and turkey legs abound. (Info)

5/2-4

Boxcar Pinion Bluegrass Festival, Chickamauga, GA Another good ole bluegrass fest tucked away just south of Chattanooga. (Info)

5/3-5

Shaky Knees, Atlanta, GA Highlights: Foo Fighters, Billy Idol. Weezer, Arcade Fire, Queens of the Stone Age, Interpol (Info)

5/4

The Upper Cumberland Pickle Festival, Cookeville, TN  Hosted by the Avery Trace Middle School Pickle Club, the event includes pickle snow cones, pickle cotton candy, pickle taffy, pickle comic book, and helicopter rides. Entry is free, but cash is suggested.  (Info)

5/4

Smoky Mountain Bigfoot Festival, Townsend, TN Bigfoot sighting, guest speakers, wood carving contest, Bigfoot wrestling and more! (Info)

5/4

Cornbread and Moonshine Festival, Historic Granville, TN Tastings and competitions for cornbread and whiskey. The grand opening of the biggest whiskey decanter museum in the country, including a collection featuring Elvis. Also, Elvis tribute artists and tours of Tennessee’s official Mayberry town. (Info)

5/5-7

Beale Street Music Festival, Memphis, TN Greta Van Fleet, The Lumineers, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, 311, and Earth, Wind, and Fire (Info)

5/10-11

Middle TN Strawberry Festival, Portland, TN 83rd annual and famous for its Strawberry Jam music series. Over 55,000 in attendance in 2023. (Info)

5/15-18

World Championship BBQ Cooking Competition, Memphis, TN The most prestigious BBQ contest in the world according to USA Today. (Info)

5/17-18

Kilgore Station Bluegrass Festival, Crossplains, TN High likelihood of a jug player here. (Info)

5/17-19

Poorcastle, Louisville, KY The poor man’s Forecastle. (Info)

5/18

Middle Tennessee Cornbread Festival, Smithville, TN Cornbread tasting, food trucks, and local vendors. Free admission. (Info)

5/18-19

Smoky Mountain Scottish Festival & Games, Townsend, TN Festivities include hammer throw or caber toss, a medley of bands including bagpipes and drummers, and clan challenges like the kilted mile run or the battle axe competition. (Info)

5/19-21

Hangout Fest, Gulf Shores, AL Stages on the beach. Lana Del Rey, Zach Bryan, Reneé Rapp, Cage the Elephant (Info)

5/25

Bavarian Fest, Helen, GA Helen is a Bavarian style village in North Georgia famous for its Oktoberfest. (Info)

5/25-27

Atlanta Jazz Fest, Atlanta, GA Free! (Info)

JUNE

6/1 

Folk Medicine Festival, Red Boiling Springs, TN Read our article here. (Info)

6/1

Dunlap Coke Ovens Bluegrass Festival, Dunlap, TN Bluegrass festival held on a historic coal mining site containing the ruins of 268 Beehive Coke Ovens built in 1902. (Info)

6/6-8

Cherokee Bluegrass Festival, Cherokee, NC Bluegrass in the Smokies. (Info)

6/7

Popcorn Sutton Jam, Newport, TN A celebration of the most famous moonshiner who ever lived with signings, demonstrations, and dozens of vendors. (Info)

6/8

Spruce Pine Alien Festival, Spruce Pine, NC All things UFO. (Info)

6/13-16

Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN The Coachella of TN with headliners Post Malone and Red Hot Chili Peppers. (Info)

6/14-15

Redneck Rumble, Lebanon, TN Great gathering of gearheads, possibly the rowdiest party on the list. (Info)

6/15

RC Cola and Moon Pie Festival, Bell Buckle, TN A nationally famous fest dedicated to the ultimate Southern treat. (Info)

6/21-24

Rompfest, Owensboro, KY Large country and bluegrass music festival with camping, Marty Stuart, and Dierks Bentley. (Info)

JULY

7/4

Music City Hot Chicken Festival, Nashville, TN Self-explanatory but with an amateur cooking contest! (Info)

7/5-7/6

52nd Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree, Smithville, TN “The Official Tennessee and National Jamboree and Crafts Festival” with ties to the OG Opry that bridges East TN bluegrass and the Nashville sound. (Info)

7/24-28

Floydfest, Patrick County, VA Big lineup of bluegrass, blues, country, folk, and rock. (Info)

AUGUST

8/9-8/10

Tomato Art Fest, Nashville, TN Only fools don’t dress up like a tomato for this. (Info)

8/16-17

Deep Tropics, Nashville, TN House/Techno (Info)

SEPTEMBER

9/7-9/8

Middle Tennessee Highland Games, Hendersonville, TN Drink scotch, enter a bagpipes competition, and sample the latest in Scottish cuisine and music in this tribute to the most unsung part of Britain. (Info)

9/7-10

Oktoberfest, Helen, GA This Bavarian-style village has its 54th Oktoberfest this year. (Info)

9/13-15

Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, Bristol, TN Bluegrass, Country, Folk... (Info)

9/17-24

Americana Fest, Nashville, TN Taking place in bars all around the city. Expansive lineup of country, bluegrass, folk and the like. (Info)

9/19-22

Bourbon & Beyond, Louisville, KY This is a huge festival with 140,000 in attendance in 2022. Rock, country, blues, bluegrass, folk, indie. (Info)

9/19-25

Nashville Film Festival, Nasvhille TN An Oscar-qualifying film festival that boosts attendance as high as Sundance and is cosponsored by industry, trade publication Variety. (Info)

9/26-29

Louder Than Life, Louisville, KY Most aggressive lineup on the list. Slipknot, Korn, Motley Crue, Slayer, Judas Priest, and more! (Info)

9/28-29

Pilgrimage Festival, Franklin, TN Celebrate the 10th anniversary of the state’s premiere country, bluegrass, folk, and alternative fest with The Dave Matthews Band, Hozier, Noah Kahan, Needtobreathe, and dozens of others. (Info)

Late September

Creekers Ball, Pegram, TN The Creekers are a community in Pegram, and Nearing its 40th year, the Creekers Ball is their annual music festival. All proceeds go to various groups in their community and county. (Info)

OCTOBER

10/4-10/6

Mempho, Memphis, TN Jam, rock, jamgrass. (Info)

10/4-10/6

Furnace Fest, Birmingham, AL Most sacrilegious lineup on the list. Thanks to Black Sabbath, these bands really love Christian symbolism, but hey, don’t we all? (Info)

10/4-10/6

GA Mushroom Fest, Cave Spring, GA Music and Mycology. (Info)

10/4-10/8

Black Mountain Jamboree, Monticello, KY Intimate bluegrass fest on a beautiful stretch of the Cumberland River. Looks like the ideal bluegrass festival, honestly. (Info)

10/10-13

Moonshiner's Ball, Mount Vernon, KY Jam, rock, folk, country, bluegrass, and moonshine hosted by The Blind Corn Liquor Pickers in Livingston, KY. (Info)

10/20

Sumner Fest, Hendersonville, TN Local vendors, food trucks, and balloon rides to kick off fall. (Info)

10/26

Pumpkinfest, Franklin, TN Fall treats and decor turn Franklin into an autumn paradise. (Info)

10/26-27

Southern Festival of Books, Nashville, TN Local Authors, and national literary luminaries converge on Legislative Plaza for readings, signings, and an amazing Nashville Public Library book sale. (Info)

NOVEMBER

Early November

Crafty Bastards Fall Arts and Crafts Fair, Nashville, TN A fall market to kick off the holiday season. (Info)

Mid-November

A Country Christmas at Gaylord Opryland, Nashville, TN The city’s biggest holiday extravaganza! (Info)

TBA 

Home for the Holidays, Mt. Juliet, TN Wilson County’s premiere gathering of holiday vendors. (Info)

11/2

Bacon Festival, Murfreesboro, TN A celebration of the universal breakfast food. (Info)

11/4 

Turnip Green Festival, Nashville, TN What the name says. Everything turnip greens. (Info)

11/2

Wine Down Main Street, Franklin, TN A holiday celebration of wine. (Info)

11/17-12/31

Franktown’s Festival of Lights, Franklin, TN Enjoy the area’s best drive-through light display. (Info)

11/18-11/19

Holiday Lights at Cheekwood Estate and Gardens, Nashville, TN The Ultimate in classy holiday cheer. (Info)

DECEMBER

12/14-15

Dickens of a Christmas, Franklin, TN Franklin turns into Victorian England with characters in costume from Dickens classics, craft demonstrations, and local vendors. (Info)

2025

JANUARY

TBA

Mile 0 Festival, Key West, FL Americana music. (Info)

FEBRUARY

Early February

Reelfoot Lake Eagle Festival, Union City, TN Ring in the new year with winter eagle and waterfowl sightings. (Info)

Bucksnort 18th Century Market Fair, Bucksort, KY Participate in a re-enactment of 18th-century life. Food, drink, markets, and battle reenactments. (Info)

MARCH

TBA

Okeechobee Music Festival, Okeechobee, FL Underground rap, EDM, rock, funk... This will be ratchet. (Info)

Savannah Music Festival, Savannah, GA Past Highlights: Buddy Guy, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Galactic, Infamous Stringdusters, and some interesting jazz and non-western acts. (Info)

APRIL

First Weekend of April

Banana Pudding Festival, Cookeville, TN Featuring banana pudding tastings, food trucks, live music, and recipe competition. (Info)

Second Weekend of April

Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival, Nashville, TN Japanese cultural arts festival with martial arts, demonstrations, dance, food, and vendors. Free admission. (Info)

Nolensville Buttercup Festival, Franklin, TN A celebration of an essential spring flower. (Info)

TBD

TN River history, heritage, and weaponry fest, Saltillo, TN Aimed at the preservation of our history & ancestors. This event will be packed full of demonstrations, and hands-on activities. Demonstrations include period encampments, cooking, flintknapping, woodworking, soap making, firearm and artillery demonstrations, field hospital & surgeon, colonial church service, sutlers, trade blankets, food & crafts/etc. (Info)