| Date | Festival | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 18 - 20 2008 | The Green Apple Music Festival | Eight cities (see right) | The Green Apple Music Festival is America’s largest Earth Day celebration. Founded by music producer and former Wetlands Preserve club owner Peter Shapiro and Relix Magazine, the annual event features an eclectic array of musical performances in venues and rock clubs, as well as large-scale free public outdoor concerts. Approximately 500,000 people are expected to attend the all-inclusive, interactive and free public events in New York City (Central Park), Washington, DC (The National Mall), Chicago IL (Lincoln Park Zoo), Miami FL (Bicentennial Park), Denver CO (City Park), Dallas TX (Fair Park), San Francisco CA (Golden Gate Park) and Los Angeles CA (Santa Monica Pier). |
| April 25 - 27 2008 | Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival | Empire Polo Fields Indio, California USA | The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (or Coachella) is a three-day annual music and arts festival held at the breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California. The event features many genres of music including alternative rock, hip hop, and electronica as well as large sculptural art. The festival has been described as "The Best American Festival" by Rolling Stone. |
| May 16 - 24 2008 | Cincinnati May Festival | Music Hall Cincinnati, Ohio USA | The Cincinnati May Festival is a two-week annual choral festival, usually held in mid-to-late May in Cincinnati, Ohio. The festival's roots go back to the 1840s, when Saengerfests were held in that city, bringing singers from all over the United States and abroad to perform large scale classical works of the day. |
| May 23 - June 8 2008 | Spoleto Festival USA | Charleston South Carolina USA | Spoleto Festival USA is an annual 17-day festival of the arts which produces opera, and presents dance, theater, classical music, and jazz. The Festival is held in Charleston, South Carolina in late May and early June. It claims an audience of between 70,000 and 80,000 each year. |
| May 24 - 26 2008 | Sasquatch! Music Festival | Gorge Amphitheatre 754 Silica Road N.W. George, Washington USA | Sasquatch! Music Festival is a music festival held annually at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. The Gorge Amphitheatre is a 20,000 seat concert venue located above the Columbia River gorge in George, Washington. Administered by the House of Blues, it is considered one of the premier and most scenic concert locations in North America and the world. |
| June 5 - 8 2008 | Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival | Clinton State Park Lawrence, Kansas USA | Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival is a four-day weekend music festival held annually in early June just outside of Lawrence, Kansas at Clinton State Park. Since its inception in 2004 the festival has grown dramatically with almost 20,000 tickets sold in 2006. The festival is known for an eclectic mix of music. |
| June 5 - July 2 2008 | Rockport Chamber Music Festival | Rockport, Massachusetts USA | For the past 26 seasons, the Festival has honored the founders’ vision by presenting a chamber music series of extraordinary quality each June. For each of these 26 years, the Rockport Art Association has graciously hosted the Festival concerts in its Hibbard Gallery. |
| June 6 - 8 2008 | Capital Jazz Fest | Merriweather Post Pavilion Columbia, Maryland USA | The Capital Jazz Fest is a multi-day, multi-stage outdoor music festival, which attracts music lovers from 44 states. It's a place to hear some of the world's finest contemporary jazz music performed by artists. |
| June 6 - 8 2008 | 10th Tupelo Elvis Festival | Lyric Theatre Tupelo, Mississippi USA | The 10th Annual Tupelo Elvis Festival will be held on June 6th to 8th in downtown Tupelo. To celebrate its 10th Anniversary, the Festival has expanded its activities and entertainment offerings to include free music entitled “Down on Main Street” and an acoustic showcase called “Unicel Unplugged.” |
| June 6 - 27 2008 | Sitka Summer Music Festival | Harrigan Centennial Hall Sitka, Alaska USA | The Sitka Summer Music Festival (SSMF) is a three-week long classical chamber music festival in the community of Sitka, Alaska. Three things keep the musicians coming back to Sitka — the place, the people, and the family of musicians that they love making music with. |
| June 12 - 15 2008 | Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival | Manchester Coffee County, Tennessee USA | The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is a four-day annual music festival created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, first held in 2002. The festival is held on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. The main stage, named the What Stage (capacity 100,000 people) and the second stage, named the Which Stage (capacity 30,000 people) are the two main performance areas. |
| June 15 - 22 2008 | DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival | Rodney Square Wilmington, Delaware USA | The DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival is a free jazz music festival held annually at Rodney Square in Wilmington, Delaware. The first festival was held in 1989 on the open lawn in the central area of the city and has grown into the largest free jazz festival on the East Coast. |
| June 15 - August 17 2008 | Music under the Stars World Music Festival | Chamizal National Memorial El Paso, Texas USA | Music Under the Stars World Music Festival will celebrate its 25th silver season in 2008. It has become one of El Paso's premier family events and one of the largest free music festivals in Texas. Boasting performances by both internationally acclaimed and local artists, the festival will feature evenings of Rock Classics, Swing, Jazz, Flamenco, German Folk, and Latin Reggae. |
| June 18 - 22 2008 | Athfest | Athens, Georgia USA | Athfest 2008 will be held in historic downtown Athens, Georgia, a town long renowned for its thriving music scene. For the past eleven years, this annual music and arts festival has showcased the best in local, regional, and nationally recognized Athens-based talent. |
| June 19 - 22 2008 | 35th Telluride Bluegrass Festival | Telluride Colorado USA | The Telluride Bluegrass Festival is held annually in Telluride, Colorado by Planet Bluegrass. Although traditionally the festival focuses on bluegrass music, it often features music from a variety of genres. In 1973, its first year, it attracted 1000 participants. Currently the festival's attendance is capped at 10,000. |
| June 20 - 21 2008 | Heritage Craft & Dulcimer Music Festival | Roscoe Village Coshocton, Ohio USA | 2008 Heritage Craft & Dulcimer Music Festival features the Mid-Eastern Regional Hammered and Mountain Dulcimer Championships and the demonstrations of heritage crafters selling their traditional handmade wares. Guests will participate in workshops and contests throughout the week-end. |
| June 23 - 29 2008 | Helen Keller Festival | Spring Park Tuscumbia, Alabama USA | The Helen Keller Festival began in 1979 as a tribute to the life of Helen Keller. Thousands of visitors from around the world come to Tuscumbia, Alabama each year to celebrate the achievements of the remarkable woman who has come to be known as America's First Lady of Courage. |
| June 24 - August 2 2008 | NCSA Summer Performance Festival | Roanoke Island Festival Park Manteo, North Carolina USA | Presenting over sixty free shows annually on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA) Summer Performance Festival, funded by the state of NC, is produced, performed and directed by students, alumni, faculty and staff of the North Carolina School of the Arts. |
| June 26 - 29 2008 | Country Stampede Music Festival | Tuttle Creek Lake State Park Manhattan, Kansas USA | Country Stampede is a four day and five night music and camping festival featuring some of today's hottest country artists. It is the largest annual music festival in Kansas. Total combined attendance for all days exceeds 100,000 – in 2005 it was approximately 140,000 and in 2006 it was approximately 150,000. Camping is common for attendees, and 2,400 camp sites are available on the grounds. |
| June 26 - July 6 2008 | Summerfest | Henry Maier Festival Park 200 N. Harbor Drive Milwaukee Wisconsin 53202 USA | Summerfest (also known as "The Big Gig") is a yearly music festival situated on 75-acre Henry Maier Festival Park along the shores of Lake Michigan in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The festival lasts for 11 days, and since the mid-1970s has run from late June through early July, always including the 4th of July holiday during that period. |
| Session I June 29 - July 12 Session II July 13 - 26 2008 | Hartwick College Summer Music Festival | s 1 Hartwick Dr. Oneonta NY 13820-9923 USA | The Festival aims to create an atmosphere where collaboration is encouraged and fostered, bring together interesting and highly skilled artists, and provide a one-of-a-kind experience for curious, talented, and enthusiastic students of music. |
| July 2 - August 28 2008 | Bay Chamber Concerts Launches Summer Music Festival | The Strand Theatre Rockport Opera House Rockland, Maine USA | Bay Chamber Concerts will hold a concert performed by world-renowned musicians every Wednesday and Thursday throughout July and August. |
| July 4 - 5 2008 | 80/35 Summer Music Festival | Western Gateway Park Des Moines, Iowa USA | 80/35 Summer Music Festival is an annual two-day festival launching on July 4 and 5, 2008, at Western Gateway Park in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. It will feature more than 40 cutting-edge, progressive acts performing on four stages. |
| July 9 - 13 2008 | Woody Guthrie Folk Festival | Okemah, Oklahoma USA | The Woody Guthrie Folk Festival is held annually in mid-July to commemorate the life and music of Woody Guthrie. The 2008 Festival will be held from July 9 to 13 in Guthrie's hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma. The festival is planned and implemented annually by the Woody Guthrie Coalition, a non-profit corporation, whose goal is simply to ensure Guthrie's musical legacy. The event is made possible in part from a grant from the Oklahoma Arts Council. |
| July 13 - August 3 2008 | Vermont Mozart Festival | 13 different locations throughout northwestern Vermont USA | The Vermont Mozart Festival is a popular series of indoor and outdoor concerts presented annually at sites throughout the state of Vermont. The inaugural Festival of 1974 was conceived as a celebration of both the natural beauty of the state and the genius of the Festival's namesake, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. |
| July 19 2008 | Village Voice Siren Music Festival | Coney Island Brooklyn, New York City USA | The Siren Music Festival (a.k.a. Sirenfest) is an annual summertime outdoors concert held in Brooklyn's Coney Island. It is run by the free arts/politics/current-events newspaper the Village Voice, and is completely free-of-charge. |
| July 23 - 26 2008 | 10,000 Lakes Festival | Soo Pass Ranch Detroit Lakes, Minnesota USA | The 10,000 Lakes Festival (10KLF) is an annual four-day music festival in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, at the Soo Pass Ranch. The festival has been held since 2003. The name refers to Minnesota's nickname, "The Land of 10,000 Lakes." The lineups generally include jam and bluegrass bands. |
| July 27 2008 | 38th Annual Ukulele Festival | Kapiolani Park Bandstand Waikiki, Hawaii USA | Roy pulled together the first annual "Ukulele Festival" in 1971. Today, the Annual Ukulele Festival is by far the largest of its kind in the world, attracting an audience of thousands to a free two-hour concert that showcases the finest ukulele players, along with national celebrities, Hawaii's top entertainers, and a ukulele orchestra of more than 800 students, mostly children. |
| July 31 - August 3 2008 | Gathering of the Vibes | Seaside Park Bridgeport, Connecticut USA | Gathering of the Vibes (GOTV) is an annual four-day music, camping and arts festival that showcases a very diverse variety of music. Since 1996, GOTV has brought many bands to the New England area during the summer season. It has become one of the northeast's premier summer festival destinations. |
| August 1 - 2 2008 | Annual North American Jew's Harp Festival | Bay City Arts Center Bay City, Oregon USA | The North American Jew's Harp Festival has come a long way since 1992 when the festival was born. Each year the festival continues to grow and attract more and more musicians and spectators. Now it is much more than the festival ever anticipated it would be. |
| August 1 - 3 2008 | Yellow Pine Harmonica Contest & Festival | Yellow Pine, Idaho USA | For eighteen years, the Yellow Pine Harmonica Contest and Festival has provided musical enjoyment to thousands of people in the beautiful, rustic village of Yellow Pine situated in the Idaho backcountry. It is put on each year during the first full weekend of August by the Yellow Pine Village Association and friends. |
| August 1 - 10 2008 | Musikfest 2008 | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania USA | Musikfest is a music festival held each August in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Musikfest 2008 is presented by ArtsQuest, features more than 500 musical performances on 14 indoor and outdoor stages, as well as a wide variety of food, children’s activities, visual arts and crafts and a closing-night fireworks spectacular. |
| August 7 - 9 2008 | Unity Christian Music Festival | Heritage Landing Muskegon, Michigan USA | Unity Christian Music Festival (Unity) is a three day Christian music festival held annually during the month of August at Heritage Landing in Muskegon, Michigan. The festival is a member of the Christian Festival Association. |
| August 8 - 10 2008 | JVC Newport Jazz Festival | Fort Adams State Park Newport, Rhode Island USA | The JVC Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every August in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It was established in 1954 by the jazz impresario George Wein. |
| August 9 - 10 2008 | Virgin Mobile Festival | Baltimore, Maryland USA | The Virgin Mobile Festival is a rock festival held in the United States and Canada, a spin-off from the V Festival held in the UK. Like the other variants of the V Festival, the events are sponsored by Virgin Mobile. |
| August 21 - 24 2008 | White Mountain Musical Arts: Bach Festival | Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire USA | The Bach Festival sponsored by the White Mountain Musical Arts is held annually since 1989 on the weekend before Labor Day. The festival features the great instrumental and vocal works of Johann Sebastian Bach. |
| August 22 - 24 2008 | Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival | Golden Gate Park San Francisco, California USA | Just a few generations ago, Golden Gate Park was nothing but sand dunes. Now that it’s become one of the most beautiful parks in the world and the festival site of the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival. The three-day music festival 2008 is expected to draw about 110,000 people. |
| August 28 - 31 2008 | Chicago Jazz Festival | Millennium Park Grant Park Chicago, Illinois USA | The Chicago Jazz Festival is a popular and well-known four day free celebration of jazz in downtown Chicago. It is run by the Jazz Institute of Chicago during Labor Day weekend, integrating both world-famous and local artists. A wide variety of jazz music is played. |
| August 28 - 31 2008 | Tri-State Bluegrass Festival | Noble County 4-H Fairgrounds Kendallville, Indiana USA | Thousands of bluegrass music enthusiasts from around the United States and Canada are expected to gather at the fairgrounds for the Northern Indiana Bluegrass Association's annual Tri-State Bluegrass Festival in 2008. |
| September 5 - 21 2008 | Grand Canyon Music Festival | Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona USA | Grand Canyon Music Festival is an annual three-week series of concerts held in Grand Canyon National Park that emphasizes the broad diversity of chamber music, focuses on programming and presentation excellence, and celebrates the environment of this majestic World Heritage Site. |
| September 11 - 13 2008 | Mulberry Mountain Harvest Music Festival | Ozark, Arkansas USA | The Mulberry Mountain Harvest Music Festival is a three day music and camping event featuring exciting entertainment, delicious food, workshops, arts and crafts, and much more. The festival is held at Mulberry Mountain, a 650 acre lodging and event facility located in the heart of the Arkansas Ozark Mountains. |
| October 11 - 12 2008 | Pleasure Island Seafood Blues and Jazz Festival | Kure Beach New Hanover County, North Carolina USA | The Pleasure Island Seafood Blues and Jazz Festival is scheduled each year in the second weekend in October. This event features live jazz and blues performances on two stages. The music can’t be beat and the locally prepared seafood is simply the best in the region. |
| October 16 - 18 2008 | Garden State Harmonica Club Festival | Saddle Brook, New Jersey USA | October brings the 2008 Garden State Harmonica Club Festival, three days of music and dining, all fully open to the public. The affair is a feast of music and culinary treats. Every day of the Festival includes Sing and Play Along sessions, open microphone opportunities (a sort of Harmonica Karaoke), jam and blues sessions, seminars on playing techniques, and how-to repairs, and music, music and more music. |
| July 10-12 2009 | National Folk Festival (USA) | Butte, Montana USA | The National Folk Festival in the United States (also known as the National) was first presented in St. Louis in 1934, it is a large-scale three-day outdoor event presented free to the public. |
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