The Key’s Ultimate Guide to Summer Music Festivals 2016 – Part Two

A few months ago, we gave you The Key’s Guide to Summer Music Festivals Part One, and we promised to follow up later in the summer with Part Two. Well, that time is now! We’ve compiled everything you need to know about all the music festivals for the second half of summer, including dates, locations and who’s playing what — with a focus on Philadelphia artists on the various lineups — all presented in chronological order. Don’t worry, you can thank us later. On with the festivals!

The Peach Music Festival

Dates: August 11-14

What you need to know: The Peach Music Festival is a quasi-local festival, located in Scranton, Pennsylvania — not a terribly long drive for Philly inhabitants. On the premises of Montage Mountain, the Peach Music Festival boasts one of the most gorgeous stage backdrops of any festival, pleasing to those who prefer the camping and outdoors festival experience to the urban hotel ones. The lineup caters to fans of folk, country and rock.

Notable Philly artists: American Babies, Flux Capacitor, Flightschool, Trey Anastasio Band (Anastasio grew up in Princeton, NJ, but he’s a huge Flyers fan, so we’ll count him)

Notable other artists: Gregg Allman, The String Cheese Incident, Blackberry Smoke, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, Umphrey’s McGee, Black Pistol Fire

Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival

Dates: August 12-13

What you need to know: Eaux Claires is the brainchild of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, who was inspired to create his own festival after playing so many other festivals around the world with Bon Iver. The festival is located in Vernon’s hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and has a variety of XPN favorites like Jenny Lewis, Lucius, and (fittingly) Bon Iver.

Notable Philly artists: None. 🙁

Notable other artists: Jenny Lewis, Bon Iver, Phosphorescent, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Lucius, Melvins, Erykah Badu, Vince Staples

Philadelphia Folk Festival

Dates: August 18-21

What you need to know: The Philly Folk Festival is a gathering place for locals of all types — even those who have no interest in folk music. The Philly Folk Fest is a fun place to camp out, relax, drink some beer and socialize with other festival goers. It’s also a great opportunity for city dwellers to venture out into the suburbs, and boasts an incredible roundup of regional artists in the lineup.

Notable Philly artists: Liz Longley, Heart Harbor, The Stray Birds, April Mae and the June Bugs, Avi Wisnia, Bob Beach, Boris Garcia, Burning Bridget Cleary, Christie Lenee, The End of America, Frog Holler, The Late Saints and so, so many more.

Notable other artists: Buffy Sainte-Marie, Los Lobos, The Lone Bellow, Del & Dawg, The Wood Brothers, Darlingside, Buckwheat Zydeco, Peter Yarrow

Project Pabst – PORTLAND

Dates: August 26-28

What you need to know: Pabst really likes their Philly bands, don’t they? Each Project Pabst Festival in each city features at least one Philly band, which is impressive given the smaller lineups.

Notable Philly artists: Ween, Sheer Mag, Hop Along

Notable other artists: Duran Duran, Ice Cube, Tame Impala, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Parquet Courts, The Coathangers, Diarrhea Planet

FYF Fest

Dates: August 27-28

What you need to know: FYF, which is an abbreviation for Fuck Yeah Fest, has been around since 2004 and takes place in sunny Los Angeles, California. This year’s festival is a diverse one representing a wide array of genres including dance music, hip hop, rock and roll, and pop.

Notable Philly artists: Hop Along, Sheer Mag, Alex G

Notable other artists: LCD Soundsystem, Moby, Mac Demarco, Julien Baker, Tame Impala, Father John Misty, Grimes, Black Lips, Kendrick Lamar

Bumbershoot

Dates: Sept. 2-4

What you need to know: Bumbershoot, which takes place in Seattle, is one of the more underrated festivals in the country, at least to those of us on the East Coast. It’s been around for an astounding 45 years, with the original Bumbershoot dating back to 1971. Because I know you’re wondering, “bumbershoot” is a colloquial 19th-century term for an umbrella. You learn something new every day.

Notable Philly artists: The Front Bottoms (a bit of a stretch, but we love them)

Notable other artists: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Death Cab For Cutie, KYGO, Tame Impala, Father John Misty, Third Eye Blind, Andrew Bird

Made In America

Dates: Sept. 3-4

What you need to know: One of two Philly-area festivals on this list, Made In America finally starting to look like a veteran in the festival scene. Now in its fifth year, the festival, which takes place on the Ben Franklin Parkway, features some XPN favorites like Car Seat Headrest, Gary Clark Jr., and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

Notable Philly artists: Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties, Lil Uzi Vert

Notable other artists: Rihanna, Coldplay, ColleGrove, Jamie XX, Grimes, Car Seat Headrest, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Gary Clark, Jr., Kevin Devine

Austin City Limits

Dates: Sept. 30-Oct. 2, Oct. 7-9

What you need to know: Austin City Limits is probably the best festival in Austin, a city well-known for its live music presence. This year’s festival features some killer headliners, including Radiohead, a band who’s freshly released 9th studio album, entitled A Moon Shaped Pool, has taken public radio by storm.

Notable Philly artists: The Front Bottoms (see previous)

Notable other artists: Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar, Cage the Elephant, LCD Soundsystem, Israel Nash, Foals, Band of Horses, Corinne Bailey Rae, Julien Baker, Cold War Kids, AWOLNATION

Project Pabst – ATLANTA

Dates: October 1

What you need to know: Atlanta is one of four cities Project Pabst will come to this year. The Atlanta lineup is a lot like the lineups from the festival’s location in the three other cities — heavy on the indie rock. But the Atlanta festival features some of Atlanta’s local favorites, including Run The Jewels (feat. Killer Mike) and Mastodon.

Notable Philly artists: Santigold (been NYC for at least a decade, but she grew up in Philly and we still <3 her)

Notable other artists: Run The Jewels, Mastodon, NOFX, Titus Andronicus, Summer Cannibals, Radioactivity, Mind Spiders, Charles Bradley & his Extraordinaires, The Internet

Project Pabst – PHILADELPHIA

Dates: October 8

What you need to know: Yup, PBR’s festival is coming to Philly as well. It’ll take place at the Electric Factory’s outdoor stage, and the lineup is STACKED. Also, Philly’s own Hop Along is in the big letters on the top of the festival poster — ABOVE GUIDED BY VOICES! How cool is that?

Notable Philly artists: Hop Along, Beach Slang, Son Little

Notable other artists:Guided By Voices, Animal Collective, Diarrhea Planet, Mac Demarco, Rebirth Brass Band, Downtown Boys