Music Festivals 2017: How to Buy Tickets for Coachella, Firefly, Bonnaroo & More

March 8, 2017

music festivals
The summer of 2017 is already shaping up to be one of the most jam-packed festival seasons yet, and with so many music festivals to choose from, it can be tricky to know how to get the most affordable tickets for whatever festival you’ve got on your radar. Below is a preliminary guide on how to get cheap tickets to the festivals for early spring & summer, with ticket data provided by TicketIQ.

Ultra Music Festival | Miami | March 24 to 26 | SOLD OUT! | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $460

Ultra Music Festival's 19th edition in Miami will kick off this year from March 24 to 26, and the festival has a ton of huge names at the top of the bill, including Justice, Martin Garrix and The Prodigy. Chase & Status, Cypress Hill, Zhu, KSHMR, Zedd, Galantis, Datsik, Fedde Le Grand, and many more will also perform sets. If you waited until the last minute to get tickets to Ultra Miami, you’re going to have to rely on the resale market for a pass, as primary passes are entirely sold out. On TicketIQ.com, the cheapest pass is going for $460.

Coachella | Indio, California | April 15-17 & April 22-24 | SOLD OUT! | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $538

The 2017 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival will feature Lady Gaga, Radiohead and Kendrick Lamar at the top of the bill. The 3-day, two-weekend festival, which is held annually in Indio, California, will take place from April 15-17 and April 22-24. Over 150 artists are scheduled to perform, including Lorde, Mac Miller, Banks, Raury, Gucci Mane, Mitski, Tory Lanez, Hinds, Tove Lo, Kiiara, and more. Passes for Coachella sold out in just hours, pushing a plethora of tickets to the resale market. The cheapest pass for either weekend can be purchased for $538, while all resale tickets are averaging a lofty $900.

Beale Street Music Festival | Memphis | May 5 - May 7 | Weekend Pass: $345 (including fees) | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $351

Beale Street Music Festival will be held this year on May 5-7 in the city’s Tom Lee Park at the foot of Beale Street. The festival is considered to be the kick-off event of the entire Memphis in May celebration, and this year's lineup will include Snoop Dogg, MGMT, Kings of Leon, Soundgarden, and many more. Tickets to the jam-packed weekend can be purchased directly through the festival site starting at $345 + fees. On the resale market, tickets are slightly pricier, as the cheapest 3-day pass starts at $351.

Shaky Knees | Atlanta, Georgia | May 12-14 | Weekend Pass: $185 + fees | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $232

The XX, LCD Soundsystem and Phoenix have been announced as the headlining acts for the fifth-annual Shaky Knees Festival in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta. The festival will take place from May 12-14, and will also feature rock acts like Cage the Elephant, Pixies, The Shins, Nick Murphy, X Ambassadors, Third Eye Blind, Portugal. The Man, Moon Taxi and Sylvan Esso. Shaky Knees festival passes are on sale now via the main website, where they’re priced at $185 + fees. Fans are encouraged to get those tickets now, because resale prices are much higher. Right now, the cheapest pass is going for $232.

Hangout Fest | Gulf Shores, Alabama | May 19-21 | Weekend Pass: $309 (including fees) | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $344

Hangout Music Festival 2017 will take place from May 19-21 in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and this year’s top acts include Frank Ocean, Chance the Rapper, and Twenty One Pilots at the top of the bill. Other top-tier acts include Mumford & Sons, Weezer, Local Natives, Band of Horses, A$AP Ferg, Charli XCX, Mac DeMarco and many more. Tickets for Hangout Music Festival start at $309 including fees, and resale tickets start at $344. Last year’s festival sold out the day before launch, so fans are encouraged to buy now.

Bottlerock Napa Valley | Napa Valley, California | May 26-28 | SOLD OUT! | Cheapest Resale Ticket: N/A

The BottleRock Napa Valley Music Festival has a stacked lineup for 2017, which will feature Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Foo Fighters, and Maroon 5 at the top of the bill. The Northern California music festival will take place May 26-28 at the Napa Valley Expo, with other acts scheduled to perform including Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Roots, Modest Mouse, Band of Horses, The Naked and Famous, Bob Moses, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Galactic, House of Pain, Silversun Pickups, Fitz & the Tantrums and more than 70 others. Weekend passes for Bottlerock are completely sold out, but fans can still secure tickets through the resale market.

Boston Calling | Boston | May 26-28 | Weekend Pass: $299 (including fees) | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $159

The fifth-annual Boston Calling Festival, which will take place from May 26-28, will include headlining acts Tool, Mumford & Sons, as well as hip-hop star Chance The Rapper. Other major acts on the bill Bon Iver, the xx, Major Lazer, Weezer, the 1975, Sigur Rós, Solange, Run The Jewels, Tegan And Sara, Sylvan Esso, Mac DeMarco, Wolf Parade, Danny Brown, Flatbush Zombies, Frightened Rabbit, and more. This year’s Boston Calling will relocate to the Harvard Athletic Complex. Weekend passes to Boston Calling are going for $299 (including fees), but the cheapest passes are listed on the resale market for just $159.

Sasquatch! Music Festival | George, Washington | May 26-28 | Weekend Pass: $295 + fees | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $295

This Memorial Day weekend, Sasquatch! Music Festival will take over the Gorge Amphitheater for three days of music. Headlining acts will include Frank Ocean, Chance the Rapper, and Twenty One Pilots. Other major acts include Big Freedia, Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires, Kaytranada, Bomba Estéreo, White Lung, and Moses Sumney, Head and the Heart, MGMT, and many others. General admission festival passes to Sasquatch! can be purchased right through the festival site for $295 + fees. The cheapest pass available on the resale market is also listed for $295.

Governors Ball | New York City | June 2-4 | Weekend Pass: $305 + fees | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $288

The 2017 Governors Ball lineup will include Tool, Chance the Rapper, Phoenix, and Childish Gambino at the top of the bill. The New York City-based festival will take place at Randall’s Island Park on June 2-4, and passes for Governors Ball are still on sale via the festival website, with weekend passes currently going for $305 + fees. Your best option? Stick with the resale market, where the cheapest ticket can be purchased just below the face value price at $288. Additional acts appearing at the festival include Lorde, Wu-Tang Clan, Flume, Mark Ronson vs. Kevin Parker, Cage the Elephant, Air, The Avalanches, ScHoolboy Q, Beach House, Local Natives, Franz Ferdinand, Mac DeMarco, Danny Brown, Charli XCX, Royal Blood, Warpaint, Phantogram, and more.

Bonnaroo | Manchester, Tennessee | June 8-11 | Weekend Pass: $349.50 + fees | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $342

Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival’s 2017 lineup will host headlining acts U2, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Weeknd, and Chance the Rapper. The 4-day festival will take place June 8-11 in Manchester, Tennessee on 700-acre farm about 60 miles outside of Nashville. Other artists scheduled to perform include Major Lazer, Lorde, the xx, Flume, Travis Scott, Cage the Elephant, the Head and the Heart, Tegan and Sara, and many more. Passes to Bonnaroo are still available on the festival site, with a 4-day pass currently priced at $349 + fees. The cheapest resale ticket can be snagged for just under that price, at $342.

Firefly Music Festival | Dover, Delaware | June 15 - 18 | Weekend Pass: $299 + fees | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $329

Firefly Festival is separating itself from the pack this year, as festival organizers have allowed fans to curate the 2017 lineup. With that, the headlining acts this summer will be Bob Dylan, Chance the Rapper, and Muse, as well as countless other eclectic artists like Twenty One Pilots, The Weeknd, Fume, Weezer, Miike Snow, and more. The festival will take place from June 15-18 in Dover, Delaware, and weekend passes to Firefly are still available at the rate of $299 + fees. Resale tickets are slightly more expensive right now, with the cheapest pass going for $329.

Panorama Festival | New York City | July 28 - 30 | New York City | Weekend Pass: $345 (including fees) | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $351

The second-annual Panorama Festival in New York City will include Nine Inch Nails, Frank Ocean, A Tribe Called Quest, Tame Impala, MGMT, Spoon, Alt-J, Solange and Justice all at the top of the bill. The festival will take place from July 28th-July 30th at Randall’s Island Park, and 3-day passes are currently available on the festival site for $345 (including fees). On the resale market, 3-day passes are slightly more expensive, with the cheapest pass up for grabs for $351. Other artists scheduled to perform over the weekend include Nick Murphy, Future Islands, Nicolas Jaar, Belle & Sebastian, Glass Animals, Cloud Nothings, Girl Talk, DJ Shadow and Angel Olsen.

Mysteryland | Bethel Woods, New York | June 9 - 12 | Weekend Pass: $299 + fees | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $313

The old Woodstock grounds will be turned into a three-day music festival this June when Mysteryland kicks off on June 9-12 in Bethel Woods, New York. Headliners include G-Eazy on Friday, LCD Soundsystem on Saturday and Major Lazer on Sunday, plus performances from other huge acts like Big Gigantic, Die Antwoord, Porter Robinson, RL Grime, and more. Passes for Mysteryland are on sale now, with a 3-day tickets going for $299 + fees. On the resale market, passes are priced at $313 and up.

Electric Forest | Rothbury, Michigan | June 22-25 & June 29- July 2 | Weekend Pass: $297 + fees | Cheapest Resale Ticket: N/A

This year, Electric Forest will have two power-packed lineups held across two weekends June 22-25 & June 29-July 2. Bassnectar, The String Cheese Incident, Odesza, My Morning Jacket and more will take the stage along with acts like Dillon Francis and Claude VonStroke, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Rezz, Andy C, Crywolf, EPROM, and more. GA and VIP tickets for Weekend 1 & 2 are completely sold out, so if you're going to find tickets to Electric Forest, you'll have to rely on the resale market.

Essence Music Festival | New Orleans | June 30-July 2 | Weekend Pass: $126-$2,700 | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $485

This year’s Essence Music Festival will feature a star-studded roster of acts, including Grammy winner Chance The Rapper, music legend Diana Ross, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Ari Lennox, Chaka Khan, India.Arie, Jazmine Sullivan and many more. The festival will take place in New Orleans from June 30-July 2, and tickets are on sale via the festival page. Tickets for Essence can be purchased for as cheap as $126, or as expensive as $2,700, depending on seating.

Pitchfork Festival | Chicago | July 14-16 | Weekend Pass: $355 + fees | Cheapest Resale Ticket: $485

The 12th annual Pitchfork Music Festival will kick off on July 14-16 in Chicago’s Union Park and headliners include A Tribe Called Quest, LCD Soundsystem, and Solange. A full lineup of performers will be confirmed at a later date, but tickets to the festival are already on sale. As of now, a weekend pass to Pitchfork Music Festival is going for $355 + fees. On the resale market, tickets start at $485.

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