The 2020 music festival season may seem lightyears away, but will arrive sooner than you think. As the weather turns colder, the spring gatherings will be busy finalizing lineups, releasing early tickets and hyping up the event. Here’s everything we already know (and can look forward to) about the 2020 music festival season.
Lineups – Both Confirmed and Speculated
Certain festivals have already revealed their lineups, while others have the rumor mill working in overdrive over who may be performing. Confirmed so far is the 2020 Stagecoach Festival lineup. The three-day country music bash in Indio, California will welcome Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Erich Church as headliners. Also appearing on stage will be Dan + Shay, Alan Jackson and Brett Young, as well as Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus for “Old Town Road” enthusiasts.
Rock titans Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters occupy two of the three headlining slots at Boston Calling. There is no word yet on the remainder of the lineup, though a melting pot of artists can be expected. As for the final headliner, all signs point to hip-hop. Since 2017, the Boston Calling lineup has consisted of two alt-rock headliners and one rapper, most recently being Twenty One Pilots, Tame Impala and Travis Scott.
Rage Against the Machine are all but confirmed to headline Coachella 2020. The band announced a number of springtime dates after a nine-year hiatus. Among them are a pair of back-to-back weekend shows in Indio, giving the long-running festival its first announced performer. The rockers headlined Coachella’s inaugural year in 1999 and again in 2007.
As for the rest of Coachella, plus Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, no details have been spoiled just yet. However, Taylor Swift is the artist on everyone’s lips to take the headliner status. Swift is forgoing a traditional tour as she supports latest album Lover by playing only festival gigs instead. She will be a force at European festivals and hold her own Lover Fest East and West shows in the U.S. Her open schedule leads many to believe that she will headline Coachella, Lollapalooza and possibly more festivals in 2020.
Venue Changes
Miami’s Ultra Music Festival has bounced around to several different locations over its 21-year run. It began at Collins Park and later traded off between Bayfront Park and Bicentennial Park. Virginia Key served as the festival’s site for the first time last year, but in 2020, the EDM gathering will return to Bayfront Park once again. The lineup is yet to be announced for the newest edition, which takes place March 20-22. David Guetta, The Chainsmokers, Martin Garrix, Zedd and Marshmello highlighted the 2019 bash.
Will There be a Woodstock Redemption?
The roller coaster ride that was Woodstock 50 provided drama all throughout the 2019 festival circuit. It began with the level of enthusiasm the original 1969 gathering draws, which only grew once its star-studded lineup was revealed. However, the planning stages went downhill fast – first beginning with a delay in the public sale of tickets, and then snowballed into a loss of funding, changes in venue, and ultimately, cancellation. But will there be a revival of the festival this year? Yes and no.
“We’re not going away,” organizer Michael Lang told Rolling Stone, adding that the creative team would continue to work to promote the organizations Woodstock has long supported. However, Lang admitted there was no immediate efforts to pull together another festival just yet. “This is what we were planning for [2019] and that’s no longer on the board, but we’ll see in the future. For now, we’re focused on working and promoting the issues that we feel are critical these days and what the festival was really trying to promote.”
Stay tuned here for all updates on the 2020 music festival season as it gets closer.