One of the trends we have been tracking at Music Festival Wizard is the rise of the mighty-one day fest. While single day festivals happen regularly around they world, they tend to be regional events with smaller lineups. But after the reckoning of the pandemic, a new style of fest rose from the carnage boasting in an almost impossible to believe list of performers targeting millennials and Gen-X with all their favorite artists from 1995-2005. In 2024, we are seeing the one-day mega fest expand to include punk rock (No Values), Latin music (Bésame Mucho), and R&B/soul (Fool in Love).
Are these festivals real? Yes.
How are all those artists going to play? While it doesn’t seem possible, all of the acts will make an appearance, but expect 30-45 minute sets with headliners getting an hour or more. While all the artists will hit the stage, you most definitely won’t see all the bands you paid for. Expect massive scheduling conflicts for the entire day.
But there are so many artists. Why don’t they do two days? There have been some instances of these festivals being expanded to two days – but they just repeat the single day marathon twice.
At least it’s a single day festival so tickets must be fairly cheap? They are not.
Who owns the festivals? It’s worth nothing that the only two companies powerful enough to pull together these massive festivals are also the two biggest players in the industry.
AEG
Just Like Heaven (4th edition)
Cruel World Festival (3rd edition)
No Values (new this year)
Live Nation
When We Were Young (4th edition)
Lovers & Friends (3rd edition)
Sick New World (2nd edition)
Bésame Mucho Austin (new this year)
Fool in Love (new this year)
What’s the attendance like at this festivals? Live Nation and AEG rarely provide attendance numbers from their events. Below is our best guess for estimated attendance in 2023 from reviews, reports, and social media first hand accounts along with the capacity of the venue.
Sick New World: 85,000
Cruel World: 70,000
Lovers & Friends: 60,000
When We Were Young: 60,000
Bésame Mucho Los Angeles: 50,000
Just Like Heaven: 30,000
Any tips for attending these types of fests? Prepare for a long day. Most of these open gates by noon and will run up to 12 hours. The best strategy is to pick one of the stages and make a stand there for most of the fest.
Where can I find more information (tickets, lodging, FAQ)? You can find all this along with lineups below in the MFW festival guides.
Besame Mucho Austin 2024
When: March 2, 2024
Where: Austin, TX
The Scene: Besame Mucho is a one day festival celebrating latin music and culture at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
More Info: Besame Mucho Austin 2024 Guide
Sick New World 2024
When: April 27, 2024
Where: Las Vegas, NV
The Scene: It's a 12-hour marathon of non-stop music taking place this spring in downtown Las Vegas.
The Lineup: Alice in Chains, Bad Omens, Black Veil Brides, Bring Me The Horizon, Jinjer, Knocked Loose, Lamb of God, Lorna Shore, Motionless in White, Primus, Slipknot, Slowdive, Swans, System of a Down, The Garden
More Info: Sick New World 2024 Guide
Lovers & Friends Fest 2024
When: May 4, 2024
Where: Las Vegas, NV
The Scene: Lovers & Friends is a single day festival taking place in downtown Las Vegas!
The Lineup: 6LACK, Alicia Keys, Ashanti, Backstreet Boys, Fat Joe, Gwen Stefani, Ja Rule, Jeezy, Kelis, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Lupe Fiasco, M.I.A., Nas, Nelly Furtado, Rick Ross, Sean Paul, Snoop Dogg, T-Pain, TLC, Usher
More Info: Lovers & Friends Fest 2024 Guide
Cruel World Festival 2024
When: May 11, 2024
Where: Pasadena, CA
The Scene: Cruel World is coming to Los Angeles and bringing your college breakup mix-tape with it for a one-day festival in the park.
The Lineup: Blondie, Duran Duran, Interpol, Placebo, The Jesus and Mary Chain
More Info: Cruel World Festival 2024 Guide
Fool in Love 2024
When: August 31, 2024
Where: Inglewood, CA
The Scene: Fool in Love is a single day festival held in downtown Los Angeles featuring R&B and soul legends.
The Lineup: Baby Bash, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, Kool & The Gang, Lionel Richie, Los Lobos, Nile Rodgers and CHIC, Santana, The Isley Brothers
More Info: Fool in Love 2024 Guide
Just Like Heaven Fest 2024
When: May 18, 2024
Where: Pasadena, CA
The Scene: You will ascend to the heights of indie rock nirvana at the Just Like Heaven Festival. This single day fest takes place at Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.
The Lineup: Broken Social Scene, Miike Snow, Passion Pit, Phantogram, Phoenix, Sleigh Bells, Tegan And Sara, The Postal Service, The War on Drugs, Two Door Cinema Club, Warpaint
More Info: Just Like Heaven Fest 2024 Guide
No Values Festival 2024
When: June 8, 2024
Where: Pomona, CA
The Scene: No Values is a single day festival featuring a lineup of punk rock music it all its forms.
The Lineup: Bad Religion, Fidlar, Iggy Pop, Social Distortion, Suicidal Tendencies, The Bronx, Turnstile, Viagra Boys
More Info: No Values Festival 2024 Guide
When We Were Young Festival 2024
When: October 19, 2024
Where: Las Vegas, NV
The Scene: It's the pop-punk emo throwback fest you have been waiting for. When We Were Young may be only a single day in Las Vegas, but it's going to live forever in your heart.
The Lineup: A Day To Remember, Atreyu, Coheed and Cambria, Dashboard Confessional, Escape the Fate, Fall Out Boy, Hawthorne Heights, Jimmy Eat World, Mayday Parade, My Chemical Romance, Pierce the Veil, Simple Plan, Sleeping With Sirens, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The Used
More Info: When We Were Young Festival 2024 Guide