It’s been one wild ride over the five weeks of voting for the debut MFW Music Festival of the Year Awards. With thousands of votes cast, it’s time to declare the official winners chosen by the fans. See all the results of the voting here.
And now onto the winners…
Festival of The Year 2012: Summerfest
Runner Up: Bonnaroo
Third Place: Burning Man
Best Debut Festival 2012: Treefort Music Fest
Runner Up: Counterpoint
Third Place: Firefly
Best EDM Festival 2012: The Bounce Festival
Runner Up: Electric Forest
Third Place: Electric Daisy Carnival
Best Canadian Festival 2012: Shambhala
Runner Up: Osheaga
Third Place: Quebec City Summer Festival
Voting for the 2012 Festival Awards is now closed. We will make the official announcement on January 16.
Welcome to the debut MFW 2012 Festival Awards. The following fests will be voted on by the fans for the next four weeks with winners being declared in mid-January. You may vote once in each of the following categories.
Important Dates
Voting Opens: December 10, 2012
Voting Closes: January 14, 2013
Winners Announced: January 16, 2013
Category #1: Festival of the Year 2012
We took the most popular festival guides on Music Festival Wizard and picked the top 25 of 2012 to battle it out. One vote, one festival, one winner.
- Summerfest
- Bonnaroo
- Burning Man
- Coachella
- All Good
- Lollapalooza
- Sasquatch
- Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas
- Wakarusa
- Summer Camp
- Hangout Music Festival
- Outside Lands
- Ultra
- South by Southwest
- Bumbershoot
- Fun Fun Fun Fest
- Gathering of the Vibes
- New Orleans Jazz Fest
- Electric Zoo
- Austin City Limits
- Newport Folk Festival
- Voodoo Music Experience
- Pitchfork
- WE Fest
- Essence
Category #2: Best Debut Festival 2012
The US welcomed a bunch of new festivals this season. Some will stay, some will go, but only one will be crowned the best new festival of the year.
- Treefort
- CounterPoint
- Firefly
- Summer Set
- Made In America
- The Peach Music Festival
- Bunbury
- Orion Music +More
- River’s Edge
- Wavefront
- CBGB Festival
- Lift Festival
- Watershed
- The Ride Festival
- Catalpa
Category #3: Best EDM Festival 2012
EDM festivals have never been hotter than in 2012. Time to pick your favorite.
- The Bounce Festival
- Electric Forest
- Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas
- Lightning in a Bottle
- Ultra Miami
- Camp Bisco
- CounterPoint
- Sonic Bloom
- Beyond Wonderland
- Electric Daisy Carnival New York
- Electric Zoo
- Spring Awakening
- Detroit Movement
- Hard Summer
- Wavefront
- Identity Festival
- Paradiso Festival
Category #4: Best Canadian Festival 2012
The strong Canadian music festival scene provides a 2012 throwdown between provinces and genres.
- Shambhala
- Osheaga
- Quebec City Summer Festival
- Montreal Jazz Fest
- North By Northeast (NXNE)
- Big Valley Jamboree
- Boonstock
- Halifax Pop Explosion
- MUTEK
- Pop Montreal
- Sled Island Music Festival
- Calgary Folk Music Festival
- Heavy MTL
- Live At Squamish
- Heavy T.O.
- Dauphin’s Countryfest
- Canadian Music Fest
How did you come up with these festivals?
The selected festivals are a curated list based on traffic within the site along with a very spirited debate with the MFW crew. Also, heavy drinking is involved.
What about the rest of the world?
MFW is based out of North America. For our first year, we wanted to keep it a bit smaller and local. Plus, there’s the excellent UK awards which do a rad job of covering oversea fests.
Where do I complain?
Comments sections below or drop us a line here. Feel free to also leave praise, thoughts, suggestions, and recipes. We especially enjoy baked goods.