Grand Rapids loves a good music festival, and we host a diverse range of single-day and multi-day outdoor concert events from May through September. Gather your music-loving buddies, grab your sunscreen and get your tickets for a day or more of sun, fun and live music!
Enjoy live music, good vibes, and sunshine at Grand Rapids' summer concert events.
Photo by Nick Irwin for Experience GR.
Breakaway Music Festival
August 15-16, 2025
Wiz Khalifa, Big Gigantic, Illenium, DJ Snake and The Chainsmokers are just a few of the performers who have appeared in years past at this Belknap Park event. The Breakaway Music Festival has called itself the “leading college-focused touring festival in the U.S.” – but it’s fun for all ages and customized for the GR market.
Upheaval Festival
July 18-19, 2025
“Welcome to the Uprising” is the invitation at this raucous rock festival held in downtown’s Belknap Park. The Upheaval Festival has scheduled 25+ music acts for 2025, including Rob Zombie, Taproot, Dead Poet Society, A Killer’s Confession and Nevertel.
Confluence Festival
September 19-20, 2025
This annual festival explores what’s possible when art, music, science and technology converge, Friday@Confluence kicks off the event with live musical performances and DJ sets featuring artists who utilize AI to deliver aural and visual journeys, plus AI-powered art activations with hands-on experiences, a fashion gallery, culinary creations and more. Saturday’s lineup includes Esports, Robotics and Makers Expos, and a Future Innovators Zone for kids of all ages. The Confluence Festival is a FREE event held in downtown GR.
Return to the River Music & Art Festival
August 23-24, 2025
This free festival features live music, cool art installations, circus performers, walking tours and more. Return to the River is spread across three of downtown GR’s riverside parks: 555 Monroe, Sixth Street Park and Canal Park
Fallasburg Arts Festival
September 20-21, 2025
Picturesque Fallasburg Park, about 20 minutes from downtown GR, is the setting for this free annual festival. The Fallasburg Arts Festival includes outdoor concerts, 100+ unique fine art and fine craft booths, food booths, a children’s craft area and more.
Shagbark Music & Arts Festival
Date: TBD
Formerly known as the Cowpie Arts Festival, this long-running family-friendly event features regional and national acts from a variety of genres, plus an art gallery, puppet shows, fire dancers and more. The Shagbark Music & Arts Festival is held on its beautiful namesake farm, 20 minutes from downtown GR.
Grand Rapids is the perfect place to experience music festivals, with plenty to see from the city to the Lakeshore.
Photo by Experience GR
Lakeshore Festivals
Grand Rapids makes the perfect home base for attending these festivals located 40-50 minutes from downtown. Book a GR hotel so you can enjoy big-city culture and dining during festival off-hours.
Walk the Beat - White Lake
July 19, 2025
This free outdoor music festival features 30+ acts across a variety of musical genres. White Lake’s Walk the Beat includes 19 venues throughout Whitehall and Montague, about 50 minutes northwest of GR.
Unity Christian Music Festival
August 6-9, 2025
This annual festival focuses on the best in Christian music, but also includes great food, fellowship and family fun. This year’s lineup of 20+ acts includes Steven Curtis Chapman, Ben Fuller, Matthew West and Crowder. The Unity Christian Music Festival is held at Muskegon’s Heritage Landing Park, about 40 minutes northwest of GR.
Walk the Beat - Grand Haven
August 9, 2025
Grand Haven’s Walk the Beat dozens of bands in multiple venues across a half mile stretch of the city’s downtown. Grand Haven is about 40 minutes from GR.
Michigan Irish Music Festival
September 11-14, 2025
Held every year in September, the Michigan Irish Music Festival features six stages of live music, hosting 20+ Irish and Irish-inspired performers, plus dance, food, culture and more. It takes place at Heritage Landing Park in Muskegon.
South Haven Jazz Festival
September 12-13, 2025
Presented on two outdoor stages over the course of two evenings, the South Haven Jazz Festival features seven bands in concert. It’s free to attend, and drinks are available for purchase. Bring a lawn chair! South Haven is about 60 minutes southwest of Grand Rapids.
Burning Foot Beer Festival
August 23, 2025
A celebration of beer, beach, art and music, the Burning Foot Beer Festival is held along the spectacular Lake Michigan shoreline every year. Enjoy a stellar lineup of regional and national musicians, sample beer from dozens of Great Lakes breweries and even camp on the beach, if you’re so inclined. (Just don’t wear shoes).
A Pleasant Drive
These festivals are all located within a 40-60 minute drive of Grand Rapids. Many offer on-site camping, but day passes are often available for non-campers. Get a hotel in GR and enjoy a comfortable bed each night.
Bus Benefit
May 23-26, 2025
Organized to raise funds for the Grand Rapids-based Phoenix Society of Burn Survivors, this Memorial Day weekend festival features live music from local and regional performers plus rustic camping in the woods and fun family activities. The Bus Benefit is held at Smiling Acres campground in Trufant, about 40 minutes northeast of downtown GR.
Rock the Country
June 13-14, 2025
Kid Rock, Nickelback, Lynryrd Skynyrd, Travis Tritt, Big & Rich, Sammy Kershaw, Mark Chestnutt, Little Texas, Afroman and the Ying Yang Twins are among the acts scheduled for Rock the Country in Hastings, about 40 minutes southeast of Grand Rapids. Billed as “A Festival For We The People,” Rock the Country is appearing in 10 cities across America, with the aim to support veterans through ticket purchases and donations that benefit local and national organizations.
Buttermilk Jamboree
June 13-15, 2025
The family-oriented Buttermilk Jamboree music festival features dozens of local and regional performers, workshops, local food and goods vendors, craft beer and wine, rustic camping and more at Circle Pines Center in Delton, about 50 minutes southeast of downtown GR.
Electric Forest
June 19-22, 2025
This eccentric and imaginative festival focuses on electronic and jam band music, art and camping. Tens of thousands attend Electric Forest each year at the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, just under an hour from GR. There are more than 60 acts on this year’s schedule, including Justice, Liquid Stranger, Sara Landry, Fisher, Barry Can’t Swim and The String Cheese Incident.
Wild Thyme Music Festival
June 19-22, 2025
Fat Blossom Family Farm in Allegan – 40 minutes southwest of GR – is the site of this “micro-festival” limited to under 500 attendees. Camping, workshops and artisan vendors are also part of the family-friendly Wild Thyme experience.
Charlotte Bluegrass Festival
June 19-21, 2025
Michigan’s premier bluegrass festival, the 53-year-old Charlotte Bluegrass Festival is an hour from Grand Rapids – and well worth the drive for lovers of this art form. The annual event includes a week of camping, jamming and workshops, and three days of top-tier bluegrass entertainment. The 2025 lineup includes The Seldom Scene, Appalachian Roadshow, The Tennessee Bluegrass Band and Kentucky Just Us.
Michigan Fern Fest
July 22-27, 2025
The music lineup and the entire experience of Fern Fest is specifically curated to drive connection and foster community for women, trans and non-binary folks, and those that live on the spectrum of the feminine spirit. It’s six days of camping, music, workshops and more. It’s held at Smiling Acres campground in Trufant, about 40 minutes northeast of downtown GR.
Smiling Acres Music Festival
June 27-29, 2025
Dozens of bands from across the country and close to home come to Trufant’s Smiling Acres campground for three days of live music, food, art, camping and community. An open mic lets you do some performing of your own. The Go Rounds, Jason Singer of Michigander, May Erlewine, Roosevelt Diggs and Desmond Jones are among the 25+ acts scheduled for the 2025 Smiling Acres Music Festival.
Tamarack Music Festival
July 25-26, 2025
There are only 175 tickets available for “the best tiny festival in the Mitten State,” which features 15+ musical acts from various genres in 2025, including CosmicKnot, The Bootstrap Boys, The Smokin Dobroleles, The Fat Animals and KJ Jones and the Benzie Playboys. Attendees also enjoy rustic camping, arts & crafts booths, food vendors and artisan vendors. The Tamarack Music Festival is held in Morley, about 40 minutes northeast of downtown GR.
Fest of All
August 15-16
Bent Arrow Deer Ranch in Holton, an hour northwest of Grand Rapids, is the site of the annual Fest of All Music Celebration. Incorporating aspects of music, plant music, foraging, holistic health, herbalism and yoga, the focus is on creating a positive, enjoyable event for all ages.
Tie Dye Festival
August 22-23
The Tie Dye Festival is a weekend celebration of West Michigan musical talent held in Burley Park in Howard City, 30 minutes northeast of Grand Rapids. More than 20 acts across various musical genres take the stage, demonstrating the breadth and depth of the local music scene.
Wheatland Music Festival
September 5-7
Renowned bluegrass, blues, folk, rock, roots and world music performers light up multiple stages at the 160-acre site of the annual Wheatland Music Festival. Festivalgoers can also take part in workshops, demonstrations, dances and impromptu jam sessions, and enjoy juried arts and crafts competitions plus a wide variety of food. In Remus, about an hour northeast of Grand Rapids.
Grateful Bear Campout
Dates TBA
30+ musical acts take the stage during the Grateful Bear Campout, which also showcases cannabis products from Michigan’s top growers. Held at Smiling Acres campground in Trufant, about 40 minutes northeast of GR.
Many of our Cultural Festivals & Celebrations also include concert elements, usually highlighting music from different heritages and regions of the world. Need to get your groove on right now or during your next trip to Grand Rapids? Visit our Concerts and Live Music page and click the date(s) you’re looking for under “Search our Event Calendar.” Check out our Free Music Events page to get your groove on gratis!