10 Music Festivals To Road Trip To From Phoenix This Summer

It's time to wave goodbye to Coachella 2016, the default major music festival for Phoenix residents. If you missed out on the fast-selling tickets, if you want a more specialized festival experience, or if you've just arrived back from the Polo Club and you're already looking for more, we've got you covered. We've rounded up all the best options still standing, so you can compare them side-by-side in one place. Get your road-trip playlist ready now.
Levitation
Dates: April 29-May 1
Ticket price: $185
Location: Carson Creek Ranch, Austin, Texas
Distance from Phoenix: 1,011 miles
Estimated driving time (one way): 14.5 hours
Estimated gas cost (round trip): $172.76
Current flights (round trip): Stating at $416
This year's lineup: Okay, so you'd have to start planning for this one immediately, but for the cheapest ticket price on the list, Levitation delivers a unique psychedelic-themed weekend of music. Rather than big DJs and pop stars, this fast-growing Austin fest hosts oddballs like Ween, Animal Collective, Ty Segall, and Flying Lotus. Wanna get weird? Levitation's for you.
Unique attraction: Brian Wilson performing the legendary Pet Sounds in full. Not to mention Lee "Scratch" Perry, one of the founders of reggae and a rare festival get.
Shaky Knees
Dates: May 13-15
Ticket price: $215
Location: Centennial Olympic Park & International Plaza, Atlanta, Georgia
Distance from Phoenix: 1,806 miles
Estimated driving time (one way): 26 hours
Estimated gas cost (round trip): $308.61
Current flights (round trip): Starting at $214
This year's lineup: At only a few years old, Shaky Knees has established itself as a haven for indie rock fans. While this year's lineup is admittedly a step down from last year's stunning display, attendees can still enjoy genre favorites like My Morning Jacket and The Decemberists alongside breakthrough pop acts like The 1975 and Walk the Moon.
Unique attraction: The curveball appearance of Huey Lewis & the News performing the entirety of their career-making album Sports.
Sasquatch
Dates: May 27-30
Ticket price: $350
Location: The Gorge Ampitheatre, George, Washington
Distance from Phoenix: 1,294 miles
Estimated driving time (one way): 20 hours
Estimated gas cost (round trip): $221.19
Current flights (round trip): Starting at $254
This year's lineup: Sasquatch still has yet to deliver a huge lineup that justifies their charging just as much as Bonnaroo and Outside Lands, but this one promises a great weekend nonetheless. Artists like Sufjan Stevens, Grimes, Alabama Shakes, Jamie xx, Vince Staples, and Julia Holter released some of the most critically acclaimed albums of last year. Plus, seeing The Cure might justify the trip alone.
Unique attraction: The jaw-droppingly beautiful Gorge Ampitheatre itself. This is also The Cure's only U.S. festival appearance this year.
Bottlerock Napa Valley
Dates: May 27-29
Ticket price: $250, but tickets are sold out; however, the festival's website offers a ticket exchange program.
Location: Napa Expo, Napa Valley, California
Distance from Phoenix: 772 miles
Estimated driving time (one way): 12 hours
Estimated gas cost (round trip): $131.92
Current flights (round trip): Starting at $320
This year's lineup: Bottlerock promises an artisanal festival experience, where the range of local wine and food vendors are just as important as the music. Perhaps that's why this year's fest sports a rather top-heavy lineup, with huge acts headlining but few highlights in the undercard. Still, it's hard to say no to seeing Florence + The Machine, Death Cab For Cutie, Ziggy Marley, and Gogol Bordello live.
Unique attraction: Stevie Wonder rarely plays huge festivals like this, so you may not want to miss this chance to see him.
Governors Ball
Dates: June 3-5
Ticket price: $305
Location: Randall's Island Park, New York City, New York
Distance from Phoenix: 2,422 miles
Estimated driving time (one way): 36 hours
Estimated round trip gas cost: $413.87
Current flights (round trip): Starting at $280
This year's lineup: Governors Ball took a sort of "greatest hits" approach to its headliners this year, as The Strokes and Kanye West both played the festival before in 2014 and 2013, respectively. There's no arguing with the stacked undercard though, which features plenty of artists known for their particularly bombastic performances, such as Beck, Two Door Cinema Club, Father John Misty, Matt & Kim, and Action Bronson.
Unique attraction: Man-of-the-hour Kanye West in his only announced upcoming concert.

Bonnaroo
Dates: June 9-12
Ticket price: $349.50
Location: Great Stage Park, Manchester, Tennessee
Distance from Phoenix: 1,697 miles
Estimated driving time (one way): 24 hours
Estimated gas cost (round trip): $289.98
Current flights (round trip): Starting at $444
This year's lineup: This year, Bonnaroo celebrates its 15th anniversary, and they're doing it in style with two exclusive major headliners: Pearl Jam and Dead & Company. Other highlights include J. Cole, Tame Impala, Haim, Jason Isbell, the numerous Superjams, and the rare festival metal act Lamb of God.
Unique attraction: What's better than a jamming Dead & Company major festival set? Two jamming Dead & Company major festival sets.
Lollapalooza
Dates: July 28-31
Ticket price: Originally $335, but but tickets are sold out, so you'll need to find a third-party seller.
Location: Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois
Distance from Phoenix: 1,752 miles
Estimated driving time (one way): 25 hours
Estimated gas cost (round trip): $299.38
Current flights (round trip): Starting at $317
This year's lineup: This year's Lolla lineup features headliners that you'll be able to see at other festivals on this list, but exciting ones nonetheless, like Radiohead and LCD Soundsystem. The undercard, though, features a number of great smaller acts that won't be appearing elsewhere, like Die Antwoord, Danny Brown, Frank Turner, Wavves, and Classixx.
Unique attraction: The undercard in general has plenty of hidden gems — just wander between stages and you'll always end up with something great.
San Francisco's Outside Lands
Dates: August 5-7
Ticket price: Originally $355, but tickets are sold out, so you'll need to find a third-party seller.
Location: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California
Distance from Phoenix: 754 miles
Estimated driving time (one way): 11 hours
Estimated gas cost (round trip): $128.84
Current flights (round trip): Starting at $315
This year's lineup: Among a list of predictable but strong picks like Radiohead, Sufjan Stevens, Big Grams, and Foals, Outside Lands has included a number of acts that make this festival stand out from the crowd. Lionel Richie, Duran Duran, Air, and Chance the Rapper won't be playing many shows this summer, and you can see them all here.
Unique attraction: Somehow the Muppet band Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem will perform at Outside Lands this year. Who knows how that'll work, but it'll certainly be something to see.
FYF Fest
Dates: August 27-28
Ticket price: $199
Location: Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California
Distance from Phoenix: 376 miles
Estimated driving time (one way): 5.5 hours
Estimated gas cost (round trip): $64.26
Current flights (round trip): Starting at $107
This year's lineup: FYF Fest features a shorter lineup than most of the other festivals this year, but it might be the most consistent up and down. From great headliners like Kendrick Lamar and LCD Soundsystem to killer midlevel acts like Blood Orange, Young Thug, and Wolf Parade to little-known stunners like Oneohtrix Point Never, Hop Along, and Julien Baker, FYF justifies its low ticket price and then some.
Unique attraction: Grace Jones, the one-of-a-kind performer who defined dance music in the 1980s and yet gets woefully little recognition for it these days.
Austin City Limits
Dates: September 30-October 2 and October 7-9
Ticket price: $250
Location: Zilker Park
Distance from Phoenix: 1,003 miles
Estimated driving time (one way): 14.5 hours
Estimated gas cost (round trip): $171.39
Current flights (round trip): Starting at $354 for Weekend One, $369 for Weekend Two
This year's lineup: As one of the closer festivals to Arizona on this list, ACL tends to attract plenty of Phoenicians with its killer lineups and relatively affordable tickets. At this point, though, C3 Presents has yet to announce the list of performers for 2016, so stay tuned and keep it on your list.
Unique attraction: Too early to tell, but Austin's always a delightful city to visit in its own right.