Bonnaroo (bonnaroo.com) is one of the largest music festivals in the country, and it takes place over the course of four days in Manchester, Tennessee. The festival allows people to camp at the site and enjoy a variety of rock, indie and hip-hop acts. Wakarusa (wakarusa.com), a rock festival in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, also features a variety of rock and indie acts, and it is a little bit smaller and newer than Bonnaroo. Hangout Music Fest (hangoutmusicfest.com), located in Gulf Shores, Alabama, is another rock and hip hop festival that places people on the picturesque beaches of Alabama's Gulf Coast.
Austin, Texas, is home to some of the biggest music festivals in the country: South by Southwest (sxsw.com), Reggae Fest (austinreggaefest.com) and Austin City Limits Music Festival (aclfestival.com). South by Southwest is a huge festival that includes film, technology and music. It takes place throughout the city and is hosted by local bars and concert venues. Reggae Fest, a newer festival, features a variety of reggae artists and gives its proceeds to charity. Austin City Limits takes place at Zilker Park, which is located on Lady Bird Lake.
Each year, Middleburg, Virginia, hosts The Hottest Cool Jazz Festival in the month of May, and it features both local and nationally renowned jazz artists. Edmond Jazz & Blues Festival (edmondjazzandblues.org) in Edmond, Oklahoma, is another huge jazz festival. The Atlanta Jazz Festival (atlantafestivals.com) is one of the largest jazz festivals in the country, and it also features a food-eating competition. Located farther south, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival in Jacksonville, Florida, is a free festival that showcases jazz musicians and other types of artists.
Nocturnal Festival (nocturnalfestival.com), in Rockdale, Texas, is a huge electronic festival that brings together DJs, producers and mashup artists. As far as folk music goes, the Kerrville Folk Music Festival (kerrville-music.com) in Kerrville, Texas, is one of the largest folk and Americana genre music festivals. Whereas hip hop festivals are rare in the South, the AC3 Festival (a3cfestival.com) in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the largest hip hop festivals in the U.S., although it is still in its early stages of development in 2011.