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Summer Music Festivals in California

California, blessed with warm weather from April to October, has a long summer calendar packed with festivals that celebrate everything from food to ethnic heritage to fine art. The state's music festivals, similarly diverse in size and theme, are loosely grouped around genre, although most of them feature performers and performances of every type.

  1. Classical and Contemporary Classical

    • La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest is a chamber music festival held near San Diego every August. The Carmel Bach Festival, held every July in Carmel-by-the-Sea, celebrates music and ideas inspired by J.S. Bach. Also in July, the Strauss Festival of Elk Grove is based around the music of Johann Strauss. The Ojai Music Festival presents an eclectic classical program every June.

      ljms.org/SummerFest-2010/Performances/

      bachfestival.org/

      straussfestival.com/

      ojaifestival.org/index.htm

    Reggae

    • Reggae on the River, held in Humboldt County every July, is one of the best-known reggae festivals in the world. The three-day Monterey Bay Reggaefest takes place in late summer at Monterey Bay County Fairgrounds.

      reggaeontheriver.com/

      mbayreggaefest.net/

    New Age and World Music

    • Wanderlust brings together yoga and rock 'n' roll for four days every July near Lake Tahoe. Health & Harmony Music & Arts Fest, held every June in Santa Rosa, focuses on healthy living, spirituality and music, but its after-hours alter ego, Techno Tribal Community Stomp, is all about dance-oriented electronica.

      wanderlustfestival.com/

      harmonyfestival.com/

      techno-tribal.com/

    Jam Band and Americana

    • Although most festivals in California feature bands that mix and match structured sets with improvisation, perhaps no one does it better than High Sierra Music Festival, which takes place every Fourth of July weekend in Quincy. San Francisco's Free Folk Festival, which takes place every June, and the Cotati Accordion Festival in August focus on the unplugged side of things.

      highsierramusic.com/

      cotatifest.com

      sffolkfest.org/2010/index.html

    Jazz, Blues and R&B

    • Fillmore Jazz Fesitval, held in San Francisco's Fillmore district every July, is the largest free jazz festival on the West Coast. If blues is your thing, spend your Labor Day weekend at Blues by the Bay, a two-day blues festival in Eureka. Art & Soul Music Festival in downtown Oakland brings together some of that city's leading performers every August.

      fillmorejazzfestival.com/

      bluesbythebay.org

      artandsouloakland.com/index.htm

    Mixed and Electronic

    • Coachella Music & Arts Festival, held every April three hours from Los Angeles, is one of the top music festivals in the world, and Electric Daisy Carnival, held in June in L.A., is considered the biggest electronic music festival outside Europe. San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is home to the two-day Outside Lands Music & Arts festival every August.

      coachella.com/

      electricdaisycarnival.com/

      sfoutsidelands.com/

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