The Monterey Jazz Festival occurs annually in Monterey, California, on a weekend in September. The festival's first year in 1958 saw famous jazz musicians play on its stage, including Dizzie Gillespie, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday. Since 1958, the festival has grown to feature nine stages for its three-day event as of 2011. This event occurs on the Monterey Fairgrounds, a 20-acre site in eastern Monterey.
Located in Southern California's Coachella Valley, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day event occurring on the third or fourth weekend of April every year. Founded in 1999, this festival is commonly referred to as "Coachella." Tent camping is available near Lake El Dorado for concertgoers who want to attend all three days of the festival. Coachella features artists from various genres, including hard rock, pop and hip-hop.
Chicago's annual Lollapalooza festival is a three-day music event that takes place in Grant Park in the Windy City's downtown district on a weekend in early or mid-August. Founded in 1991, initially as a touring festival, Lollapalooza settled into a Chicago-only event in 2005. Genres of music at this event include hip-hop, indie rock, dance and alternative rock.
One of the newest music festivals in the southern United States as of 2011, the Rapid Jams Music Festival will debut in June 2011 at Roanoke Rapid, North Carolina. Rapid Jam's artist lineup will feature country music artists, including Willie Nelson, Sugarland and Darius Rucker. This music festival will feature two stages for performances. Rapid Jam will occur in southern Roanoke Rapids on Wallace Fork Road, just off Interstate 95.
The Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL) sprang from the "Austin City Limits" television show, a program featuring Texas-based artists. While the show concentrated mostly on country-western artists, the three-day ACL Music Festival features performers from the indie rock, country, hard rock and jazz genres. Founded in 2002, ACL occurs in October in Zilker Park.