As 2019 comes to and end, it’s time to recap our favorite festivals of the year. Music festivals are a dime a dozen nowadays, but there are still many standouts that should not go overlooked. Here are a couple we thought deserved credit this year. 

Best Personalized Festival: Camp Flog Gnaw

Tyler, The Creator continued his run of his self-curated festival, Camp Flog Gnaw. This year, he kept with his ongoing tradition of including collaborators and indie artists in his lineup. Tyler also was able to collab with many sponsors (Converse, Pop-Tarts, etc.) to make up his world this year, bringing that extra level of personalization. This festival is a personal favorite of mine and is always a treat to attend. It’s really a reflection of Tyler’s world that has been built from the ground up and is inspiring from a creative standpoint. 

Best Sleeper Festival: Smoking Grooves

Smoking Grooves was such an underrated festival this year and, if you looked at the lineup, you’d wonder how they pulled it off. Usher, Kali Uchis, and Erykah Badu are just some of the many artists who took the stage that weekend. Smoking Grooves was THE festival to be at if you loved new R&B music – with so much to offer in the genre ranging from up-and-comers to legends. I can imagine looking back on this lineup a couple years from now and being shocked it was actually a real thing. 

Best Rap Festival: Day N Vegas

It was not too long ago that we had Hip Hop festival mainstays like Rock The Bells and Paid Dues. For a couple years after those festivals came to an end, a void was made in the hip hop festival space. Recently, that void has been filled with the success of Rolling Loud and Day N Night fest, but this year one lineup stood out. The Day N Vegas Festival hosted an incredible lineup which included J. Cole, Future, Kendrick Lamar, Migos, and many more. We can’t wait to see where they take this and we hope to see this festival continue. 

Best Festival of the Year: Coachella

This year’s Coachella was nothing short of amazing. With headliners Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino, and Tame Impala leading the way, Coachella was a premiere destination for any music lover this year. Some may say it has even transcended the title of music festival and has become an overall pop culture event. As it has gained popularity, they’ve done a pretty great job of curating their music lineup. Coachella has become the most publicized music weekend where attendees of all walks of life show off their best outfits, experience art installations, and most-of-all enjoy amazing music. This year, Kanye West couldn’t resist joining in on the fun and even brought out his Sunday Service choir to perform on Easter Sunday.