2016 Top 10 Can't-Miss Atlanta Music Festivals

10 Can't-Miss Atlanta Music Festivals

Eileen Falkenberg-Hull

Catch your favorite bands at big music festivals in Atlanta this year.

Each year, the Atlanta area offers up world-class talent at music festivals that show off the city’s historic neighborhoods, iconic venues and not-very-far-away fields. From perennial favorites to newly launched events, these Atlanta music festivals are hot tickets this year.

• SweetWater 420 Fest

  
  

  

  SweetWater 420 Fest (2016 dates TBD) features big-name bands taking the stage as part of this annual festival from Atlanta-owned SweetWater Brewing Company. In addition to enjoying music and art, festivalgoers can taste SweetWater beers and attend presentations from brewing experts. The festival also has a comedy tent featuring local talent and an EDM-centric Not-So-Silent Disco.

• Shaky Knees Music Festival

  
  

  The Shaky Knees Music Festival will be May 13-15, 2016, in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park & International Plaza. The 2015 event featured The Strokes, Pixies, The Avett Brothers and Wilco.

• Shaky Beats Festival

  
  

  New in 2016, the Shaky Beats Music Festival will be held May 20-22 in Centennial Olympic Park. Featuring 40 electronic, indie and hip-hop acts across three stages, food trucks and more, it's sure to be a party like no other.

• Atlanta Jazz Festival

  
  

  If you think getting into a music festival is out of your budget this year, check out the cost of the Atlanta Jazz Festival: $0. While the main part of the festival is Memorial Day weekend, every day in May will feature a free jazz event at jazz clubs, neighborhood parks and locally owned restaurants as part of 31 Days of Jazz. The Memorial Day weekend events all happen at Piedmont Park.

• Counterpoint Music Festival

  
  

  Billed as, “the cure for the common festival,” Counterpoint Music Festival offered up crowd favorites Zedd, The Roots and Widespread Panic as headliners during the May 22-24, 2015, event. Located on the Kingston Downs grounds where the Atlanta Steeplechase is held each year, the festival offers camping in tents, RVs or in the festival’s luxury cabins. Getting there from downtown Atlanta is easy with shuttles from the Civic Center MARTA Station.

• Candler Park Music & Food Festival

  
  

  Southern sounds reign supreme at the Candler Park Music & Food Festival in May in the large park near Atlanta’s Little Five Points. Drive By Truckers, Shovels & Rope, and J. Roddy Ralston & The Business performed in 2015. Proceeds from the festival benefit Atlanta Contact Point, an organization that hosts free play days in Atlanta parks each year.

• Tunes from the Tombs

  
  

  Tunes from the Tombs is one of the most unique music festivals in Atlanta. Featuring local musicians, the June event will hosts numerous stages of entertainment in addition to food trucks and tours, all on the grounds of Historic Oakland Cemetery.

• Imagine Music Festival

  
  

  Electronic musicians, DJs and bands performed alongside cirque-style acts during the August 2015 Imagine Music Festival, featuring dance music at three Atlanta venues: Historic Fourth Ward Park,Masquerade Music Park, and Clear Creek Basin. Located next to the Atlanta BeltLine, the festival provided visitors the unique opportunity to walk to and from venues located near more than 20 locally owned restaurants that call the BeltLine their backyard.

• TomorrowWorld

  
  

  More than 60,000 electronic music fans flock to Chattahoochee Hills each year for the immersive TomorrowWorld experience, which pairs unique decor with world-class entertainment. Happening in September, the concerts take place on seven stages across an 8,000-acre space next to the Chattahoochee River. Attendees can camp in DreamVille, which continues the unique TomorrowWorld experience. Shuttles are available to TomorrowWorld from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and downtown Atlanta.

• A3C Festival & Conference

  
  

  Hip hop takes the stage during the annual A3C Festival & Conference in October. Located at venues in the heart of the Old Fourth Ward and East Atlanta Village, the festival features more than 500 performances over five days and concludes with the Best Block Party Ever, an event that is free to attend. Many of the events are located near the new Atlanta Streetcar route, providing easy access from MARTA rail stations and bus service as well as the downtown hotel district.

Broadway in Atlanta 2016-17

Broadway in Atlanta 2016-17 season highlighted by ‘Matilda,’ ‘An American in Paris’ 

Broadway fans will be whisked to Paris in 2017.

BY MELISSA RUGGIERI

Atlanta theatergoers will be able to globe-trot from fictional Berlin to Paris to Ireland to a few other glamorous countries during the 2016-2017 Fifth Third Bank Broadway in Atlanta season.

The 11 shows cementing the lineup at the Fox Theatre include the debuts of “The Illusionists — Live From Broadway,” “Matilda the Musical,” “Roundabout Theatre Company’s Cabaret,” “An American in Paris,” “A Christmas Story, The Musical,” “The Bodyguard” and “Finding Neverland.”

Bust out the “Dancing Queen” one more time with “Mamma Mia!”

Returning shows (and season options for season ticketholders) spotlight a new production of “The Phantom of the Opera,” as well as “Riverdance,” “Disney’s The Little Mermaid” and the final tour of the ABBA-centric “Mamma Mia.”

Among the new shows, “The Bodyguard,” which is based on the Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner movie from 1992, already has its leading lady in place — R&B singer Deborah Cox, who will portray pop star Rachel Marron. The musical will feature, along with “Bodyguard” staples “I Will Always Love You” and “I Have Nothing,” several other Houston songs, such as “How Will I Know” and “So Emotional.”

Ticket packages for the 2016-17 season will go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday with prices starting at $224 for the seven new shows (prices vary on show time/day and seating location). New subscriptions can be ordered at www.BroadwayInAtlanta.com and by calling 1-800-278-4447. Current subscribers have until Feb. 11 to guarantee their same seats. Tickets to individual shows typically go on sale to the general public eight to 12 weeks prior to opening night.

Here is a glance at the new season:

“The Illusionists – Live From Broadway” (Sept. 27-Oct. 2, 2016): Magic tricks, stunts and “acts of breathtaking wonder” will be provided by seven renowned illusionists.

“Cabaret” (Nov. 1-6, 2016): Acclaimed directors Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall are behind this Tony-winning production of the Kander and Ebb classic, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary season.

“A Christmas Story, The Musical” (Nov. 29-Dec. 4, 2016): Based on the classic 1983 movie, the musical was nominated for three Tony Awards in 2013.

“Disney’s The Little Mermaid” (Jan. 12-15, 2017): Sebastian the crab, Ursula the evil sea witch, Triton, King of the Sea, and the titular character herself, Ariel, are back to entertain under the sea.

“The Phantom of the Opera” (Feb. 22-March 5, 2017): A new production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic features a cast and orchestra of 52, new scenic design, original costume design by Tony winner Maria Bjornson, new choreography and new staging. Oh yes, and there is a chandelier.

“The Bodyguard” (March 28-April 2, 2017): The show premiered in London in late 2012 and was nominated for four Laurence Olivier Awards.

The Broadway hit “Matilda” will debut in Atlanta in April 2017.

“Matilda the Musical” (April 18-23, 2017): Based on the novel by Roald Dahl, the quadruple Tony winner about an extraordinary girl with a vivid imagination and fierce personality remains a smash on Broadway.

“Riverdance” (May 5-7, 2017): For its 20th anniversary tour, the Irish dancing phenomenon will boast a cast and crew of up to 55 members hailing from the U.S., Spain, Australia, Canada, and, naturally, Ireland.

“Finding Neverland” (May 16-21, 2017): The new Broadway hit tells the story behind the creation of Peter Pan from the mind of playwright J.M. Barrie.

“Mamma Mia” (June 13-18, 2017): The eighth longest-running show in Broadway history is dusting off the sequins and spandex for one more roll through “Dancing Queen.”

“An American in Paris” (Aug. 15-20, 2017): With songs from George and Ira Gershwin and a story about an American soldier and a mysterious French girl, it really isn’t surprising that the musical scored a quartet of Tony Awards last year.

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