Remember when NYC's Electric Zoo Festival was cancelled earlier this year? Yeah, all those crazy kids and their drugs may have missed out on a slice of what 2013's music festivals had to offer, but for the rest of the festival nation 2013 enjoyed a year of carnival rides, mosh pits, the best and worst of festival fashions, and of course the top music acts from around the world.


Made In America

What happens when you put Jay-Z, Budweiser, and a deal from LiveNation together? You get an explosive music festival that is so epic the main stage backdrop is the infamous "Rocky steps" of the Philadelphia Museum of Arts. Even though the festival has only a two year record, nearly 45,000 music lovers flocked to the Quaker State to see artists like HAIM, Kendrick Lamar, and Mrs. Carter herself. The lineup wasn't the only good to come out of this festival, but Jay-Z donated proceeds to the United Way Philadelphia organization. 'Merica!


ACL Music Fest

Austin is the nation's live music capitol, but sadly this summer fans and artists were disappointed alike when 11 inches of rain forced the curtains to close on the final day. Bands like The National and Franz Ferdinand weren't able to perform their sets in the Lone Star State due to hazardous weather conditions.  Despite the final day, the rest of Austin City Limits went off without a hitch getting crowds from around the world bopping to Muse, Queens of the Stone Age, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. ACL is famous for selling out every year, for nine years in a row, and we don't think the rain is going to stunt that record one bit for the 2014 season.

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival

One word to describe this end of summer festival would have to be "diverse". Calling home to the eclectic, coastal city of San Francisco, the festival hailed not only music options from the popular alternative likes of Vampire Weekend and Phoenix, but also legends including Nine Inch Nails and Paul McCartney. There were also over 71 different food options to choose from and for the more thirsty about 50 alcohol selections. The variety and the cool location of Golden Gate Park proved that San Francisco truly knew how to throw a cultured and star-studded event.

Riot Fest

This festival is not for the faint of heart and it certainly lives up to its name. If you've ever attended Riot you can attest to the havoc wreaking mosh pits and the many crowd surfing hopefuls taking place during raging guitar solos and head-banging, screaming front men. For the first time, the party came to Denver and the Centennial State would never be the same. Musical guests like Matt and Kim, Awolnaiton, Kitten, Rancid, Iggy and the Stooges, Blink-182, Brand New, AFI, Public Enemy, and Rancid rocked crowds as the dust billowed over the Colorado fields. Despite the heavy rains, and near cancellation, on the second night crowds trudged their way to the stages for a music filled weekend that didn't disappoint giving Coloradans something to riot about for years to come.


The Governor's Ball

Wait. So you have to take a ferry to get to the island that hosts The Governer's Ball and it's off the coast of New York City? Sounds exclusive, and in a way if you can get tickets to it--you'll be entertained by music royalty. This year The Governor's Ball featured Kanye West, Kings of Leon, The xx, Guns-N-Roses, The Lumineers, Pretty Lights, and the list was so unbelievable mother nature couldn't even handle it and rained out some of the performances. Too good to be true, but still one of the most anticipated festivals of the year.

Warped Tour

Punk rock is not dead and Vans Warped Tour proves that every year and nothing screams "hardcore" like hanging out with Motion City Soundtrack, Bring Me the Horizon, and 3oh!3 in a crowded, burning blacktop parking lot during a scorching summer's day. Warped doesn't just make an appearance in one city, but at least ten all across the nation in order to appease crowds of mainly young people; however, the show is all ages. Break out your best band tees and be prepared to to complain about the lack of shade, but nevertheless come to rock out because Warped is not one to hold back.

Bonnaroo

When it comes to hyping up a crowd, Bonnaroo is no novice. The festival likes to get fans involved before the big fest by doing their annual Roo Wishlists (a way for fans to have a voice in what artists Bonnaroo books for the following year) on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Bonnaroovians don't just get the typical musical experience, but comedy acts are also held in between sets--keeping the party going all day and night. From acts like Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to Daniel Tosh Bonnaroo held to all their expectations of a fantastic festival for audiences of all kinds.