Top Chicago Music Festivals For 2022

Country music comes to Central Illinois for this year’s Tailgate N’ Tallboys Bloomington. Chelcie “Trailer Trash Tammy” Lynn hosts the event at Interstate Center featuring Morgan Wallen, Brantley Gilbert, Riley Green, Chase Rice, Ashley Cook, HARDY and more.

Young the Giant, Big Boi, The Ike Reilly Assassination and Lauren Sanderson will appear at the Middle Waves Music Festival on the Foellinger Theatre campus. The lineup for the two-day event also features Debutants, Necromoon, Overlook, Rosie, *repeat repeat and more.

Food and music once again come together for Taste of Randolph, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The three-day event featuring offerings from over 16 local restaurants will present performances by Neil Frances, The Main Squeeze, Washed Out, Cautious Clay and many others.

Chicago alternative radio Q101 hosts this year’s WKQX Piqniq at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre. The single-day fest will host Main Stage and the Saint Xavier University Stage performances by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Bastille, Walk The Moon, Cold War Kids, Milky Chance, Cannons and Almost Monday.

After two years away, Electric Forest is back for four more days of music and camping. The String Cheese Incident, the Disco Biscuits, Sylvan Esso, Disclosure, GRiZ, Porter Robinson, Louis The Child, Slander, Fisher, Big Gigantic, Lotus, Marco Benevento, Lettuce, Femi Kuti and Toro y Moi are just a few of the scores of performers appearing on various stages throughout the forest.

“The World’s Largest Music Festival,” Summerfest takes place over three weekends and features hundreds of performances on 12 permanent stages. Those topping the lineup include Justin Bieber, Halsey, Machine Gun Kelly, Lil Wayne/Wiz Khalifa/Wu-Tang Clan, Backstreet Boys, Willow, Jason Aldean, The Black Crowes, John Fogerty, Steve Miller Band, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Death Cab For Cutie, Rod Stewart, Charli XCX, Thomas Rhett, Anthony Hamilton, The Pretty Reckless and Violent Femmes.

Grant Park hosts this year’s annual Pride In the Park music festival featuring LGBTQ+ performers, artists and vendors. The two-day fest will see performances by The Chainsmokers, Alesso, Daya, Rebecca Black, J. Worra, Saucy Santana, Joel Corry and more.

Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood hosts the Square Roots Festival featuring live music, family fun, local restaurants/vendors, and craft beer. Among those on the lineup are Bob Mould, Guided By Voices, Dehd, Hayes Carll, Lilly Hiatt, The Cactus Blossoms, The O’my’s, King Yellowman, The Altons, Ésso, Wild Pink, Deep Sea Diver, Aeon Station, Tobacco City and others, including Wiggleworms in the kid zone.

Armchair Boogie brings The Boogiedown to Driftless Music Gardens. Joining the host band on this year’s lineup are Kitchen Dwellers, The Last Revel, Twisted Pine, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, The Kind Country Band, Arkansauce, Art Stevenson and Highwater, One Way Traffic, The MilBillies, Mama Said String Band, Feeding Leroy, Fox Crossing Stringband and High & Rising

Breaking Benjamin, Disturbed, Mudvayne, Three Days Grace, Theory, Avatar and Nothing More are among those on the Upheaval Festival lineup. The two-day rock music festival descends upon Belknap Park with official after shows taking place at The Intersection.

Rate the Pitchfork Music Festival 2022 lineup at 10. See some of the Best New Music around with a lineup made up of The National, Spiritualized, The Roots, Mitski, Toro y Moir, Japanese Breakfast, Earl Sweatshirt, Parquet Courts, Lucy Dacus, Low and many more headed to Union Park this summer.

Country Thunder makes a stop in Wisconsin with many top acts in country and beyond slated to perform at Shadow Hill Ranch. The dairy state edition of the fest features Lee Brice, Morgan Wallen, Sam Hunt, Florida Georgia Line, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Maggie Rose and more.

Chicago’s summer staple Lollapalooza engulfs Grant Park for four days packed with music. Over 170+ acts on the Lolla 2022 lineup will play across nine stages. Performers include Metallica, Dua Lipa, J. Cole, Green Day, Doja Cat, Machine Gun Kelly, Lil Baby, Kygo, Jane’s Addiction, Glass Animals, Billy Strings, Big Sean, The Kid Laroi, Jazmine Sullivan, Don Toliver, Charli XCX, Idles, Turnstile, Kaskade and Rezz, among scores of others.

Those who believe in BBQ (and music) will find plenty to enjoy at the Windy City Smokeout. Held over four days at the United Center parking lot, the music lineup includes Willie Nelson, Tim McGraw, Sam Hunt, Miranda Lambert and several more.

Phlowfest is a music, movement, and lifestyle festival held over two days at Alpine Valley Resort. This year’s music program features Grace Potter, Big Wild, Twiddle, The Original Wailers, The Motet, Dumpstaphunk, Andy Frasco and The U.N., Pink Talking Fish, Low Cut Connie, Hippie Sabotage, Easy Star All-Stars, Neighbor, and others.

Milwaukee Irish Fest, the world’s largest Irish music festival, returns to Henry Maier Festival Park for four days of music, culture and craic. Among the over 100 acts performing across 16 stages includes We Banjo 3, Scythian, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Pay The Devil, JigJam and Chicago Reel.

The Michigan edition of the Breakaway festival takes over Belknap Park for two days of music. Headliners The Chainsmokers and DJ Snake are joined on the lineup by Oliver Tree, Two Friends, Jai Wolf, Yung Gravy, Sidepiece, Ekali, GASHI, Joel Corry, Ship Wrek, Justus Bennetts, Rossy and Drummxnd.

The Midwest’s only three-day Latin alternative music festival, Ruido Fest, returns to Union Park. This year’s lineup is topped by Cypress Hill, Cuco Babasónicos, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Carla Morrison and Maldita Vecindad, with many others slated to appear.

The inaugural Sacred Rose music festival make its debut at SeatGeek Stadium in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois. The impressive first-year lineup features Phil Lesh & Friends, Khruangbin, The War On Drugs, Black Pumas, Umphrey’s McGee, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Goose, STS9, Greensky Bluegrass, Kamasi Washington, Animal Collective, Margo Price, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Punch Brothers, Dawes and Hiatus Kaiyote, along with others.

Host band Old Shoe will once again present Shoe Fest at Camp Shaw-Waw-Nas-See. Along with Old Shoe, additional performers include Leftover Salmon, Keller Williams, Todd Sheaffer, Chicago Farmer & The Fieldnotes, Mr. Blotto, Steady Flow, Them Coulee Boys, The Burney Sisters, The Hillbenders and Family Groove Company, among others.

Some of the biggest names in EDM will perform at this year’s North Coast Music Festival. Among the bevy of artists making their way to SeatGeek Stadium will be Armin van Buuren, Illesium, Diplo, Fisher, Porter Robinson and Kaytranada.

The inaugural All IN Music & Arts Festival premieres Labor Day Weekend at the Indiana State Fairgrounds & Event Center in Indianapolis. Death Cab for Cutie, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Cage the Elephant and John Fogerty top the first-time event’s lineup that also features Portugal. The Man, Dawes, Trampled by Turtles, Lucinda Williams, Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs, Dumpstaphunk, Watchhouse and The Four Tops.

Railroad Earth and Charlie Parr will both perform twice at the Lightning Bug Music Festival. Held over two days at Sunset Hill Farm County Park, additional acts on the lineup include Ghost Light, The Lil Smokies, Lindsay Lou, Cedric Burnside, Duane Betts, Holly Bowling, Mikaela Davis and Southern Star, Cordovas and Marcus Rezak’s Led is Dead.

Riot Fest returns to Douglass Park for its 17th year with My Chemical Romance, Nine Inch Nails and The Misfits (performing their debut album, Walk Among Us, in honor of its 40th anniversary) set to headline the three-day event. Among the many others scheduled to perform are Alkaline Trio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ice Cube, Sleater-Kinney, Portugal. The Man, Bleachers, Descendents, Yellowcard, Sunny Day Real Estate, Bad Religion and Jimmy Eat World.

GRiZ hosts Triple Rainbow, a two-day outdoor camping and music fest held at Alpine Valley. The colorful event will see performances by GRiZ, as well as LSDream, CloZee, Minnesota, Tripp St, EAZYBAKED, Chee, Noah B and Tape B.