The pandemic has made its mark, and music fans worldwide have been starved of live entertainment. After nearly two years of lockdowns, cancellations, and just plain non-attendance, festivals have finally returned. Promoters and organizers are working furiously to make sure 2022 marks the official return of the music festival extraordinaire.
Whether you’re into giants like Coachella, Ultra, Beyond Wonderland, or Electric Forest, here are eleven 2022 EDM festivals that are on our radar – and should be on yours too.
2022 EDM Festivals
Electric Wave
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA | FEBRUARY 4-5
The debut edition of the Electric Wave Festival will be held in Indianapolis in 2022, thanks to a partnership between Electric Wave and Solace Family Records, founded by bass producer Ujuu. So, reserve the weekend of February 4-5 for this bass fest, hosted at the Bullseye Event Center.
Electric Wave’s first edition boasts an impressive lineup of experimental EDM artists, including MeSo, Freddy Todd, Kizer, Dewmba, Sayuh, and special guests Black Carl! and Molokai. Additionally, Friday night will feature an exclusive B2B with Ujuu and RYNS. Then, the stage is reverting on Saturday to G-Space, Smoakland, Dalek One, Jaenga, MAD Pritch, Vusive, Akimbo, and Stillsonics. And, certainly including Wiley and Yum Yum in a yum-yum delicious B2B. Reserve tickets now to check out the new pride of Indianapolis: Electric Wave.
Friday and Saturday tickets must be purchased separately, so head to the event page to learn more.
ILLfest
AUSTIN, TEXAS | FEBRUARY 18-19
After two years of delays and cancellations, ILLfest has staged a triumphant return for February 18-19 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Organizers were eager to present fans with a one-of-a-kind EDM festival experience featuring an impressive lineup that clearly justifies the wait.
Attendees can expect to jam with headliners Kaskade and RL Grime, with BAAUER performing a B2B set. Kaskade will be delivering one of his iconic Redux shows with hard-hitting house that gets back to his Chicago roots. Throw down with special guest Liquid Stranger and more over two days of music and spectacular art installations. In addition, expect to see Malaa, Snakehips, The Knocks, Com Truise, Craze, Mr. Carmack, SoDown, Tsuruda, and many more.
ILLfest will also feature well-known artists from other non-EDM genres as well. This includes Phantogram, a dream-pop duo, and a hip-hop artist Devin The Dude, known for his beautiful hit, Doobie Ashtray. Purchase tickets now at illfest.com.
Body Language
CHANDLER, ARIZONA | MARCH 4-6
The latest festival to land in Arizona, Body Language, has been announced by Relentless Beats and RBDeep for the Rawhide Event Center in Chandler. Hosted on March 4-6, this EDM festival is oriented towards house and techno. So, Adam Beyer, Boris Brejcha, Carl Cox, and Kaskade are among the headliners, with Kaskade spinning a trademark Redux. However, the event offers far more, with dozens of performers throwing down on two stages, including Eats Everything and Malaa, among others.
The show includes something for everyone, whether you want to lose your mind with Rebūke or Township Rebellion, or dance your feet off to sets from Wax Motif, Shiba San, and Hannah Wants. Body Language is also promoting up-and-coming artists, including SOHMI and Kasablanca.
For tickets and more information, visit bodylanguagefest.com.
Get Lucky
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH | MARCH 11-12
This year, Utah dance music enthusiasts will finally have the chance to get down on the dance floor, thanks to the Get Lucky EDM festival. The St. Patrick’s Day-themed event will take place at the Great Saltair on the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake on March 11-12.
Organized by V2 Presents, Get Lucky 2022 will feature FISHER and Seven Lions as headliners. Throughout the years of success, the festival has established itself as one featuring the best dance music performers. So, expect to see John Summit, Valentino Khan, Kill The Noise, YehMe2, Rusko, Kompany, Ray Volpe, and ATLiens among the artists in this year’s lineup. LUCATI, Jason Ross, Gem & Tauri, and VNSSA are also scheduled to perform. And, if you’re searching for something different, Ghastly, who will be presenting his Ghengar expertise, is the man to see.
Purchase tickets at getluckyslc.com.
HARD Fest PNW
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON | MARCH 19
HARD Fest is a rare animal with an extensive history of exploring the globe, throwing festivals in SoCal, Hawaii, Colorado, and even Australia. This year’s edition features HARD in the Pacific Northwest to begin their conquest of that great region. The action goes down at the Tacoma Dome on March 19 and will surely bring significant heat to the area with a loaded lineup of skilled EDM artists.
Trap, house, dubstep, future bass, and more are among the genres represented; think of it as an updated version of Insomniac Events and Hard Events’ iconic Hard Summer EDM festival. An epic B2B featuring RL Grime and Baauer is an immediate highlight, but it gets juicier from there with Kayzo, JOYRYDE, Wax Motif, Juelz, Subset, Graymatter, and Jesse Leer bringing waves to the dance floor. Additionally, VNSSA, Born Dirty, and Capozzi are among the rising house DJs in the lineup.
Tickets for Hard Fest Pacific Northwest 2022 are now on sale at hardfest.com.
Ultra Music Festival
MIAMI, FLORIDA | MARCH 25-27
Ultra Music Festival finally returns to Miami’s longtime Bayfront Park venue from March 25-27. The iconic EDM festival has announced its full lineup with top DJs taking stage, including DJ Snake, Martin Garrix, Kygo, David Guetta, and many more. The impressive lineup also includes some of the most well-known and eagerly anticipated names of the EDM scene, such as Alesso, Alison Wonderland, Madeon, Niki Romero, Sofi Tukker, and Slander.
Postponed due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Ultra Music Festival will finally make its massive 2022 comeback. Those who purchased tickets for the 2020 event can transfer them to the forthcoming 2022 show. For more information, visit ultramusicfestival.com.
Ubbi Dubbi
ENNIS, TEXAS | APRIL 22-24
This year, Disco Donnie Presents’ brainchild, Ubbi Dubbi Festival at Ennis, Texas, should be a record-breaker. In 2021, they were the first EDM festival to venture out in the face of adversity, hosting over 60,000 die-hard fans, making Ubbi Dubbi 2021 one of the most significant events held in the U.S. last year. So this year, attendance is projected to be even higher, and it’s not hard to see why with this first-class techno, dubstep, house, and bass lineup. Performances are expected from CloZee, Smoakland, Wreckno, Alison Wonderland, CamelPhat, Gorgon City, Diplo, Excision, Zeds Dead, Mize, and many others.
Situated at the Texas Motordome, the two-day event welcomes campers with a full-service camping area including facilities, internet, and fast food. So bring your RV, trailer, or camper, and mingle with the crowd, then enjoy the pre-festival party by Blunts & Blondes. Ubbi Dubbi is scheduled for April 23-24, so book your tickets now via ubbidubbifestival.com.
Project Glow
WASHINGTON, DC | APRIL 30-MAY 1
Project GLOW, a first-of-its-kind EDM festival, debuts this spring, thanks to the creative juices of organizers, Insomniac and Club Glow. For over two decades, the well-recognized East Coast party organizer, Club Glow, has been known for putting on EDM shows at Echostage and Soundcheck and such festivals as Moonrise and Preakness Infield Fest; just as impactful as Insomniac curating the West Coast EDM scene, organizing top-notch world artists at shows and gigantic festivals like Beyond Wonderland and EDC. So, Project GLOW suggests being one of the year’s most significant events.
The two-day EDM festival will be from April 30th through May 1st at the RFK Festival Grounds in Washington, DC. The event’s star-studded lineup features performances by some of the top names in EDM, including Martin Garrix, Seven Lions, Diplo, GRiZ, Krewella, and SLANDER, among others. The two festival stages will host Above & Beyond, Alan Walker, Blossom, Gem & Tauri, Higher Ground, HoneyLuv, Meduza, and a B2B by MK and Sonny Fodera.
Head over to projectglowfest.com to purchase tickets.
Forbidden Kingdom
ORLANDO, FLORIDA | MAY 6-7
Bass-fueled Florida EDM festival Forbidden Kingdom is one of the few mainline events that didn’t miss a beat during the pandemic, jamming in February 2020 and again in June 2021. If you’re unfamiliar, the show revolves around badass characters and sets from an epic fantasy you can read online. Forbidden Kingdom has a loyal following who are all ramping up in anticipation of the 2022 edition. The festival is set for the Orlando Amphitheater at Central Florida Fairgrounds on May 6-7.
Attendees will be treated to the sounds of some of the bass music scene’s most remarkable, including solid hitters like Excision, Rusko, Deathpact, Subtronics, G Jones, Dion Timmer, FuntCase, Barely Alive, and Riot Ten, to name a few. Moreover, other notables include Oolacile, ZEKE BEATS, Benda, Wooli, Modestep, Downlink, Artix, Point Black and Smith, and Space Wizard to perform B2B sets. Also, rising artists like Smoakland, Level Up, Zingara, Steller, Sharlitz Web, and JEANIE will round out the program.
Two-day passes for Forbidden Kingdom are now available at forbiddenkingdomfestival.com.
Untz Festival
BROWNS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA | MAY 13-15
Tucked neatly between San Francisco and Tahoe, Untz Festival promises an array of underground bass treats with dusk-till-dawn performances by leading EDM artists. The lineup includes Tsuruda, Resonant Language, Hyroglifics, Alix Perez, Chee, Shades, the Librarian, and Supertask, among others. Also, Jon Casey’s “IT HZ” project will debut at the festival.
Furthermore, Wormhole Music Group will take over the stage, featuring such artists as Lab Rat, cHMURa, and Secret Recipe. Additionally, the festival’s trademark Sunrise Sets will greet those who partied through the night, headlined by tiedye ky and Bricksquash. Besides music, the program will include workshops, art, food, and much more.
Situated in Brown’s Valley over the weekend of May 13-15, Untz is a camper’s paradise. Though, the organizers point out that spaces for RVs are limited. So, get your two-day or three-day tickets at theuntzfestival.com. Yosemite, the Bay Area, and Lake Tahoe are all within driving distance, so take the whole week off and enjoy the scenery!
Electric Forest
ROTHBURY, MICHIGAN | JUNE 23-26
Electric Forest, a cult favorite festival, is back and better than ever! With a lineup consisting of Louis the Child, CloZee, Dom Dolla, Porter Robinson, Disclosure, and much more all in the same festival, it is certainly an event hard to resist. The eclectic festival will be making its return on June 23-26 in a forest within Rothbury, Michigan, about a three hour drive away from Detroit/Ann Arbor. Electric Forest has a diverse lineup filled with EDM, jam bands, pop, hip-hop, and more.
This lineup reminds us a lot of Suwannee Hulaween, which was one of our favorite festivals of 2021. This is especially because of the three sets by the renowned The String Cheese Incident. But, also because of the balanced mix of electronic DJs (many underground) and jam bands, with just a hint of hip-hop, pop, and other genres.
Tickets are sold out, but there is an official ticket exchange where you may have luck finding available passes.
