Report reveals best bucket list music festivals with ticket buying tips for fans
CHICAGO, April 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vivid Seats Inc. (NASDAQ: SEAT), a leading marketplace that utilizes its technology platform to connect millions of buyers with thousands of ticket sellers across hundreds of thousands of events each year, today released its Trending Music Festival Guide for the 2025 music festival season. The report analyzes Vivid Seats’ ticket data to find the music festivals with the most buzz this year, how far festival fans are traveling, and essential ticket buying tips.
By looking at single-day and multi-day pass purchases, Vivid Seats has ranked out the most popular music festivals that should be on everyone’s radar this year. Vivid Seats’ deep dive into trending music festivals shows the events that are most in-demand, drawing in crowds from all corners of the country, spiking in interest, and are the best bang for your buck.
Music Festival Superlatives:
Hottest Music Festival – Sand In My Boots
Debuting in Alabama’s Gulf Shores this May, Morgan Wallen’s Sand In My Boots festival is drawing up a ton of interest. Sand In My Boots is coming in at the highest average ticket price of all the music festivals this year with major headliners from Post Malone to Diplo, even beating out historically popular festivals like BottleRock and Coachella.
Most In-Demand – Average Sold Price:
Sand In My Boots - $945
BottleRock Napa Valley - $933
Stagecoach Festival - $760
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival - $734
When We Were Young - $681
Worth The Travel – When We Were Young
When We Were Young festival brings nostalgia to Las Vegas along with thousands of fans from across the country. Music lovers are traveling the farthest average distance to attend this throwback music festival.
Top Distance Traveled – Average Distance:
When We Were Young – 1,159 miles
Under the Big Sky – 993 miles
Wildlands Festival – 984 miles
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival – 776 miles
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival – 749 miles
Best On-A-Budget – Country Stampede
As a growing music festival, Country Stampede in Kansas features a stellar lineup including Luke Bryan and Miranda Lambert. Country music fans can see some of the most in-demand country stars live at a great price for this memorable weekend.
Best Festival Deals – Average Sold Price:
Country Stampede - $83
MMRBQ - $85
Krush Groove Festival - $99
Buzzfest - $100
Georgia Rodeo Music Festival - $103
Up-And-Coming – Under the Big Sky
Going on its sixth year, Montana’s Under the Big Sky is the fastest growing music festival in 2025. The average ticket price for the folksy fest has grown by 107% year-over-year, the most of any other rising music festival.
Most Buzzworthy – CMA Fest
CMA Fest has over 50 years of rocking crowds under its belt and still manages to keep country music fans buzzing. The world’s longest-running country music festival has spiked demand with the average ticket price increasing by 227% compared to last year thanks to an unbeatable country music lineup.
Best Lineup – Lollapalooza Chicago
Honoring Chicago’s most iconic music festival, Lollapalooza is awarded the best music festival lineup of 2025. When the 2025 lineup was released on March 18, site traffic to the Lollapalooza page spiked by 2,320%, featuring some of the most in-demand touring artists from 2024-2025 including Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, The Creator, and more.
Nation’s Most Beloved – Lollapalooza Chicago
Lollapalooza also tops the list as the most popular music festival across the country, drawing fans from more states than any other. According to Vivid Seats sales data from 2015 to the present, the Chicago-based festival is the top seller in five Midwestern states, including its home state of Illinois. Follow Vivid Seats’ interactive map here to see which music festivals are the most popular in each state.
Ticket Buying Tips:
Vivid Seats also compiled ticket buying saving and safety tips for the savvy music festival goer. For fans looking for the biggest ticket savings, Vivid Seats data reveals the cheapest day to attend a music festival, when analyzing single-day tickets, was Wednesday or Thursday.
Cheapest Festival Day – Average Sold Price:
Wednesday - $154
Thursday - $166
Friday - $179
Saturday - $209
Sunday - $224
Vivid Seats wants to remind fans to shop safe and secure this music festival season. Our ticketing experts recommend only buying from trusted websites that stand behind their tickets with buyer guarantees and are backed by the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB). Vivid Seats’ Buyer Guarantee promises that your tickets are valid and authentic, or your money back. Be especially wary of tickets for sale on social media or those that require odd payment methods, such as gift cards, Venmo/Cash App, money orders, or cash only on the street.
The Vivid Seats app is the easiest place to buy tickets and the only place to earn rewards on every purchase, from a free 11th ticket to birthday perks. Head to Vivid Seats’ Game Center, the brand’s in-app free-to-play product, where music fans can find and play daily trivia all festival season long to score points towards ticket discounts and enter drawings for free tickets to their next festival. Game Center can be found in the Vivid Seats app in the Play tab, which showcases games of the day, redeemable credits and Leagues.
Download the Vivid Seats app, available on iOS and Android, to find tickets to the hottest music festivals this season and play in Game Center.
ABOUT VIVID SEATS
Founded in 2001, Vivid Seats is a leading online ticket marketplace committed to becoming the ultimate partner for connecting fans to the live events, artists, and teams they love. Based on the belief that everyone should “Experience It Live,” the Chicago-based company provides exceptional value by providing one of the widest selections of events and tickets in North America and an industry leading Vivid Seats Rewards program where all fans earn on every purchase. Vivid Seats also owns Vivid Picks, a daily fantasy sports app. Through its proprietary software and unique technology, Vivid Seats drives the consumer and business ecosystem for live event ticketing and enables the power of shared experiences to unite people. Vivid Seats has been recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Best Companies for Customer Service in ticketing. Fans who want to have the best live experiences can start by downloading the Vivid Seats mobile app, going to vividseats.com, or calling 866-848-8499.
