The Year In Festivals: From Inaugural Shindigs To Cancellations & Switcheroos

Coachella 2023 should have been Frank Ocean’s moment, with the Sunday night headline spot marking his first live show since 2017 and a make-good after Coachella 2020 was called off because of the pandemic, along with the 2021 edition. Instead, the lauded artist took the stage during the first weekend at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, nearly an hour late and delivered a controversial set including Ocean reportedly lip-syncing. A few days later Ocean announced he wouldn’t return to play weekend 2 because of “two fractures and a sprain in his left leg.”

And then it was Goldenvoice’s chance to show off as the fest organizers quickly filled Ocean’s spot. After previously surprising fans with a performance from a reunited blink-182 at the Sahara Tent on April 14 – the first time Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker had played together in public since DeLonge departed the pop-punk band in 2015 – Coachella welcomed blink back on weekend 2 for a main stage performance. The evening closed out with a set from Skrillex, Four Tet and Fred again..

The landmark dance set wasn’t the only historic performance at Coachella. The festival was headlined by Bad Bunny on Friday and BLACKPINK on Saturday, with the former making history as the first Latin American solo artist and Spanish-language performer to headline the festival and the latter as the first Korean artist and girl group to top the bill.
Other major festivals with staying power celebrated some big anniversaries in 2023 including San Francisco’s Outside Lands booking its 15th edition at Golden Gate Park (headlined by Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters and ODESZA) and Bumbershoot returning to the 74-acre Seattle Center for its 50th anniversary (topped by Sleater-Kinney and The Revivalists).

With most festivals being held outside and therefore more susceptible to weather-related woes, several 2023 events were forced to temporarily evacuate attendees or nix a day of programming including Pharrell’s Something in the Water Festival in Virginia. This year’s Burning Man also made headlines after heavy rains turned the clay grounds in Black Rock City, Nevada, into cement-like mud and tens of thousands of fans were ordered not to leave the area.

And then there was Electric Zoo, held over Labor Day Weekend on New York City’s Randall’s Island, which canceled its first day, reportedly because the main stage was not completed in time, and then suffered late starts, capacity issues and a security breach due to mismanagement and poor planning.

A number of established festivals were called off altogether including the 20th anniversary of Bamboozle Music Festival in Atlantic City, the Jay-Z-curated Made in America festival in Philadelphia and H.E.R.’s curated Lights On Festival in Mountain View, California.

Although Rolling Loud canceled its New York edition, the festival still took place in Miami and returned to Southern California and Portugal along with making its debut in Thailand and Germany.

New festivals in 2023 included Goldenvoice-produced Power Trip with rock royalty taking over the Empire Polo Grounds Oct. 6-8 including Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Judas Priest (who replaced originally-billed Ozzy Osbourne), Metallica and Tool.
Miami welcomed the debut of Afro Nation’s first-ever fest in mainland North America (held at loanDepot park over Memorial Day weekend) and the inaugural Country Bay Music Festival (held Nov. 11-12 at Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key in Miami, topped by Thomas Rhett and Sam Hunt).

“Over a year ago we had a dream to bring Miami its first country music festival. That dream became a reality, and it exceeded our expectations,” said Nelson Albareda, CEO of Loud And Live, which promoted Country Bay with Engage Live! “We are proud of our team and the performing artists who made this festival such a tremendous success. We look forward to next year’s Country Bay Music Festival that is scheduled for Nov. 9-10, 2024.”