Everfest & Fest300 Reveal World’s Top 300 Festivals In 2017!

Everfest and Fest300, two digital festival discovery communities that merged in 2016 under the Everfest brand have revealed their annual Fest300 list presenting the 300 most esteemed festivals from around the world!

Trying to decide what festivals to hit up this season? With so many to choose from, the choice can be daunting! Well, shake that stress off because clearly, Everfest has got you covered! The Top 300 picks were nominated by Fest300 co-founder, Airbnb Strategic Advisor and Burning Man board member Chip Conley and voted on by Everfest’s 500k member community. To make this list come to fruition, the team formerly known as Fest300 spent 4 years refining a model with a focus on how people discover new festivals, digitizing their personal experiences. Now under the Everfest brand, the team will travel the world in search of the most meaningful events, producing a 24/7 unmatched global editorial view on festival culture. Encompassing festivals from over 70 countries, the Fest300 list creates a spectacular snapshot of how festivals are driving the live event industry as well as becoming cultural touchstones across the world.

Check out the 300 best festivals in the world right here!

Electric Forest
Photo Credit: aLIVE Coverage

But why such an expansive list?

Well, according to Nielsen’s Audience Insights Report on Music Festivals, 32 million people attend at least one festival in the U.S. each year and will travel an average of 900 miles to attend a festival. Music fans are also twice as likely to discover music via Facebook, thus outlining the importance of digital discovery platforms for the new generation of festival-goers. When Everfest and Fest300 joined forces in 2016, its mission was to become the undisputed global authority on the world’s music and cultural festivals fusing savvy editorial content, tech-driven discovery tools, and a forward thinking digital home for the global festival community.

Crop Over
Photo Credit: Visit Barbados

But it doesn’t stop there.

What began as a simple tool for finding events has expanded into the community’s first member’s club, Everfest Premium, offering exclusive perks, discounts, and experiences from event partners around the world. Examples include free VIP upgrades, pre-sale access, artist meet and greets, discounts on ticket, food, merch and more. With nearly half a million basic users, Everfest is thrilled to offer a first of its kind opportunity for passionate festival fans around the world.

Burning The Clocks
Photo Credit: Ray Gibson

This year, Everfest’s Fest300 list is 54% music-focused, with a 3% growth in electronic music.

37% of the 2017 list additions are based in Europe, while North America still retains 37% of the overall list. These North American 2017 winners are primarily focused on the “Conscious Gathering” trend, offering more experiential programming than just music. Events with exotic locations proved to be trending in the 2017 list, further pointing to destination festivals as a rising tide across global festival-going. Per the site’s tradition, 30 festivals previously included on the annual list were removed, and the final 30 festivals were selected by festival-goers via a crowdsourcing campaign, Fest300’s Best Fest Quest, held in November.

There have been some amazing festivals added to the 2017 list! Check them out below!

Lucidity
Photo Credit: Juliana Bernstein

First, here are a few thoughts about the project straight from the Fest300 Co-Founder and Everfest CEO:

“For a few years, I’ve been saying ‘The more digital we get, the more ritual we need,’ but with the growing demand for festivals this year, I think the new mantra is ‘the more the world becomes crazy, the more we seek refuge.’ We’re proud to announce our 2017 list so that our Everfest/Fest300 fan base can seek out new places beyond the ‘default’ world.”

– Fest300 Co-Founder Chip Conley

“We’re thrilled to have the Fest300 team on board to help make the world a little more festive. Their thought leadership is a pillar of the community we are building together, and Everfest Premium is the next evolutionary step towards that goal. We want to elevate the festival experience and truly meld it with our fans passions and curiosities to enable all of us to discover and attend one more festival a year.”

– Everfest CEO Jay Manickam

Photo Credit: Big Mountain Music Festival

Fest300 List 2017 New Additions: The World’s Best Festivals

CHI WOW WAH TOWN

Location – Australia

Dates – February 24 – 26, 2017

Earth Frequency Festival

Location – Australia

Dates – February 17 – 20, 2017

Yemaya Festival

Location – Australia

Dates – April 21 – 24, 2017

Meadows in the Mountains

Location – Bulgaria

Dates –  June 9 – 12, 2017

Festival Western de St-Tite

Location – Canada

Dates –  September 8 – 17, 2017

Fozzyfest

Location – Canada

Dates –  September 14 – 17, 2017

Love International

Location – Croatia

Dates –  June 28 – July 5, 2017

Let it Roll Open Air

Location – Czech Republic

Dates –  August 3 – 5, 2017

Pete the Monkey Festival

Location – France

Dates –  TBD

Balaton Sound

Location – Hungary

Dates –  July 5 – 9, 2017

Djakarta Warehouse Project

Location – Indonesia

Dates –  TBD

Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival

Location – Indonesia

Dates –  March 3 – 5, 2017

Paratissima

Location – Italy, Macedonia

Dates –  TBD

Genius Loci Fest

Location – Mexico

Dates –  June 22 – 26, 2017

Felabration

Location – Nigeria

Dates –  TBD

Woodstock Festival Poland

Location – Poland

Dates – August 3 – 5, 2017

AgitÁgueda Art Festival

Location – Portugal

Dates – July 1 – 23, 2017

Electric Castle

Location – Romania

Dates – July 12 – 17, 2017

Alfa Future People

Location – Russia

Dates – July 7 – 9, 2017

Sweden Rock Festival

Location – Sweden

Dates – June 7 – 10, 2017

Nyege Nyege Festival

Location – Uganda

Dates – September 1 – 3, 2017

Eastern Electrics

Location – United Kingdom

Dates –  August 5, 2017

Enchanted Forest Gathering

Location – California, USA

Dates –  June 9 – 11, 2017

Riot Fest

Location – Colorado & Illinois, USA

Dates –  Chicago – September 15 – 17, 2017
Dates –  Denver – TBD

Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival

Location – Florida, USA

Dates – March 2 – 5, 2017

Dancefestopia

Location – Missouri, USA

Dates – Sept 7 – 10, 2017

Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival

Location – Nevada, USA

Dates – May 27 – 29, 2017

Gratitude Migration

Location – New Jersey, USA

Dates – July 14 – 16, 2017

Euphoria

Location – Texas, USA

Dates – April 6 – 9, 2017

Quest Festival Vietnam

Location – Vietnam

Dates – TBD

About Fest300 and Everfest:

Fest300 was co-founded by Chip Conley, the creator of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, Burning Man board member, New York Times bestselling author and now the Head of Global Hospitality and Strategy at AirBnB, and Art Gimbel, world traveler, and creator of the popular app “The World’s Best Festivals.” Fest300’s mission was to present personalized information on 300 top culture and music festivals from around the world, from the BaliSpirit Festival to Oktoberfest to Art Basel Miami. Everfest was created by fellow global wanderers and serial tech entrepreneurs Jay Manickam (uShip, RoverPass) and Paul Cross (TicketBud, RoverPass). Everfest aims to be the world’s festival authority, boasting over 15,000 festivals and growing, inclusive of all genres, sizes, and geographies. Together now under one brand, Everfest is about discovery, cultural curiosity, and connecting and experiencing the world of festivals. For more information, click here!

Follow Fest300 on social media:

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Featured Photo Credit: Galen Oakes