Best Music Festivals Of The Summer Based On Ticket Sales

Considered the #1 Music Festival (by ticket price) by Vivid Seats

The results of a recent USA Today / 10 Best Poll were unveiled on May 11, and after four weeks of fan voting, it revealed that the Chicago edition of Riot Fest won the title of Best Music Festival, beating out Electric Forest Festival, New Orleans Jazz Festival, Shaky Knees Music Festival, Firefly Music Festival, Newport Folk Festival, Bonnaroo, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Wakarusa Music Festival,and Sasquatch!

The initial list included 20 nominees as compiled by Alex Young, Vito Valentinetti, and Chip Conley, who comprised the expert panel. From there, fans were tasked with selecting their favorites to produce a final Top 10 list of the Best Music Festivals in the U.S. Other music festivals initially in the running were Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Fun Fun Fun Fest, Governors Ball, Outside Lands, South by Southwest, Pitchfork Music Festival, Lightning in a Bottle, and FYF Fest.

In light of the intriguing results, Vivid Seats took a look at its own top 10 for 2015 based on the average price of tickets sold. Only one event, Electric Forest Festival, appeared on both lists, with complete results represented in the table below.

**Best Music Festivals**
RANK	USA TODAY POLL (BY POPULAR VOTE)	VIVID SEATS (BY AVERAGE TICKET PRICE)
1	Riot Fest Chicago	Coachella
2	Electric Forest Festival	Electric Forest Festival
3	New Orleans Jazz Festival	CMA Music Festival
4	Shaky Knees Music Festival	OVO Fest
5	Firefly Music Festival	Outside Lands
6	Newport Folk Festival	Ultra Music Festival
7	Bonnaroo	Stagecoach
8	Hardly Strictly Bluegrass	Watershed Festival
9	Wakarusa Music Festival	Lollapalooza
10	Sasquatch!	Florida Country Superfest

Interestingly enough, the country’s best music festival also happens to be one of the most affordable, as Riot Fest Chicago registered a median price of $182 (as of May 12), the lowest of all upcoming music festivals spotlighted in the above lists. In addition to Riot Fest, plenty more music festivals are still to come in 2015, so click on your choice event in the table below to view tickets currently available in the marketplace. You also can find complete artist information inside Vivid Seats’ Guide to Music Festivals 2015.

**Upcoming Best Music Festivals 2015**
RANK	NAME	DATE	GET-IN PRICE	MEDIAN PRICE
1	OVO Fest (2-Day Pass)	Aug. 3-4	$262	$527
2	Electric Forest Festival (4-Day Pass)	June 25-28	$480	$505
3	Outside Lands (3-Day Pass)	Aug. 7-9	$407	$500
4	CMA Music Festival (4-Day Pass)	June 11-14	$214	$465
5	Watershed Festival (3-Day Pass)	July 31-Aug. 2	$385	$460
6	Lollapalooza (3-Day Pass)	July 31-Aug. 2	$333	$409
7	Firefly Music Festival (4-Day Pass)	June 18-21	$258	$405
8	Bonnaroo (4-Day Pass)	June 11-14	$274	$395
9	Sasquatch! (4-Day Pass)	May 22-25	$227	$325
10	Newport Folk Festival (3-Day Pass)	July 24-26	$274	$315
11	Florida Country Superfest (2-Day Pass)	June 13-14	$134	$288
12	Riot Fest Chicago (3-Day Pass)	Sept. 11-13	$129	$182

**All single-day listings excluded. Prices as of May 12.

About the Author

Nicole DeRosa joined the All Access Music Group family in February 2012. She loves the infectious energy and enthusiasm of the music industry and she feels right at home having music compliment her every day. Nicole blends her experience and skills which she has culled from her time working in New York as a photo researcher and editor at Entertainment Weekly and Harpers Bazaar Magazine. After New York, Nicole moved to London for school and there she stood in line for hours on Oxford Street to hear Paul McCartney play an impromptu concert on a rooftop. Another notable experience while living in London was her first time ever calling into a radio station, she won an invite to a record release party with the Beastie Boys for their album 'Ill Communication'. "I love London as it has such a vibrant and diverse music scene and I couldn't help but go out every night to check out gig after gig. It was a wonderful time." Living near the notable Sherpards Bush Empire music venue one of her most favorite concerts to date was seeing Bjork. Nicole has also worked for Walt Disney World in Product Development and later went on to work at Disney's Feature Animation Archives in Florida. Nicole has a passion for travel and adventure and has always wanted to live in California so she packed up and moved four years ago to the "left coast" and has been loving it ever since.