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The New Year marks the beginning of several music festivals around the world. Here are some of them

Music has been a part of human existence since the beginning of time, thus it is only apt that music festivals thrive around the world and millions gather together to enjoy live music. The best music festivals in the world aren’t always the largest but there is something mystical about them that can pull millions of people. Whether you like techno, rock or classical, there’s a music festival for everyone. Here is a selection of top six music festivals from across the world.

Montreal International Jazz festival, Canada

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Started in 1980 and named the world’s largest jazz festival by Guinness World Records after almost two million music lovers attended it in 2004, the Montreal International Jazz Festival is a landmark event in jazz circuit taking place for over ten days, featuring 3,000 artists from 30 countries. With a legendary artist like Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis Montreal International Jazz festival is the biggest music festival for a jazz lover.

Date: June 25- July 4

Location:  Quartier des Spectacles, Montreal, Canada

Tomorrowland, Belgium

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Debuted in 2005, this music festival in Belgium despite its young age has made quite a name for itself. It has become the biggest and the best EDM music festival in the world attracting thousands of music lovers across the globe. Known for its legendary stage design created around new themes each year, this music festival plays host to the biggest names in EDM history.

 Date:  July 17- 27

Location:  Belgium

Burning man, USA

(picture credit: MSN.com)

Started in 1990 Burning Man in Nevada, USA is more than just a music festival. Set in the middle of nowhere, it is an artistic getaway. Rajat Khaitan, a student of Ancient Studies in New York and a musician, tells India Outbound, “To understand the Burning Man you just have to go. It cannot be described over a conversation. Last year was my third year of attending the music festival and it is different every time. Though tough, it’s an experience one cannot miss. It’s not a non-stop party for influencers like Coachella but a temporary city in the middle of the desert. What I thought was a one-time thing turned out to be a yearly pilgrimage. Coachella and Tomorrowland are festivals while Burning Man is a full-on event. It is a temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression and self-reliance.” The name Burning Man comes from the symbolic ritual of burning a large wooden sculpture (a “Man”). Burning Man does not book any artist for the event but encourages participants to perform for the community free of charge.

Date: August 30- September 7

Location: Nevada,USA

Coachella Valley Music and Art Festival, USA

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Since starting off in 1999, the Coachella Valley Music Festival has become one of the most popular music festivals in the USA. In recent times because of social media, its popularity has skyrocketed. Alongside pop and hip-hop legends Beyonce, Jay Z, Rage against machines etc. Coachella is also known for its colossal contemporary art installation. Though over the years Coachella has hosted iconic artists lately it is the place where social media starts and famous media personality attend making Coachella the talk of the town.

Date: April

Location: Indio, California

Woodstock, USA

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Not only is Woodstock the most legendary out of all the above-mentioned music festival, but the four-day event attended by over half a million took over Max Yasgur’s upstate New York dairy farm in 1969 is also one of pop culture’s most definitive moments. In 2019 Woodstock celebrated its 50th anniversary. The festival that once hosted musicians like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Blood Sweat & Tears, Carlos Santana to name a few is not only an important music festival but also a historic one. Woodstock as a music festival represents hope, the festival extolled the virtues of idealism and cooperation that still lives on.

Date: August

Location: New York

Glastonbury Music Festival, UK

(picture credit: Euronews)

Glastonbury sets the bar when it comes to music festivals worldwide.  It hosts the biggest name in music on its famous Pyramid Stage, but it’s the other side of Glastonbury that sets it apart. From flame throwing Arcadia spider and the hidden, underground Piano Bar, every corner of Glastonbury is full of surprises.

Date: July 24-28

Location: Pilton, UK