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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals
Slide Nr 1So maybe your days of dusting yourself off at 2pm after a night at the stages – and getting ready to do it all over again tonight – are over. That doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice good music and good times for kid-appropriate activities (or vice versa). Big names like Bonnaroo, Glastonbury and Lollapalooza have become increasingly fit for families in recent years, but here, we turn our attention to several more under-appreciated (and less overpriced) events that also deserve props for providing a memorable experience to young and old alike. These 15 family-friendly music festivals around the world offer good, clean fun for everyone – and likely even good, clean toilets, too.
Photo © Camp Bestival 0/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 2Joshua Tree Music Festival in California, USA – Home to the peculiar tree that lends it its name, Joshua Tree, California, is also the site of one of the state’s most down-to-earth desert festivals, with a focus on building an inclusive community atmosphere while introducing lesser-known local and international artists. Kids are certainly not an afterthought at this self-described “family-friendly global music experience” held every spring; for one, they get their own Kidsville district with a sunup-to-sundown roster of fun-filled activities, like campfires, crafting sessions and dance parties. When the excitement gets to be too much, tykes can take a nap in the peaceful family camping area. Kids four and younger get in free, while the under-18 set benefits from age-based discounts.
Photo © Joshua Tree Music Festival 1/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 3Festival Beauregard in Normandy, France – Set against the backdrop of the stately 18th-century Château de Beauregard in Hérouville-Saint-Clair, the reasons for grown-ups to flock to this celebration of alternative pop, rock and indie jams are clear (we’ll give you three: Macklemore, Aya Nakamura, Dropkick Murphys). But why bring the little ones along? As it happens, the event offers an engaging Kids Space, where the smallest of festival-goers can enjoy everything from face painting and juggling lessons to video games, sporting activities and even circus workshops. Two sweets-peddling food trucks and a programme of live shows – some scheduled, some a surprise – are on hand to keep boredom perpetually at bay. Not too shabby a set-up for a festival that lets attendees aged 3 to 11 in for free!
Photo: Wikimedia Commons © Pascal Radigue 2/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 4Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, Texas – Though it’s not exactly small or little-known, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the hugely popular ACL Festival and its kid-approved mini-me, Austin Kiddie Limits. Here, young festival-goers are encouraged to move and create – join a daily dance party, help paint a community mural, watch circus performers in action, get hands-on with creative building activities, play ping pong, sport a temporary tattoo, learn musical skills, or simply take a load off in one of the quieter lounge areas for some colouring or downtime. The festival has even introduced a dedicated family entrance near Austin Kiddie Limits, along with stroller-friendly family lanes at the main entry points. How thoughtful!
Photo: Austin City Limits Music Festival © Taylor Regulski 3/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 5Colours of Ostrava in Ostrava, Czech Republic – Music, film, art, intellectual discussion, dance parties, a beautiful industrial setting and democratic pricing – this Czech event is a rare gem in the crown of the European festival season. The musical genres are diverse (everything from indie to jazz and R&B), the entertainment is endless (tightrope walkers, thinkers, dancers, poets), and there’s something for patrons of all ages. Kids get their own tailored programme in the ČEZ Family Park area, chock-full of age-appropriate activities like crafts, sports, interactive theatre and treasure hunts. Though supervision is available, the family zone also hosts a variety of shows, meaning parents might actually want to stay and join the fun. Amusingly, children’s ticket prices are determined by height: kids under 140cm get in free.
Photo: Colours of Ostrava © Eugene Zhyvchik 4/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 6Deer Shed in Topcliffe, England – If you’ve got one kid who’s into the arts, but another who prefers scientific pursuits, fear not – this family-oriented event is a true crowd-pleaser. There’s more music, comedy, movie screenings, interactive shows and active endeavours (wild swimming, roller-skating or ‘wrong pong’, anyone?) than you can shake a stick at, but the festival’s USP is its programme of more cerebral activities, which offers budding scientists and (sound) engineers the chance to try their hand at making a functional robot, building an 808 bass drum or learning to scratch like a DJ from the golden era of spinning. If that’s not enough, there’s always the monumental, 2,500sq m labyrinth combining classic hedge maze chaos with immersive theatre and escape-room-style enigmas to puzzle your way out of – a new and engrossing addition for the 2026 event.
Photo © Deer Shed 5/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 7Fuji Rock in Niigata, Japan – The term “mainstream music festival” tends to evoke visions of endless muddy fields or dusty expanses packed with the unshowered masses. Not so at Fuji Rock Festival, which – despite its size – manages to remain clean, green, calm and nature-oriented, partly thanks to its location at the Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture. This plays right into families’ hands: the mountainous setting and safe, respectful atmosphere allow kids to explore and enjoy – whether they’re splashing in the river, strolling through the forest, tackling activities in Kids Land or dancing their hearts out at daytime concerts. Participants of every generation are encouraged to take part in recycling and waste-reduction initiatives, making it a prime opportunity to show kids that having a blast can be sustainable, too.
Photo © Fuji Rock 6/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 8Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland, Australia – Held over six summer days and nights ending on the 1st of January every year, Woodford Folk Festival gives attendees a chance to really immerse themselves in the magical world that the event creates – and that also goes for the little ones. Kids of all ages can find their perfect niche across the extensive event programming, whether at the circus workshops, in the ball pits, on live-action role-play quests or while paddling around on – or cannonballing into – scenic Lake Gkula. Add in world-class music, interactive performances and daily lantern parades winding through the “streets” of the festival grounds, and by the time 31 December rolls around, the whole fam will have an entire community of friends with whom to ring in the new year.
Photo: Woodford Folk Festival © SomeFX 7/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 9Calgary Folk Music Festival in Calgary, Canada – Laid-back, barefoot and kid-friendly, this is the epitome of what a folk festival should be. Held in the grassy meadows of Prince’s Island Park, Calgary Folk Musical Festival provides more than enough room for families to lay out their picnic blankets and let the kids have a good run about, all while everyone enjoys a line-up of artists spanning multiple genres, generations and corners of the globe – fascinating cross-collaborations are the order of the day. If the small folk get squirmy, a trip to the Family Zone – complete with play areas, hands-on activities, spectacles and more – should cure any case of “can we go home now?”
Photo: Calgary Folk Music Festival © Mitra Samavaki 8/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 10Starbelly Jam Music Festival in Crawford Bay, British Columbia – This volunteer-driven jamfest on the shores of Kootenay Lake has found that Goldilocks sweet spot when it comes to crowd sizes, and prides itself on its fun-for-all-ages approach. When the family’s not rocking out to the eclectic line-up encompassing bluegrass, funk, reggae, indie rock and more, you can watch roaming performers, create something fantastical in the arts and crafts zone, attend story hour in a giant inflatable salmon, or dress up and join in the ever-popular Giant Starbelly Parade. The festival venue – Crawford Bay Park – is itself a natural playground with plenty of space for tossing a ball or just running around and getting the sillies out.
Photo © Starbelly Jam Music Festival 9/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 11Camp Bestival in East Lulworth, England – If you haven’t yet heard of Camp Bestival, you’re in for a treat. This event, running continuously since 2008, has become a legend on the family-friendly festival circuit; we’re talking air-guitar championships, songwriting workshops, circus lessons, fairground rides, giant kids’ discos, science tents and colossal bouncy castles. And that doesn’t even begin to touch the programme of music, theatre and comedy geared toward every age group, from toddlers to teens and, well, the young at heart. A word to the wise: Check out the programme ahead of time, and pick the highlights you’re most keen to catch. Because while you’ll want to see and do everything, you can’t. You simply can’t.
Photo © Camp Bestival 10/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 12Puistoblues in Järvenpää, Finland – Finland’s largest blues festival may attract serious aficionados with its soulful line-up of acts hailing from across the globe, but it’s rocking some serious family-friendly vibes, too. Much of the age-appropriate fun centres around Kakarablues, the long-running children’s programme, where pint-sized participants can dive into music workshops, crafts, games and interactive performances designed especially for them. Elsewhere, open green spaces, roaming entertainers and a nonchalant Nordic sensibility make it easy for families to settle in for the day, whether that means dancing by the stage or just picnicking in the sunshine.
Photo: Puistoblues © Atte Leskinen 11/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 13Strawberry Music Festival in Grass Valley, California – This beloved, family-run gathering in the Sierra Nevada foothills has been perfecting the art of the fuss-free folk festival since the early ’80s, drawing a multigenerational crowd that returns year after year for its warm community spirit and medley of bluegrass, folk, Americana and roots music. Families can spread out beneath the pines while little festival-goers bounce between arts-and-crafts workshops, nature hikes, kid-friendly yoga sessions and the ever-popular Strawberry Kids’ Parade – or simply run wild between sets. The atmosphere is genuinely wholesome, the pace unhurried. Don’t be surprised if, as soon as you pack the car to leave, the kids are already begging to come back next year.
Photo © Strawberry Music Festival 12/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 14Doune the Rabbit Hole in Stirlingshire, Scotland – With a heavy focus on Scottish talent and an array of creative activities for every attendee, this long-running festival has carved out a reputation as an intimate, community-oriented, family-friendly fête. The Wacky Warren kids’ area is its own mini festival, promising everything from giant sandpits and high-energy games to quiet reading corners and storytelling time (plus a dedicated tent for teens), but really, the entire event is designed for the whole fam. You can design masks, learn aerial silks, create your own costumes or join a drum circle and make some music. After all, families that play together, stay together!
Photo © Doune the Rabbit Hole 13/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 15Bumbershoot in Seattle, Washington – This Seattle institution has been going strong since 1971, so they know a thing or two about creating an awesome experience for all ages. Youngershoot, the festival’s kids’ area, offers performances and activities geared towards younger participants, while the wider programme includes a whimsical selection of eclectic crowd-pleasers like a puppet playhouse, high-flying BMX spectacles, a magician showcase and Una the Mermaid performing in her 900-gallon aquarium. Kiddos 12 and under attend for free.
Photo © Bumbershoot 14/15
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The Top 15 Family-Friendly Music Festivals.
Slide Nr 16Big Bang Festival in Various International Cities – Created expressly for young audiences, but sophisticated enough to keep grown-ups engaged, too, this roaming festival is designed to get curious minds thinking about music in new and creative ways. Taking place in cultural venues from Vancouver to Dublin, the programmes often blend concerts, sound installations and interactive performances with activities that invite children to experiment and make some noise of their own. One minute, they might be composing with unusual instruments or exploring musical labyrinths, the next, they’re putting on participatory dance performances or clambering through sensory soundscapes meant to spark the imagination. It’s equal parts avant-garde and just plain fun – and with nearly 20 international locations, it’s also convenient to attend.
Photo © Big Bang Festival 15/15
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