Coachella, Lollapalooza, Glastonburyâthereâs a chance that youâve heard of these festivals. These are the festivals that some of the biggest artists in the world grace with their presence, offering fun and excitement to the thousands of people watching. Itâs always a fun time to watch the various performances occurring at these events, especially if youâre a fan of such music.
However, if you have an itch for new music, then these festivals on the list may pique your interest enough to watch. These five are about classical and jazz music, which may not seem interesting at first glance, but they are surely worth spending time on. Theyâre as fun and exciting as regular pop music festivals, and who knows, you might even become a fan after attending them.
1. Prague Spring International Music Festival
If you want to explore the height of classical music, then this is definitely the place to be. As this is one of the most famous festivals of its type in the world, you wonât have a shortage of classical music from its various venues all over the city. By the end of the three weeks, starting from the ceremony honoring the Czech Republicâs greatest composer up to the finale by one of Antonin Dvorakâs works, youâll be firmly acquainted with the world of classical music and will be begging for more after it.
2. Bayreuthâs Wagner Festival
If exploring the wide expanse of classical music may be too daunting a task for you, then maybe youâll like this German festival that focuses on only one. But donât be concernedâRichard Wagnerâs operas have just as much depth and variety to witness, and youâll experience them in an opera house designed to the late composerâs specifications. However, you better make your reservations as early as now; the site only seats 1,925 people, and thereâs a good reason why itâs always sold out.
3. Monterey Jazz Festival
If you know nothing about jazz, then why not travel to one of the oldest jazz festivals in the world? Situated on the north California coast, the Monterey Fairgrounds is home to a jazz festival blessed with titans like Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday in its beginning, who allowed its superstar musicians to walk the grounds and collaborate with other musicians. There is a âCalifornianâ energy to the entire event, with the infectious spirit of this âjazz heavenâ being a great place to start learning about jazz.
4. St Lucia Jazz
As one of the top five jazz festivals in the world, this festival will definitely encourage you to visit the Caribbean around the first two weeks of May. Youâll be able to hear all types, varieties, and fusions of the genre on display here, while you experience the splendid natural beauty of the country. St. Lucia has never sounded better, infusing its own local twist on the borrowed art form and giving you even more reason to start loving jazz.
5. Montreux International Jazz Festival
Though the festival has since started to incorporate elements of world and Brazilian music, the jazz music and energy here remain quite alive and well. You would never expect that a city between a lake and the mountains of Switzerland would attract 200,000 people a year, and yet it does. The musicians here arenât doing this for the money, yet you wouldnât know it by the openness and respect that you can feel from the worldâs greatest musicians as they ask you to jam out with them.
Classical and jazz music may not be among the most popular forms of music in the world anymore, but they remain solid and incredibly fun music styles that deserve to be listened to, and these five amazing events prove it.
