“Hot town, summer in the city/Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty/Been down, isn’t it a pity/Doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city”
Thankfully things have changed a lot since The Lovin’ Spoonful penned that line over 40 years ago. Temperatures may be the same (or even warmer), but almost all major cities now offer extensive (and well-attended) summer arts activities and festivals. We list many of them under each city.
Summer is still a great time however to get out of the city and re-learn what having green below and blue above is like – and for arts buffs few activities are more enjoyable and complete than a good theater, music or multi-art summer festival. You are surrounded by fellow enthusiasts, prices (especially if you book early or become a member) can be inexpensive plus you can frequently walk from one event to another as well as to local restaurants and where ever you are staying. The only hard trick is figuring out how to get to the Festival as many of them are in relatively remote rural locations. Usually a call to the Festival’s office (or the local tourist bureau) can get you an answer to those questions as well as others such as “”where is a nice reasonable B & B or self-catering cottage?”
If any of these festivals interest you, then go to their website and sign-up for email updates – which is the best way to find out about discount tickets.
- All
- Pacific
- Mountain
- Central
- Eastern
Classical Music:
- Aspen Music Festival and School (Aspen, CO)
- Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival (Vail, CO)
- Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival (North Eastham, MA)
- Carmel Bach Festival (Carmel, CA)
- Caramoor International Music Festival (Katonah, NY)
- Deer Valley Music Festival (South Park City, UT)
- Eastern Music Festival and School (Greensboro, NC)
- June in Buffalo Festival (Buffalo, NY)
- Moab Music Festival (Moab, UT)
- Mostly Mozart Festival (New York, NY)
- Music From Angel Fire (Angel Fire, NM)
- Newport Music Festival (Newport, RI)
- Ojai Music Festival (Ojai, CA)
- Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival (Santa Fe, NM)
- Sitka Summer Music Festival (Sitka, AK)
- Sun Valley Summer Symphony (Sun Valley, ID)
College Art Museums:
- Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC)
- Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (Berkeley, CA)
- Blaffer Gallery (Houston, TX)
- Blanton Museum (Austin, TX)
- Fleming Museum at the University of Vermont (Burlington, VT)
- Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA)
- Hood Museum of Art (Hanover, NH)
- Middlebury College Museum of Art (Middlebury, VT)
- Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI)
- Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery (Nashville, TN)
- Williams College Museum of Art (Williamstown, MA)
Dance:
- American Dance Festival (Durham, NC)
- Bates Dance Festival (Lewiston, ME)
- Jacob’s Pillow Dance (Becket, MA)
- Vail International Dance Festival (Vail, CO)
Jazz:
- Atlanta Jazz Festival (Atlanta, GA)
- Burlington Discover Jazz Festival (Burlington, VT)
- Chicago Blues Festival (Chicago, IL)
- Chicago Jazz Festival (Chicago, IL)
- Detroit International Jazz Festival (Detroit, MI)
- DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival (Wilmington, DE)
- Gene Harris Jazz Festival (Boise, ID)
- Jazz Aspen Snowmass (Aspen, CO)
- New Mexico Jazz Festival (Albuquerque, NM)
- Newport Jazz Festival (Newport, RI)
- Oregon Festival of American Music (Eugene, OR)
Multi-Art:
- Artown (Reno, NV)
- Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival (Manchester, TN)
- Chautauqua Institution (Chautauqua, NY)
- Crested Butte Music Festival (Crested Butte, CO)
- Festival Del Sole (Napa Valley, CA)
- Grand Teton Music Festival (Teton Village, WY)
- Grant Park Music Festival (Chicago, IL)
- International Festival of Arts and Ideas (New Haven, CT)
- Lincoln Center Festival (New York, NY)
- San Francisco International Arts Festival (San Francisco, CA)
- Spoleto Festival USA (Charleston, SC)
Opera:
- Castleton Festival (Castleton, VA)
- Central City Opera (Central City, CO)
- Glimmerglass Festival (Cooperstown, NY)
- Green Mountain Opera Festival (Barre, VT)
- Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (St. Louis, MO)
- Santa Fe Opera (Santa Fe, NM)
- Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre (Logan, UT)
- Wolf Trap Opera Company (Vienna, VA)
Theater:
- Alabama Shakespeare Festival (Montgomery, AL)
- American Players Theatre (Spring Green, WI)
- American Shakespeare Center (Staunton, VA)
- Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights (Abingdon, VA)
- Berkshire Theatre Festival (Lenox, MA)
- Colorado Shakespeare Festival (Boulder, CO)
- Contemporary American Theater Festival (Shepherdstown, WV)
- Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (Garrison, NY)
- Idaho Shakespeare Festival (Boise, ID)
- Kentucky Shakespeare Festival (Louisville, KY)
- Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland, OR)
- Powerhouse Theater Festival (Poughkeepsie, NY)
- Shakespeare in the Park (New York, NY)
- Shakespeare Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
- Shaw Festival (Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario)
- Stratford Festival of CanadaGoodspeed Musicals (East Haddam, CT)
- Texas Shakespeare Festival (Kilgore, TX)
- Theater at Monmouth (Monmouth, ME)
- Utah Shakespearean Festival, (Cedar City, UT)
- Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum (Topanga, CA)
- Williamstown Theatre Festival (Williamstown, MA)
Venue:
- Blossom Music Center (Cuyahoga Falls, OH)
- Hollywood Bowl (Hollywood, CA)
- Mann Center for the Performing Arts (Philadelphia, PA)
- Ravinia (Highland Park, IL)
- Saratoga Performing Arts Center (Saratoga Springs, NY)
- Tanglewood Music Festival (Lenox, MA)
- Wolf Trap Foundation For the Performing Arts (Vienna, VA)
Classical Music
- Carmel Bach Festival (Carmel, CA)
- Ojai Music Festival (Ojai, CA)
- Sitka Summer Music Festival (Sitka, AK)
Dance
Jazz
Multi-Art
- Artown (Reno, NV)
- Festival Del Sole (Napa Valley, CA)
- San Francisco International Arts Festival (San Francisco, CA)
Theater
- Idaho Shakespeare Festival (Boise, ID)
- Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland, OR)
- Shakespeare Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
- Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum (Topanga, CA)
Venue
Classical Music
- Aspen Music Festival and School (Aspen, CO)
- Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival (Vail, CO)
- Deer Valley Music Festival (South Park City, UT)
- Moab Music Festival (Moab, UT)
- Music From Angel Fire (Angel Fire, NM)
- Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival (Santa Fe, NM)
- Sun Valley Summer Symphony (Sun Valley, ID)
Dance
Jazz
- Gene Harris Jazz Festival (Boise, ID)
- Jazz Aspen Snowmass (Aspen, CO)
- New Mexico Jazz Festival (Albuquerque, NM)
Multi-Art
Opera
- Central City Opera (Central City, CO)
- Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (St. Louis, MO)
- Santa Fe Opera (Santa Fe, NM)
- Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre (Logan, UT)
Theater
College Art Museums
Jazz
Multi-Art
Theater
- Alabama Shakespeare Festival (Montgomery, AL)
- American Players Theatre (Spring Green, WI)
- Texas Shakespeare Festival (Kilgore, TX)
Venue
Classical Music
- Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival (North Eastham, MA)
- Caramoor International Music Festival (Katonah, NY)
- Eastern Music Festival and School (Greensboro, NC)
- June in Buffalo Festival (Buffalo, NY)
- Newport Music Festival (Newport, RI)
- Mostly Mozart Festival (New York, NY)
College Art Museums
- Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC)
- Fleming Museum at the University of Vermont (Burlington, VT)
- Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA)
- Hood Museum of Art (Hanover, NH)
- Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI)
- Middlebury College Museum of Art (Middlebury, VT)
- Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery (Nashville, TN)
- Williams College Museum of Art (Williamstown, MA)
Dance
- Jacob’s Pillow Dance (Becket, MA)
- Bates Dance Festival (Lewiston, ME)
- American Dance Festival (Durham, NC)
Jazz
- Atlanta Jazz Festival (Atlanta, GA)
- Burlington Discover Jazz Festival (Burlington, VT)
- DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Festival (Wilmington, DE)
- Detroit International Jazz Festival (Detroit, MI)
- Newport Jazz Festival (Newport, RI)
Multi-Art
- Chautauqua Institution (Chautauqua, NY)
- International Festival of Arts and Ideas (New Haven, CT)
- Lincoln Center Festival (New York, NY)
- Spoleto Festival USA (Charleston, SC)
Opera
- Castleton Festival (Castleton, VA)
- Glimmerglass Festival (Cooperstown, NY)
- Green Mountain Opera Festival (Barre, VT)
- Wolf Trap Opera Company (Vienna, VA)
Theater
- American Shakespeare Center (Staunton, VA)
- Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights (Abingdon, VA)
- Berkshire Theatre Festival (Lenox, MA)
- Contemporary American Theater Festival (Shepherdstown, WV)
- Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (Garrison, NY)
- Kentucky Shakespeare Festival (Louisville, KY)
- Powerhouse Theater Festival (Poughkeepsie, NY)
- Shakespeare in the Park (New York, NY)
- Shaw Festival (Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario)
- Stratford Festival of Canada Goodspeed Musicals (East Haddam, CT)
- Williamstown Theatre Festival (Williamstown, MA)
- Theater at Monmouth (Monmouth, ME)
