The 25 Best Rock and Metal Festivals Worldwide in 2024

The best rock and metal festivals worldwide are coming back in 2024, and people are already looking forward to that. Festivals have become a big part of this music genre in the last two decades, and fans are always waiting for them. Whether it’s Wacken, Hellfest, and more, there are always festivals to look forward to.
The best rock and metal festivals are always chosen because of their track record. A festival that is out every year, with a strong bill, and with solid conditions will always have a lot more interest. This is why some festivals are often mentioned and others not so much.
Therefore, this list will focus on the best rock and metal festivals coming out in 2024. People can find here the dates, the locations, and some information about them. This can be helpful for people to plan a weekend or a vacation next year.
Also, check out the 20 best rock and metal festivals worldwide in 2023.
List of rock and metal festivals in the world 2024
This list is focused on the most prominent festivals in the world. These festivals have a track record and several major bands. They also tend to have a lot of people going every year. These are common practices to take into account.
It’s also based on the type of bands they bring to the table. Something like Wacken usually attracts a lot of variety in metal. Other festivals are usually more focused on specific subgenres. Depends on people’s preferences, of course.
Which are the best rock and metal festivals worldwide?
- Wacken
- Download Festival
- Hellfest
- Bloodstock
- Steelhouse Festival
- Welcome to Rockville
- Aftershock Festival
- Louder Than Life
- Sweden Rock Festival
- 70,000 Tons of Metal
- Tuska
- Copenhell
- Roadburn
- Rock in Rio
- ProgPower USA
- Graspop
- Rocklahoma
- Maryland Deathfest
- Brutal Assault
- Glastonbury
- Resurrection Fest
- Sonic Temple
- Rock Am Ring
- Azkena Rock Festival
- Coachella
1. Wacken Open Air

A list of the best rock and metal festivals cannot be complete without Wacken Open Air. The German festival began back in 1989 and has had exponential growth that has led it to have the best heavy metal bands in the world.
The 2024 lineup has already confirmed the likes of Blind Guardian, Amon Amarth, Scorpions, and many more. Wacken is a sure hit when it comes to these festivals.
2. Download Festival (Leicestershire, England – 14 to 16 June)

Thus is one of the best rock and metal festivals and possibly the most important in England. The Download started in 2003 and has had very important names on its stage such as Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica, AC/DC, Kiss or Judas Priest. It is a spiritual successor to the Donington Park festival in the same venue.
When it comes to the 2024 edition, bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, All Them Witches, and Pantera have already been confirmed. There is also the expectation of confirming more heavy hitters in the coming months.
3. Hellfest (Clisson, France – 27 to 30 June)

The Hellfest festival is the first and main event of its kind in France and one of the most important in Europe. It is the most attended music festival in France and has featured renowned bands such as Metallica, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden and Guns N’ Roses.
4. Bloodstock (Derbyshire, England – 8 to 11 August)

This festival started in 2001 but it became an open air event 2005. And it has only gone from strength to strength afterwards.
Bloodstock is a heavy metal festival with heavier tendencies than the previous ones mentioned in the list of best rock and metal festivals.
5. Steelhouse Festival (Ebbw Vale, Wales – 28 to 30 July)

The festival has had the presence of bands such as Saxon, Europe, UFO or Thin Lizzy. Started in 2011, it has had an important variety in terms of the different rock subgenres that participate. As a curiosity, it is the highest music festival in the United Kingdom since it is held on a mountain.
6. Welcome to Rockville (Florida, United States – 9 to 12 May)

It’s worth noting that Welcome to Rockville started in 2011 as a one-day festival and has grown so much that it now lasts 4 days and also appears on the list of best rock and metal festivals. Being an American festival, it has featured several of the country’s main bands such as Korn, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, Pantera and Metallica.
7. Aftershock Festival (California, United States – 10 to 13 October)

It is one of the “youngest” festivals on the list of best rock and metal festivals, starting in 2012. Aftershock has had great growth, bringing together several of the best North American hard rock and heavy metal bands.
It’s worth pointing that the 2024 festival has already confirmed the likes of Korn, Guns N’ Roses, The Cult, Tool, and Godsmack. It is a very good mix of hard rock and heavy metal so all kinds of fans are going to be interested. It definitely captures that old-school vibe while offering something new for the younger generations.
8. Louder Than Life (Kentucky, United States – 26 to 29 September)

An interesting addition to this list. Louder Than Life is another relatively new festival and also North American. Unlike other best rock and metal festivals, Louder Than Life includes other types of exhibitions such as whiskey or food.
There are some big names coming to the 2024 edition, such as Rival Sons, Green Day, and Queens of the Stone Age. It is perfect for people who are more into the hard rock side of things.
9. Sweden Rock Festival (Solvesborg, Sweden – 5 to 8 June)

The Swedish festival brings together a wide variety of rock subgenres. The Sweden Rock Festival has a very rich history since 1992, when it began. They have had Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Scorpions and the locals, Europe, on stage.
10. 70,000 Tons of Metal (Florida, United States – January, 29 to February, 2)

The 70000 Tons of Metal is possibly the most unique of all the best rock and metal festivals. This festival takes place on a cruise that allows coexistence with the artists. The cruise starts in Miami and returns in 2024 to the same city after five years of activity in others places.
The 2024 edition already has some big names such as Angra, Epica, Sodom, Tygers of Pan Tang, and many more. This is a perfect festival to go to for a vacation and is an unique experience when compared to its competition.
11. Tuska (Helsinki, Finland – 28 to 30 June)

It’s worth pointing out that the Tuska Open Air Metal Festival had its beginnings focused on extreme metal bands. Although over time they have given more space to some of the best Nordic heavy metal bands such as Stratovarius, Nightwish, King Diamond or Sabaton.
12. Copenhell (Copenhagen, Denmark – 19 to 22 June)

Despite what the name might suggest, Copenhell takes place on an island annexed to Copenhagen Bay. The festival includes a section where attendees can camp and party. Copenhell is one of the most important festivals in Scandinavia and one of the best rock and metal festivals.
13. Roadburn (Tilburg, Netherlands – 18 to 21 April)

The Dutch festival began in 1999 as a hard rock event. Roadburn has been evolving into a more experimental rock event. In fact, part of the festival’s slogan is focused on that.
The variety of the 2024 reflects Roadburn as a festival to a T. It features a lot of musical diversity with Cloakroom, Chelsea Wolfe, Lankum, and others.
14. Rock in Rio (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 13 to 22 September)

It’s no secret that Rock in Rio is one of the most classic festivals and obviously one of the best rock and metal festivals. Since its birth in 1985, it has grown a lot, expanding to other locations located in Europe and the United States. Rock in Rio is quite varied in its style of music as it ranges from pop to heavy metal. The list of bands and artists that have performed at Rock in Rio is simply impressive.
There hasn’t been any major confirmation about the 2024 lineup but is bound to be quite interesting. Rock in Rio never suffers from a shortage of options when it comes to musicians on its lineups.
15. ProgPower USA (Georgia, United States – 4 to 7 September)

Of the list of best rock and metal festivals, ProgPower USA is the only one focused on progressive rock and power metal. That alone makes it a very unique experience for metalheads. This festival has helped many bands from those subgenres (which are more popular in Europe) appear in the United States.
16. Graspop (Antwerp, Belgium – 20 to 23 June)

Although Graspop is one of the open air festivals with the least space available, that does not prevent it from having a huge attendance every year. Its original conception was that of a family rock festival, but it grew to become one of the best rock and metal festivals.
17. Rocklahoma (Oklahoma, United States – August, 30 to September, 1)

There is no denying that Rocklahoma is one of the most important festivals in the United States. In addition to bringing important bands from all over the world, the festival brings local bands to give them greater visibility.
18. Maryland Deathfest (Maryland, United States – 23 to 26 May)

This festival has been characterized since its birth in 2003, for being very heavy and extreme. Maryland Deathfest is not looking for world-renowned bands but rather the most extreme and underground bands that would give the loudest possible experience to attendees.
19. Brutal Assault (Jaromer, Czech Republic – 7 to 10 August)

This is another example of a festival that started as an event for lovers of extreme heavy metal. However, over time, Brutal Assault has expanded to different styles, covering punk rock and even electronica.
20. Glastonbury (Somerset, England – 26 to 30 June)

More than a rock music festival, Glastonbury is a performing arts festival. Theatre, dance or comedy is some of the exhibitions that can be enjoyed at this English festival. This does not prevent them from being among the best rock and metal festivals since Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, The Cure, Coldplay, among others, have performed at Glastonbury. It is the longest running festival on the list, starting in 1970.
21. Resurrection Fest (Lugo, Spain – 26 to 29 June)

During the festival, the town of Viveiro, which is the area of Lugo where the festival takes place, welcomes more than 80,000 spectators. The total population of Viveiro is less than 20,000 inhabitants. The area is also close to the beach so the combination with heavy metal is great.
22. Sonic Temple (Ohio, United States – 16 to 19 May)

It’s incredible that the Sonic Temple festival has only been around for four years, but it is here to stay. That is why they are among the 25 best rock and metal festivals. For three days, Ohio welcomes important North American hard rock and heavy metal bands.
The 2024 edition has already confirmed some heavy hitters such as Kiss, Foo Fighters, Avenged Sevenfold, and Rob Zombie.
23. Rock Am Ring (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany – 7 to 9 June)

Normally, the Rock Am Ring is done in parallel with Rock im Park. Basically, both festivals share the same bands that are distributed between both events. Together, they have around 150000 spectators, making it the largest music festival in Germany by attendance and one of the best rock and metal festivals in the world.
24. Azkena Rock Festival (Vitoria, Spain – 20 to 22 June)

The Azkena Rock Festival brings together a crowd to see bands from a more underground scene. Of course, that doesn’t mean they have stopped from occasionally bringing in some big names like Tool, Pearl Jam, Kiss, Mastodon or ZZ Top.
The 2024 edition of the festival has already confirmed the likes of Sheryl Crow and the Queens of the Stone Age.
25. Coachella (California, United States – 12 to 21 April)

This might be a last-minute surprise on this list. Coachella is a very varied festival both in music and in the rest of the arts. Musically, it includes artists from different genres such as rock, pop, hip hop or indie. The festival is well attended and has even broken American records for the number of spectators.
There is currently no information surrounding the lineup and nothing of the sort. However, Coachella is a festival that always create some discussions and expectations.
Which rock and metal festivals are your favorite next year? Let us know in the comment section below!