Alabama Music Festivals

There are music festival throughout the year in Alabama but we have highlighted some below to help with your planning. Put your toes in the sand while enjoying top acts at the Hangout Music Festival on Gulf Shores beach. The sounds of the South come alive at music festivals honouring greats such as the Hank Williams Festival in Georgiana near Montgomery and the WC Handy Festival in Muscle Shoals.

• The city of Mobile parties hard in February with a Mardi Gras Festival that claims to be older than it’s more famous counterpart in New Orleans. Mardi Gras celebrations begin two and a half weeks before Fat Tuesday and the Port City comes to life with elaborate themed floats and marching bands which wind through downtown Mobile and surrounding areas, entertaining nearly a million revelers each year.
• Panoply Arts Festival in Huntsville celebrates all art forms in the 'Rocket City' over the last weekend of April each year.
• The Hangout Music Festival is an annual three day music festival which takes place every May on the white sandy beaches of the Gulf Shores in Alabama. One of the largest music festivals in the south, the festival offers international headline acts in a beautiful location on Alabama's Gulf coast.
• The Whistle Stop Festival in the Historic Huntsville Depot offers a weekend of beer, food and live music every May.
• The River Jam Music Festival at Riverfront Park in Montgomery offers two fun filled nights of music in this cool capital city and also takes place during May.
• The Southern Makers Festival in Montgomery celebrates two days in May of southern artists who provide workshops, activities and demonstrations.
• The Hank Williams Festival celebrates the life of the Country Music legend in his boyhood hometown Georgiana with a weekend in June of live country music.
• Tens of thousands visit the W.C.Handy Music Festival to honour the ‘Father of the Blues’ in a celebration of Blues and Jazz, held every July in Florence.
• The Sloss Music & Arts Festival is a two-day music and lifestyle event taking place at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark in Birmingham every July. This event has more than 30 bands on 3 stages.
• Secret Stages Music Discovery festival in Birmingham, Alabama's largest city, is a two day walking weekend event with with 60 bands performing around the city during August.
• Orange Beach and Gulf Shores on the Gulf Coast link up with Pensacola and Perdido Key to host the Frank Brown International Songwriters Festival each October. The festival is a series of events over 10 days at venues along the Gulf Coast of Alabama and Florida dedicated to the memory of Frank Brown. It inspires songwriters, musicians and performers to participate and provides a stage for all types of music.

 For more information on music festivals email alabama@deep-south-usa.com to request a travel guide.