Music festival season is in finally upon us, and plenty of musicians will be performing at venues and festivals around Virginia in May. Whether you’re a rock-and-roller or a country lover, catch your favorite artists and discover new ones all over the Commonwealth.

NOTE: This is not a complete list of shows and certain schedules may change. Please check with the individual venues for the most up to date details.

MUSIC FESTIVALS

Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival

Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival - Axton, Virginia
The annual Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival is held each Memorial Day weekend at the beautiful, 150-acre Pop's Farm. The festival presents a diverse bill of 40+ bands across six stages.

Dominion Energy Riverrock - Richmond, Virginia
Richmond’s outdoor sports and music festival will bring thousands to the riverside Brown’s Island on May 17-19 with live music performances from Palmyra, Sam Grisman Project, RumbleTrio, Space Koi, Sam Reed and Love Jones: A Tribute to Sharon Jones, Cosmic Collective, EGGY, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Tyler Meacham, Night Idea, and The Stews.

Patriotic Festival - Norfolk, Virginia
The Patriotic Festival celebrates the military at the Scope Arena Memorial Day weekend and features performances from Warren Zeiders (May 23), Bailey Zimmerman (May 24), Hardy (May 25), and Zac Brown Band (May 26).

RICHMOND CONCERTS

The National – Richmond
Photo Credit: Adam Kliebenstein

Richmond’s summer concert series, Friday Cheers, brings some of the nation’s hottest touring acts, along with some regional favorites to Brown’s Island every Friday night in May. Thousands of people will come to relax after the work week to meet friends and hear music from Bella White with Colby T. Helms & The Virginia Creepers, Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country with Mackenzie Roark & the Hotpants, The Legendary Ingramettes with Woody Woodworth & the Piners and Knifing Around, and Sir Chloe with Prabir Trio and Deux Visages.

At The National

  • May 2 – Futurebirds
  • May 3 – Hawthorne Heights
  • May 5 – Silversun Pickups
  • May 7 – Chicano Batman
  • May 8 – Thy Art Is Murder
  • May 9 – Black Veil Brides
  • May 10 – Pink Talking Fish – A Fusion of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, and Phish
  • May 11 – Kurt Vile and the Violators
  • May 13 – In This Moment
  • May 14 – Hot Water Music
  • May 15 – The Amity Affliction
  • May 16 – Herb Alpert & Lani Hall
  • May 18 - Papadosio
  • May 19 – The Alarm
  • May 21 - Kamelot

At The Broadberry

  • May 3 – Adam Doleac
  • May 4 – Suggesting Rhythm’s 9 Innings
  • May 10 – Magic Beans
  • May 14 – Imminence
  • May 23 – Mike w/ 454, Niontay, and El Cousteau

On Brown's Island

  • May 2 - The Wood Brothers
  • May 23 - Chappell Roan

At the Altria Theater

  • May 13 – Mother’s Day Celebration ft Charles Jenkins, Marvin Sapp, J.J. Hairston, and Zacardi Cortez

At the Dominion Energy Center

  • May 1 – Buddy Guy
  • May 4-5 - Mozart, Price & Beethoven with the Richmond Symphony
  • May 8 – Tommy Emmanuel, CGP
  • May 10-11 -  Rhapsody in Blue at 100 with the Richmond Symphony

CHARLOTTESVILLE CONCERTS

At the Ting Pavilion

  • May 16 – The String Cheese Incident

At the Jefferson Theater

  • May 4 – Adam Doleac
  • May 5 – Benjamin Tod & Lost Dog Street Band
  • May 6 – Sarah Jarosz
  • May 9 – Hawthorne Heights
  • May 11 – The Nashville Nights Band: The Ultimate 90’s Country Experience
  • May 13 – Dirty Honey
  • May 14 & 15 – Thievery Corporation
  • May 17 – Start Making Sense – A Tribute to Talking Heads
  • May 23 – Phosphorescent
  • May 31 – The Legwarmers, The Ultimate 80s Tribute

At the Paramount Theater

  • May 5 – Three Dog Night

CENTRAL VIRGINIA CONCERTS

At the Beacon Theatre in Hopewell

  • May 3 – Cooper Alan
  • May 4 - Best of the Eagles
  • May 9 - Donna the Buffalo
  • May 10 - Dar Williams
  • May 12 – John Hiatt
  • May 18, 2pm and 7pm – Lorrie Morgan
  • May 19 - Joey Davis
  • May 30 - Mac McAnally
  • May 31 - Pandora’s Box: A Tribute to Aerosmith

After Hours Concerts at The Meadow Event Park in Doswell 

  • May 17 – Oliver Anthony

HAMPTON ROADS CONCERTS

hampton coliseum

At the Hampton Coliseum

  • May 11 – Mother’s Day Celebration ft Donnie McClurkin, Tasha Cobbs-Leonard, Clark Sisters, & Ricky Dillard

At the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach

  • May 15 – Hozier & Allison Russell
  • May 26 – NEEDTOBREATHE & Judah and the Lion

At the Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion in Portsmouth

  • May 3 – Billy Currington & Kip Moore
  • May 4 – VBZ on VBZ Tour w/ Vedo, Tone Stith, Wanmor, & Justin Martin
  • May 6 – Queens of the Stone Age

At the Chrysler Hall in Norfolk

  • May 23 – Warren Zeiders
  • May 24 – Kountry Wayne

At the Norva in Norfolk

  • May 3 – Prof
  • May 4 – Silversun Pickups
  • May 5 – In Flames
  • May 6 – Lacuna Coil
  • May 8 – Mammoth WVH
  • May 11 – Avatar
  • May 14 – Wage War + Nothing More
  • May 15 – Tyla
  • May 17 – City and Colour
  • May 24 – Fivio Foreign

At the Chartway Arena in Norfolk

  • May 19 – Sum 41

SHENANDOAH VALLEY CONCERTS

At the Golden Pony in Harrisonburg

  • May 22 – Lucero w/ William Matheny

At the Bright Box Theater in Winchester

  • May 10 – Colby T. Helms & The Virginia Creepers w/ Brennen Edwards and Monday Blues
  • May 18 – GRATEFUL FOR BIGGIE w/ Tim Cintron Project
  • May 28 – Reverend Horton Heat w/ The Surfrajettes

At the Lime Kiln Theater in Lexington

  • May 10 and 11 – Steep Canyon Rangers with Zandi Holup

VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS CONCERTS

At the Berglund Center in Roanoke

  • May 23 – 26 – Festival in the Park: After Dark

At the Harvester Performance Center in Rocky Mount

  • May 3 - Agents of Good Roots
  • May 17 & 18 – Sara Evans
  • May 23 – Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
  • May 31 – Mac McAnally

SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA CONCERTS

Carter Family Fold

At the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons

  • May 4 – Crooked Road Ramblers
  • May 11 – Robirohi
  • May 18 – Hogslop String Band
  • May 25 – Twin Creeks Stringband w/ the J. Creek Cloggers

At the Lincoln Theatre in Marion

  • May 4 – Song of the Mountains ft Junior Brown, Rick Monroe & The Hitmen
  • May 11 – Presley Barker

At the Rex Theater in Galax

  • May 3 – Larry Sparks
  • May 10 – The WannaBeatles
  • May 31 – Carson Peters & Iron Mountain

NORTHERN VIRGINIA CONCERTS

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
Photo Credit: Cameron Davidson

At Wolf Trap National Park for Performing Arts in Vienna

  • May 3 – Aruna Sairam ft Rohan Krishnamurthy & Kamalakiran Vinjamuri
  • May 5 – Linda Eder

At Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow

  • May 11 – Neil Young Crazy Horse
  • May 18 – Hank Williams Jr.

At Jammin Java in Vienna

  • May 1 – The Iron Roses
  • May 2 – Kyle Gordon
  • May 3 – David Cook
  • May 4 – Echoes – “Dark Side of the Fourth” A tribute to Pink Floyd
  • May 5 – Dead On A Sunday
  • May 6 – Wheel
  • May 7 – Dan Navarro w/ Jesse Lynn Madera
  • May 8 – Tyler Hilton
  • May 10 – An Evening with Skip Castro
  • May 16 – Mama’s Black Sheep + The Christine Havrilla Duo
  • May 17 – Mary Fahl
  • May 18 – Shenandoah Run
  • May 19 – Adam Ezra Group
  • May 20 – Matt Wertz
  • May 24 – Ellis Paul
  • May 27 – Mr. Jon & Friends
  • May 30 – Zach Seabaugh
  • May 31 – Rachel Levitin – the WITTY BANTER Album Release Party

At The Birchmere in Alexandria

  • May 2 – Al Stewart w/ The Empty Pockets
  • May 3 – Al Di Meola
  • May 5 – Madeleine Peyroux w/ Joy Clark
  • May 8 – Vienna Teng w/ Jean Rohe
  • May 9 – The String Queens
  • May 10 – 10,000 Maniacs
  • May 11 & 12 – The Longest Johns
  • May 13 – Stanley Clarke N 4Ever
  • May 15 – David Sanborn
  • May 17 – Bodeans
  • May 19 – The Sun Ra Arkestra
  • May 20 – Leonid & Friends
  • May 21 – Lucero w/ William Matheny
  • May 23 – Ruth Moody
  • May 24 – Chante’ Moore
  • May 25 – Walter Beasley
  • May 26 – Maggie Rose
  • May 31 – The Manhattans ft Gerald Alston

At the State Theatre in Falls Church

  • May 3 – Police Cars Tour: Tribute to Sting, Police, & The Cars ft New York’s Finest and The Side Cars Band
  • May 17 – Johnny Folsom 4: Tribute to Johnny Cash
  • May 18 – The Alarm
  • May 31 – Abacab: The Music of Genesis

At the Tally Ho Theatre in Leesburg

  • May 3 – Everclear
  • May 4 – Gold Dust Woman: A Tribute to Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac
  • May 10 – Smells Like Nirvana
  • May 11 – Zoso: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience
  • May 17 – Better Off Dead – Grateful Dead Tribute
  • May 18 – Ten: Pearl Jam Tribute
  • May 19 – Bodeans
  • May 25 – The Four Horsemen – The Album-Quality Metallica Tribute
  • May 26 – The Broken Hearts: Ultimate Tom Petty Tribute
  • May 31 – Nightrain: The Guns N’ Roses Tribute Experience

Are we missing any big concerts? Let us know in the comments below. For more big names coming to Virginia this month, go to virginia.org/music.