Festival guides by scene

RetroAltFest Guides

Start here for curated paths into goth, darkwave, industrial, EBM, post-punk, new wave, and retro alternative festivals.

These guides are intentionally selective: we check official or reliable sources, separate confirmed events from events still being checked, and avoid pretending every related festival belongs in the same lane.

How RetroAltFest handles source checks →

curated guideWest Coast & Pacific Northwest Dark Alternative Festivalsregional West Coast / PNW discovery guideRegional discovery across Southern California and the Pacific Northwest, with active atlas anchors, recently active corridor signals, and source-aware caveats.West CoastPacific Northwestdark alternativeregional routeRead guide curated guideNorth American Goth & Darkwave Festivalsdark-scene foundation guideA curated path into North American goth, darkwave, post-punk, and related dark alternative festival discovery.gothdarkwavepost-punkdark alternativeRead guide curated guideIndustrial, EBM & Dark Electronic Festivals in North Americaindustrial / dark-electronic companion guideA careful guide to industrial, EBM, post-industrial, and dark electronic festival signals across North America.industrialEBMdark electronicpost-industrialRead guide curated guideNew Wave, Post-Punk & Retro Alternative Festivals in North Americabroader retro-alternative discovery guideA curated guide to festivals where new wave, post-punk, 80s alternative, dark alternative, and retro indie nostalgia overlap.new wavepost-punk80s alternativeretro alternativeRead guide

How to read these guides

Curated lanes, not exhaustive directories.

RetroAltFest guides are designed as restrained discovery paths. When a festival sits outside the core lane, we label it as a related festival to know, a dates-not-announced-yet note, or a possible future addition instead of forcing it into a public card.