The M3F Music Fest (formerly known as the McDowell Music Fest), is a festival where mission is as important as the music. Every bit of your ticket price is given back to the community, funding nonprofits in the arts, education and the environment. Last year, M3F raised $800,000 to donate to organizations including the Phoenix Children’s Hospital (for their Music Therapy Program) and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Since 2004, the festival has donated over $5.2 million to local charities.
Over two days, you can cut the rug to musical acts that run the gambit between indie and EDM. The melodic beat drops of Denver-based DJ and producer Lane 8 will have your water-bottle soaked hair sloshing back and forth like a dream-sicle washing machine, while Gorgon City’s soulful synths and harmonies will have you hopping like a mad wind-up doll. (Last year was plagued by sound issues, we can hope the team learned from their past mistakes.) Wear your sparkly eyeliner, your rainbow windbreaker, your leather fringe—there’s room for both normies and their harder core, Burning Man-adjacent brethren here.
This year M3F will continue with three music stages in a new, larger-capacity location: downtown Phoenix’s sunny Steele Indian School Park (former site of the Phoenix Indian School, one of several controversial US boarding schools). This larger space will allow for more music lovers — and more installation art, created live on site. The lines can get long here, but if you get overwhelmed, take a break at a drum circle, a yoga class, or by coloring on huge coloring pages.
The Specs
- Steele Indian School Park has a capacity of 20,000 (in past years, the capacity has been 15,000-18,000).
- Single-Day GA tickets cost $106.48 ($85 plus $21.48 fee). 2-Day GA tickets cost $162.82 ($135 plus $27.82 fee).
- All VIP tickets are sold out.
- Wanna make a trip out of it? Here’s Fifty Grande’s guide to Arizona.
FAQs
Where is M3F fest located?
At Steele Indian School Park, 300 E Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ 85012. (Last year it was held at Margaret T. Hance Park.)
What does M3F stand for?
McDowell Mountain Music Festival.
What gives me access to the festival?
Your RFID wristband will be your best friend for the entire festival. This gains access to the festival, any food/drinks purchased, and more. No digital copies or physical tickets are allowed to enter the festival. And as of 2023, no re-entry allowed either — so triple-check you’ve grabbed everything before you enter the gates.
What is the process to be funded by the M3F fund?
Check here for info.
Will there be water available at M3F Music Festival?
There will be a free water filling station at the festival. Bring those water bottles.
Who are the nonprofit music festival’s headliners?
Lane 8, Dominic Fike, Duke Dumont.
What musical artists will be at M3F Festival 2024?
Lane 8, Dominic Fike, Duke Dumont, Hippo Campus, Arlo Parks, Poolside, Bakar, It’s Murph, Bunt., Tommy Newport, Fiji Blue, Shifty, Gorgon City, SG Lewis, Dayglow, Gordo, Drama, Young Franco, Jules Duke, Edapollo, Bennett Coast, Kol, Barrett, Elderbrook, Whomadewho, Valley, Roosevelt, Vandelux, Coco & Breezy, Tim Atlas.
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