The music festival emerged in England in the 18th century as an extension of urban concert life into a form of seasonal cultural festivity structured around a schedule of music performances or concerts. It is generally an annually occurring event with more regular and extensive programming than more spontaneous or improvised forms of music festivity. Music festivals are generally organized by individuals or organizations within networks of music production, typically music scenes, the music industries, or institutions of music education. The music festival is the largest and one of the most important performance institutions in music life, a place for experiencing where the culture is at.

In traditional genres such as folk and classical music, a music festival can be defined as a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or holiday.

Music festivals are commonly held outdoors, with tents or roofed temporary stages for the performers. Often music festivals host other attractions such as food and merchandise vending, dance, crafts, performance art, and social or cultural activities. At music festivals associated with charitable causes, there may be information about social or political issues. Many festivals are annual, or repeat at some other interval. Some, including many rock festivals, are held only once.

Some festivals are organized as for-profit concerts and others are benefits for a specific charitable cause. Another type of music festival is the educative type, organized annually in local communities, regionally, or nationally, for the benefit of amateur musicians of all ages and grades of achievement.