Music Festivals in New Jersey 2027: Pine Barrens Campouts, Beach Stages and a Riverfront Weekend

Leave Route 206 near Hammonton and a mile of dirt road takes you into the Pine Barrens, to a lake campground with trees for hammocks. Paradise Lakes hosts two New Jersey festivals made for our crowd: a funk-and-bluegrass weekend in June and an underground bass campout in October.

The rest sit near water: country on the Wildwood beach, surfers beside the Asbury Park stages, and WXPN's weekend on the Camden riverfront.

Inland nights cool faster: NOAA puts Hammonton's October low 5.4 degrees under Cape May's.

New Jersey's 2027 calendar, from the Wildwood sand to the October pines

On October 30, 2026, only Barefoot Country Music Fest had posted 2027 dates; the other six still show 2026, a fair guide to when each lands.

Hammonton's station covers the pinelands and Cape May's the southern shore; Camden, Montclair and Asbury Park lie well north of both, so treat their figures as rough. Beyond New Jersey, our festival calendar pairs far more 2027 dates with night temperatures, and the gatherings we'd least like to miss are our picks.

Paradise Lakes: a June jam weekend and an October bass campout

Into the Pines: funk, bluegrass and brass bands by the lake (2027 dates TBA)

Into the Pines held its fourth edition on June 25–27, 2026, the dates on its official ticket page, at Paradise Lakes Campground in Hammonton. It books bands still on their way up next to touring acts, a range the organizers sum up as "from bluegrass to brass," and its 2026 schedule included Southern Avenue and Bloco Funk. Kids 14 and younger got in free, and the festival calls itself pet friendly.

Per the venue page, you pitch wherever you like in the pines, shower on site, canoe on the lake and pack out what you bring; fire pits are limited. Paddlers can read Last Boat In, our story of two friends canoeing to a riverside deep house festival.

Outfit note: June lows average 61.0°F in Hammonton. A swimsuit for the canoe, then joggers and a cloak hung on the hammock for the last set.

Submersion: a lakeside stage, a forest stage and sets until sunrise (2027 dates TBA)

Two Philadelphia collectives run Submersion. Its sixth edition took over Paradise Lakes on October 1–3, 2026: a Thursday pre-party, then two full days. The Beach Stage stands on the lake's sand and the Woods Stage sits among the trees, with bookings rooted in UK bass, drum and bass, dubstep and experimental electronic music. Live painters, yoga and sound baths fill the quieter hours. The 2026 FAQ set a 21+ door and put the last set at Sunday's sunrise, ending at 8 a.m.

Outfit note: Hammonton averages 45.3°F on October nights, the lowest figure in our table, so the cloak stays zipped, faux fur in, until the sunrise set ends. The grounds sit about 35 miles from Philadelphia, and that city's own season is in our Pennsylvania festival guide.

Sand underfoot in Wildwood and Asbury Park

Barefoot Country Music Fest: four days between Morey's Piers (June 17–20)

Barefoot Country Music Fest returns to the Wildwood beach on June 17–20, 2027, between the two Morey's Piers at 3601 Boardwalk. Started in 2021, it books 40-plus artists across five stages, and its news page has added Carrie Underwood, Florida Georgia Line, Riley Green and Tim McGraw to the 2027 bill so far. Gates open at 3 p.m. Thursday and 1 p.m. Friday through Sunday and close at 11 p.m., and the ticket page says it's standing room only on the sand, with no chairs.

Outfit note: sun off the sand needs a brim when gates open at 1 p.m.; with Cape May's June low at 63.0°F, one thin layer handles the 11 p.m. walk out.

Sea.Hear.Now: surfers and bands on the Asbury Park waterfront (2027 dates TBA)

Sea.Hear.Now filled the Asbury Park waterfront on September 19–20, 2026, with more than 25 bands on three stages, two on the beach and one in the park. Surf pros competed as teams between the Surf and Sand stages, and a second-line parade wound down the boardwalk each day.

Outfit note: a tee for the surf heats, a hooded layer after sundown. Our Northeast hub carries on into New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

A riverfront park, a downtown plaza and a county fairground

XPoNential Music Festival: WXPN's weekend at Wiggins Park (2027 dates TBA)

Philadelphia's WXPN crosses the Delaware for the XPoNential Music Festival at Wiggins Park on the Camden Waterfront. In 2026 it ran September 18–20 on the River and Marina stages, with Portugal. The Man, Little Feat, Rebirth Brass Band and Sierra Hull among the names. The 2026 rules turned away hammocks, tents and chairs with seats more than 9 inches off the ground.

Outfit note: WXPN calls it an all-weather event: bring a low beach chair, a cap and something hooded for the river breeze.

Montclair Jazz Festival: a free Downtown Jamboree (2027 dates TBA)

Jazz House Kids produces the Montclair Jazz Festival, and its 2026 finale, the free Downtown Jamboree, filled Lackawanna Plaza on Saturday, August 15, from noon to 8 p.m., with a block party until 10. Dianne Reeves, Bilal and Spanish Harlem Orchestra were among the artists, with a second stage for Jazz House Kids students and alumni. The site promises a 2027 return.

Outfit note: ten hours on the plaza in mid-August means a brimmed hat and light cotton. Across the Hudson, our New York festival guide runs from Queens to the Catskills.

Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival: Labor Day weekend near Woodstown (2027 dates TBA)

According to its history page, "Ralph and Bill Monroe" asked its organizers, a nonprofit old-time music society founded in 1971, to host the first bluegrass festival in the Northeast, and the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival began on Labor Day weekend 1972 in Bear, Delaware. It has used the Salem County Fairgrounds near Woodstown since 1990, and the 54th edition ran September 4–6, 2026. Labor Day weekend is its standing slot, but 2027 isn't posted.

Weekend tickets include rough camping. The camping page, still quoting a 2023 opening date, lists no showers or water hookups, fires only in portable pits, and a quiet zone where jamming stops from midnight to 8 a.m.

Outfit note: September field nights near 57°F call for the hooded blanket below.

Do the Pine Barrens run colder than the Jersey Shore at night?

Yes, by a couple of degrees in early summer and more as fall arrives. Hammonton's average June low of 61.0°F sits two degrees under Cape May's 63.0°F, by NOAA's 1991–2020 normals. By September the gap is 4.5 degrees, and by October it reaches 5.4: 45.3°F in the pines against 50.7°F at the cape.

The averages are 30-year NOAA normals (1991–2020) for Hammonton 1 NE (USC00283662) and Cape May 2 NW (USC00281351), read October 30, 2026.

Cloaks for the Woods Stage, color for the Wildwood sand

Teal water, a coral sky over the bay and dark pine green set the colors here, and the cloak goes in the bag first.

Boardwalk teal for a 45-degree night. The Cyberpunk Mech men's festival cloak ($250) fills its panels with turquoise and cobalt machinery, violet and magenta between the parts, flame-orange at the shoulders and thin white geometry across the chest. It's the color of the Wildwood surf after sundown.

Micro-mink polyester (200 g/m²) faces the world and faux fur, in black or white, faces you. Add a double zipper, hood drawstrings, two deep hip pockets and two inner ones, one zip-shut. Unisex, XS–5XL.

Pine-dark for the Woods Stage. The Forest Wizard men's festival cloak ($250) keeps most of its front black, then grows a garden down one side: moss-green and silver-grey leaves, violet blooms, a silver starburst medallion on the sleeve and another low on the front, with a grey knotwork chain running toward the hem. After dark it melts into the trees by the Woods Stage.

Sunset coral for the Camden riverfront. The Liquified Abyss joggers ($100; $105 in 2XL, $108 in 3XL) swirl coral, peach, magenta, violet, navy and turquoise from waist to ankle, flecked with gold and finished in pink cuffs. Brushed to fleece inside, their 308 g/m² polyester and elastane comes with side pockets and a corded elastic waist. Cut slim, XS–3XL; a size or two up loosens it.

Pine green for the Paradise Lakes beach. The Crystalline Forest one-piece swimsuit ($65; $68 in 2XL, $69 in 3XL) mirrors faceted shapes down its center in lime and leaf green, edged with hot pink, red, cobalt and violet, around a green four-point star at the waist. The polyester-elastane fabric (225 g/m²) stretches four ways, the front is lined in two layers, and both neckline and back are scooped, the back cut low. XS–3XL.

Deep-sea teal for the Wildwood sun. The Mechanical Kraken snapback ($40) wraps a slate-grey octopus with glowing teal eyes around the side of the crown, its riveted tentacles curling through brass spires while lilac jellyfish float past. A sunken city glows along the brim. Polyester (150 g/m²), adjustable snap band, one size.

No showers on the fairground, so bring fleece

Delaware Valley's campers wake on an open field with no shower block, and Hammonton's September low is 57.2°F. Wear our hooded blanket ($150) out of the tent. Its polyester fleece weighs 300 g/m², and every one is cut 4XL, so it hangs loose on anyone. The hood has cat ears, the neck a short zip, and the front pocket is oversized as well.

Five weeks of sewing and shipping before Wildwood

Every order starts as artwork waiting for fabric: printing and sewing can run to 11 business days, transit to 14 more. To have it by Wednesday, June 16, the eve of Barefoot, order by Tuesday, May 11, 2027, or by Tuesday, May 4 for a spare week. That count passes over Saturdays, Sundays and Memorial Day.

When the other six post 2027 dates, our guide to order dates at 42 festivals shows the same arithmetic. For a hoodie under the cloak at Submersion, our FAQ sizes outerwear up one, occasionally two. Sizes can't be exchanged; when in doubt, art@magusfawn.com will size you from your measurements. US delivery costs nothing once an order reaches $70.

Shaking sand out of a cloak in Wildwood

When the Barefoot gates shut at 11 p.m., the beach empties toward the boardwalk lights. Somebody shakes a cloak out of a tote bag and pulls it on over a tank top: one warm thing for the end of a June night.

Browse the rest: women's cloaks · men's cloaks · joggers · swimwear · snapback hats

Frequently asked questions

Which festivals use Paradise Lakes Campground in Hammonton?

Two of them in 2026. Into the Pines brought three days of live bands on June 25–27, and Submersion brought underground bass music on October 1–3, with a Beach Stage on the lake's sand and a Woods Stage in the trees. The campground, at 500 Paradise Drive, has showers and lake canoeing. Neither has posted 2027 dates.

Who surfs in the Sea.Hear.Now contest?

East Coast surf veterans and up-and-coming pros, both men and women, according to the festival. In 2026 they competed as teams in the ocean between the Surf and Sand stages, so fans could watch heats between sets without leaving the Asbury Park waterfront. The 2026 festival ran September 19–20 with more than 25 bands; 2027 dates are TBA.

What is a JAM PASS at the Montclair Jazz Festival?

A free registration for the Downtown Jamboree, which stays free to attend either way. According to the festival's FAQ, pass holders get express entry in a JAM PASS lane and a chance to win VIP tent access for two. The 2026 Jamboree ran noon to 8 p.m. on August 15 at Lackawanna Plaza, with a block party until 10.

Where do you sit at the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival?

Bring your own lawn chair. The stage canopy has no permanent seats, and chair space under it opens at 8 a.m. on the Wednesday before the festival, first come, first served. The festival asks that an empty chair be handed back when its owner returns. Bleachers ring the stage area; the pavilion barn adds shade for chairs.

Written by Magus & Lylyth Fawn, the Los Angeles artists behind Magus Fawn. Magus makes VR and digital visionary art and produces Psy EDM. Lylyth makes fractal digital art and runs design and customer care. We've been selling wearable art since 2020 (4.8★ from 147 reviews as of October 2026), and every piece is made to order here at magusfawn.com. Come say hi on Instagram @magusfawn.