Walking into Hinterland music festival, audience members can spot license plates from Florida, Minnesota, Illinois and more. 

This year, Hinterland is breaking ground in the world of all things concerts. As the team has seen growth each year, 2025 has especially fostered an environment of diverse attendees from all over the U.S.A.

With fewer crowds and more smiles, some attendees even prefer the Iowa vibe over large festivals like Coachella or Lollapalooza.

“Coachella is really hectic and this was just easy… that was what enticed me to come here,” Amina Ziri, an audience member from Los Angeles, California, said. “People are smiling and they’re actually legitimately smiling.” 

With trending artists and kind-hearted people, what’s not to love about visiting the fields of St.Charles, Iowa and getting lost in music for 3 days.

”[There is] a lot of Midwest hospitality, everyone is so nice…it seems very authentic, not like LA nice,” Jon Ziri,  an audience member from Phoenix, Arizona, said

Hinterland prides itself in hosting big name artists throughout the years, namely Lana Del Ray, Kacey Musgraves, Noah Kahan, Chappell Roan and more. 

When asked what drew him to Hinterland, Ziri said, “Tyler the Creator, Glass Beams, and Still Woozy.”

Hinterland incorporates a variety of up and coming musicians that Tyler Brown, an attendee from Phoenix, Arizona, appreciated.

“This festival is really good at bringing in semi-small, medium artists… it actually helped me as far as range,” Brown said.

“I’m really excited for the Marias,” Ziri said.

This year, crowds were impressed with the entrancing tunes of Ireland native, Gigi Perez and the oontz of INJI’s tech-house that got the whole crowd dancing. The long days leave plenty of space for newer artists to showcase their talents while getting their name out on a large scale.

“These types of festivals it’s not as noisy and people are genuine,”  Brown said.