5. Homegrown Festival

The benchmark for boutique festivals in North Texas, Homegrown is an event that knows how to stay in its lane. Keeping strictly to a 12-band, exclusively Texan format, it mixes up-and-coming local talent with some of the biggest names in the Lone Star State, like ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Spoon and Neon Indian. The lineup often leans towards indie and folk rock, but there's always some R&B, hip-hop and even country thrown in the mix. A family-friendly event, Homegrown's found a comfortable home in Main St. Garden Park, but it's adaptable enough that even a weather-induced move indoors didn't spoil the occasion last year. JG
4. Spillover

Once known as Bro Fest, Spillover — curated by Dallas promoter Parade of Flesh — may have the most self-explanatory name on this list. Each year when musicians flood into Texas for blue-chip fests in Austin, it creates the "spillover" effect of traveling bands looking to pick up extra gigs on the road. Spillover, which aligns itself with the final weekend of South By Southwest, makes use of that phenomenon better than anyone else in Dallas. But, like Homegrown, it thrives on doing a certain thing very well, in this case booking artists that already fit PoF's punk tendencies, like the Coat Hangers or Diarrhea Planet. JG
3. Untapped Dallas

Folks in DFW love their beer about as much as they love their music. And, since this region is a hotbed of both, there's a festival for that. Untapped brings the best of these worlds together with both national and local musical acts and brews that combine to keep folks entertained throughout the day. It's such a logical pairing that they've reproduced it in cities like Houston and San Antonio — but the flagship Dallas event, moved last year to Fair Park and headlined by the Flaming Lips, remains the best. Just remember: It's a marathon, not a sprint, so pace yourself. Your musical tastes, and tastebuds, will be greatly rewarded. JS
2. JMBLYA

2016 proved JMBLYA’s potential has no bounds. In only its fourth edition, the hip-hop and EDM music festival brought in over 10,000 fans to Fair Park for a day of music from some of today’s biggest acts in Future, Rae Sremmurd, Post Malone and Kevin Gates. Produced by ScoreMore, who have strong ties with some of the biggest talent in the industry, the lineups should only get bigger and better. With each year the festival adds more and more festivities like water slides, food trucks and arcade games. Right now JMBLYA tours through several cities in Texas each year, but its rapid growth shows signs it could one day rival something like Van’s Warped Tour — fitting, as it too caters to an all-ages crowd. Mikel Galicia
1. Oaktopia

Oaktopia has built itself up in a steady fashion over the past four years, starting as a small, mostly hip-hop-based fest run by college-aged kids. But they've managed to not only be the best music festival in Denton, they're the best in all of North Texas, a well-run event with a diverse but smartly booked lineup. This year's festival, for instance — took place just last month — included UNT alum Norah Jones, rapper Rae Sremmurd and indie rockers like Dr. Dog. They even added Petty Fest on opening night, a smart move to help bring fans out on a Thursday. Even with some of the Denton venues it's relied on in the past having closed, Oaktopia hasn't missed a beat. JG