One in five Americans now lives in a state with legal, adult use cannabis laws. From sea to shining sea, concerts, contests, film festivals, and expos are going off on April 20, which falls on a Saturday this year.
What was once high school code for meeting up and getting lifted (“420!”) has transformed over a generation into a rallying cry for cannabis culture and liberation.
With 10 legal adult-use states, plus Washington, D.C., the parties are bigger than ever. We rounded up this year’s absolute biggest, baddest throwdowns on April 20th and the surrounding weekend, so mark your calendars and stock up.
Northern California’s Best 4/20 Events
420 Trippie Hill w/ Berner & Friends
Join the man behind the Cookies strain craze, Berner, with other Bay Area musical guests Nef the Pharaoh, Los Rakas and Kool John for a day and night show.
- Date: April 20
- Where: The Midway, San Francisco, CA
- Tickets: $40 (ages 18+)
High Times Cannabis Cup 2019 – Central Valley
Musicians Rae Sremmurd, Schoolboy Q, Soulja Boy, Too $hort, and Afroman lead off the festivities in Sacramento April 20-21—alongside a consumption expo and cannabis contest that is High Times’ namesake.
- Date: April 20-21
- Where: Cal Expo Fairgrounds, Sacramento, CA
- Tickets: $50 (ages 21+)
Exploratorium After Dark: Cannabis
Two days before 4/20, San Francisco’s world-class exploratorium delves into the social, judicial, economic, and environmental impacts of legalization. Also, a cow eyeball dissection.
- Date: April 18
- Where: Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA
- Tickets: $20 (ages 18+)
The 3rd Annual 420 Bud Drop at Hippie Hill 2019
Grab a patch of grass early and get reeeaaally comfortable for a massive, daylong smokeout in San Francisco’s famed Golden Gate Park. Sponsors pay for extra trash cans, bathrooms, and security.
- Date: April 20
- Where: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA
- Tickets: Free
Also in the Bay: Snoop Dogg at Oracle Arena
Southern California’s Best 4/20 Events
Phish’s Trey Anastasio at the Greek Theatre
In terms of 4/20’s cultural north pole, it’s going to be hard top the iconic jam band’s lead vocalist at the hallowed Los Angeles venue on Friday, April 19. Anastasio plays at the other Greek in Berkeley, CA. the next night.
- Date: April 19
- Where: Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
- Tickets: $39.50
Shred 420
Get into the “laissez faire vibe” of one of the best Grateful Dead cover bands, Grateful Shred, as they headline an irie day at the Echo + Echoplex on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
- Date: April 20
- Where: Echo + Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA
- Tickets: $35 (ages 21+)
Also in LA: The Budtrader Ball with NBA’s John Salley; Baked Eggs brunch with Netflix’s “Cooking on High” Chef Andi Leon and host SweetTatas
Oregon’s Best 4/20 Events
SPLIFF Film Fest
The inaugural “first film festival created by the stoned, for the stoned” features about 20 shorts, experimental films, and headscratchers.
- Date: April 20
- Where: Revolution Hall, Portland, OR
- Tickets: $20 (ages 21+)
Washington’s Best 4/20 Events
Cheech & Chong
Can we talk about this for a second? Cheech and Chong are playing a casino off the I-5 in Tacoma on 4/20. The actual comedians Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. Good for Tacoma, you know? All hail the kings.
- Date: April 20
- Where: Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma, WA
- Tickets: Sold Out
SPLIFF Film Fest
From the creators of HUMP! and Savage Love— the “first film festival created by the stoned, for the stoned” has show dates both in Portland and Seattle.
- Date: April 19-20
- Where: SIFF Cinema Egyptian, Seattle, WA
- Tickets: $20 (ages 21+)
Also in Washington: Lil Pump & Lil Skies; Tech N9Ne
Nevada’s Best 4/20 Events
Snoop Dogg
Reserve a bottle ahead of time for Snoop’s official gathering at Drai’s Nightclub to celebrate 25 years of his debut album Doggystyle on the last stop of his 420 Wellness Retreat tour.
- Date: April 20
- Where: Drai’s Nightclub, Las Vegas, NV
- Tickets: $40 (ages 21+)
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Enjoy a thuggish, ruggish musical legacy almost 30 years in the making at the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas. Guests get special discounts at Caesar’s Palace.
- Date: April 19
- Where: Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, NV
- Tickets: $30 (ages 18+)
Colorado’s Best 4/20 Events
Merry Jane’s 420 Wellness Retreat
Snoop Dogg kicks off his sixth annual 420 Wellness Retreat tour with Ice Cube and Warren G at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
- Date: April 18
- Where: Red Rocks, Morrison, CO
- Tickets: $75
420 Eve on the Rocks
311, Method Man, and Redman return to headline this pre-4/20 concert.
- Date: April 19
- Where: Red Rocks, Morrison, CO
- Tickets: $59.95
Mile High 420 Festival with T.I. and Jermaine Dupri
An admission-free public gathering with music, food trucks, and cannabis vendors galore in front of the Colorado Capitol in downtown Denver.
- Date: April 20
- Where: Civic Center Park, Denver, CO
- Tickets: Free
Also in Colorado: Stick Figure with Steel Pulse at Red Rocks
Washington, DC’s Best 4/20 Events
National Cannabis Festival
Ludacris, Action Bronson, DJ Biz Markie, and much more perform amidst exhibitions, munchies, and cannabis in the country’s capital.
- Date: April 20
- Where: RFK Festival Grounds, Washington, DC
- Tickets: $49.50 (ages 21+)
Also in DC Area: Charm City Smokefest, Baltimore
New York’s Best 4/20 Events
Full Spectrum
Humble Bloom presents the launch of New Highs CBD, with signature cocktails by Warren Bobrow with Gem & Bolt, live music, movement, and other goodies.
- When: April 20
- Where: The William Vale, New York, NY
- Tickets: $40 (ages 21+)
Also in New York: Higher Etiquette Live; GRN DAY 420
More States
- Arizona’s Best 4/20 Events: Days on the Green Music Festival with Slightly Stoopid and Sublime With Rome in Phoenix, AZ
- Florida’s Best 4/20 Events: Kaya Festival with the Marley Family and Pitbull in Miami, FL (Best Bet)
- Georgia’s Best 4/20 Events: Sweetwater 420 Fest with Widespread Panic, the Avett Bros, etc. in Atlanta, Georgia
- Michigan’s Best 4/20 Events: 420 Cannabis & Hemp Expo in Mt. Pleasant, MI
- New Jersey’s Best 4/20 Events: The Weedma’s Joint with New Jersey Weedman in Trenton, NJ