With seven unique districts, each boasting a distinct element of life on the shore, you’re sure to be entertained for as long as you’d like to stay at the gateway of the bay.

The Oceanfront is lined with a boardwalk spanning three miles, home to live music, street performers, and some of the best restaurants in town. Pop onto the beach for a day on the sand or rest up at one of numerous hotels lining the beach boasting unparalleled views of the Atlantic sunrise.

Just inland of the boardwalk sits the ViBe Creative District, a hub for Virginia Beach’s artistic population and a place to sample cuisines centered around locally grown ingredients. Every Saturday morning from 9:00 a.m. to noon throughout the summer, the Old Beach Farmers Market plays host to local vendors supplying seasonal fruits, fresh seafood, meats, and baked goods.

The boardwalk’s southern endpoint, the Rudee Inlet, is your spot for all things out on—or hundreds of feet above!—the water. Book a fishing charter, rent a kayak, or take in breathtaking views of the Virginia coastline with a parasailing trip. If dining on fresh caught seafood overlooking the water is more your speed, Rockafeller’s, Rudee’s Restaurant, and Big Sam’s Raw Bar have you covered.

South of the inlet, the expansive Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge is an immersive natural slice of the Atlantic coastline. Hiking and kayaking around the calm waters of the bay are the main attraction here, along with pristine sand dunes and untouched coastal vegetation. Sandbridge, the peninsula that frames Back Bay, represents the northern beginning of the Outer Banks that extend into North Carolina.

Take a break from the crashing waves of the Atlantic and relax on the bayside just a 15-minute drive north. Chesapeake Beach, known by Virginians as “Chick’s,” is a laid-back take on a beach day with calmer waters and smaller crowds. The bayfront still has plenty of dining options, with craft breweries and raw bars lining the shore. A sunset over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is the perfect way to close out the day.

A few miles inland from the bay and oceanfront sits Virginia Beach Town Center, home to luxury hotels, shopping, and rich nightlife. Take in a show at the Funny Bone Comedy Club or one of two theaters, hosting shows on weekend nights throughout the whole summer.

If you’re looking for big names in music, look no further than the massive outdoor Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater, located just south of Town Center. This summer, they’re welcoming Eric Church, Snoop Dogg, Counting Crows, and Fall Out Boy, to name a few.

By far the biggest music event of the Virginia Beach summer is Beach It!, the three-day country music festival from June 23-25, headlined by Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett, and Luke Bryan. The oceanside festival takes place on the sand between 3rd and 8th streets and welcomes more than 25 top country artists.

Inland Virginia Beach is home to more than just high-profile performances. Pungo is an agricultural community to the southwest of Virginia Beach proper, with acres and acres of farmland making it the perfect place to experience the charm of rural Virginia with bed and breakfasts and pick-your-own farms with views of the countryside.

No matter what your perfect shore itinerary looks like, Virginia Beach has it covered. Plan your vacation now at visitvirginiabeach.com.

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“I like to keep the lineup kind of all over the place so that the bands represent all Americana music, not just one particular genre,” says the festival’s founder Brad Selko. “[Counting Crows] were really popular in the ’90s, and now have a mandolin and pedal steels that bring more of an Americana feel. It’s the kind of music that resonates with a lot of different people.”

In addition to the constant live music scattered across three stages, the all-ages fête will also boast yoga classes for kids, harmonica workshops, drum circles, and tons of made-from-scratch craft and jewelry vendors. Festival attendees will also be able to indulge in eats and drinks from local foodie favorites like Zeke’s Coffee, The Local Oyster, and falafel vendor B-More Alive.

Selko says that Cockeysville’s Oregon Ridge Park—which has been the event’s habitual home since 2002—is an ideal venue because of its countryside vibe and close proximity to the light rail for city dwellers. (HAMF provides a free shuttle from the Light Rail stop at the Timonium Fairgrounds to the festival all day long.)

“It’s the perfect location. Not only does it reflect the music but it also reflects how [the festival] was when it started at my house 23 years ago,” he says. “Even though it’s a lot bigger, Oregon Ridge somehow has that same feeling.”

If you’re not completely wiped out after 12 hours of live music, spectators are invited to continue the fun at Bar Louie in Hunt Valley from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. The HAMF after party is free to the public, and will feature the alternative country sounds of June Star, along with some of the festival’s other featured artists who may drop by.

Although Selko admits that planning a music festival always has its ups and downs, he says that his primary focus is making people happy.

“Everyone’s lives are crazy, but these 12 hours of music take you somewhere that you need to go sometimes.”

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