I skipped Lollapalooza for a smaller, cheaper Midwest music festival with some of the same big names. It was amazing and I hope to return.

Hinterland Music Festival was an absolute blast.Julia Richardson

• I went to the Hinterland Music Festival instead of Lollapalooza, which was the same weekend.
• Passes to Hinterland were cheaper and the lineup had some of the same artists as Lollapalooza.

Recently, I skipped the crowds of Lollapalooza to attend a different Midwest music festival — Iowa's Hinterland Music Festival.

I only recently learned about Hinterland, a three-day indie, soul, and country festival with an impressive resume of headliners. This year, it ran from August 4 to August 6, the same weekend as Lollapalooza, which ran from August 3 to August 6.

Hinterland three-day passes were $250 before fees, which is cheaper than the four-day general-admission passes to Lollapalooza that initially sold for about $365 before fees.

I've attended big music festivals and events in major cities across the world, but this was one of my favorite weekends of the summer and one of the best music experiences I've ever had.

Here's why I plan to return next year.