The Best UK Festivals To Book This Summer
MAY
Wide Awake, London
This fresh festival arrived in London last summer following its cancelled 2020 debut. This year, it comprises two full days of live music at Brockwell Park, diving deep into the underground scene to create a festival that’s all about music fans. Artists on the line-up represent a host of sub-cultures across left-field indie, post punk, electronica, techno and jazz – think The Comet Is Coming, Yard Act, The Horrors and Fat White Family.
Line-up highlights: Bicep, Primal Scream and Caribou.
Brockwell Park, London, SE24 9BJ; 27th-28th May
Visit WideAwakeLondon.co.uk
JUNE
Cross The Tracks, London
Brixton's jazz, funk and soul fest has moved to June for its third edition. Celebrating both musical legends and hot new talent, it returns with its no-bad-vibes and no-plastic ethos intact, hosting everyone from Macy Gray to Gilles Peterson for a truly chilled out day. There’ll also be 40 street food vendors, a creatives market and a craft beer festival.
Line-up highlights: Khruangbin, Sampa The Great and Etta Bond.
Brockwell Park, London, SE24 9BJ; 5th June
Visit XTheTracks.com
Parklife, Manchester
Manchester’s Parklife has become synonymous with the biggest names in music and continues to be the UK’s largest metropolitan festival. This year’s line-up is packed with some of the most exciting names across pop, hip-hop and electronica: Tyler The Creator, 50 Cent, Megan Thee Stallion, Bicep, Chase & Status and Lewis Capaldi are all here. And it all happens in the city centre, so no camping required.
Line-up highlights: Bicep, Pinkpantheress and Arlo Parks.
Heaton Park, Manchester, M25 2SW; 11th-12th June
Visit Parklife.UK.com
Bigfoot Festival, Buckinghamshire
After a false start in 2020, Bigfoot launched as a three-day celebration hosted among the forests, meadows and lake of Ragley Hall, Warwickshire, in 2021. Now it’s relocated to Buckinghamshire for an adventurous music programme featuring headliners Caribou, Happy Mondays and Khurangbin, a huge selection of natural wines, a programme of family events and food experiences featuring Acme Fire Cult (Andrew Clarke & Daniel Watkins), John Chantarasak (AngloThai) and Ruth Hansom (Princess of Shoreditch).
Line-up highlights: Jane Weaver, Hayden Thorpe and Bo Ningen.
Claydon Estate, Buckingham, MK18 2EY; 17th-19th June
Visit BigfootFestival.co.uk
El Dorado, Herefordshire
Head west for this relative newcomer in the middle of the Herefordshire countryside. Loved for its eclectic music programming by Cirque Du Soul, and experiential and interactive greenfield site, its schedule promises bizarre and wonderful workshops, as well as a wellness programme – all complementing four days of disco, house and bass artists.
Line-up highlights: Groove Armada, Earth, Wind & Fire and Bjorn Again.
Eastnor Castle Deer Park, Herefordshire, HR8 1RL; 30th June-3rd July
Visit ElDoradoFestival.com
JULY
Love Supreme, Sussex
One for jazz and soul fanatics, the line-up for this year’s Love Supreme is one of its best yet – Erykah Badu, TLC and Sister Sledge are at the top of the bill. We recommend splashing a bit more for the Supremium VIP tickets: they’ll get you access to a stage-side seating area with its own bars, food trucks and nicer loos. The Lazy Bird Banqueting Kitchen will be serving up long-table, supper-club style breakfasts, lunches and dinners throughout the festival, while yoga, swimming in East Sussex’s oldest pool and after-parties in the woods are all essential experiences.
Line-up highlights: Ezra Collective, Lianne La Havas and Gregory Porter.
Glynde, East Sussex, BN8 6SX; 1st-3rd July
Visit LoveSupremeFestival.com
Wireless Festival, London
This three-day urban music event has been kicking around since 2005. With a strong focus on hip hop, rap and grime, it sells out year after year. This summer the action’s spread over three weekends – at its usual home Finsbury Park, Crystal Palace and the NEC, Birmingham. Across all three events, expect to see performances by the likes of Dave, A$AP Rocky, Doja Cat, Burna Boy and Tyler The Creator.
Line-up highlights: Cardi B, SZA and Nicki Minaj.
Crystal Palace, 1st-3rd July; Finsbury Park, 8th-10th July; Birmingham NEC, 8th-10th July
Visit WirelessFestival.co.uk
TRNSMT Festival, Glasgow
In just a few years, TRNSMT has become one of the biggest events in the Scottish music calendar, bringing people together to discover their favourite new acts and sing along to the ones they already love. The weekender – which takes place in Glasgow city centre – returns in 2022 with acts such as Nile Rogers and Chic, Sam Fender and Paulo Nutini.
Line-up highlights: Tom Grennan, Ella Henderson and The Bootleg Beatles.
Glasgow Green, Glasgow, G1 5DB; 8th-10th July
Visit TRNSMTFest.com
Latitude, Suffolk
Foals, Snow Patrol and Lewis Capaldi are just some of the big names set to play the Suffolk festival this summer – though we’re more excited about some of the middleweight acts playing (Modest Mouse, Fontaines DC, Self Esteem…). But this weekender is about much more than music. Comedy highlights include Russell Howard, Maisie Adam and The Horne Section. Readings, debates, discussions and poetry will be held in the Speakeasy, lake swimming is a must, and there’s food from all your favourite traders at London’s Street Feast market. Remember to keep an eye out for the famous spray-painted sheep.
Line-up highlights: Little Simz, Maggie Rogers and Phoebe Bridgers.
Southwold, Suffolk, NR34 8AQ; 21st-24th July
Visit LatitudeFestival.com
LUKE DYSON
Bluedot, Cheshire
The magnificent Lovell Telescope at the Jodrell Bank space observatory makes a fine backdrop for this family friendly festival of exploration up north. For its sixth outing, musical line-up standouts include Metronomy, Squarepusher, Groove Armada and Anna Meredith. Away from the tunes, a wellness area and gastronomy village will be bolstered by science talks (astronaut Tim Peake is a headliner), immersive installations and the opportunity to stargaze with scientists.
Line-up highlights: Bjork, Mogwai and Spiritualized.
Jodrell Bank, Cheshire, SK11 9DL; 21st-24th July
Visit DiscoverTheBluedot.com
Camp Bestival, Dorset
Bestival is no more. Thankfully, Camp Bestival – the team’s more family friendly offering – returns to Dorset this summer. Kids are king at this festival – there’s an avalanche of activities for children of all ages: at BigTopMania kids can learn circus skills and see Mr Tumble, while the Lower Kids' Garden is packed full of entertainment for slightly older children (this year you'll find the ‘Brainiac Live’, Horrible Histories’ Terrible Tudors, vintage fairground rides and face-painting). Food experiences are led by First Dates’ Fred Sirieix.
Line-up highlights: Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Kitchen Disco, Charlotte Church’s Late Night Pop Dungeon and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Lulworth Castle, Dorset, BH20 5QS; 28th-31st July
Visit CampBestival.net
South Facing, London
South Facing is a month-long outdoor concert series taking place at the Crystal Palace Bowl, one of London's most scenic outdoor venues. The striking amphitheatre will host six diverse nights of live music across the summer, hosting everyone from Bombay Bicycle Club to the English National Opera.
Line-up highlights: Jungle, London Grammar and Kamasi Washington.
Crystal Palace Park, London, SE19 2BA; various dates between 29th July-21st August
Visit SouthFacingFestival.com
ANDREW HUGHES
LUKE DYSON
AUGUST
Wilderness, Oxfordshire
Yes, this is more music than food festival, but Wilderness always pulls out all the stops when it comes to hospitality. This yea,r expect feasting and dining from Skye Gyngell, Adam Handling, Niklas Ekstedt, Robin Gill, Will Devlin and Social Pantry. Don’t forget your bathing suit – the wood-fired hot tubs and even the lake prove popular every year, regardless of the weather.
Line-up highlights: Underworld, Jungle and Years & Years.
Cornbury, Oxfordshire, OX7 3DG; 4th-7th August
Visit WildernessFestival.com
Junction 2, London
Junction 2 was one of the unlucky festivals that couldn’t go ahead last year. Now taking place in Trent Park, Cockfosters, it’s hosting an array of artists across the electronic spectrum – from a more eclectic line-up on Saturday through to a techno-influenced bill on Sunday. Recent additions to the bill include George FitzGerald, Romy, Max Cooper, Avalon Emerson and Adam Beyer.
Line-up highlights: Four Tet, Mount Kimbie and Jon Hopkins.
Trent Park, London, EN4 0PS; 18th-19th June
Visit Junction2.London
Green Man, Wales
In the foothills of the beautiful Brecon Beacons, this Welsh festival has managed the progression from boutique festival to main player without compromising anything that made it so great in the first place. With a line-up that focuses on Americana – this year’s headliners include Beach House, Parquet Courts and Low – this fun weekender mixes a laidback vibe with green credentials. Hot tubs, woodland walks and spa treatments all collide with visual arts, literary and films. Trust us, it’s worth the trek.
Line-up highlights: Kraftwerk, Metronomy and Michael Kiwanuka.
Brecon Beacons, Wales, NP8 1LP; 18th-21st August
Visit GreenMan.net
All Points East, London
A new kid on the block in 2018, this popular four-day festival will once again take over Victoria Park for the August bank holiday. The event will lay on its usual top selection of pop-up bars, street food and arts programmes, but we’re most excited about its wide-ranging choice of live music: think Self Esteem, Aldous Harding, The National, Anna Calvi, James Blake and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
Line-up highlights: Gorillaz, Tame Impala and Disclosure.
Victoria Park, London, E3 5TB; 19th-28th August
Field Day, London
For its 13th outing, Field Day relocated to a series of warehouses in north London. This year, it’s back where it belongs: in a field. Stripped back to a one-day festival in its original home of Victoria Park, this essential festival will host electronic artists such as Kraftwerk 3D, The Chemical Brothers and Peggy Gou. Visitors will also be able to sample food from some of London’s finest traders and check out a selection of independent breweries and drinks brands.
Line-up highlights: Floating Points, Squarepusher and Erol Alkan.
Victoria Park, London, E3 5TB; 20th August
Visit FieldDayFestivals.com
Lost Village, Lincolnshire
Lost Village is an immersive festival set in an abandoned woodland village. Returning for its fifth summer, the boutique weekender invites guests to dance in the grounds of the Abandoned Chapel, feast at the Tribal Banquet, learn new skills on Forger’s Lane and expand their horizons in the Institute of Curious Minds. This year’s musical highlights include Kokoroko and Joy Orbison, plus a raft of acts yet to be announced. A spa, massages and hot tubs will all be on hand for any post-party recovery that may be needed.
Line-up highlights: Bonobo, Jamie XX and Tom Mitsch.
Norton Disney, Lincolnshire, LN6 9QF; 25th-28th August
Visit LostVillageFestival.com
SEPTEMBER
Mighty Hoopla, London
What do you get when you mix Steps, Five and legendary meme account Love of Huns? Mighty Hoopla – the most flamboyant of all London’s festivals. Celebrating the capital’s alternative club culture, come rain or shine it’s set to be another loud, proud and colour-filled two days, where fancy dress is pretty much mandatory. This year, we’re most excited about Jimmy Somerville and Love of Huns presents Katie Price.
Line-up highlights: Natalie Imbruglia, Haddaway and Anastacia.
Brockwell Park, London, SE24 9BJ; 3rd-4th September
Visit MightyHoopla.com
Forwards, Bristol
Forwards is a new inner-city music festival drawing the biggest names in international music to Clifton Downs this September. Alongside the music, this two dayer aims to bring people together through social initiatives and spaces for discussion and debate. It’s headlined by The Chemical Brothers and prolific remix artist and producer Jamie X, with other acts including Roisin Murphy, Shygirl and Khruangbin.
Line-up highlights: Caribou, Kae Tempest and Little Simz.
Clifton, Bristol, BS9 1PG; 3rd-4th September
Visit ForwardsBristol.co.uk
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