Festivals

May | June | July | August | September


May
Primavera
When May 28-30
Where Barcelona, Spain
Line-up Neil Young, My Bloody Valentine, Aphex Twin, Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, Ghostface Killah, The Jesus Lizard, Michael Nyman, Bloc Party, Jarvis Cocker, Throwing Muses, Spiritualized, The Vaselines, more
Tickets €155 (w/e), €70 (day)
www.primaverasound.com
For many, this will be the bill of a lifetime, featuring the most influential acts of a generation and the bands they influenced. Overlooking the Mediterranean just outside the city centre, it kicks off mid-afternoon and runs through the night when DJs take over. Beware if you’re in a hostel with a curfew.

Pinkpop
When May 30-June 1
Where Landgraaf Megaland, Holland
Line-up Bruce Springsteen, The Killers, Snow Patrol, Franz Ferdinand, Noisettes, Chris Cornell, Elbow, Depeche Mode, Katy Perry, Pendulum, Placebo, Madness, more
Tickets €140 (w/e), €75 (day)
www.pinkpop.nl
Pinkpop is the only festival to run for 40 uninterrupted years. It’s massively popular, too, having sold out 19 times in its history; hence ginormous headliners, like the Boss.
Feature continues

June
Bonnaroo
When June 11-14
Where Manchester, Tennessee, USA
Line-up Bruce Springsteen, Beastie Boys, David Byrne, Wilco, Al Green, Erykah Badu, Elvis Costello, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Animal Collective, Lucinda Williams, Nine Inch Nails, Snoop Dogg, MGMT, more
Tickets $249.50 (w/e)
www.bonnaroo.com
America’s answer to Glastonbury – with a massive, indefinable line-up to match – this notoriously dusty event has begun to rival Burning Man as the hip US festival. Like Glasto, it has a charitable side, including a food drive for the poor folk of Coffee County.

Synch
When June 12-14
Where Athens, Greece
Line-up Tortoise, The Matthew Herbert Big Band, Friendly Fires, Mr Oizo, Joe Goddard (Hot Chip), Fujiya & Miyagi, more
Tickets €80 (three-day) €40-25 (day)
www.synch.gr
This marks the sixth year of the popular festival, running over three days, smack bang in the middle of Athens.

Sónar
When June 18-20
Where Barcelona, Spain
Line-up Orbital, Grace Jones, Animal Collective, Fever Ray, Late of the Pier, Buraka Som Sistema, Konono No 1, La Roux, Deadmau5, more
Tickets €140 (w/e), €48 (night), €30 (day)
www.2009.sonar.es
This super trendy music and art event takes in disco, African, trance, hip hop, electro, glitchy experimentalism and, in the form of Animal Collective, blissed-out psychedelia. Grace Jones is among the other highlights.

Hove Festival
When June 22-25
Where Tromøy, southern Norway
Line-up The Killers, Faith No More, Fleet Foxes, Slipknot, Franz Ferdinand, Eagles of Death Metal, The Prodigy, Disturbed, more
Tickets NOK1850
www.hovefestival.com
A ferry through a fjord gets you to this eco-friendly party (the truly eco-conscious will pick the zero footprint camp) that wears its broad credentials with pride.

T-Mobile INmusic Festival
When June 24-25
Where Zagreb, Croatia
Line-up Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lily Allen, Franz Ferdinand, Moby, Kraftwerk, NERD, more
Tickets €75 (w/e), €62 (day)
www.t-mobileinmusicfestival
By Lake Jarun, in the centre of the capital, this attracts some 20,000. Yeah Yeah Yeahs alone justify making the pilgrimage.

May | June | July | August | September


July
Open’er
When July 2-5
Where Gdynia, Poland
Line-up Kings Of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks, The Prodigy, Gossip, more
Tickets 340-320 zloty (four-day), 140-100 zloty (day)
www.opener.pl
Four days in Poland is never going to cost a lot and you get big hitters for your buck.

Rock Werchter
When July 2-5
Where Werchter, Belgium
Line-up  Coldplay, The Killers, Metallica, The Prodigy, Oasis, Nine Inch Nails, more
Tickets €169 (four-day), €75 (per day), €17 (camping pass)
www.rockwerchter.be
Werchter celebrates its big, erm, 35 . Jump on Eurostar to get to the superduperstar party.

Roskilde
When July 2-5
Where Roskilde, Denmark
Line-up Coldplay, Oasis, Nine Inch Nails, Kanye West, Pet Shop Boys, Amadou and Mariam, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, more
Tickets DKK1785  (w/e)
www.roskilde-festival.dk
A fine line-up takes in big names and African stars, rapper Lil’ Wayne, Americana heroine Lucinda Williams and more noisy indie than you can shake a Mellotron at. It’s one of the most organised festivals too.

Eurockeennes
When July 3-5
Where Malsaucy, France
Line-up Kanye West, The Ting Tings, The Prodigy, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Slipknot, more
Tickets €85 (w/e), €37 (day)
www.eurockeennes.fr/
In a breathtakingly beautiful spot near the Swiss border, water surrounds the stages and campsites. France’s best ? Many say so.

Montreux Jazz Festival
When July 3-18
Where Montreux, Switzerland
Line-up Underworld, Steely Dan, Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang, Klaxons, Lily Allen, Alice Cooper, Steve Winwood, Raphael Saadiq, Angélique Kidjo, Marianne Faithfull, McCoy Tyner Trio, more
Tickets €2,418-€138
www.montreuxjazz.com
For the festival’s 42nd year, the impressive line up ranges from jazzers to chart-topping popsters; united, say organisers, by ‘mutual curiosity and enthusiasm.’ Great, if pricey.

Exit Festival
When July 9-12
Where Petrovaradin, Novi Sad, Serbia
Line-up Kraftwerk, Madness, Manic Street Preachers, Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, The Prodigy, Moby, Patti Smith, Korn, more
Tickets £72 (w/e; camping not included)
www.exitfest.org
Ten years after its conception as a protest against Slobodan Milosevic’s regime, Exit – in an old fortress beside the Danube – is one of the biggest and most popular festivals. It remains politicised, with stalls and protests.

Oxegen
When July 10-12
Where Punchestown, Leinster, ROI
Line-up Blur, The Killers, Kings of Leon, Pet Shop Boys, Nine Inch Nails, Bloc Party, Jane’s Addiction, 2ManyDJs, Pete Doherty, Keane, The Game, Doves, Nick Cave, more
Tickets €244.50 (four-day camping), €224.50 (three-day camping), €199.50 (three-day), €99.50 (day)
www.oxegen.ie
Declaring itself Ireland’s largest carbon neutral event, Oxegen is also the Emerald Isle’s most impressive when it comes to music – by quite some distance.

Dour
When July 16-19
Where Dour, Belgium
Line-up  Pet Shop Boys, Jamie Lidell, Sepultura, more
Tickets €85 (four-day)
www.dourfestival.be
Nothing dour about this genre-spanning gem – from reggae to big pop to Sepultura.

Pahoda Festival
When July 16-18
Where Trenãín, Slovakia
Line-up Klaxons, Travis, Basement Jaxx, Tunng, The Whip, Ojos de Brujo, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Pendulum, more
Tickets €65-29 (day)
www.pohodafestival.sk
Hard as it may be for younger readers to comprehend, Travis could once headline festivals in this country. They’re still plying their trade elsewhere, as on this bill (which otherwise reads like a Shoreditch jukebox).

Slottsfjell
When July 16-18
Where Tønsberg, Norway
Line-up The Streets, Turbonegro, Kaiser Chiefs, Foals, Roots Manuva, Thunderheist, Femi Kuti, The Wombats, more
Tickets NOK 1250 (w/e), NOK 575 (day)
www.slottsfjellfestival.no
Smashing event named after the hill it sits on. South of Oslo, Norwegians enjoy their few weeks of summer by partying hard at five stages and an amazing 3,000 capacity club venue. Or they’ll be enjoying views of the nearby fjord and the city of Tønsberg.

Benicàssim
When July 16-19
Where Near Valencia, Spain
Line-up Oasis, Kings of Leon, Elbow, Franz Ferdinand, Paul Weller, The Killers, TV on the Radio, Lily Allen, Glasvegas, Magazine, The Mystery Jets, Giant Sand, more
Tickets £160 (four-days; camping not included), £67.30 (day)
www.fiberfib.com
Brits ’ave it large to Oasis (who seem to play this every year) on the Spanish coast. The more discerning will enjoy Magazine, Giant Sand, The Horrors and Peaches. NB: by the time you get to bed, the sun will be rising and your tent will be hotter than a baker’s oven.

Melt Festival
When July 17-19
Where Ferropolis (City of Iron), Germany
Line-up Oasis, Kasabian, Aphex Twin, Travis, Klaxons, Foals, Gossip, Goldie, Bloc Party, Digitalism, Diplo, Tiga, more
Tickets €110 (three-day), €85 (two-day), €55 (day)
www.meltfestival.de
Set amid huge mechanical cranes, this ace, rather eerie event is known for aesthetically suitable electro, and cerebral pop bands, like Bloc Party and Klaxons. Good luck, Oasis!


Soundwave Croatia
When July 17-20
Where Petrcane, near Zadar, Croatia
Line-up DJ Yoda, Alice Russell, Daedelus, DJ Vadim, Red Snapper, Bonobo, more
Tickets €68
www.soundwavecroatia.com
Perhaps the summer’s most beautiful site, this newbie is in a Croatian fishing village on a peninsular where the Dalmation Coast meets the Adriatic. It takes place across an outdoor ampitheatre, a Studio 54-alike club, a boat and a terrace that looks out across Petrcane Bay and the Velebit mountains.

Fuji Rocks
When July 24-26
Where Echigo Yuzawa, Japan
Line-up Oasis, Fall Out Boy, Patti Smith, Franz Ferdinand, Animal Collective, Bad Brains, Booker T Jones, Tortoise, Weezer, Public Enemy, Maxïmo Park, Melvins, more
Tickets Y42,800
www.smash-uk.com
At the Naeba ski resort, with a bonkers bill, this promotes ‘the harmonious coexistence of nature and humans’ (man) and is greener than a garden pea. It even turns plastic waste into clothes and jackets for the staff.

May | June | July | August | September


August
Oya
When August 11-15
Where Oslo, Norway
Line-up Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, Wilco, Röyksopp, Bon Iver, Glasvegas, Grizzly Bear, Fever Ray, Beirut, Jenny Lewis, more
Tickets €210 (w/e), €70 (day)
www.oyafestivalen.com
To win an environmental award in Norway, a festival must go some distance and Oya goes further. In a medieval park in Oslo’s old city, all its food is ecological, and all waste will be recycled or composted. The line-up boasts Arctic Monkeys, leftfield supremos Gang Gang Dance, metal  and Philip Glass.

Sziget
When August 12-17
Where Budapest, Hungary
Line-up Placebo, The Offspring, The Prodigy, Bloc Party, Fatboy Slim, Klaxons, Calexico, Pendulum, Squarepusher, more
Tickets €180 (w/e camping), €150 (w/e), €40 (day)
www.sziget.hu
Big names – some, like the plucky Placebo, still massive in mainland Europe – play this ace event, on Obudai Island in the Danube, accessible by water taxi. But the non-music entertainment is just as important, ranging from pubs to puppets.

Way Out West
When August 14-15
Where Gothenburg, Sweden
Line-up Antony and the Johnsons, Arctic Monkeys, Wilco, Lily Allen, Bon Iver, more
Tickets KR 1345 (w/e), 1045 (under 18s)
www.wayoutwest.se
The trees bordering this site make it all look terribly picturesque, but just wait till they start bouncing back the terrifying volume of My Bloody Valentine. Mwah ha ha.

Pukkelpop
When August 20-22
Where Kempische Steenweg, Belgium
Line-up Arctic Monkeys, Kraftwerk, Faith No More, NERD, The Offspring, Beirut, Wilco, Bon Iver, The Jesus Lizard, more
Tickets €135 (four-day), €75 (day)
www.pukkelpop.be
Belgium’s premier festival shows its class again, attracting legends Faith No More.

Dragonfly Festival
When August 21-23
Where Åsarp, Västra Götland, Sweden
Line-up John Smith, Semaphore, The Stillhouse Orchestra, Jack Cheshire, more
Tickets 550 sek (three-day), 350 sek (under 18s three-day), day tickets available
www.dragonflyfestival.org
This multimedia event takes place in a pre-historic village – perfect for electronica, short films and left of centre entertainment.

Electric Elephant
When 28-30 August
Where Petrcane, Croatia
Line-up Four Tet, Natty, David Thomas Broughton, Andrew Weatherall, more
Tickets £69.99
www.electricelephant.co.uk
The first festival had The Guardian hailing the Adriatic ‘the new Balearic.’ The weather, food and wine should all be very agreeable.

May | June | July | August | September


September
Electric Picnic
When September 4-6
Where Stradbally Hall, Co Laois, ROI
Line-up Flaming Lips, Fleet Foxes, Orbital, Basement Jaxx, Bat For Lashes, Madness, MGMT, Zero 7, Lykke Li, more
Tickets €480 (Family – two adults plus up to four children – w/e camping), €240 (w/e)
www.electricpicnic.ie
Ireland’s most interesting event features a Mad Hatters Tea Party, Michael Nyman and Aphex’s video director Chris Cunningham.