The best music festivals in the UK to book for 2026

For years Supersonic felt like an insurgent music festival, giggers taking over warehouses and art galleries, putting life in empty shopfronts, blaring from make-do stages under viaducts. Since 2003 the event has embodied Digbeth’s creative soul with a radical approach to programming: forward-thinking artists in bold places. In recent years Supersonic has battled severe gentrification in the neighbourhood and its 2026 event will be slightly smaller than previous years, taking place in just one venue. That hasn’t stopped them from putting together another incredible lineup, though: you’ve got hyped avant-folkers Milkweed – at whose ICA gig PJ Harvey and Spiritualized’s Jason Pierce were recently spotted in London – as well as Michigan noise post-punks Prostitute and bonkers DJ collective/live band Microplastics.

Big names: Milkweed, Prostitute, Microplastics, DJ Haram,

Best for: Sticking it to the man to the tune of left-field music

The Crossing, Digbeth, Birmingham. April 25-26

It’s not been an easy few years for grassroots festivals: due to soaring costs, 72 were cancelled in 2024 alone – double the number that sadly bowed out in 2023. This makes it all the more extraordinary that the likes of Camden’s Incineration Festival continue to thrive. Just over a decade after it launched, the extreme (mainly black) metal one-dayer now descends upon five venues in Camden, London’s most endearingly crusty borough: the Roundhouse, Electric Ballroom, Black Heart, Underworld and the Dev. Here you’ll find an undead B&Q’s worth of corpse paint, flailing barnets and a line-up full of band names that sound like gorefest B-movies and/or medical diagnoses. 

Big names: Dragged Into Sunlight, Fuming Mouth, Internal Bleeding.

Best for: Raising a goblet to small UK festivals (and Satan).

Camden, May 2.

Long before the place achieved fame with a Hollywood-ified football team, Wrexham had FOCUS Wales – a fantastically diverse showcase festival that annually takes over venues throughout the town. Since 2011 FOCUS Wales has been a feast of musical discovery, spotlighting all sorts of thrilling emerging talent from Wales and beyond (alongside a few well-known headliners – and in 2026, with Fat Dog, Idlewild, Shame and Gwenno, those big-names are bigger than ever).

Big names: Fat Dog, Idlewild, Shame, Gwenno, Deerhoof, Tristwch y Fenywod.

Best for: Musical explorers of all sorts (but FOCUS especially rewarding if you’re Welsh)

Various venues, Wrexham, North Wales. May 7-9.

The Great Escape may have started as a showcase of the seaside city’s grassroots scene, but it’s grown to include artists from all over the world – and it’s got a suitably global fanbase to boot. In 2026’s edition, 35 Brighton venues (all walk-between-able) will host 450 artists across a familiarly grand sprawl of sound and styles. The focus is on new music and the curation is always excellent – it’s the sort of place where you will almost definitely return home with bragging rights after discovering the next Little Simz five years early.

Big names: Peaches, Mandy, Indiana, Lottery Winners, Girl Group, Kingfishr, Westside Cowboy, Ashaine White.

Best for: Punters with a keen ear for the next big thing.

Various venues, Brighton. May 14-17.

A staple in the calendar of London’s clubbing elite, GALA showcases the finest in electronic music but also sprinkles in a little more: a dash of soul, a pinch of jazz and a sprinkling of afrobeats. The three-dayer partners with curators like NTS and The Cause to put together a lineup that hasn’t just got big names but features well-curated, high-quality talent all the way down the lineup. Following an all-star event in 2025 – which had Floating Points, Avalon Emerson, Caribou and more – 2026 will be GALA’s 11th edition.

Big names: Call Super, Antal x Hunee x Palms Trax, Mala, George Daniel, Moxie.

Best for: Dancing, looking cool, dancing a bit more.

Peckham Rye Park, London, SE15 3UA. May 22-24.

Radio 1’s legendary weekender admirably gets huge-name artists to play in cities that don’t often get ’em. Following Luton in 2025 – which saw performances from Coldplay, Chase & Status, RAYE and Vampire Weekend – is Sunderland, one of Time Out’s best places to visit in the UK in 2026. The lineup for 2026 is yet to be revealed, but based on previous editions expect a diverse selection of all-conquering stars that caters to most tastes. And if you live in Sunderland, even better: not only does the Big Weekend bring popstars to cities around the UK but it prioritises locals for tickets with 50 percent reserved for nearby postcodes.

Big names: TBC

Best for: Seeing a bunch of all-conquering popstars on a single lineup.

Herrington Country Park, Sunderland. May 22-24.

The vision of Simon Holmes, the founder of Knockengorroch, was to fill the Carsphairn Hills in Kirkcudbrightshire with people and music. Holmes sadly passed away in December 2025, but his utopian manifesto lives on: the family-friendly roots festival will return in May. Celebrating music from the Celtic diaspora, as well as reggae, ska, jazz, drum and bass, and other music from around the world, Knockengorroch also hosts cabaret, spoken word, comedy and dance. In other words: it’s going to be hard to get bored.

Big names: The Deltones, BCUC, Grace Sands, Elias Alexander, Dallahan, Mungos Hi Fi Sound System.

Best for: The broad-minded, weather-resistant listener.

Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland. May 22-25.

Some festivals are synonymous with a location; Field Day is synonymous with a vibe. Launched in 2007, the bleeding-edge knees-up spent a decade at Victoria Park before moving to Brockwell Park via brief stints in Tottenham and Enfield. What to expect? Impeccable curation, the coolest electronic acts and, among its punters, the haircuts everyone will be wearing in six months. 2026 will be no exception, with the line-up boasting the crème de la crème of dance music, plus absolutely loads of bars and food trucks – last year, they packed in more than 70 vendors. Wherever it’s at, Field Day always has great taste.

Big names: Andy C, Floating Points, Honey Dijon, Joy Orbison.

Best for: Looking your best and dancing ’til your legs drop off (or 11pm, whichever comes first). 

Brockwell Park, London. May 23.

London jazz, funk and soul day festival Cross the Tracks has put together an all-timer of a lineup for 2026, with Little Simz, KOKOROKO and Obongjayar heading up the Brockwell Park event on the May Bank Holiday weekend. Expect supremely tasteful, groove-heavy curation across the rest of the bill, plus street food and craft beer. XTT is best-loved for its laid-back, open-arms appeal: you’ll find all sorts of people having a boogie. Like City Splash (which takes place in the same venue one day later), you’ll want to stick on your dancing shoes. 

Big names: Little Simz, Kokoroko, Obongjayar, Lady Wray.

Best for: Carefree dancing in the sunshine and severely talented showmanship 

Brockwell Park, London. May 24.

One of the UK’s most beloved reggae, dancehall and afrobeats events – and apparently now the largest one-day Caribbean and African music festival in the entire world – this mighty fest celebrates the impact of Caribbean and African culture in the UK and beyond. City Splash’s bands, sound systems, artists and DJs make for a terrific all-day carnival, fuelled by more than 60 black-owned food traders. Fair warning, if you’re not much of a dancer, you’ll stick out here. Move those hips!

Big names: Beres Hammond, Aidonia, Gyptian, Jada Kingdom, Queen Ifrica, The Congos.

Best for: Gorging on the full spectrum of Caribbean and African music, from reggae and dancehall to afrobeats and amapiano.

Brockwell Park, London. May 25.

Founded in Belfast in 2015, AVA (Audio, Visual, Arts) has since expanded with another edition in London. Focused on electronic music and visual arts, the event is yet to confirm its musical or conference headliners for 2026 but it’s always a feast of talent. You’ll find fresh local acts among legendary global names, with styles ranging from techno, house and DnB to IDM, electropop, glitch and more. This year the Belfast AVA will take place first in May, followed by the London fest in September.

Big names: Kneecap, Kettama, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U, Annie Mac and Honey Dijon.

Best for: The trendiest of on-trend electro-musos.

Titanic Slipways, Belfast. May 29-30. Venues TBC, London. September 24-26.

A decade since its inception in London, and now with a version in Malta and – as of this year – Sydney, Mighty Hoopla has good reason to call itself ‘the world’s best pop festival’.  The LGBTQ+ shindig is bar none when it comes to showcasing the greatest new talent as well as celebrating certified legends. It’s known for its fabulous drag acts, total lack of pretension, hedonistic spirit and general feel-good energy. As a sequined rival to Glastonbury’s famous Legends Slot, the festival also has its own fêted Gay Icon Slot. This year: cruise ship don Jane McDonald. What more could you ask for?

Big name: Lily Allen, Scissor Sisters, Jessie J, Five.

Best for: Living your best life and sticking two fingers up to the music snobs. 

Brockwell Park, London. May 30-31.

Lovebox was once one of the biggest dates in the London festival calendar. From 2002 to 2019 it was headlined by everyone from Solange and LCD Soundsystem to MIA and Grace Jones – and now, after more than half a decade away, Lovebox is making a sensational return. The event, which was founded by DJs Groove Armada, will move to Dreamland in Margate and be headlined by Rudimental and Scissor Sisters. A legendary seaside location, two days of electronic-leaning music and a bucketload of nostalgia, all over the late May Bank Holiday… what’s not to like?

Big names: Rudimental, Scissor Sisters, Friendly Fires, Groove Armada.

Best for: ’00s-nostalgia-on-sea.

Dreamland, Margate. May 29-30.

More than two decades since it took the metal mantle from its Donnington site’s Monsters of Rock, Download remains the UK’s premiere festival when it comes to guaranteed heaviosity. Headliner bookings have long leaned towards rock legends – this year is no exception – while the smaller stages are ripe for devilish music discoveries. Despite all the moshing, Download has some of the chilliest and friendliest crowds on the circuit – probably because they’ve got any angst out of their systems in the pit. Last year, Leicestershire police asked punters to remove their smartwatches, which were sending out automatic 999 calls due to all the commotion!

Big names: Limp Bizkit, Guns N’ Roses, Linkin Park, Cypress Hill.

Best for: Throwing the horns up and letting it all hang out. 

Donnington Park, Leicestershire, June 12-14.

From the ashes of T in the Park in 2016 rose TRNSMT – and over a decade later, it’s still going strong. Indie and pop are the orders of the day, with Glaswegian crowds reliably up for it: you’re never far from a ‘here we, here we fucking go’ chant – it’s a local speciality, after all. In 2024, the festival’s organisers asked punters to vote on their ideal headliners for the following year, summing up its down-to-earth spirit (despite being Scotland’s biggest music festival). 

Big names: Richard Ashcroft, Kasabian, Lewis Capaldi, Wolf Alice.

Best for: Fighting for your right to party. 

Glasgow Green Park, Glasgow, June 19-21.

Parklife has a reputation for joyous hedonism, having become for teenage danceheads what Reading and Leeds once was for adolescent grungers. With around 80,000 punters onsite, the Manchester weekender is, quite frankly, madferit. While its identity is firmly based in electronic bangers, the festival also boasts some of the greatest pop and rap acts on Earth, proving that this music-loving city has no truck with boundaries. The fashion here is as forward-thinking as the music, but don’t let that put you off bringing your waterproofs – the cliché about Manchester and rain exists for a reason.  

Big names: Calvin Harris, Skepta, Zara Larsson, Rudimental. 

Best for: Giving your bucket hat an outing.

Heaton Park, Manchester, June 20-21.

Here’s the OG – the UK’s first proper festival. Isle of Wight launched in 1968 and made history again the following year, when Bob Dylan headlined what was then called the Isle of Wight Pop Festival. This was a huge countercultural event, with members of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones supposedly in the audience. As the times have a-changed, however, so has the festival. Ironically, having long since dropped the ‘pop’ bit of its name, the party now pulls in the likes of Lewis Capaldi and Teddy Swims, though some of its countercultural spirit lives on in regular bookings of grizzled rockers.

Big names: Lewis Capaldi, Calvin Harris, The Cure, Wet Leg.

Best for: Honouring music history by getting off your nut. 

Seaclose Park, Newport, June 18-21.

Although it’s rooted in hardcore and punk, Outbreak is fast becoming one of the UK’s freest and most genre-fluid festivals. It was launched in a 100-capacity Sheffield community centre by two 14-year-olds (yes, really!) back in 2011 and proved so successful that it soon moved to bigger venues in Leeds, Manchester and now London. In 2026 there will be two Outbreaks: one at Manchester’s BEC Arena in June and another that is part of All Points East’s string of one-dayers at Vicky Park in London. Outbreak invited Turnstile to play their first UK show way back in 2013, proving that they’ve always had their ears to the ground, while this year’s line-up bounces from bruising alt-rock to cutting-edge UK rap. 

Big names: Alexisonfire, Suicidal Tendencies, Deftones, Amyl and the Sniffers, JPEGMafia.

Best for: Getting in the pit (no matter what the genre). 

BEC Arena, Manchester. June 26-28. Victoria Park, London. August 27-28.

Musos flock to this feel-good weekender, which takes place in a grand Elizabethan manor house in the South Downs. Despite the name, it’s not all about jazz: you can also expect to crack open the trunk of funk, with blues and soul high on the packing list too. The Sussex do has a rich history of all-time legends among its notable alumni – think Lauryn Hill, Van Morrison, Gladys Knight, George Benson and Mavis Staples – and has earned a special place in the hearts of punters who take their tunes seriously. Pretty much anyone, though, will find much to adore here. 

Big names: Loyle Carner, Ezra Collective, Jalen Ngonda, Moses Boyd.  

Best for: Stroking your chin and moving your feet. 

Glynde Place, East Sussex, July 3-5.

Twenty years after it was founded, 2000 Trees still feels like one of the UK festival scene’s best-kept secrets. This independent Gloucestershire fest has grown a dedicated following simply by doing everything right: it’s not too big, the lineups are tight and always feature notable names, tickets are affordable (and even more so if you camp for the week) and it boasts an exceptionally friendly community atmosphere. The programme is broad but tends to lean into all the various strains and offshoots of punk, hardcore and heavy rock. Expect to see bands here in the sort of small, intimate crowds you’ll not get anywhere else.

Big names: Alkaline Trio, Glassjaw, Funeral for a Friend, Pup, Sprints, Lambrini Girls

Best for: Feeling only good vibes in the mosh pit.

Upcote Farm (near Cheltenham), Gloucestershire, July 8-11.

Go to ALSO as one person, you may well come out as another entirely. The Warwickshire fest is all about self-enhancement in the daytime – think science talks, workshops, literary sessions, grand nosh – and no-holds partying at night. Give in to ALSO fully and you’ll come out having learned/thought about tonnes of stuff you’d never previously considered. This year’s theme is O Fortuna, with mythological forest installations inspired by the Roman goddess of fate. Music is just a small part of an overall lineup that also boasts ideas, comedy and food – but expect a vast range of experimentalists. The multi-arts fest’s Future Music Programme is a particularly fantastic way to discover up-and-coming musicians.

Big names: Star power isn’t really the point of ALSO and headliners haven’t yet been announced. Sheep, Dog & Wolf, Tribo and Jackson Roy are among the names confirmed so far.

Best for: Coming home with a lot to talk about.

Park Farm, Compton Verney, Warwickshire. July 10-12.

After a year off, WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) will make a grand return in 2026. This year’s WOMAD is also notable because it’s left Charlton Park – its home since 2007 – for fresh pastures. The event is staying in Wiltshire but hopping 20-odd miles south to Neston Park in Corsham, a site that co-founder (and music legend) Peter Gabriel described as ‘a warm and welcoming home’. Otherwise, expect WOMAD’s usual dazzlingly global selection of cultural offerings, from Portuguese fado, Japanese shamisen and Pakistani qawwali to mainstream American and UK stars. Who needs that other mighty cultural fest that’s taking a fallow year in 2026 anyway, eh? Oh, and BTW there are two WOMADs in Britain this year: another one in Glasgow in July will be the event’s first ever Scottish edition.

Big names: Greentea Peng, Oumou Sangaré, Barrington Levy, José González.

Best for: Music that transcends continents.

Neston Park, Wiltshire. July 23-26.

When Suffolk festival Latitude launched 20 full years ago, much fun was poked at its undeniably bougie atmosphere. Marcus Mumford himself even joked about the onsite Waitrose when he and his merry band of waistcoat enthusiasts headlined in 2017. The cheek! Nowadays, of course, we know Latitude was ahead of its time. You can get a decent craft beer and some posh nosh at most UK festivals – even Reading and Leeds, once exclusively the domain of dodgy burgers and piss-warm cider, has upped its game. What has changed, however, is Latitude’s musical remit: while still folky, it’s now a pop-lover’s paradise too.  

Big names: David Byrne, Teddy Swims, Lewis Capaldi, Self Esteem.

Best for: Celebrating the 20th birthday of a UK festival institution. 

Henham Park, Suffolk. July 23-26. 

In the UK, we’re lucky to have festivals in some drop-dead gorgeous destinations. Think of Green Man, set in the majestic Brecon Beacons, or End of the Road, tucked away in genteel Dorset. Few, though, can rival Cumbria’s Kendal Calling, held at the sprawling Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District. Musically, there’s usually a bit of everything on offer, but this year the emphasis is firmly on glamorous indie rock’n’roll. Whether you were loving The Kooks while stuffed into skinny jeans in 2006 or stumbled across them on TikTok last year, it’s time to doff your trilby.    

Big names: Two Door Cinema Club, Biffy Clyro, Wolf Alice, The Kooks.

Best for: Getting away from it all – along with 40,000 others, of course. 

Lowther Deer Park, Cumbria, July 30-August 2, 2026

According to popular myth, if Latitude is Waitrose, then Wilderness must be Harrods. Well, that’s not quite fair: this admittedly very polite Oxfordshire get-together does have – at last count – two champagne bars, but it’s really not as posh as people say. General camping tickets and food truck prices are pretty standard – if you want to splash out on pricey extras, it’s between you and your overdraft. So that just leaves an excellent line-up of crowd-pleasing alt-pop, massive dance acts, talks and workshops. For all the gentility, its kids’ area is pure anarchy.

Big names: Lineup TBC.

Best for: Taking a dip in one of two – two! – onsite lakes.

Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire, July 30–August 2.

If you want to get really wild, how about a festival on the rugged Cornish coast? Boardmasters began back in 1981, when it was a surfing competition – the music line-up didn’t arrive until 2005. Since then, it’s evolved into one of the biggest music festivals in the UK, with the tunes taking place on Watergate Bay, a cliffside overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and surfing on the nearby Fistral Beach. Perhaps the only festival where you won’t look weird in a wetsuit. 

Big names: Lily Allen, Fatboy Slim, Kasabian, Loyle Carner.  

Best for: An excuse to use the word ‘cowabunga’. 

Trebelsue Farm, Watergate Bay, August 5-9.

UK festivals have undoubtedly become more expensive since Glastonbury (then known as Pilton Pop, Folk and Blues Festival) charged punters a quid each to get loose on Worthy Farm back in 1970. You wouldn’t know that from Hackney’s United and Strong, though, which last year charged a relatively measly £67.50 for a full weekend ticket and £34 for a one-day pass. This is in-keeping with the hardcore marathon’s egalitarian punk spirit – its organisers, Concrete Culture, have cultivated a DIY vibe that feels both winningly old-school and, given its track record of booking the likes of London bruisers High Vis, totally cutting-edge.

Big names: The line-up’s due in May – keep ‘em peeled.

Best for: Sticking it to the man in a cost-effective manner.

Venues TBC, London. Dates TBC.

There are people who like to party, and then there are ravers – with the latter taking partying to another level entirely. And it’s obvious who the expertly curated Houghton is aimed at: held at Norfolk’s grand Houghton Hall, with sets unfolding across the sun-dappled, tree-canopied grounds, this is a dance-music mecca. There’s no phone or wi-fi signal onsite – you know, just like festivals used to be. This means total immersion in the music, which skews towards underground faves and bona fide legends – Richie Hawtin and Ben UFO were on last year’s bill, as was founder and DJ Craig Richards (to confirm: a raver). 

Big names: Lineup TBC.

Best for: Losing yourself in the music, man. 

Houghton Hall, Norfolk, August 6-8

Bloodstock doesn’t quite make Download look like a picnic on a National Trust site, but this fiercely independent festival is certainly one of the UK’s most bruising. Crowdsurfers have reached quadruple figures at a single show, there’s a permanent bust of Lemmy – containing his actual ashes – and punters enjoy games of bin-jousting (ramming huge bins in each other, which became so popular that it’s now an official and regulated fixture). Having long outgrown its humble beginnings in Derby Assembly Rooms, Bloodstock just keeps getting bigger, with 20,000 punters gleefully flooding the field as if charging through the gates of hell.  

Big names: Lamb of God, Slaughter to Prevail, Judas Priest, Sepultura.

Best for: Smashing a bin into your mate (safely!) to celebrate Bloodstock’s 25th anniversary.

Catton Park, Derbyshire, August 6-9.

Boomtown has a reputation as the festival circuit’s gnarly mate – the one who stays out later, goes harder and gets weirder than anyone else. While that side of the festival undoubtedly remains catnip for many of its faithful punters, this Winchester weekender is also somewhat misunderstood. With a new theme every year – this time it’s dubbed Radical Redesign, an allusion to its new layout, which is set to feature hidden venues and expanded woodland area – it’s actually far more theatrical and imaginative than many give it credit for. In nutshell, this is the closest we’ve got to Burning Man.  

Big names: Scissor Sisters, Kneecap, Madness, Skrillex.

Best for: Choosing your own adventure. 

Matterly Estate, Hampshire, August 12-16.

Like End of the Road’s chipper Welsh cousin (though the two events are completely separate), Green Man has a general air of folksiness but isn’t bound to a particular sound or style – last year’s festival featured prominent sets from both Kneecap and Portishead’s Beth Gibbons. Situated in the stunning Brecon Beacons, it’s slightly larger than EOTR (capacity 25,000 versus 15,000) but maintains a similarly intimate, homespun vibe. This is a festival where you can do something impossibly wholesome like attend a wood-carving workshop and catch a grotty punk set straight afterwards – then either get mashed or have an early night to wake up in time for yoga.

Big names: Lineup TBC

Best for: Watching in awe as a giant wooden figure is symbolically torched at the end of the weekend. Very Wicker Man.

Crickhowell, Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, August 20-23.

If you only know one thing about We Out Here, it should be that when André 3000 performed at the festival in 2024, he eschewed Outkast hits in favour of an improvised interpretation of his controversial flute album New Blue Sun. That pretty much sums up the ethos of this Gilles Peterson-curated dance and jazz-focused weekender, which started out in Cambridgeshire in 2019 and has since relocated to genteel Dorset. The vibe is chilled and family friendly, with its Wellness Tent and enormous onsite record store – if you’ve an open mind and eclectic taste, you’ve found the festival for you.

Big names: Arthur Verocai with Nu Civilisation Orchestra, Mulatu Astatke, Stereolab, Sampa the Great, Joy Crookes, Shabaka, Digable Planets. 

Best for: Spotting Gilles Peterson in the wild. 

Wimborne St Giles, Dorset, August 20-23.

Whether you’ve heard shaggy dog stories of ’90s ravers roaming the countryside looking for a party they’d seen advertised on a flyer, or remember doing so yourself, you may feel that this sense of mystery is long gone. After all, festivals are big business in 2026. Yet Norfolk dance weekender Field Maneuvers is turning back the clock. With its rural location revealed to punters only after they’ve bought a ticket, this is an old-school rave-up where the focus is on a communal vibe and the greatest DJs on the planet. Jump in your Corsa and pretend it’s a time machine to 1992.

Big names: Lineup TBC.

Best for: Leaving an important part of your brain somewhere in a field in Norfolk. 

Norfolk, August 21-23.

When is a festival not a festival? When it’s a choose-your-fighter string of one-dayers, each with their own strong identities, held on the same site across successive weekends. All Points East is sort of like a social experiment to ensure London’s indie, rap and pop fans all flock to Victoria Park on the same days – but it does a great job of making sure everyone in the city wants to go to at least one of its editions every year. Alongside the usual day headliners, 2026 will mark a couple of firsts for APE: its first Outbreak fest (headlined by Deftones), and its first two-day headliner with Tyler, the Creator.

Big names: Lorde, Deftones, Tyler, The Creator, Twenty One Pilots.

Best For: Finding your tribe. 

Victoria Park, London. August 22-30 (Aug 22 headlined by Lorde, Aug 23 Outbreak Fest, Aug 28-29 Tyler, the Creator and Aug 30 Twenty One Pilots).

Now here’s a British festival institution. Held on twin sites across the country, with a shared line-up, Reading and Leeds is as much as a fixture of adolescence as rolling your eyes and slamming doors. The post-exam blow-out was once an all-out rock fest but has in recent years morphed into a multi-genre celebration of all that’s great and good about music in the here-and-now. Previously a spit-and-sawdust affair where the focus was on music and a good time, R+L now also offers top-quality grub (last year’s Korean section was a revelation), craft beer and even wellness activities. Whatever next?

Big names: Charli XCX, Dave, Florence + the Machine, Fontaines D.C.

Best for: Mainlining the zeitgeist. 

Little John’s Farm, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds. August 27-30.

This Lincolnshire knees-up is basically a mash-up of pleasant events like Wilderness and one a chic, club-focused event such as We Out Here. In addition to a line-up packed with the coolest electronic acts on the circuit, Lost Village has hot tubs by the lake and top chefs ready to banish any memories of the dodgy burgers and warm cider that were once a staple of UK festivals. Expect parties in the woods, fancy dress, enough glitter to fill a circus top and a general fairy tale vibe. The sets are lush, too, with one dance stage dubbed Airbase and designed like an aircraft hangar. You will definitely achieve lift-off.

Big names: 2manydjs, Ben UFO, DJ Koze, Horse Meat Disco.

Best for: Having a hangover in a hot tub (best place for it). 

LN6 9HN, Lincolnshire. August 27-30.

When UK festivals first became a thing in the late ’60s and early ’70s (thank you, Isle of Wight), they were wild and woolly affairs that channelled the revolutionary spirit of American predecessors such as the Monterey Pop Festival. As the whole thing has inevitably become more commercial, some corners of the circuit have retained that countercultural vibe. Take this Northamptonshire fest, where anything goes: Shambala’s organisers host genuinely radical, transgressive acts and cultivate a staunchly independent ethos with a focus on sustainability. Oh, and there’s a naked sauna, proving that you really can let it all hang out at Shambala.

Big names: Bob Vylan, Reggie Watts, Goat, Orchestra Baobab, Emma-Jean Thackray.

Best for: Sticking to the man. 

Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens, Northampton. August 27-30.

Do you find most mainstream British music festivals too corporate, too homogenised? Krankenhaus is your reset. The sub-1,500-capacity event, in the grounds of Muncaster Castle in far-flung Cumbria, feels like what you’d do with a music fest if, well, you could do whatever you wanted. It’s created and curated by arty UK rockers Sea Power but you certainly don’t have to love their stuff to enjoy Krankenhaus, which has not just live music (a range of styles, usually – but not exclusively – guitar-based but always featuring a few notable names) but talks and guided walks. In previous years there’s even been steam train trips, dog shows, bingo, heron feeding and a ‘quarry adventure playground’.

Big names: Stereolab, Sea Power (obvs), Sprints, Bill Ryder Jones.

Best for: Testing the limits of what a music festival can be… and going on a gig hike.

Muncaster Castle, Cumbria. August 28-30.

The first two editions of RALLY succeeded despite battling two full-blooded, actually-named storms – but even tempestuous weather couldn’t dampen the spirits of this day event in south London’s Southwark Park. Created by top promoter Bird on the Wire and GALA (an earlier-in-the-year inclusion on this list), RALLY features on-the-pulse names and community artist installations in a boutique-y 10,000 capacity event. This year’s event – the fourth RALLY – marks the first time that it has been curated by a single artist, with Blood Orange’s Dev Hyne’s putting together the (as yet unannounced) lineup.

Big names: Blood Orange (we presume).

Best for: Hyper trendy Hackney types… with actual taste.

Southwark Park, London. August 29.

We love a newcomer. Several years back there was talk about the festival bubble bursting – with so many to choose from, how could there be room for any more? Despite launching in 2022, Bristol’s fittingly named Forwards has carved itself a corner of the legendary music city’s market. With eclectic lineups spanning R&B, indie, pop and much more, Forwards notably bags a range of truly massive headliners: Aphex Twin, Barry Can’t Swim, LCD Soundsystem, Jorja Smith, Jessie Ware and Erykah Badu have all topped the bill since ’22.  

Big names: Lineup TBC.

Best for: One of the most packed lineups around.

Clifton Downs, Bristol. August 29-30

More than just a scaled-down All Points East – though it uses the same festival site in Victoria Park, minus the main stage – LIDO sets itself apart by being curated by its headliners. Each day’s headliner chooses who supports them, often leading to a fascinating bill of influences, friends and collaborators. LIDO burst out of the gates in 2025 with all-star headliners Charli xcx, Jamie xx, Massive Attack and London Grammar, The 2026 has been scaled down, apparently so that the ground can recover (after last year’s dusty APE), though Maribou State will still top the bill.

Big names: Maribou State, Folamour, Kelis.

Best for: Finding your favourite artist’s fave band.

Victoria Park, London. August 31.

What began as a folksy, homespun affair in 2006 has morphed into one of the best places in the country for new music discovery. End of the Road founder Simon Taffe sold his house to cover its costs in the early days – a gamble that, remarkably, paid off. End of The Road is one of those festivals where it doesn’t matter who’s headlining, you’re bound to stumble across something amazing further down the bill anyway. That said, the line-up looks incredibly strong this year – a perfect meeting point of its folksy beginnings and ambitious, broadly alternative current identity. 

Big names: Pulp, CMAT, Mac DeMarco.

Best for: Getting a snap with the resident peacocks knocking about the grounds. 

Larmer Tree Gardens, Wiltshire, September 3-6.  

Psychedelic music ain’t all optical illusions and mind-altering substances: to get a taste of the true breadth of psychedelia’s styles and influence, see the lineups of Manchester Psych Fest. In 2026 this one-day, multi-venue event – which has films, art, talks and food from local legends like Bundobust as well as music – will feature musicians ranging in style from dinky avant-pop and raunchy noise rock to tempestuous neoclassical darkwave (all of which, in some form, have been informed in some way by psych). Not only that, it’s a fabulous showcase for Manchester, taking place at some of the city’s greatest venues like YES, Gorilla and Deaf Institute.

Big names: The Beta Band, Stereolab, Ty Segall and Anna Von Hausswolff.

Best for: Loving psych, loving Manchester.

Various venues, Manchester. September 5.

Multi-venue city festivals are nothing new, but few do it quite like No Bounds. Across Sheffield and Rotherham, in basements and clubs, chapels and art galleries, from the Institute of Arts to the city cathedral, No Bounds’ events are truly all over the place. And the lineup is fittingly broad: there’s always a solid amount of dance music, sure (the headliners in particular tend to be electronic superstars), but the rest strays into improvised chamber music, gothic folk, alternative rock and much more. Expect to be challenged and thrilled in equal measure.

Big names: 2026 lineup yet to be announced.

Best for: Dancing among South Yorkshire’s greatest landmarks

Various venues, Sheffield. October 9-11.

If Forwards is Bristol’s star-power festival, Simple Things is the one for its audial explorers, showing yet another side to this city’s substantial musical pedigree. Simple Things blazed past its 10th anniversary in 2024 and continues to be one of the UK’s great celebrations of independent spirit: everything thrilling about modern music showcased in Bristol’s finest indie venues. The lineup is fantastically broad, featuring all kinds of left-field and experimental artists alongside globally renowned names (last year had deadpan indie rockers Dry Cleaning and cosmic jazzist Nala Sinephro). Don’t know anyone on the lineup? If anything, that’s even more exciting. Simple Things’ curation is so extraordinarily good that you can go to any show and it’ll be fantastic.

Big names: Lineup TBC.

Best for: Ditching a schedule and embracing reckless musical discovery.

Various venues, Bristol. Dates TBC.

Whether you’re a diehard reader of Pitchfork or give the influential online music mag a middling 6.3, there’s no denying that Pitchfork Festival London has quickly become one of the country’s finest music events. It’s set to return for its sixth edition in 2026, with a mix of household names and artists that the publication is backing for greatness. Rather than a single ticket event, Pitchfork is a curated series of gigs, each individually ticketed. The highlight, however, is the only more conventional festival-type event – the Dalston Takeover, where one ticket gets you into a bunch of sets across Dalston and Stoke Newington on one day. If you’re pernickety about sound, Pitchfork also always gets the production right. Would you expect anything less from such sonic connoisseurs?

Big names: Lineup TBC.

Best for: Millennial music nerds, sound nerds, trend chasing nerds… all the music nerds, basically.

Various venues, London. November 2-8.

Whatever your taste in jazz, you’ll find it at EFG London Jazz Festival. And we really mean it when we say this event really does cater to all jazz tastes. Easy-listening radio pop jazz? Check. The jazzier tinges of soul, hip-hop and orchestral music? Aye. Experimental fry-your-brain free stuff and freak-out avant-garde Japanese legends? Yep, even all that. London Jazz Fest isn’t just an opportunity to hear all the jazzes; you get to experience the capital’s most legendary venues, too, with previous editions held in the likes of the Roundhouse, Barbican, Royal Festival Hall and Ronnie Scott’s.

Big names: Ben Folds, Fatoumata Diawara, Samara Joy, Morcheeba, Emma-Jean Thackray, Branford Marsalis, Kronos Quartet

Best for: Jazz cats and all their finger clicking, toe-tapping admirers.

Various venues, London, November 13-22.