Alexandra Gerrity

This August 2019 find a summer festival with our comprehensive music festival calendar. August is a big month in festival season so whether you’re looking for a banging dance music festival, a boutique event or huge pop acts, pick from our list of the best UK and London festivals in August. With everything from Wilderness to Reading Festival on offer, you’re guaranteed to find something to suit your tastes. And if not, there’s always September. 

Find a summer festival in the UK or London in July 2019 with our handy music festivals calendar. This is prime time for summer parties, with plenty of choice whether you like your festival action in the city or the countryside. Hit London heavyweights Lovebox and British Summer Time or go for rural bliss at Latitude or Womad. Just remember to hold back enough energy for upcoming summer festivals in August and September.  RECOMMENDED: More UK and London music festivals

First things first: when is Creamfields festival 2017? It takes place from Thursday August 24–Sunday August 27 – the August bank holiday weekend – in Daresbury, Cheshire. Who’s on the Creamfields festival line-up? The bumper line-up features dance music moguls Deadmau5 and Eric Prydz performing together in the UK for the first time. Seth Troxler, Goldie, Pendulum (DJ set), Chase & Status, Stormzy, Fat Boy Slim, Diplo and Loce Dice will also perform. What’s the vibe? Creamfields is basically the Glastonbury of dance music – so don’t forget your wellies. Every year the Creamfields line-up groans with heavyweights, and dance music fans from across the country make the yearly pilgrimage to worship at the altar of DJ demigods, underground spin-masters and slinky house producers. Those who make it through to the Sunday curfew are members of an exclusive club, and since the fest has stretched to four days, there’s an extra-elusive gold star in it for you. Creamfields festival © Nathan Damour How can I get Creamfields festival tickets? Grab your festival tickets here. A weekend ticket costs £200. Anything else I should know? This is the festival's twentieth anniversary so arrive early and properly celebrate this landmark year. They also offer a ticket payment plan if you’re feeling a little cash-strapped but want to bagsie your spot on the dancefloor this August.

First things first: when is Bestival 2017? At the tail end of the festival season: it takes place from Thursday September 7–Sunday September 10 on Lulworth Estate in Dorset. This is the first year the festival has moved locations since launching in the Isle of Wight in 2004. Who’s on the Bestival line-up? The xx, A Tribe Called Quest, Dizzee Rascal, Pet Shop Boys, Jamie T, DJ Shadow, Rag'n'Bone Man, Soul II Soul, Annie Mac, Ray BLK, Toddla T, Nadia Rose, Andy C. What’s the vibe? Bestival is full of colour and intrigue and their fancy dress themes are serious business. You’ve got to go all-out: Bestivalistas frown on off-the-shelf polyester costumes. This colourful festival offers the best party vibe this side of Glastonbury, but it’s not all dancing till daylight: revellers can enjoy some anarchic fun at the carnival of small stages, stuff their faces at street food vans or visit the inflatable church for a quickie festival marriage. Bestival © Carolina Faruolo How can I get Bestival tickets? You can get festival tickets here.  Anything else I should know? Hmmm. If in doubt – pack glitter.

First things first: when is Wireless Festival 2017? It takes place from Friday July 7–Sunday July 9 in Finsbury Park.  Who’s on the Wireless Festival line-up? The Weeknd, Skepta, Nas and Chance The Rapper headline. And it's worth getting there early because the bill is stacked with homegrown talent: grime godfather Wiley, drill group Section Boyz, grime darling Dave and brilliant Clapton rapper Stefflon Don are all down to play across the weekend. What’s the vibe? Finsbury Park plays host to a number of festivals over the summer months, but only Wireless promises the biggest international chart-smashing acts. In recent years it’s ramped up its roster of rap, hip hop, and R&B acts, and upgraded the atmosphere with fairground rides and street food, becoming a favourite post-exam blowout for city-dwelling students. It’s not a sprawling countryside fest, but it’s as close as you’ll get in Zone 2. Wireless Festival © Rachael Wright How can I get Wireless Festival tickets? Get your festival tickets here.  Anything else I should know? Unsurprisingly Finsbury Park don’t fancy hosting thousands of campers, so Wireless is a strictly no-overnight affair. Duck out early if you want to beat the crush on the tube.

First things first: when is Latitude Festival 2017? It takes place in Henham Park, Southwold in Suffolk, from Friday July 13–Sunday July 16. Who’s on the Latitude Festival line-up? TBA. What’s the vibe? Latitude is the ultimate laid-back weekend away, with a line-up of adventurous pop and alt rock in an idyllic setting. It’s very family-friendly and full of real-life Omega 3 thanks to its carefully programmed roster of comedians, poets, spoken word, and theatre. DJs are hidden in the woods for late night revelry, colourful sheep roam the surrounding fields, and you can wash it all down with a refreshing local ale. We’ll drink to that. Latitude Festival © Andy Sheppard How can I get Latitude Festival tickets? Get your festival tickets right here. A weekend camping ticket costs £197. Anything else I should know? After years of punters taking illicit dips, swimming in the Henham Park lake was officially allowed for the first time back in 2015. Head for the swimming area at the south of the arena if you fancy a splash.

First things first: when is Secret Garden Party 2017? It takes place from Thursday July 20–Sunday July 23 in Abbots Ripton, near Cambridge. Who’s on the Secret Garden Party line-up? Crystal Fighters, Metronomy, Toots & The Maytals, Peaches, Ray BLK, Jagwar Ma, Rejjie Snow, Tom Misch, Kate Nash, Jorja Smith, Deap Vally, Pumarosa, Let's Eat Grandma and loads more fun and vaguely leftfield names. What’s the vibe? Secret Garden Party is a lakeside lucid dream for the closet hippie, complete with rolling hills. It’s not just about the music: whether you want to join a dance troupe, chug chai lattes or feed your pyromania at the annual effigy burning, ‘spectacular’ comes as standard. Bands, DJs and artists are tucked into every nook and cranny around the site including tree houses, islands, and yurts. It’s not too far for to schlep for a weekend getaway, so start stockpiling feathers and face paint now.  Secret Garden Party How can I get Secret Garden Party tickets? Get your festival tickets here. A weekend ticket is £190. There’s also a £10 litter bond. Anything else I should know? SGP is known for being a woodland fairytale, but this year’s theme – a tongue-in-cheek celebration of all things celebrity – should see SGP's always up-for-it dressers take things to new heights of tacky and LOL.

First things first: when is Bestival 2016? At the tail end of the festival season: it takes place from Thursday September 8–Sunday September 11 on the Isle of Wight. Who’s on the Bestival line-up? Headliners are The Cure, Major Lazer and Hot Chip. Craig David is bring his TS5 Party, and MØ, Skepta, Wolf Alice, Years & Years and Fatboy Slim are all on the line-up. What’s the vibe? Bestival is full of colour and intrigue and their fancy dress themes are serious business. This year’s theme is ‘The Future’ and you’ve got to go all-out: Bestivalistas frown on off-the-shelf polyester costumes. The Isle of Wight’s more colourful festival offers the best party vibe this side of Glastonbury, but it’s not all dancing till daylight: revellers can enjoy some anarchic fun at the carnival of small stages, stuff their faces at street food vans or visit the inflatable church for a quickie festival marriage. Bestival © Carolina Faruolo How can I get Bestival tickets? You can get festival tickets online here. Earlybird tickets are currently £190 including booking fee. Anything else I should know? The journey to the site from the mainland is a difficult musical pilgrimage: be prepared, travel light and get used to queuing. Ferry and train slots get booked up quickly but you’ll usually be bundled on whatever’s avaiable anyway. That’s unless you fancy swimming there, which you can (for charity) with Swim To Bestival.

First things first: when is T In The Park 2016? Revellers descend on Strathallan Castle in Perthshire, Scotland from Friday July 8–Sunday July 10. Who’s on the T In The Park line-up? Newly announced Calvin Harris and Red Hot Chilli Peppers join The Stone Roses as headliners. Other acts include LCD Soundsystem, Bastille, Chase & Status, Jamie XX, Disclosure, The 1975, and The Courteeners. What’s the vibe? It might be 22 years young, but T In The Park is still a rite of passage – not only for first-time festival goers but also new talent, as well as the big-name bands that pull in the crowds. Preferred by teens and twenty-somethings, it’s great if you’re after euphoric drunken swaying to festival anthems (less so if you’re after some peace and quiet). The line-up has diversified in recent years, embracing the popularity of modern electronic acts, so there’s plenty in the way of DJs once the bands have finished and the night draws in. T In The Park How can I get T In The Park tickets? Book your festival tickets here. A weekend ticket including camping costs £205. Anything else I should know? This being Scotland, summer doesn’t always mean sun so wellies are a must. Don’t forget to book your transport early to avoid the sky-high cross-country train fares. If you’re happy with an eight-hour coach journey, organisers also lay on a shuttle bus from London.

In the five years since they’ve been putting on parties, self-described ‘nomadic boogie crew’ Percolate have fast become known for some of the coolest club nights in the city. But now they’ve expanded those horizons, and are taking the party outside into the open air. Percolate have bagged a rare untouched east London space for their first ever day event. They’re being careful not to call it a festival, so as not to add to the slew of underwhelming London day fests. ‘It’s a party in the park, not a festival,’ says Percolate founder Fred Letts. Not wanting to be just another green space blowout, Percolate set their eyes on something they could call their own and landed a former tidal mill – Stratford’s Three Mills Island – which was also where the original ‘Big Brother’ house was situated. This makes them the first party crew to stake claim on one of London’s most interesting new spaces. Three Mills Island Unsurprisingly, sound quality is high on the agenda. Percolate have promised ‘high end sound’ and plan to take advantage of the park’s naturally contained areas. That should go down well with the cast of disco, house and techno jocks they’ve pulled together. Scuba, Paranoid London, Sonja Moonear, Objekt and Moxie have all been booked for the one-dayer, which is headed up by DJ Koze and features an extra special b2b from Leon Vynehall and Ryan Elliot. Open Air will feature two stages within woodland and greenery, set against the dramatic industrial backdrop of east London a