Twenty festivals that tower above the rest - and we've been to them all and keep going back. Here's the only guide you need to plan your year in music.
1
Iceland Airwaves
When? 4 – 8 November 2026
Where? Reykjavík, Iceland
Who's playing? Dove Ellis, Bed, Bleech 9:3, Pollyfromthedirt, Adult DVD, Arima Ederra, PISS and Joe & the Shitboys head up the first waves of international names; from Iceland there's sets from Amor Vincit Omnia, Róshildur, Inspector Spacetime, Arny Margret as well as shows from MAMMÚT and Oyama, two of Reykjavík's most beloved underground bands of the last 20 years. Shygirl, Daði Freyr, The Streets play headline shows at Harpa with an additional ticket.
Tickets: Around £100 for a full pass, £70 for a day pass; Festival Packages with Icelandair start from £382 per person and include return flights from UK gateways such as London (Heathrow/Gatwick), Manchester, and Glasgow.
How to get there? Fly to Keflavík International Airport (KEF) via Icelandair then grab a bus to Reykjavík.
Why you should go? What started as a small one-day music festival in Europe’s northernmost capital in 1999 has since morphed and expanded, waxed and waned, exploded, collapsed, and now been reformed. After years of growth and development, Iceland Airwaves has emerged as the country’s premiere music festival and is often talked about as the definitive end-of-year festival for Icelandic musicians and an absolutely joyful fever dream for everyone else.
City-based multi-venue festivals rarely work as well as they should but when the city is Reykjavik something magical happens. Spread over a neat half mile or so of venues ranging from art deco theatres and museums to the tiniest bar-rooms, Airwaves' line-up mixes the best in local talent among an international line-up to match and 2025 sees the festival celebrate its twenty-sixth birthday.
Airwaves always will be a magical experience: discovering new and exciting acts, enjoying some of the best local talent and of being around so many people that are genuinely interested in the local scene.
Find out more: icelandairwaves.is
2
Treefort Music Fest
When? 31 March – 4 April 2027
Where? Boise, Idaho, USA
Who's playing? 500+ bands; the 2026 lineup included Geese, Magdalena Bay, flipturn, Father John Misty, Amber Mark and The Beaches plus hundreds of emerging indie rock and electronic acts.
Ticket prices: $249 – $349 (early bird to full festival pass)
How to get there? Fly to Boise Airport and grab a cab to a hotel in downtown Boise.
Why you should go? The best small city festival in America, and rapidly gaining a global reputation as a showcase festival to match SXSW in Austin, the five-day event takes over more than 50 venues that spread across the entire Boise downtown area, and it's the undercard that dominates – a perfect encapsulation of the close-knit scene that makes the northwestern city one of the US's most exciting creative hubs right now.
While creatives have flocked to the storied lands of LA and New York City, Treefort was founded to show that the grass is not greener on the other side but where you water it. Attracting over 20,000 people each day to explore events and performances taking place across the city - as well as yoga, comedy, beer, and storytelling – the fortunes of Boise have transformed in line with Treefort’s vision, all with zero corporate takeover feel.
Find out more: treefortmusicfest.com
3
G! Fest
When? 16 – 18 July 2026
Where? Sythrugøta in Eysturoy, The Faroe Islands
Who: Local names include Joe & The Shitboys, Elinborg, Lea Kampmann and, Silvurdrongur and seminal band Clickhaze, plus Oliver Tree, Fantastic Negrito, Ásgeir, Lynks, Tamikrest and Orkesta Mendoza among the international artists.
Tickets: Around £170
How to get there: Several weekly departures direct from London and Edinburgh via Atlantic Airways, or change at Copenhagen.
Why you should go? For over two decades, the Faroe Islands has showcased its inventive and thriving music scene to just 5,000 people at the annual G! Fest, which runs each July in Sythrugøta (or Gøta as the locals call it), a small seaside village on the mountainous island of Eysturoy – the second biggest of the Faroes. The three-day event treats islanders and guests to music from the Faroes, neighbouring Nordics and beyond.
In several ways this is the last place you’d expect to find a music festival. It’s one of the only few towns in the area gifted with a small, sandy beach, but an unpredictable and erratic Atlantic ocean can quickly flood its banks at will. With fewer than 500 inhabitants, there are no hotels or hostels, so attendees camp wherever they find a spare patch of grass, while artists and other guests sleep in the local school or find a host generous enough to open their home.
Sythrugøta is absolutely one of the best places you could possibly find a music festival. Something about the Faroe Islands is hypnotic, and it’s not just the 24-hour daylight. Everything you’ll read about the place emphasizes its remoteness, it’s smallness, and though its capital Tórshavn is one of the tiniest in the world and sheep do vastly outnumber its 50,000 population, there is still a feeling of great immensity to its sweeping, cinematic vistas.
Find out more: gfest.fo
4
End of the Road Festival
When? 3 - 6 September 2026
Where? Larmer Tree Gardens, Wiltshire/Dorset
Who's playing? Pulp, CMAT, Mac DeMarco, Super Furry Animals, Brakes, Kurt Vile, Lucinda Williams, Caroline, Fat Dog, Beverly Glenn-Copeland and Geese plus the best undercard line-up of any UK festival.
Tickets: £270, including camping
How to get there? Trains to Salisbury and a festival shuttle, or National Express offer direct buses from major cities.
Why you should go? Hands-down the UK's best mid-sized festival, End of the Road's also the best-curated event in the UK too. Beloved by both bands and serious music fans, it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Set across the unique location on the Wiltshire and Dorset borders – an 11-acre garden estate dating back to 1880 – the festival is like a mini-Glastonbury with an equal focus on music as much as food, comedy, spoken word and vibe.
Four main stages - two outdoor and two tented - lie no more than a five minute walk away from each other. There's also a seemingly endless forest to get lost in featuring some incredible surprises, among them Best Fit's secret sessions which bring together some of the best artists playing the event for a special series of short sets, surprising collaborations and cover versions.
Find out more: endoftheroadfestival.com
5
Øyafestivalen
When? 12 – 15 August 2026
Where? Tøyen Park, Oslo, Norway
Who's playing? The Cure, Amyl and the Sniffers, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Blood Orange, Wilco, Geese, Sombr, Band of Horses, Clipse, Dijon, Jim Legxacy and Westside Cowboy. From Norway there's Marit Larsen, Alle Mine Hunder, Stig Brenner, Thomas Dybdahl, ARY, Beharie, Slomosa and Aurora's new TOMORA project.
Tickets: Around £330 for a full 4-day pass, £100 for day passes
How to get there? Fly to Oslo Gardermoen (OSL), then a train to Oslo Central Station (15 min walk to park)
Why you should go? With a strong emphasis on inclusion and representation, eco-friendly Øyafestivale offers an unbeatable blueprint for how festivals can be. Now in its third location, the landlocked Tøyen Park on the east side of the capital, Øya has maintained a strong focus on Norwegian music while also attracting an impressive range of international artists. Spanning a generous five days – four at Tøyen plus Tuesday’s club night – and spilling out after hours each night into Oslo’s many indoor venues, it’s clean, well serviced, spectacularly efficient, easy to navigate, and the view of the stage is rarely crowded with the glare of phone screens filming entire sets. At Øya, people are more interested in seeing than in being seen to be seeing.
Find out more: oyafestivalen.no
6
Glastonbury Festival
When? 23 – 27 June 2027
Where? Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, UK
Who is playing? Madonna's pretty much confirmed she's among the headliners for 2027 - which are typically announced four months ahead of the festival with rumours of Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Oasis and Harry Styles, and Robbie Williams or Annie Lennox for the legends slot. But it's really it's about the incredible undercard which seems to stretch into infinity. Who isn't playing would be a better question
Ticket prices: £340 + £5 booking fee (including camping)
How to get there? National Express coaches from 40+ UK cities or train to Castle Cary then shuttle bus
Why you should go? Believe the hype, it really is the mother of all festivals: 200,000 people, 100+ stages, circus, theatre, a stone circle, Block9’s late-night NYC dystopia, and headliners that define eras. You need to register and win the ticket lottery, but once you’re in, life will never be the same.
Find out more: glastonburyfestivals.co.uk
7
Ypsigrock
When? 6 – 9 August 2026
Where? Piazza Castello, Castelbuono, Sicily, Italy
Who's playing? Black Country, New Road, Soulwax, The Antlers, Cate Le Bon, Dry Cleaning, Wednesday, i cani, Horsegirl, Annahstasia, Friko, Chinese American Bear, DITTER, Deki Alem, GANS, Jasmine.4.t, Julie Rains, Dog Race, The New Eves, RIP Magic.
Ticket prices: Adult festival passes are €139 / Day tickets €56
How to get there? Fly to Palermo (PMO) or Catania (CTA), then train/bus to Castelbuono, or drive through the Madonie mountains.
Why you should go? Italy's original "boutique festival" happens inside a medieval castle courtyard in a tiny Sicilian hill town. A strict "Ypsi Once" rule means every artist plays only once in their lifetime, guaranteeing unique, unrepeatable sets. It's the magical combination of world-class indie curation, ancient history, and incredible Sicilian food and hospitality that makes it one of the world's most picturesque experiences for the hardest music fan.
Find out more: ypsigrock.it
8
Primavera Sound Barcelona
When? 3-5 June 2027
Where? Barcelona, Spain (with editions in Porto, Lisbon and São Paulo, Brasil)
Who's playing: 2026 saw The Cure, Doja Cat, The xx, Gorillaz, Geese, Addison Rae, my bloody valentine, and a surprise Olivia Rodrigo set. No hints yet on 2027 yet – and not everyone is a good fit for Primavera Sound – but our money's on returns from Robyn, Radiohead, Charli xcx and The Strokes.
Tickets: Around £300 for a full pass, £175 for day passes
How to get there? Fly to Barcelona El Prat (BCN), then tram or shuttle bus to Parc del Fòrum.
Why you should go? Impeccable curation that recognises music's past, present and future have been a constant for almost every edition of the Barcelona summer event and "my cup runneth over" is a phrase that could have been written about Primavera Sound, a festival only rivalled only by Glastonbury for the sheer quality and scale of its line-up. It’s the world’s most critically adored lineup – Primavera consistently books the perfect mix of legacy legends, current icons, and leftfield weirdos, runs until 6am, the beach is nearby, and the Barcelona energy is unmatched. Fuck Coachella, this is where you need to be!
Find out more: primaverasound.com
9
Tallinn Music Week
When? 8 – 11 April 2027
Where? Multiple venues across Tallinn, Estonia
Who's playing? This year around 186 artists from 38 countries, including 80 Estonian acts – including shoegaze ensemble mariin k., folk-pop band SADU, singer-songwriter Alonette, metal band Intrepid, and alt-rapper margiiela – and a 26-strong artist contingent from Finland.
Ticket prices: Prices vary but single showcase tickets are available from around €18-23 .
How to get there? Fly to Tallinn Airport, then tram or taxi to city centre. Most venues are within walking distance in the creative district .
Why you should go? Tallinn Music Week is more than a music festival – it's a city-transforming showcase that turns Estonia's UNESCO-listed capital into a four-day creative hub every spring. With artists from nearly 40 countries across clubs, churches and concert halls, it balances world-class emerging talent with a major music industry conference and city-wide arts programme. Think SXSW with Nordic efficiency, Baltic charm, and a fierce commitment to showcasing music from across northern and eastern Europe .
Find out more: www.tmw.ee
10
Sónar
When? 17 – 19 June 207
Where? Barcelona, Spain
Who's playing? In 2026, The Prodigy, Skepta, Charlotte de Witte, Amelie Lens Underworld among a spectrum of cutting-edge electronic and avant-garde acts.
Ticket prices: 175 € – 235 € (full festival)
How to get there? Fly to Barcelona El Prat (BCN), then metro to Fira Gran Via or Montjuïc venues
Why you should go? Sónar by day is a futuristic tech and creativity conference. Sónar by night is a giant warehouse rave until dawn. It’s sleek, well-organised, and Barcelona makes it the perfect hybrid festival/holiday.
Find out more: sonar.es
11
Pop-Kultur
Where? Berlin's Wedding district.
When? 24-30 August 2026.
Who's playing? Avalon Emerson & the Charm, Bar Italia, Lael Neale, Ray Lozano, Layla Boe, Jassin, Money Badoo, Annie-Claude Deschênes, Automatic, and múm debuting their new commission, Sonnenuhr.
Tickets: Starting at £10 for individual talks, with weekend passes between €55- €75.
How to get there? Direct flights to Berlin from most major airports and then S-Bahn or U-Bahn to the city centre.
Why you should go? A commitment to revolutionary programming is a something of a miracle in the modern music industry – but Berlin's Pop-Kultur deliver in spades. Hosted in the historic Kulturbrauerei, across three days, Pop-Kultur is artist-focused and pushes boundaries in terms of conversations and performance. It stands alongside Sónar and Rewire in presenting the progress of avant garde and experimental pop culture.
Find out more: pop-kultur.berlin
12
Boomtown
When? 12-16 August 2026.
Where? Matterley Estate, Winchester, Hampshire.
Who's playing? Skrillex, Four Tet, Faithless, Madness, Scissor Sisters, Kneecap, Scooter, Ashnikko, Kae Tempest, Peaches, Lynks, Rose Gray, Panic Shack, Gurriers, Nubiyan Twist.
Ticket prices: £360-£480.
How to get there? Direct train from London Waterloo to Winchester then a dedicated shuttle bus, or coach from major UK cities.b
Why you should go? A fully immersive city with elaborate set designs, actors, and street theatre running through every district, Boomtown is probably the best theatrical music experience in Europe and has earned a loyal following since its first edition in 2009. This year's event sees the festival evolve under a new theme 'Radical Redesign'. Described as "an invitation to rethink how we live, connect and create", this means more music, more open spaces, and a main stage powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology – delivering emission-free energy.
Find out more: boomtownfair.co.uk
13
Rewire Festival
When? 8-11 April 2027.
Where? The Hague, Netherlands.
Ticket prices? €159–€179.
Who is playing? The 15th edition lineup this year included headline sets from Oneohtrix Point Never, Kim Gordon, Einstürzende Neubauten, and Beverly Glenn-Copeland.Oneohtrix Point Never, Moor Mother, Matmos, clipping., Caroline Polachek.
How to get there? Fly to Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), then 30-min train to The Hague Central.
Why you should go? Rewire is the thinking person’s festival with a direct line to the avant-garde and experimental. Venues include an 18th-century church, a former tram depot, and a concert hall. You’ll hear everything from deconstructed club to modern classical – all without a single boring set.
Find out more: rewirefestival.nl.
14
Le Guess Who?
When? 5–8 November 2026.
Where? Utrecht, Netherlands.
Ticket prices? A four-day pass is around €215 with day passes between €75–€85.
Who's playing? Dirty Three, Yasuaki Shimizu, Shabaka, Tortoise, Ibex Band, Kelsey Lu, Melt-Banana, Maryam Saleh, Loraine James. This year’s guest curators are aja monet, KMRU, Los Thuthanaka and Tropical Fuck Storm, each presenting an impeccably choice of artists, performances, and collaborations.
How to get there? Fly to Amsterdam Schiphol, then 25-minute train to Utrecht Central.
Why you should go? The most adventurous programming of any festival on this list. Artists curate other artists – so you get bizarre, once-in-a-lifetime collaborations and sets you’ll never see anywhere else. Utrecht’s beautiful old city is the perfect November hideaway too.
Find out more: leguesswho.nl.
15
Left of the Dial
When? 22-24 October 2026.
Where? Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Ticket prices? Around €80.
Who's playing? Bathing Suits, bed, Milkweed, Yoo Doo Right, Lemonsuckr, Jackson Roy, Curiosity Shop, Wing!, Turnspit, The Healing Power of Horses.
How to get there? Fly to Rotterdam The Hague (RTM) or Amsterdam Schiphol and train.
Why you should go? Named a The Replacements song, this is the festival for those who think “mainstream” is a dirty word. Cheap, gritty, and based in Rotterdam’s coolest dive bars and punk venues: no sponsors and no bullshit. Without the biz-baggage and fatigue of many of its peers, this is an event offering refreshed sense of discovery and genuine fun.
The festival's curation reflects today’s increasingly eclectic styles of alternative rock, with a bit of a post-punk edge: imagine the very best of Moth Club, The Windmill and The George Tavern's booking in one place. With everyone playing several times across the weekend, bands can relax a little, not have to worry about getting in the van for a few days and enjoy finding some new music for themselves.
Find out more: leftofthedialfest.com.
16
Festival de musique émergente (FME)
When? 2 – 5 September 2026
Where? Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada
Who's playing? Lou-Adriane Cassidy, Koriass, Les Louanges, Bon Enfant, Malaime Soleil, Hawa B and Kamilou among 100+ emerging French-Canadian indie, punk, and folk acts.
Ticket prices: $100 CAD – $180 CAD
How to get there? Fly to Rouyn-Noranda Airport (YUY) or take a 7-hour bus from Montreal.
Why you should go? Canada’s most beloved discovery festival thrown in a tiny mining town each September is intimate, friendly, and ridiculously cheap, with the mostly Quebecoise artists sleeping in the same hotels as fans. Think of it as French-Canadian Treefort.
Website: fmeat.org
17
Reeperbahn Festival
When? 16 – 19 September 2026.
Where? Hamburg, Germany.
Who's playing? English Teacher, Fat Dog, Shame, TR/ST, Anna von Hausswolff, Dream Wife, Lime Garden, Chinese American Bear, Lowertown, Bleech 9:3 among 500+ emerging European acts.
Ticket prices: €179 for a four-day pass.
How to get there? Fly to Hamburg Airport (HAM), then S-Bahn to Reeperbahn station.
Why you should go? Hamburg's Reeperbahn Festival continues to offer an idiosyncratic approach to showcasing new music and the result is a curated weekend of refreshing surprises. Taking over the city’s famous red-light district. 80+ venues – theatres, brothel-turned-stages, docks, and rock clubs – all within walking distance, it's part industry conference, part wild party.
Find out more: reeperbahnfestival.com
18
SXSW
When? 13 – 21 March 2027.
Where? Austin, Texas, USA.
Who's playing? Typically 2,000+ acts ranging from total unknowns to future stadium fillers plus a raft of tech talks and film premieres.
Ticket prices: Around $820 for a music-only access wristband but hundreds of free shows across downtown Austin.
How to get there? Fly to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, then local buses, rideshares, or rental bikes.
Why you should go? A week in Austin at SXSW is a virtul mecca for the hardcore music fan. While the offical festival lineup is not to be sniffed at, this is first and foremost an industry affair (hence the hefty ticket price) but thousands venture here every year to take advantage of the seemingly endless number of unofficial, free parties. A restructure last year now means the music programme runs alongside everything else so there's even more chance of brushing shoulders with John Hamm or Paul Mescal while you're queing to see the next big thing at Hotel Vegas or in line for some of the best BBQ you'll ever eat.
Find out more: sxsw.com
19
Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
When? 25 June – 5 July 2026.
Where? Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Who's playing? Over 350 free outdoor and ticketed indoor concerts with headliners including Diana Krall, Melody Gardot, St. Vincent, Max Richter and Angine de Poitrine.
Ticket prices: Up to $150 CAD for ticketed shows; over two-thirds are free.
How to get there? Fly to Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, then metro to Place-des-Arts station
Why you should go? Guinness World Records named it the world’s largest jazz festival and for 10 days, downtown Montreal becomes a pedestrian-only block party with free outdoor stages, gourmet food trucks, and stunning late-night jams.
Find out more: montrealjazzfest.com
20
Deershed Festival
When? 24-26 July 2026
Where? Baldersby Park, Topcliffe, North Yorkshire – a 90-acre private 18th-century landscaped country park.
Who's playing? Sleaford Mods, Everything Everything, The Twilight Sad, Fat Dog, Bar Italia, Working Men's Club, Getdown Services, Jasmine.4.T, BCUC, Sorry, Deadletter, Bill Ryder-Jones, Lime Garden, The New Eves, La Sécurité, Man/Woman/Chainsaw.
Ticket prices? £210 for an adult weekend ticket
How to get there? The nearest station is Thirsk (7 miles away), on the East Coast Main Line. Grand Central also runs a direct London-to-Thirsk service in around 2 hours and there's a shuttle bus from Thirsk station to the site, with profits going to charity.
Why should you go? A genuinely all-ages, family-friendly independent festival that mixes a strong, leftfield-leaning music bill with comedy, science, literary events, theatre, sport, and over 80 workshops. The 2026 edition comes with the theme, "Into the Labyrinth," transforming the site with a large maze and escape-room-style challenges. It's a good fit if you want more than a straight music festival - there's a proper family vibe here with community programming alongside credible indie/alternative acts.
Find out more: deershedfestival.com
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