Sick of Bestival, Reading and Glastonbury? Looking for something a bit different for a music festival?
The Tab has done its research and sorted out some of this summer’s alternative festival destinations, both in the UK and abroad.
For the UK…
The Great Escape
When - 8th May – 10th May
Where - Venues all over Brighton
Cost - £60 for three day ticket. (Single day tickets sold out)
Notable Acts - Example, Wild Beasts, Kelis
Go here if - You’re into discovering the next big thing, as Great Escape claims to be the leading festival in Europe for discovering new acts. Expect performances from small time artists travelling all the way from North America as well as some good headliners.
Hijacked Festival
Hijacked: coming to this idyllic field next month
When - 29th May
Where - Exeter, Devon
Cost - £29-£35 depending on release
Notable Acts - Karma Kid, Gorgon City, Bondax
Go here if - You need a way to celebrate exams immediately…or have a break in between them!
Move quickly, as tickets are in high demand. Get them here.
GottWood
When - 19th-22nd June
Where - Anglesey, Wales
Cost - Weekend Camping, £105 (Final Release)
Notable Acts - Basically any unheard of House DJ you want to show off to your mates
Go here if - You need to show you are the real deal when it comes to small time DJ’s and not just stumbling across them accidentally on SoundCloud.
The Beat-Herder Festival
When - 18th-20th July
Where - Ribble Valley, Lancashire
Cost - £118-126 depending on release
Notable Acts - 2ManyDjs, Hot Since 82, Eton Messy
Go here if - You want a cheaper, smaller festival that has a great variety in music and vibe. Expect to be considered the youngest demographic!
Secret Garden Party
When – 24th-27th July
Where – Nearest city is Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Cost – £180 for Weekend
Notable Acts – Sub Focus, King Charles, Public Enemy
Go here if – You’re looking for a festival that has a stage on a boat (I kid you not). It doesn’t have ‘big’ acts like Reading & Leeds/Glastonbury but the atmosphere and alternative stage destinations make up for it.
Something a bit more exciting abroad…
Sónar
When – 12th-14th June
Where – Barcelona, Spain
Cost – A Sónar Pass which gives you access to the festival by day (Fira Gran Via) and night (Fira Montjuïc) costs €195 (~£161).
Notable Acts – Massive Attack, CHIC feat. Nile Rogers, Rudimental, Lykke Li, Boyz Noize
Go here if – you want to experience an experimental weekend of advanced music and multimedia art at one of the most well established major music festivals in Europe.
Sonic Bloom
When – June 19th-22nd (held during Summer solstice)
Where – South Park, Colorado
Cost – For general admission go for the Tier 2 tickets, including free camping. These are $195 (~£116) plus fees
Notable Acts – Opiuo, The Polish Ambassador, Michal Menert Big Band, OTT., Random Rab, Quantic
Go here if – you want to feel like you’re in an episode of South Park while you’re actually in South Park at a festival. Aside from the novelty, the panoramic mountain backdrop to the festival is certainly a lot more appealing than spending a weekend in a muddy field.
Open’er Festival
When – 2nd-5th July
Where – Gdynia, Poland
Cost – A standard four day ticket with camping costs approx €151 (£124)
Notable Acts – Bastille, Ben Howard, Foals, Foster The People, Haim, MGMT, Rudimental.
Go here if – you don’t care about exploring the city to work off your hangover. Open’er opens at 4pm, so it’s perfect for festival goers who want to enjoy their music by drinking all night and sleeping it off for most of the day.
Arenal Sound Festival
When - 31st July – 3rd August
Where - Burriana, Spain
Cost - Tickets go on sale May 5th and start for as little as €58.50 (around £48)
Notable Acts - Azealia Banks, Knife Party, Crystal Fighters, Biffy Clyro, Miles Kane, Placebo, Die Antwoord
Go here if - you want to experience an exciting new addition to the European festival calendar. Arenal only launched in 2010 but attracts over 100,000 revelers to Arenal’s sandy beaches for four days of pop-rock, indie, and electronic music complemented by beach volleyball.
Sziget Festival
When – 11th-18th August
Where – Budapest, Hungary
Cost – A weekly pass includes 7 days at Sziget, including camping costs €209 (approx £172)
Notable Acts – Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Outkast, Skrillex, Calvin Harris, Dead Mau5, Lily Allen, Manice Street Preachers, The Prodigy, QOTSA
Go here if – you want an international festival experience that allows you to chill and not just be grossly hungover in a cold rainy tent. Camping by the beautiful Danube River with cheap beer and a massive chill out tent is infinitely better than losing all your money and your disposable raincoat on your way to the portaloos.
Electric Picnic
When - 29th-31st August 2014
Where - Stradbally Estate, Ireland
Cost - €154.50 (~£127) if you can prove you’ve been to 3 or more Picnics, €174.50 (~£144) if you can prove you’ve been to the Picnic once/twice before , or €194.50 if you haven’t been before (~£160).
Notable Acts - Portishead, Outkast, Beck, Foals, Pet Shop Boys, Paolo Nutini, Lily Allen
Go here if - You fancy something a bit more whimsical. As well as their musical headliners, EP boasts a spoken word arena, Mindfield, where “among the ancient trees on the lawns of Stradbally Hall you’ll find an oasis of literary readings, political debate, performance poetry, science experiments and news quizzes”.
Berlin Festival
When - 5th-7th September
Where - Flughafen Tempelhof, Berlin
Cost - Early bird tickets are now available for only €74 (~£61)
Notable Acts - Editors, Woodkid, Darkside, Chase & Status, Warpaint, Crystal Fighters, Kid Ink
Go here if - you want a laid back, alternative festival experience that also allows you to experience Berlin itself, as 2 day tickets come with free entry to over 30 clubs in the city. Plus, the setting in a huge defunct airport is pretty cool and makes sure that there won’t be any noise complaints from the locals.
Unknown Festival
When – 8th-12th September
Where – Rovinj, Croatia
Cost – Prices start from £129 + booking fee for a standard ticket
Notable Acts – Disclosure, London Grammar, Clean Bandit, Chvrches, Chic feat. Nile Rogers
Go here if – you want to celebrate the last days of summer by soaking up every last ray of sunshine and enjoying some excellent music while you do it. It’s summer – September’s still definitely summer, right?