2014-04-25

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?

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