Primavera Sound Barcelona, Spain
Festival heaven for: People who can't face camping, people who hate 'festival fashion', the wayward needing their faith restored in music
Sziget Budapest, Hungary
Festival heaven for: Culture vultures and music magpies
Tomorrowland Boom, Belgium
Festival heaven for: Glitter-strewn EDM-loving social butterflies
Coachella Indio, USA
Festival heaven for: Sun lovers, celebrities, fashion bloggers, those who use the Mayfair filter in Instagram
Lollapalooza Chicago, USA
Festival heaven for: People born in the '90s, people who deeply miss the '90s
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival New Orleans, USA
Festival heaven for: Dads
Exit Festival Novi Sad, Serbia
Festival heaven for: Risk-takers, ravers, nostalgic Serb protesters
Montreux Jazz Festival Montreux, Switzerland
Festival heaven for: Jazz aficionados and music fans with a t
Fuji Rock Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Festival heaven for: Mountain-climbing music lovers
Glastonbury
No list of the best music fests in Europe (or the world, for that matter) is complete without Glastonbury. Sure, Glasto’s line-up this year is getting a bit of a hammering for its lack of diversity, but the rest of the billing is as much of a treasure trove as ever. Whether you’re chanting along with the masses at the the glitzy Pyramid Stage or worming your way into one of the countless hidden zones and legendary secret sets, a few hours at Glasto and you’ll soon know exactly why the ginormous fest sells out so ridiculously quickly ever year.
Austin City Limits Music Festival Zilker Park, Austin
Reading and Leeds Festivals Bramham Park, Leeds; Little John’s Farm, Reading, England
For fans who still want rock’n’roll to be dangerous
Rock in Rio Brasil Cidade do Rock, Rio de Janeiro
Launched near the end of a decadeslong military coup supported by the U.S. government, Rock in Rio is both a symbol of music’s transformative power and one of the biggest media moments in the country
Rock am Ring and Rock im Park Nürburgring racetrack and Zeppelin Field, Nuremberg, Germany
Both festivals focus on hard rock and metal and serve as an important launch pad for German and European acts, including Berlin’s own Rammstein.
Roskilde Festival Animal Showgrounds, Roskilde, Denmark
Fans have long sworn that Denmark’s Roskilde Festival is one of the world’s most underappreciated and unique fests for all genres of rock and pop music, including acts such as Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Nirvana, David Bowie, Taylor Swift and Cardi B. Organizers always provide a space for up-and-coming Nordic artists as well, and all revenue after expenses is donated to Scandinavian charities. Each year the fest is given a theme — in 2019, the theme was Solidarity, which called on fans to support one another in fighting “hopelessness and despair” in the face of climate change, inequality and political division around the world.
Pitchfork Music Festival
The internationally recognized Pitchfork Music Festival presents 40+ bands over the course of three days each summer in Chicago’s Union Park.
Rock en Seine, Paris, France
The Parisian festival returns in 2023 for its 20th anniversary edition. You can expect an incredible show at this festival, which has already hosted the Arctic Monkeys, Stromae, The Blaze, Yungblud and IDLES. The line-up will be announced in January.
Summer Sonic in Osaka and Tokyo, Japan
The Summer Sonic festival, also known as Supersonic, was created in 2000 and is one of Japan’s major festivals. It takes place over two days in Osaka and Tokyo and attracts the greatest Japanese and international artists, such as Shawn Mendes, Tame Impala, Jorja Smith, St Vincent and Chance The Rapper.