6 essential music festivals
Yes, summer really is coming (post updated!)
What better time than a particularly cold, grey February (here in the UK anyway) to look ahead to brighter months and the chance to enjoy music outdoors in — slightly — warmer temperatures? Exactly. So here are a half-dozen picks to get you in the mood…
Bearded Theory: 21-25 May
Photo credit: Louisa Thomson
One of the earliest outdoor festivals on the UK calendar and one I tend to think of as a harbinger of summer. Taking place during term time, Bearded Theory is known for its on-site school on the Friday, a great idea to help families out. Headliners this year are Iggy Pop and Manic Street Preachers, and further down the list you’ll find some incredible bands such as English Teacher, CMAT, Nova Twins, Bess Atwell… the list goes on.
Dot To Dot: 24, 25 May
Another early festival on the calendar (with an unfortunate clash with part of Bearded Theory), and a metropolitan/multi-venue one at that — so you’ll still be listening indoors, but you do get to walk around outside a bit. It takes place over a weekend: first in Bristol and then in Nottingham. I can’t speak personally about the Bristol edition, but the atmosphere in Nottingham is always fantastic. Here’s what LeftLion and CLASH wrote about it in 2024. This year marks the 20th anniversary edition, and the line-up so far includes SPRINTS, Dog Race, Fat Dog, Girlband! and Honeyglaze…
Gate To Southwell: 3-6 July
A small but surprisingly international and widely-defined folk/roots festival. It really is impressive and heart-warming to see these kinds of events thriving. I had great fun there last year; the line-up this year looks equally exciting, with Richard Thompson and Katherine Priddy recently confirmed…
Deer Shed: 25-28 July
Photo credit: James Drury
This Yorkshire-based festival is known as a family-friendly event for those who want to focus on up-and-coming, contemporary acts. They seem to have outdone themselves this year, with highlights including Wunderhorse, Kae Tempest, Honeyglaze, SPRINTS, The Bug Club, Divorce and Jacob Alon… That’s pretty enticing.
YNOT: 31 July-3 August
Photo credit: Nigel King
Once again, YNOT is walking an interesting line between popular big acts from the past (The Prodigy, Madness), more recently-emerged names (The Last Dinner Party), guitar-band stalwarts (Shed Seven, THe Ks, Maximo Park) and alt-pop acts (Sigrid, Wilkinson). There are more announcements to come…
110 Above: 28-30 August
** Updated! ** This festival didn’t take place in 2024 so it’s brilliant to see it return in ’25 with a renewed focus on “celebrating grassroots talent”. Past reports are that this is always a superb event, smallish but attracting some really exciting names (similar in vibe to Barn On The Farm, a festival which is very dear to me). This year, we’ve got Somebody’s Child, Lexie Carroll, Girlband!, Hana Lili, The Mercians, Hannah Mazey and many more all now confirmed.
There are obviously lots and lots of other festivals I could mention here, including the very big names—which already get plenty of coverage. I can’t resist noting a couple of the smaller ones:
Splendour (Nottingham, 19/20 July) has grown into a fully-fledged weekend, mixing big names, a few cover bands, and plenty of independent local artists across six stages. splendourfestival.com
Folk By The Oak (Hatfield, 20 July) is a neatly-packaged day festival with a folk focus. It’s a pleasant and fun outing particularly if you’re newer to the festival experience. Here’s one of my reviews of FBTO in 2021. folkbytheoak.com
Victorious (Portsmouth, 24-24 August) was one I really wanted to get to last year but just couldn’t fit in. As well as the tastefully curated line-up over three days, the seaside setting and family-friendly atmosphere makes it exciting and accessible. victoriousfestival.co.uk
What are your favourite fests? Let me know!