Way Out West in Gothenburg
Whether rock, pop, folk, jazz, or EDM is your cup of tea, one of these festivals is bound to resonate. We line up the world’s most iconic music festivals from bucket list-worthy events like the UK’s Glastonbury Festival to quite possibly the most legendary event in festival history – Woodstock, 1969.
Way Out West
The music festival Way Out West in Gothenburg, Sweden
Set in the stunning Slottsskogen Park, a lush, walkable green space in the city centre, Way Out West is a Swedish summer dream: world-class music by day, underground gigs by night, and a design-led, eco-conscious atmosphere in Gothenburg throughout. Beyond the music, attendees can expect artist talks, surprise DJ sets, a cutting-edge film programme, visual installations, and food that’s far from your average festival fare. All offerings are also 100% vegetarian, reflecting the festival’s pioneering sustainability focus. In fact, Way Out West leads the way as one of Europe’s most environmentally responsible festivals, with a no meat, no single-use plastic policy and a rigorous carbon accountability model that has inspired festivals worldwide.
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Coachella Festival
Since first taking place in 1999, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has become one of the USA’s most popular events. Alongside attracting major acts such as Rage Against the Machine, Jay Z, and Kesha, Coachella is also known for its colossal contemporary art installations, which this year included Taiwan-born Jimenez Lai’s The Tower of Twelve Stories and artist duo The Date Farmers’ (Coachella Valley natives Carlos Ramirez and Armando Lerma) Sneaking into The Show. Over the past 17 years, the festival has produced some memorable moments, notably Daft Punk’s 2006 set, often hailed as one of the best in Coachella history, and in 2012 when Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were joined on stage by a hologram of late rapper Tupac Shakur.
Glastonbury
Glastonbury Festival
From its humble beginnings back in 1970 as a two-day gig costing just £1 to attend (including free milk from founder Michael Eavis’s Worthy Farm), Glastonbury Festival has grown to be one of the festival circuit’s most legendary events, with tickets often selling out within 30 minutes of their release. It’s come to be known as one of the most musically diverse festivals around, with performances from icons including Stevie Wonder, The Who, and the late, great David Bowie, to lesser-known acts just waiting to be discovered. It has also been the subject of a number of documentaries – firstly, Nicolas Roeg and Peter Neal’s Glastonbury Fayre in 1971 and most recently in Julien Temple’s 2006 film Glastonbury.
Sonus Croatia
Sonus Festival in Croatia
This exemplary blend of festival spirit and summer vacation plays out amongst the surreal lunar-like landscapes of Pag Island and the pristine shores of the Adriatic, in a region reminiscent of 90s Ibiza – from the Salinas-like salt flats and clear waters, to the open-air dusk-till-dawn venues and sunrise vistas. Festival-goers can experience the elements of adventure travel that make this one of the world’s most celebrated destination events, from wind & kite surfing, watersports and kayaking; to bungee, rock climbing and quad biking. The lineup typically offers Sonus’ signature fusion of new school stars, legends, and tastemakers across the dance music spectrum, and 5 days of open-air beachside revelry
Rosklide Festival
Denmark’s Roskilde Festival, held each year since 1971, is one of the world’s longest-running festivals, and today is an eight-day long (that’s four days of music preceded by a four-day warm-up party) musical extravaganza attracting over 100,000 attendants each year. Featuring around 175 music acts across eight stages, Roskilde Festival has welcomed big names like Bob Marley, Metallica, and The Rolling Stones over the course of its history. Socially conscious festival-goers can rest assured, Roskilde is 100 percent non-profit and donates all of its profits to charitable organizations like Amnesty International and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Bilbao BBK Live
Bilbao BBK Live | Sergio Albert
Bilbao BBK Live stands as an annual musical pilgrimage, celebrated for its diverse lineup, the iconic venue at Kobetamendi, and unwavering commitment to delivering an unparalleled festival experience. With a rich history, the festival continues to captivate audiences with its curated musical journey, camping facilities, and environmental initiatives. Prepare for a star-studded line-up for an enchanting three days in the beautiful Basque region of Spain, just a 5 minutes drive from the cosmopolitan city of Bilbao. Bilbao BBK Live is an inviting destination for those who love all things music, gastronomy, and art. Surrounded by the breathtaking mountains of Kobetamendi, a weekend fuelled with the best international and local music awaits against a picture-perfect backdrop.
Newport Folk Festival
Founded in 1959 as a counterpart to the coastal Rhode Island city’s slightly older jazz festival, Newport Folk Festival ran until 1970 before taking a 15-year hiatus and coming back for good in the mid-1980s. During its early years, the festival is credited with introducing several then-rising stars of the folk scene to a wider audience including Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Jose Feliciano. In 1965, Newport Folk Festival made history as the locale of Dylan’s controversial choice to “go electric” – a decision which prompted a chorus of boos from folk purists amongst the festival crowd.
ortigia music
ortigia music – Sicily, Italy
Since 2014, Ortigia has been home to one of the most exciting boutique festivals in Europe, bringing the dance music community together each year in one of the most picturesque and culturally rich towns in Sicily. The island of Ortigia, connected to the town of Syracuse at Sicily’s south eastern tip, is a city steeped in culture and history. Figuring prominently in both Roman and Greek Mythology, it’s nonetheless a city that remains lived-in and alive with culture, making it the perfect location for one of the most forward thinking events on the festival calendar.
Sziget Festival
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Europe’s biggest festival is coming back bigger and better for 2025. Set in the landscape of one of the most beautiful islands in the Danube, Sziget will welcome some of the biggest names in pop, rock, R&B, and more while celebrating diversity and community and bringing together people from over 100 countries to the ‘Island of Freedom’. From the LGBTQI+ programme at the Magic Mirror to the acrobats at the Cirque du Sziget, this festival has something for everyone offering a rich line-up of comedy, cabaret, circus, and panels.
Tomorrowland
Debuted in 2005, Belgium’s Tomorrowland, despite its relatively young age, has quickly become one of the biggest and best EDM festivals in the world, attracting thousands of music lovers from all corners of the globe. Known for its legendary stage designs created around a new theme each year – like the most recent motif, “The Elixir of Life” – the festival spawned a spin-off, Tomorrowland Brasil, in 2015, held in the town of Itu outside São Paulo.
ARC Music Festival
ARC Music Festival returns to Chicago for its fifth edition, continuing its mission to celebrate the city as the birthplace of house music while challenging the genre’s evolving mainstream narrative. At its core, ARC is about education – reconnecting house with its Black, queer, and underground roots, and introducing a new generation of listeners to its foundational story.
Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival | Photo by Adam Macchia for Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
Held in Manchester, Tennessee each year since 2002, the four-day Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival gets its name from the Creole slang for “good stuff,” and has been hailed by Rolling Stone as “the ultimate over-the-top summer festival.” A green-focused festival, Bonnaroo aims to be as environmentally conscious as possible by encouraging recycling and projects like Planet Roo – an on-site village featuring non-profit organizations teaching festival-goers about sustainability and global consciousness. Over the years, the festival has seen legendary sets from the likes of The Flaming Lips, Wu Tang Clan and The Beastie Boys (in their last performance as a trio before Adam Yauch’s death), and each year hosts SuperJam, a mash-up gig by various musical acts playing the festival.
Montreal International Jazz Festival
Named the world’s largest jazz festival by Guinness World Records after almost two million music lovers attended its 25th edition in 2004, the Montreal International Jazz Festival is a landmark event on the jazz circuit taking place over 10 days and featuring 3,000 artists from 30 countries across the globe. Iconic artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, and Herbie Hancock have graced its stages since the inaugural festival in 1980, and of its 1,000-plus concerts taking place on stages and in venues across downtown Montreal, two-thirds are free to attend.
Montreal International Jazz Festival |
Woodstock
Not only is Woodstock the most iconic event in festival history, the four-day fest attended by over half a million that took over Max Yasgur’s upstate New York dairy farm in 1969 is also one of pop culture’s most definitive moments. Captured in director Michael Wadleigh’s aptly titled and Oscar-winning documentary Woodstock, the festival featured sets from counterculture icons like Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Incredible String Band. But it was Jimi Hendrix who gave the most memorable performance with his discordant rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. Though technically a one-off, the festival has spawned a number of “revivals” over the years, none recapturing the glory of the first rendition.
MUTEK
For 25 years, MUTEK has explored new horizons in electronic music and digital arts. For six days, artists and audiences gather in the Quartier des Spectacles for a unique experience blending sound, visuals, and innovation. Staying true to its inclusive spirit, esplanade Tranquille will once again become the festival’s beating heart with free outdoor performances every evening from 5pm. Onsite programming will spotlight major names and emerging talents in the global electronic scene with immersive scenographies in iconic venues: the Society for Arts and Technology [SAT], Place des Arts’ Théâtre Maisonneuve, and MTELUS.
Leeds and Reading Festivals
Twin festivals Reading and Leeds – Reading Festival was founded in 1971, Leeds Festival following in 1999 – are some of the biggest events on the UK’s rock and indie calendar, taking place simultaneously over the August bank holiday weekend. Beyond the main stage – which has hosted iconic sets from bands like Nirvana’s unforgettable performance in 1992, featuring Kurt Cobain clad in a hospital gown pushed on stage in a wheelchair – Reading and Leeds has seven other stages including the Lock Up Stage, featuring punk and hardcore bands, and the BBC Radio 1 Dance Stage.
