A Summer of Sound

GREAT ESCAPE

When: 10-12 May Where: Brighton, UK
Highlights: Grimes, The Temper Trap, Ben Kweller, S.C.U.M.

So you want to go to a festival, but you don’t like camping. You hate sandy beaches and don’t want to fly. You’re off to Brighton! The Great Escape takes over the city’s venues with an orgy of gigs over a May weekend. A chance to say ‘I saw them when…’

Most likely to: Find decent fish and chips, sleep on a stranger’s hotel room floor.

SONAR

When: 11-12 May Where: São Paolo, Brazil
Highlights:  Björk, Four Tet, James Blake, Justice

No festival this early in the season can match Sonar for beats and hedonistic revelry. Launched in Barcelona 19 years ago, Sonar has expanded to Brazil and Tokyo, too. City festivals of the dance persuasion are often the most hardcore with headliners playing late and parties beyond dawn, so pace yourself.

Most likely to: Need a week off to recover. Go skinny-dipping in the ocean at 6.30am (if you go to the Barcelona branch).

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PRIMAVERA SOUND

When: 30-31 May, 1-3 June Where: Barcelona, Spain
Highlights:  Björk, Spiritualized, Beach House, The xx, Beirut

You can’t beat Primavera’s choice cuts across indie, dubstep, electronica, chillwave and post-rock. It’s like All Tomorrow’s Parties (who partner with PS), but instead of Butlins you’re in Barcelona and rather than eating Papa John’s in the cold, you’re wolfing down paella with the Med at your feet.

Most likely to: Be a wall-to-wall hipster fest. With the hot weather, the probability of side-boob spotting is promising.

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FIELD DAY

When: 2 June Where: Victoria Park, London, UK
Highlights: Hudson Mohawke, Kindness, Metronomy, Rustie, SBTRKT

Entering its sixth year, Field Day’s diverse line-up ensures you’ll be rewarded if you’ve kept your finger on the musical pulse. Highlights include Death Grips’ agro-punk rap and Liars’ psycho-stomp. Previous events have been marred by too few toilets so don’t break the seal too early.

Most likely to: Be part of the unofficial world record for the most Ray-Ban Wayfarers in one small area.

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THE APPLE CART

When: 3 June Where: Victoria Park, London, UK
Highlights: Noah & The Whale, Billy Bragg, Adam Ant, Inner City

The slightly more serious older brother of Field Day takes place one day later in the same field. Martin Creed and Marques Toliver provide more intimate, stoner-type acoustics, until Kevin Saunderson’s Inner City takes to the stage for ‘90s rave flashbacks.

Most likely to: Drift off to an acoustic guitar set, only to wake up to a mud-splattered homage to the Hacienda.

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BEACH BREAK

When: 14-18 June Where: Pembrey Country Park, South Wales, UK
Highlights: Dizzee Rascal, Friendly Fires, Chase and Status, NERO

Proclaimed ‘The UK Student Festival’, but don’t let that put you off. It coincides with the end of exam season, so morale will be very high. If you’ve listened to Radio 1 in the past few years, you’ll love the line-up, including a rare appearance from NERO.

Most likely to: Stack it at 'Viva La Games', a bonanza of kite-surfing, snowboarding and graffiti battles.

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LOVEBOX

When: 15-17 June Where: Victoria Park, London, UK
Highlights: Hot Chip, Grace Jones, Emeli Sandé, Kelis

Set up in 2002 by Groove Armada, this year Lovebox celebrates ‘a decade of love’. The line-up has always been true to the name with Studio 54-esque acts. This year, look out for several artists who did frequent the club including Chic, Bobby Womack and Grace Jones.

Most likely to: Throw shapes to Horse Meat Disco, Andrew Weatherall and Dalston Superstore DJs.

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ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL

When: 21-24 June Where: Seaclose Park, Isle of Wight, UK
Highlights: Tom Petty, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen

Looking at those headliners, you know what this vintage festival is about: old men onstage, wailing furious guitars to swarms of old men offstage. But the full line-up includes strange treats from urbanites Example, Labrinth and Tinie Tempah to the mellow of Elbow and Noah & The Whale.

Most likely to: Be accosted by locals asking if you can smuggle them back ‘to the mainland’.

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HIDEOUT

When: 29 June-1 July Where: Zrce Beach, Island of Pag, Croatia
Highlights: Ricardo Villalobos, Annie Mac, Skream & Benga, Loco Dice

By taking us to the tiny island of Pag, Croatia, Hideout are making a statement: come here and sever all ties to your normal life and just get down. Helping you on that quest are Chilean-German microhouse star Ricardo Villalobos, dubstep stars Skream & Benga and London nightclub staple Erol Alkan.

Most likely to: Get seasick gatecrashing the many boat parties around the island.

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GARDEN FESTIVAL

When: 4-11 July Where: The Garden Tisno, Croatia
Highlights: 2020 Soundsystem, Nicolas Jaar, Tim Sweeney, Alexander Nut

If your local festival doesn’t have a beach, ditch it for one that does, even if it means travelling to Croatia. Offering apartments, luxury camping and standard camping, The Garden Festival promises to be a beautiful setting for a highly niche festival. A wide array of producers and DJs will bring you tempo-shifting, nuanced music of many textures.

Most likely to: Party with fellow music nerds.

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HEINEKEN OPEN’ER

When: 4-7 July Where: Gdynia, Poland
Highlights: Friendly Fires, Public Enemy, Franz Ferdinand (remember them?)

Have you ever been to a festival in Poland? No, us neither, but imagine then, a festival attended by near on 90,000 people fuelled by a lot of Heineken.

Most likely to: End in a battle of honour involving a bald man, a bottle of unidentified bootleg liquor and a member of Gogol Bordello.

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WIRELESS

When: 6-8 July Where: Hyde Park, London
Highlights: Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Jessie J

This year’s Wireless is oestrogen powered with pop and hip-hop lady giants headlining the Hyde Park site. Wireless isn’t for spotting small-fry indie bands but letting the great and the greater boom it out across central London.

Most likely to: Not be able to guess the colour of Nicki Minaj’s wig.

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FIB, BENICASSIM

When: 12-15 July Where: Benicàssim, Spain
Highlights: The Stone Roses, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Horrors

The youth of Europe descend onto a small beach town in northern Spain for the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, or FIB. Or just Benicàssim if you’re only interested in the proximity of waves to your tent. Sleep all day, swim in the afternoon then the music only gets going at midnight.

Most likely to: Wake up sweating through anything you’ve foolishly worn to bed; fall in love with unattainable Latin locals.

ELECTRIC ELEPHANT

When: 12-16 July Where: The Garden, Tisno, Croatia
Highlights: Andrew Weatherall, Ewan Pearson, Justin Robertson

It’s small, it’s beautiful, it’s boutique. And someone called Balearic Mike is playing. Don’t act like you’re not interested. The scenery here is amazing, as are the boat parties. There’s also a good chance you’ll come back looking healthier than when you left. Eat that, Reading.

Most likely to: Look for a Croatian national to marry and never return.

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THE MAGIC LOUNGEABOUT

When: 27-29 July Where: Yorkshire, UK
Highlights: The Charlatans, Kevin Saunderson featuring Inner City

The Magic Loungeabout is the UK’s anti-festival festival: it’s less about Portaloo-tipping and more about its VIP waiter service, spa treatments and boutique accommodation.

Most likely to: If it all sounds a little tame, don’t worry; there’s gravy wrestling and a rhubarb crumble relay. Obviously.

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OSHEAGA

When: 3-5 August Where: Jean-Drapeau Parc, Montréal, Canada
Highlights: Justice, The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, Sigur Rós

Love speaking French, but don’t like France? Head over to Montréal, whose new Osheaga Festival Musique et Arts offers music alongside artistic events. Young bloods A$AP Rocky and Passion Pit share the bill with a freshly reformed Garbage, Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party.

Most likely to: Debate the merits of Black Lips, The Black Keys and The Black Angels, get them all confused and drunkenly shout the wrong lyrics.

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OYA

When: 7-11 August Where: Oslo, Norway
Highlights: Björk, The Stone Roses, A$AP Rocky, Florence + The Machine

Norway’s hyper-cool festival takes over Oslo’s Medieval Park for five days in August with an eye-poppingly accomplished, hip-hop focused line-up, including potty mouth Azealia Banks.

Most likely to: Surprise yourself as you give in to the local delicacies: dried cod loins and mutton stew.

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WAY OUT WEST

When: 9-11 August Where: Gothenburg, Sweden
Highlights: Azealia Banks, Blur, The Black Keys, Feist, Florence & The Machine

It’s unlikely this festival is technically way out west (unless you’re in Russia), but Gothenburg is the cool part of Sweden, having brought us The Knife and, um, Ace of Base. New music? Check. Azealia Banks, A$AP Rocky and Frank Ocean. Sing-along headliners? Check. Blur, The Black Keys and Florence.

Most likely to: Eat smörgåsbord and deploy limited knowledge of Sweden by boring on about Ikea and Volvo.

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BESTIVAL

When: 6-9 September Where: Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of Wight, UK
Highlights: New Order, Stevie Wonder, The xx, 2manyDJs

Bestival closes the season in typically diverse fashion. For most Bestival addicts the joy comes in the atmosphere, which some (ancient) people liken to the glory days of Glastonbury before it got all mega-fenced.

Most likely to: Wonder why you’ve woken up in a stranger’s tent, fully clothed in an elephant costume you’ve never seen before. With a tiger.

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