let's go
Festival Playlist
Editor's Letter Team DIY’s Festival Season Hit Lists
Aka the bands and artists we’ll be legging it down to the front row for this summer.
SARAH JAMIESON MANAGING EDITOR
• RINA SAWAYAMA
After seeing our Festival Guide cover star at her pitch perfect Brixton Academy show last year I was absolutely hooked, so getting to see what she cooks up for festival season is gonna be a real treat. Can’t wait!
• SAM SMITH
If Sam’s recent shows at The O2 are anything to go by, their upcoming festival stints sound likely to be ridiculously camp, joyous and moving all at the same time; and if that’s not what you want from festival season…
• YEAH YEAH YEAHS
OK, yeah, so they played some festivals last year too, but isn’t every summer a bit brighter when Karen O is involved?
• ARCTIC MONKEYS
Their rowdy days might be behind them but the quartet are still the certified kings of festival season. If you’re not going to see Arctics this summer, well, you’re just doing it wrong.
• PARAMORE
They might only be
playing a few festivals this year - America, you lucky things! - but they should absolutely be on your must-watch list. Their recent UK tour was incredible and they’re arguably on the best form of their career so far. (I would say that though, wouldn’t I…)
EMMA SWANN
FOUNDING EDITOR
The last time I did this, I missed out on anything The Strokes were due to play and both Biffy Clyro and Dua Lipa’s sets at Open’er were done for by a (quite frankly, terrifying) storm. So here’s hoping for better than 2/5 this year.
• ROBBIE WILLIAMS -
There was such a sense of utter joy at his recent XV show at the O2, almost as if the weight of being himself has finally lifted, that there’s no way Robbie taking on a pints-aloft festival crowd won’t be a winner. If Lizzo doesn’t join him for ‘Kids’ at Mad Cool it’d be a travesty.
• LIZZO
Speaking of which, Glastonbury’s rightful
headliner is on one majestic streak of late, from her excellent cover of Rammstein’s ‘Du Hast’ in Germany to responding to transphobic Tennessee legislators with an army of drag queens in Knoxville.
• BLONDIE
The last time I saw them was a soaking wet, freezing cold T in the Park while waiting for Weezer so to get to see them - and fully enjoy it - will be a privilege.
• THE STROKES
Second time lucky? Both to see them full stop, and be able to actually hear them in Victoria Park.
• BLUR
The bangers for sure, but also because seeing videos captioned solely ‘Damon from Gorillaz’ still feels wrong.
.................................
LISA WRIGHT
FEATURES EDITOR
• BLUR
The prospect of being reunited with my one true loves several times over the summer makes me weep with joy.
• QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
Genuinely thought they’d split up so these new dates are doubly excellent.
• BOYGENIUS Have not stopped rinsing ‘The Record’ since it came out and v hyped for The Gig.
• PULP
There are few things better than Jarvis in full praying mantis pose mode singing 'Babies'.
• ROBBIE WILLIAMS
The real Greatest Showman.
LOUISE MASON
ART DIRECTOR
• FRED AGAIN..
For the biggest bangers in the biggest fields.
• HEARTWORMS
Probably my favourite new act with a Spitfire aesthetic.
• BAXTER DURY
Specifically, in a Lithuanian Prison.
• SLOWTHAI
Very excited to hear the new record in 3D (also in a Lithuanian Prison).
• YOUNG FATHERS
Somehow I've missed them so far this year... this shall be rectified with haste.
Last year, festival season marked a real turn in the tide for just about all of us; after several years’ break from watching live music soundtrack sunsets across the world, we certainly weren’t the only ones glad to be back in a field. Now, the idea of getting to do it all over again this summer is already making us positively giddy.
That’s why, for 2023’s Festival Guide, we’ve gotten hold of some of music’s most exciting names to help us get prepped for what’s to come. From cover star Rina Sawayama’s slick pop, through to the rowdy chaos that Warmduscher regularly whip up - via the massive hits of fest pros You Me At Six and The Vaccines - we’ve got just about everything covered to ensure you have the best summer possible. So what’re you waiting for?!
Let’s get stuck in!
Sarah Jamieson, Managing EditorFounding Editor Emma Swann
Managing Editor Sarah Jamieson
Features Editor Lisa Wright
Art Direction & Design Louise Mason
Contributors Burak Cingi, El Hunt, Jenn Five, Louis Griffin, Nick Levine, Sarah Louise Bennett, Vendy Palkovičová.
For DIY editorial: info@diymag.com For DIY sales: advertise@diymag.com
POHODA FESTIVAL
CENTRAL CEE
JAMIE XX
WET LEG
SOFI TUKKER BEN HOWARD
CAROLINE POLACHEK
AMELIE LENS
SUZANNE VEGA
ARCA
SLOWTHAI SHYGIRL
RICO NASTY PERFUME GENIUS
VIAGRA BOYS
SAMPA THE GREAT
6.– 8. 7. TRENČÍN AIRPORT
MULATU ASTATKE – DRY CLEANING – SHAME – AROOJ AFTAB – HAZEY – CHARLOTTE ADIGÉRY & BOLIS PUPUL YARD ACT – MEZERG – ALINA PASH – HERMETO PASCOAL – PUSSY RIOT – PETE & BAS – MANDIDEXTROUS
PVA – CAKES DA KILLA – LINIKER – BIGKLIT – VINTAGE TROUBLE – ROZI PLAIN – TATA BOJS
PSYMON SPINE – MANDY, INDIANA – LEENALCHI – AVALANCHE KAITO – BLANCO TETA – ANGRUSORI
THE ORIELLES – MARGARITAS PODRIDAS – GROOVE& – CUMGIRL8 – GLEB – THE ORIELLES
KIMI DJABATÉ – NINA FARRINA – DAKH DAUGHTERS – DUO RUUT P – ZEA
O. – JANA KIRSCHNER – FALLGRAPP – RAGAPOP – KURS VALÜT – MASSOLA
TONO S. – ZAPASKA – UA TRIBAL – MISS PETTY – ZEA – AND MANY MORE...
As we raise a warm, overpriced paper pint cup heavenwards and look ahead once more to a season of sun (hopefully) and frolics (most certainly), DIY’s festival guide is here to help you navigate your way through the wild waters of Summer ‘23. To ease you in, we’re handing things over to seasoned pro, Justin Young, to pass on his festival veteran expertise…
“In 2011, when we’d just released ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?’ and everyone wanted a piece of us, I think we played 50 festivals over the summer in every continent,” recalls the frontman. “I just remember everyone having crazy breakdowns. We played Lollapalooza in Chicago and our label took us out for dinner; our tour manager got under the table and started crying because every one was just so fried. Now people quite rightly take mental health breaks when that sort of thing starts happening but the industry wasn’t as enlightened in 2011 I don’t think… You just kept on truckin’...”
Now, we’re not advising anyone to go quite this hard into festival season (in fact please, please don’t) but nonetheless, The Vaccines’ relentless touring lifestyle over the past decade has made their frontman an expert of the circuit. In those early years, he recalls a particularly hardcore stint that saw the band “circum navigate the globe twice in two and a half weeks”; as well as huge slots playing second on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage and supporting The Rolling Stones at Hyde Park, they’ve also had their fair share of japes. “I remember one year we started partying at Latitude, and then we played in Spain and then Croatia, and we were still up five days later when we landed in Japan,” he chuckles. “When I got to Japan, I thought I was dying. They don’t like that [sort of behaviour] at all there, but fortunately by that point I was the shell of a man rather than a weapon.” Like we said: don’t try this at home.
These days, however, The Vaccines are a somewhat more sensible beast. Heading into their thirteenth festival season with a new line-up configura tion (original guitarist Freddie Cowan recently leaving, with keyboardist Tim Langham stepping into his spot), a new album recorded and ready to go, and the same zest for a summer spent in the fields, Justin has some more advisable tips up his sleeve for the months ahead. Any wise words? “I don’t think you’re there to be wise. I think you’re there to be anything but…”
The Vaccines play Tunes in the Dunes (12th - 14th May), Toma vistas (22nd - 24th June), Community (7th July), Cactus (7th - 9th July), Truck (21st - 23rd), Low (28th - 30th), On The Beach (30th July), Hardwick (28th - 30th August), The Big Festival (28th - 30th August), Victorious Festival (28th - 30th August), and Whitehaven Alive (9th September). DIY
Welcometo FESTIVAL SEASON 2023! From
The Vaccines
Who to Watch
ARCTIC MONKEYS
We toured about three or four times with them and fell in love with them. They’re peerless really; I’ll always be happy to watch them play music for a few hours. Arctic Monkeys in the UK, you can’t really go wrong - they’re like demi-gods.
LANA DEL REY
I think Lana is one of the best artists of her generation and she doesn’t play very often, so if you’re lucky enough to be there when she’s playing I do think that’ll be a great show.
LIZZO
She’s become a cultural icon of sorts; it feels like she’s at the centre of a conversation. She’s had just as many hits as other people that have headlined Glastonbury, so I don’t see why she’s not headlining. I’m never really sure what constitutes a festival headliner because there are plenty of people with huge hits who don’t seem to be thought of as such.
WET LEG
I liked Wet Leg from the moment I heard them. It’s insane how big they are now. I still haven’t seen them live, so it’ll be interesting to see how it comes across on big outdoor festival stages because it’s such sweaty club venue music.
ELTON JOHN
I love Elton so much and I probably listen to him on a weekly basis but I don’t know… I was so excited about seeing Paul McCartney last year and I was really disappointed. I didn’t love it. But some of it’s so self-fulfillingly brilliant where it’s almost irrelevant that they’re even up there because it’s just an hour of people singing along to their favourite songs.
ROBBIE WILLIAMS
WHERE TO GO
The Overseas Choice PRIMAVERA SOUND
The line-up is always completely unmatched every year, but also it’s in Barcelona, in the city, in a place where everyone knows how to party and eat well and live well. The headliners aren’t on until really late and it’s just pure hedonism with the added bonus of a bed to go back to rather than a tent.
The Biggie GLASTONBURY
I’ve never been to Burning Man, but I think Glastonbury might still be the best party in the world. That’s their headline, but I think it genuinely is true. I try quite hard to find good parties and I’ve never experienced anything on that scale with that variety like it - it’s just mad. One minute you can be watching Paul McCartney, and then 10 minutes later you can be in a gay club in downtown New York, and then the next minute you’re at the Stone Circle with a bunch of naked hippies watching the sun come up. It’s the weirdest, craziest, best place.
The Rising Star
The first couple of times we got asked to play Truck it was tiny and now it’s one of the biggest indie festivals in the country. Truck and Y Not feel quite similar in terms of their demographic; I don’t know what they’re like to go to but the shows there are always amazing.
JUSTIN’S FESTIVAL LIFE LESSONS FAO: ARTISTS
Don’t take the fun for granted (especially if you’re on stage)
It can be tiring, but we’re so lucky to be in this position. When you get tired and stressed and anxious and insecure, they’re all legitimate feelings but I wish I hadn’t let them get to me as much as I did. I wish I’d concentrated more on how lucky I was to be in Japan or Australia or wherever I was, and just enjoyed it and not assumed it’s my god-given right to be there.
Read the room (or country)
We played in Gibraltar a couple of years ago and I’d been told not to refer to it as Spain but I thought it would be funny. The Mayor of Gibraltar was there and I had to apologise and people were very upset. I didn’t realise they were so sensitive about it. We’ve not been asked to return which I’d put down to COVID but maybe that’s why…
Live music will never die
People talk about things being more and more online - TikTok is like the open mic night for new artists now - but it doesn’t seem to have any impact on how much people want to go to festivals and be part of a congregation and a community. If you showed me a photo of the crowd walking out at Y Not last year, and a photo from Reading in 2011, I really don’t think I would be able to tell you which it was.
Justin’s given punters a few tips on how to make the most of this summer, but here are a few things that the artists playing should probably bear in mind…
Take the bait (or not)
As many acts charged with entertaining a crowd that isn’t entirely theirs throughout the ‘a90s and ‘00s will recall with horror, having objects of dubious provenance thrown their way on stage is not necessarily unusual. Unlike Daphne and Celeste, 50 Cent, My Chemical Romance or Bring Me The Horizon, however, the item that paused Liam Gallagher’s headline set at Benicassim in 2018 was… a whole fish. Which had (presumably) stewed in the offender’s pocket all day in the Spanish heat. Mmmm.
Don’t forget your words!
Festivals are a prime spot to call up a famous pal or two to hop onto the stage with you – just ask Chris Martin. And from Lily Allen’s star turn with Olivia Rodrigo to Paul McCartney calling up both Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen, Glastonbury 2022 boasted its fair share. One likely to wish he hadn’t bothered, however, is Kevin Abstract: having flown in from the US especially to join Easy Life for their collaboration ‘Dear Miss Holloway’ on the Pyramid Stage, the Brockhampton star proceeded to… forget his entire verse. Whoops.
Know where you’re going
When The Horrors took to the stage at Citadel in 2018, they did so late, and temporarily without frontman Faris Badwan. When he did emerge, he revealed the reason for his tardiness to the sweltering summer crowd. “Nobody told me the festival had moved from Victoria Park,” he claimed. His last-minute dash across London meant their mid-afternoon set was just four songs long.
Show support for fellow performers
Some artists like to give a shout-out to any friends playing the same day. Others opt for an easy cheer by reeling off the stage’s subsequent acts in turn. Meanwhile some have been known to take it a whole leap further. With The Last Shadow Puppets appearing on the main stage ahead of Tame Impala at Poland’s Open’er festival in 2016, an extremely animated Alex Turner and Miles Kane opted for an improvised ode. “Kevin Parker controls the weather systems around here,” they claimed. All the while the actual Kevin Parker was backstage receiving medical treatment to ensure they actually played. “It’s sweet of them, really,” he told DIY in the aftermath. “They probably helped to save [the performance].”
Fyre Festival
Whatever they say, there is zero requirement to “ take one for the team”.
JUNE
STROMAE • STORMZY
SAM FENDER • THE 1975 • NATHANIEL RATELIFF
ZWANGERE GUY • COMPACT DISK DUMMIES
IGGY POP • CHARLOTTE DE WITTE • WARHAUS •
KING PRINCESS • ANNA CALVI • WEYES BLOOD
RÖYKSOPP • AURORA • RAYE • ASHNIKKO • GAYLE •
HOLLY HUMBERSTONE
PICTURE THIS • THE SNUTS • THE REYTONS • LIL LOTUS •
BODY TYPE • THE MARY WALLOPERS
NAS X • THE LUMINEERS • DERMOT KENNEDY • INHALER • THE DRIVER ERA
ROSALÍA • CHRISTINE AND THE QUEENS • PUSCIFER •
GABRIELS • AMENRA • THE TESKEY BROTHERS
R F S DU SOL • JACOB COLLIER • J.I.D • PORTLAND •
MEROL • PIP MILLETT
LOVEJOY • BILLY NOMATES • BABY QUEEN • NOVA TWINS •
DESTROY BOYS • ETHAN BORTNICK
Feel Good Hits of the SUMMER
Warm pints and late nights are all well and good, but we all know the main attraction of festival season is the bangers. So, what better way to get geared up for what’s to come than by roping in one of our favourite comedians to run us through 2023’s surefire hits? Star of Ghosts, Stath Lets Flats and current Taskmaster competitor Kiell Smith-Bynoe gives us his verdict... Interview: Lisa Wright.
THE 1975 Looking For Somebody (To Love)
I was introduced to Matty by Jamie Demetriou because they’re good friends; I met him at the NME Awards and then we went to Fontaines DC’s afterparty and we stuffed our faces with chicken burgers on the way. That I remember! Me, Jamie, Matty and Amelia Dimoldenberg all went to the afterparty and it was a bit of fun. Otherwise, I’ve heard of them but not really listened to their stuff. It’s not my usual genre but I’m quite into them! I’ve watched a few of their live performances, and their shows look really fun. I’m not really an advocate for eating raw meat, but if that’s what you wanna do - if that’s how you wanna build your iron - then go for it. Maybe he’s bulking up for the summer. I wanna hear the song loud - maybe at a festival, maybe at a concert - but not while getting blood from raw meat splattered on my face…
FLO Cardboard Box
I really like FLO. I watched their Chicken Shop Date recently and they seem really fun. I will say I’m an R&B guy, that’s my genre. I grew up on R&B, the first CD I bought was a Dru Hill album, so I’m a proper R&B head and I think that FLO are the closest we’ve had in the UK to old school R&B in a while. I’m a big fan of them.
YOUNG FATHERS
I Saw I watched the music video for it and I feel like this is proper soundtrack music; I love a good soundtrack. I would love to hear this on a cinema screen with some action going on. It made me think of Baby Driver. That had some great music because of the nature of the story and the character, and I feel like this could be something that’d be featured in a film like that.
LANA DEL REY A&W
I love songs like this. It reminded me of Frank Ocean’s ‘Pyramid’ where there’s two different versions of the track within one. It’s always a good sign when you see seven minutes on a song’s track time. I quite like a long song. I enjoyed this and it made me wanna look out of a car window while it rains. I mean, isn’t all of her music like that? That’s generally what she does, isn’t it? That was the first half, and then the second half made me wanna trash a hotel room and I don’t think that’s her brand. Maybe I’ll start associating her with trashing hotel rooms; I’m gonna push that narrative.
PULP Common People
If you can successfully convince me that you haven’t [reunited] because you owe a lot in tax then I’m all for it. I mean, I’m not particularly a fan of Pulp, but there was a thread on Black Twitter going around recently saying ‘Name a song that white people snapped with’ and this was one of them. This is a song that’s within that sort of ‘Wonderwall’ territory where everyone can get on board with it and sing until the end. It doesn’t matter where you’re from; if you’re from the depths of the hood, you know this song, and it’s the one chance to let loose and bang your head before you have to be cool again. This is definitely what I would call one of the songs that white people snapped with.
WET LEG Ur Mum
There’s a girl that I met in Edinburgh a few years ago, I think back in 2016, and within our first interaction she spilt a drink all down herself. For the rest of Edinburgh, I called her Wet Leg McDonald, and this made me think of her. The video for this is a lot of fun and it’s really creative. It reminded me of going to house parties in drama school. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but there were times where I felt like I didn’t know what was happening - like, where everyone was singing along to this song and I was like, ’95% of the people in this room are singing along and I’ve never heard it in my life’. It gave me that vibe.
SLOWTHAI
Feel Good
I like slowthai; one of my friends has basically forced him on me and will always play slowthai in his car. There’s been a few times where I’m like, ‘Oh actually, what’s that one again?’ and I Shazam it so it goes right to my playlist. There’s a few tracks of his that I like - maybe the earlier stuffbut I’m really into this. I haven’t seen him live but is he popping steaks in his mouth as well? Straight out the packet?
ELTON JOHN Goodbye
Yellow Brick Road
It’s a prime example of white people snapping again! What an absolute banger. What’s great about this is that I really like this song but didn’t know what it was called - and now I do! Big, big tune. I think Elton’s a great guy, he’s got great fashion sense, but he should’ve been in more films. Have you seen him in The Kingsman 2? I mean, sure, he’s playing Elton John but he’s great in it. I guess he’s been playing Elton John his whole life, so why wouldn’t he be… Look, the guy’s got bangers and he dresses well, so what else do you need?
Kiell currently stars in Dreamland, available on NOW and Sky Atlantic, and Taskmaster, airing Thursdays on Channel 4 and available on All4. DIY
Featuring
Anthony Naples b2b DJ Python
caroline
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul
Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations
Erika de Casier
James Massiah b2b Kemarr
John Talabot
Kelly Lee Owens
Kelman Duran
Laura Misch
Leon Vynehall b2b Yu Su
Loraine James
Louis Culture
Lucinda Chua
Obongjayar
OK Williams
Princess Nokia
PVA
Síbín (Anja Ngozi & co)
Space Afrika
Squid
Wu-Lu
Yazz Ahmed
Collaborators & Partners
Bermondsey Project Space
Bermondsey Social Club
Bone Soda ノノ Church Of Sound
Daytimers
@Disturbance
Goldsmiths, University of London
IKLECTIK
Jumbi
Sister Midnight
Southbank Centre
Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers
Venue MOT
Welcome back, The Moldy Peaches! You reunited for the first time in a decade at the launch of Meet Me In The Bathroom last winter - how was it being on stage together again?
Kimya Dawson: It was nice! The songs are really special to me and I was nervous at first but it was like muscle memory; those songs are so much a part of me and who I am and my younger years that, as soon as Adam started playing guitar, it all came back.
Adam Green: We didn’t really practise a lot, but those songs are just part of who we are. Of course I know how to play these songs, I could never forget these songs.
Festival season 2K23 is looking set to be a vintage one: not least because a host of old favourites are reuniting across the summer for some of the year’s most anticipated gigs.
New York cult favourites
The Moldy Peaches - who’ll be playing their first European festivals in 20 years this June - tell us what they’ve got planned… Interview: Lisa Wright.
Your 2001 debut (and only) album was written when you were really young - do you still feel the same connection to the songs?
Kimya: Both of our voices have changed since we recorded them, so it felt quite funny to me, hearing those songs come out of our mouths with our more mature voices. But the sentiment I think is still the same. I still laughed at the same jokes that we made 30 years ago. I wasn’t like, ‘Oh my gosh, we were so immature’. I was like, ‘Ha this is still funny!’
Adam: We created a new creature when me and Kimya would write songsthis weird, two-minded being that wasn’t really either of us - so it was kind of funny to experience that creature again. It feels like heightened reality when we’re inside of it. I feel like I’m a little dolphin peering out of a porthole.
Looking back at the unassuming start of the band, are you surprised how influential and well-loved it became?
Kimya: I never thought that I was gonna be a musician, so it was kind of a plot twist! We started doing stuff with Rough Trade, and The Strokes asked
us to do shows with them, and then we were doing it kind of professionally. I hadn’t planned for it but it was much better than working at the bakery…
Adam: We just brought our enthusiasm and, with a bunch of will, took really simple two-chord ideas into these spaces where they became our own versions of magic spells.
Kimya: We were literally just trying to make ourselves laugh.
When ‘Anyone Else But You’ led the Juno soundtrack, it took things into a whole different realm. How do you remember that time?
Kimya: We’d already made a pretty decent name for ourselves in the underground music world at that point, so it was different to play to people who only knew the music from the context of the movie. ‘Anyone Else But You’ is cutesy, so if someone is gonna go to a Moldy Peaches show because they’ve only heard that song, they’re gonna be in for a little bit of a surprise!
GOLDEN
“It feels like heightened reality inside this band. I’m like a little dolphin peering out of a porthole.”
- Adam Green
Adam: I feel like there are a lot of different aspects to what we do, and what me and Kimya do separately.
There’s a part of our stuff that’s tender and cute, but there’s a part that’s political and psychedelic and kind of brutal. It’s a more complicated thing than what the Juno soundtrack might suggest.
Now you’re back and playing some standalone shows as well as Primavera, what can people expect?
Adam: Moldy Peaches wasn’t that tiny when we broke up but we weren’t playing to 3,000 people and selling out shows, so it’s kind of a jump for us to be playing to this many people. It’s exciting. There’s one main album that people know, and everyone’s had a chance to know it, so we’re just gonna play our songs for people.
Kimya: That’s it. That’s what we’ve got! Same thing we had back then!
The Moldy Peaches play Primavera Sound Barcelona (1st - 4th June) and Madrid (8th - 10th June). DIY
BLUR
Playing two mahoosive Wembley Stadium shows in July, as well as a slew of festival headlines around Europe, Damon, Graham, Alex and Dave will be living the park (and field) life throughout the summer.
LE TIGRE
The pioneering electro-punks will also stop off at Primavera as part of their first European and American tour in a decade, kicking off at the end of May.
FRIENDS REUNITED
As well as The Moldy Peaches, this lot are also getting their
BE
PULP
Continuing the Britpop reunion dream, Jarvis Cocker and co will be busting an angular move at Isle of Wight , TRNSMT, Neighbourhood and a host of their own headline shows from May onwards.
BLINK-182
Though the reunited original Blink line-up of Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker will largely be traversing the world’s arenas, they’ve made exceptions for stopoffs at the recent Coachella and October emo fest When We Were Young
MOLDIES
JASON WILLIAMSON Sleaford Mods
MANDY INDIANA are like the good old days of experimental dance music before the new century kicked in, but obviously they’ve brought that up to date. It’s integral and it doesn’t care about you. It’s very cool stuff. Cool is important.
JULES JACKSON, The Big Moon
IZZY BEE PHILLIPS, Black Honey
I’m really into AZIYA and JESSICA WINTER.I love Aziya’s approach to indie rock; it’s really refreshing and I also love watching how she arranges her songs on TikTok. Jessica Winter is iconic and weird. I love her song ‘Psycho’ and she’s an amazing pianist and performer.
Everybody should go and see CMAT wherever she plays this summer. I saw her in London recently and it’s the best show I’ve seen this year. And the only one with sparkly cactuses. And she played ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me Now’ by Celine Dion in full before coming on stage, which I have massive respect for.
ORLANDO WEEKS
If TONY NJOKU is playing at the festival you’re going to then I think you’d be a fool to not make time to go and see him and his band perform. For sheer musical extravagance and romance and tenderness, Tony is very hard to beat. He’s a very special artist.
HOLLY Goat Girl
London-based producer and songwriter MAY showed shedloads of promise when she released ‘LUCKY’ via in-the-know label Slow Dance back in 2021. Dialling up the intensity, her recent track ‘PHONE ME’ felt like an arrival and MAY's live show is similarly impressive; we caught her supporting Jockstrap last year and we love her.
KATIE GAVIN, MUNA
I remember seeing The xx play a set at Lollapalooza when I was in high school, and not realising they were not much older than me at the time because their songwriting and stage presence was already so iconic. It’s amazing to see ROMY’s voice and writing unfold through the years, and her record is just going to be spectacular, as will her festival sets. Lesbian dance music for the ages, baby.
Your New Favourite FESTIVAL MUST-SEES (...picked by your old favourite festival must-sees)
Favourite MUST-SEES by favourite festival
Here at DIY, we spend our days spotlighting the best new musical finds for you to wrap your ears around and make your own. But when it comes to festivals, we’ll admit that no one spends more time in the fields than the bands themselves. With that in mind, we asked a few of our faves to pick the new and lesser-known artists they’ll be hot-footing it across the site to see. We suggest you join them.
SAMIA
I’m excited about GRETEL HÄNLYN. Really beautiful voice, and incredibly unique and honest songwriting.
JAMES SMITH, Yard Act
I’m looking forward to catching THE LAST DINNER PARTY at Reading & Leeds this year. They’ve just released their first single and it’s a bold statement. Confident and theatrical and fun. I’m looking forward to hearing more live.
ROCK EN SEINE
23rd – 27th August
Domaine National de Saint-Cloud, Paris
Billie Eilish, The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Turnstile, Wet Leg
GOVERNORS BALL
WHEN: 9th – 11th June
WHERE: Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY
MUST-SEE ACTS: Lizzo, Rina Sawayama, Kendrick Lamar, Ice Spice, Lil Nas X
MUST-SEE SIGHTS: It’s New York! Ride the subway, grab a hot dog / slice of pizza / cheesecake, flip a finger up at Trump Tower, make yourself the main character in the film or TV show of your choice. Then get some slightly less familiar views - walk the High Line, a former railway track turned park, which weaves through part of Manhattan, and ride the Roosevelt Island Tramway - a cable car - across the East River.
a Direct to from Edinburgh, London Gatwick, London Heathrow and Manchester.
LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
WHEN: 22nd – 24th September
WHERE: Downtown Las Vegas, NV
MUST-SEE ACTS: Kendrick Lamar, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The 1975, The Killers, Omar Apollo
MUST-SEE SIGHTS: Once you’ve taken the obligatory selfie under the iconic ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign (which technically isn’t even in the city), stop off at the Neon Museum, a retirement home of sorts for the area’s less fortunate fascias. Or trace the history of organised crime at the Mob Museum, which features a Prohibition-era distillery making its own moonshine. Also, touch grass, see daylight, and don’t include an accidental spouse in your ‘goods to declare’.
a Direct from London Heathrow and London Gatwick.
MAHA
WHEN: 28th – 29th July
WHERE: Stinson Park, Omaha, NE
MUST-SEE ACTS: Turnstile, Big Thief, Alvvays, Black Belt Eagle Scout, Peach Pit
MUST-SEE SIGHTS: We’re not likely to insult any Omaha natives by pointing out that it’s a bit smaller than some other locations on show, but it’s also one with an incredibly indie reputation: the ‘Omaha Sound’ developing in the ‘90s to ultimately give us Conor Oberst and his many affiliated projects – including Saddle Creek the label itself. Oh, and the Cinnabon as managed meticulously by Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul was supposed to be here.
a You’ll need to transfer, but can do so from most US international hubs.
MUST-SEE SIGHTS: OK, we hear you, Paris isn’t the ‘find yourself’ type of trek from the UK. However, for those conscious of their carbon footprint, it is one accessible by rail – and the stellar views from the Sacre Coeur are a mere hop, skip and jump from the Eurostar’s terminus at Gare du Nord. If squinting past the throng to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre isn’t your artistic bag, then the Fondation du Louis Vuitton’s Basquiat x Warhol, à quatre mains exhibition is running until 28th August.
Direct from London St. Pancras.
Direct from Belfast International, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton, Manchester, and
#MYBLOODYFESTIVAL
WHEN: When: 16th – 18th June
WHERE: Lukiškės Prison 2.0, Vilnius
MUST-SEE ACTS: slowthai, Bombay Bicycle Club, Young Fathers, PVA, Shame
MUST-SEE SIGHTS: The festival’s venue itself is notable: a former prison with the darkest history imaginable, it was recently used as a filming location for Stranger Things. Elsewhere, take a walk through Vilnius’ Old Town – including the neighbourhood of Užupis - or make a pilgrimage to the Hill of Crosses, a site of peaceful resistance for occupied Lithuanians since the 1800s. a Direct from London City, London Luton, and London Stansted.
SUMMER SONIC
WHEN: When: 19th – 20th August
WHERE: Maishma Sonic Park, Osaka / Zozomarine Stadium & Mahukari Messe
MUST-SEE ACTS: Blur, Fall Out Boy, Kendrick Lamar, Liam Gallagher, Two Door Cinema Club
MUST-SEE SIGHTS: Much like our beloved Reading and Leeds, Summer Sonic takes on two sites in August, the Japanese capital of Tokyo, and the culinary hub, Osaka. In the former, make sure to give the famous Hachiko statue a pet before you traverse the Shibuya Crossing (aka Oxford Circus DUPE!), then ensure you’ve got enough space in your luggage for a shopping spree, whether it’s retro video games, the future fashion found in Harajuku or the vast choice in stationery shops. If all that sounds overwhelming, then opt for Osaka, where you can take it easy. See the city by boat, eat okonomiyaki, which originated in the region, and head up to Osaka Castle, which dates from the 16th Century. a Direct to Tokyo from London Heathrow.
JOYLAND
WHEN: 24th – 26th November
WHERE: Senayan, Jakarta
MUST-SEE BANDS: Interpol, Alvvays
MUST-SEE SIGHTS: Head to the National Museum to brush up on your Indonesian knowledge, then to Taman Mini "Indonesia Indah”. Literally translated as ‘Beautiful Indonesia Miniature Park’, the ‘miniature’ is a trick; the park in fact boasts full-size replicas of buildings that reflect the country’s diverse way of life – at least circa 1975, when it opened. Then if retail therapy’s your bag, hit up the Grand Indonesia shopping centre, which for reasons we’re not at all sure of, boasts a replica of the Rockerfeller Center’s fountain that also hosts a light show.
Star Trekkin’
a Connections will be required, but can be a single stop from major UK airports.
If watching your faves a little further away from home takes your fancy, why not quench that musical wanderlust with one of these.
ESSENTIALS FESTIVAL
PACK THIS
1. VANGO ALPHA 300 TENT
If you’re looking for a budget-friendly sleeping option, the two-person Alpha 300 is just the chap. It’s lightweight, packs down small, and comes in at the cheaper end of the price spectrum without compromising on quality.
RRP: £79.99
Get it: www.outdoorworlddirect.co.uk
2. OUTDOOR REVOLUTION NIGHTFALL AIR MATTRESS
Sleep comfy with this lightweight and easy to inflate air mattress. No need for a separate pump, it’s got one already integrated inside for minimum effort.
RRP: £44.99
Get it: outdoorworlddirect.co.uk
3. PROQ FLATDOG BBQ
If you’re the sort of camper who normally packs the kitchen sink, this foldable BBQ is the perfect compromise. It cooks like a proper barbie, but packs down to the size of a laptop. Magic!
RRP: £71.99
Get it: souschef.co.uk
DRINK THIS 6 4
Forgotten how to festival? Destroyed all your camping supplies in a fit of winter rage? Fear not, for we’ve got you covered. Crib your must-haves from our handy go-to list and breeze through festie season like a pro.
4. ALTRUIST SPF FACE FLUID
The whole Altruist brand is designed to give high quality, low cost sun protection - a winner. But we’re plumping specifically for their face fluid - available in SPF 30 and 50 - because no one wants a roasted nose when they’re trying to look their festie best.
RRP: £8.50 - £10.95 Get it: altruistsun.com
5. KIND BAGS
Keep your must-haves close whilst doing good for the planet with these sustainable backpacks, each made from 18 recycled water bottles. Durable, water-resistant and available in a huge range of colours, you can fit everything you’ll need for a day of frolicking, with room to spare.
RRP: £65
Get it: kindbag.co
5
6. NICE BOXED WINE
Just as handy for keeping you merry as for holding down the corner of your tent when you run out of pegs, the nice folk at NICE wine have developed a box for all colours to see you through the weekend. One box = three bottles, and comes in Sauvignon Blanc, Pale Rosé and Argentinian Malbec varieties. RRP: £21.50 Get it: nice-drinks.co.uk
7. PHIZZ 3-IN-1 TABLETS
When you’re staring down the barrel of a hangover, rehydration is key. Pop one of these effervescent tablets in your drink and it’ll help triple your water intake, whilst adding a huge boost of Vitamin C to boot. Available in Orange, Mango, Apple and Blackcurrant, and Mixed Berry flavours, Phizz will become your best new festival friend.
RRP: £8 for 20
Get it: phizz.co
8. WATTSHOT GIN
Gin: it’s great with tonic, but you wouldn’t want to neck it back neat, right? Wrong!
WATTSHOT is the first gin purposefully designed to be drunk as a shot, giving a lingering cherry blossom flavour and what they describe as a ‘tingle’. Ooh-er.
RRP: £34.90
Get it: masterofmalt.com
Queen Camp OF THE
Gearing up for a mammoth festival season including her long-overdue debut Glastonbury performance, Rina Sawayama is riding the crest of smash second album ‘Hold The Girl’ into her most dominant era yet.
Words: Nick Levine. Live photos: Burak Cingi.
“Oh, I will not be tenting, babes
– I’m there to work. I mean, I hope my tour manager has sorted me something other than a tent…” Rina Sawayama is talking, with flawless comic timing, about making her Glastonbury debut in two months’ time: another milestone moment for an artist whose career trajectory has been climbing skywards for well over half a decade now. Last September, her stellar, genreblending second album ‘Hold the Girl’ entered the UK Album Chart at Number Three, cementing her status as a Main Pop Girl with a unique musical vision. Lead single ‘This Hell’ saw her taking on anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment with a Shania-style country strut (“Let’s go girls!” she says with a wink at the start); ‘Catch Me in the Air’, a rocky tour-de-force about Rina’s “intense” relationship with her mother, was designed with The Corrs pitching to Gwen Stefani in mind.
As well as touring the album and talking about it a lot – Rina reckons she’s given “over a hundred interviews” during this era – the 32-year-old has somehow found time to promote her first film, John Wick: Chapter 4, which came out in March. She earned rave reviews for her performance in the bloody
blockbuster as Akira, a formidable fighter who really holds her own next to Keanu Reeves’ ruthless assassin. “That [press cycle] felt easy because there was no pressure for me to really sell it,” she says today. “John Wick has its fans, and it’s a great movie, so it came out and instantly went to Number One all over the world.”
Still, Rina has been so busy that when DIY catches up with her in early April, she calculates that she’s spent just six nights in her own bed this year. Speaking from her South London home, she’s enjoying some much-needed calm before the storm of festival season. “It’s been so nice just clearing out my back garden and not engaging at all with anything,” she says. She may be doing an interview on a supposed day off, but Rina is warm, witty and willing to talk about anything. She even continues our chat for a little longer than specified while making her way to an appointment. “I’m walking now so don’t worry if I sound out of breath!” she says with a laugh.
This brief pause is only possible because, contrary to rumours that gathered traction in January, Rina will not be competing at the Eurovision Song Contest next month. Until newcomer Mae Muller was unveiled as the UK’s representative, Pop Twitter seemed convinced that Rina was very much in the running. “I mean, it was really interesting because we’d actually –maybe a couple months ago, well, like a while ago – been approached, but then we returned the call and then nothing happened,” she says. “Basically, we didn’t get anything back. So in another universe, I might have been doing it but I didn’t actually hear [back].” Wait, that’s ridiculous! “Yeah, it was all go and then it kind of went quiet,” she says. “But it actually worked out well because I really needed a break; I hadn’t really taken a proper break for three years. Honestly, it’s really good that that happened because I probably would have burnt out or something.”
It’s easy to see why many fans wanted #RinaForEurovision – she’s a bold pop star with a big voice who can really put on a show. “I grew up watching Eurovision, I love Eurovision, I like to call it ‘straight camp’ because it’s so camp but it’s for straight people,” she says. “So yeah, I feel very lucky and honoured that people were putting my name [out there]. I kind of played into it a little bit because I thought it was funny that this rumour kept getting bigger. But all the best to Mae: I’ll be tuning in and supporting.”
With those Eurovision rumours cleared up, we dig a little further into Rina’s ‘straight camp’ concept. What else would she define in this way? “Oh, John Wick is very straight camp,” she replies.
“The whole series is inspired by Greek mythology and very melodramatic – I love it. There’s a lot of great things that are straight camp.” Later, we suggest that Strictly Come Dancing - the BBC primetime show on which she performed ‘This Hell’ wearing a sparkly silver cowboy hat – also falls into this category.
My favourite pop girl is the hun pop girl."
“Oh my god, Strictly is straight camp – 100 per cent!” she says. “I love that phrase, I’m using it all the time.”
Anyway, back to business. Glastonbury is far from the only festival Rina is playing this summer - she’s booked and busy from June onwards with sets at Governors Ball in New York, Mad Cool in Madrid, NOS Alive in Lisbon and Reading & Leeds in the UK, to name just five. As a performer, does she look forward to festival season? “I used to really hate it actually, because it used to scare me,” she says candidly. “I guess a lot of people might not know that, unless you’re the headliner, you don’t get a soundcheck. Most people [performing] will be rolling in that morning. And so you’re coming off, potentially, a very long flight and then doing a show straight away. For me, flying causes quite a lot of vertigo, so I used to kind of struggle with that.”
The turning point came when Rina played Danish festival Roskilde last July. “That was the first time I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is actually really fun’. You rock up with no idea what you’re gonna get. Once you lean into the unpredictable nature of it, you start to play with it a bit, and now it’s the most enjoyable thing.” Rina also gained in confidence after performing at last year’s Coachella and styling out a technical glitch caused by desert dust in her soundboard. “At a festival, it might not be the most polished performance you’ve done, but it might be the funnest,” she says.
Rina is also brutally honest about what festivals mean to her brand and all-important bottom line. “You know, we are constantly turning down festivals we would love to do [because] the slot isn’t right,” she says. “We always wait until the slot is right. And for a lot of artists, festivals are where we actually make income.” She points out that only top-tier superstars can make a mint by charging “£500 for a VIP circle” ticket. “There are a lot of overheads, especially if you want to put on a pop show at a very high level,” she says. “That requires a large investment, and how you balance that financially is to do festivals. I don’t make any money off my headline shows.”
Rina is enough of a live draw to have packed out London’s 5,000-capacity O2 Academy Brixton in October, but she says putting on a show is always a matter of conjuring “smoke and mirrors” on a budget. She would “love to add more dancers,“ but currently can’t afford to because this would mean having to hire a second tour bus. “As an artist, I always want to put on the best show,” she says. “We’re actually redesigning the show for this run [of festivals] so it’s more theatrical and more about storytelling. And because I’m quite aware that there will be cameras on me because of festival live streams, I want to make it as photogenic as possible.” Still, the line between spectacle and practical is always a thin one. “Again, it’s about making all that possible while making [the show] transportable and able to be pushed out on stage in 15 minutes,” she adds. “It’s a lot to think about!“
Rina is also looking forward to festival season because it gives her an opportunity to reconnect with ‘Hold the Girl’ after a draining promo campaign. Sonically, her second LP is a genre-smooshing headrush, incorporating everything from bhangra to UK garage and J-pop to industrial rock, but her inventive productions are underpinned by deeply emotional songwriting. “I’m trying to be normal, but trauma is immortal,” she sings on ‘Frankenstein’, a lacerating indie banger about self-loathing. The brilliantly bombastic ballad ‘Forgiveness’ finds her grappling with the realisation that “forgiveness is a winding road”. “Sometimes I blame you, sometimes I don’t,” she sings. “Sometimes it flips so fast, I don’t know.”
Though Rina has been careful not to get too specific, she has previously said that discussing the album’s painful subject matter was “retraumatising” for her. “I did so many interviews that the album kind of lost meaning for me,” she elaborates today. “When you’re talking about something over and over again, you’re almost rewriting how you perceive that story. And I became really quite detached from what was important, I think.”
Rina says she threw herself into giving “entertaining” interviews and making equally entertaining TikToks, but now wonders whether this all-guns-blazing approach was a slight misjudgment. “The story of the record is actually very sad and very intense,” she says. “And I don’t know if I was really able to honour that, because the goal at the time was, ‘Let’s do maximum exposure and push this record as far out as possible.’ But that really diluted the message.” With the benefit of hindsight, Rina says she wishes
she had given herself “a couple of months” to figure out how to tell the album’s story. Instead, she dropped lead single ‘This Hell’ just five days after completing a tour in support of her 2020 debut LP ‘Sawayama’.
Trailed by dazzling singles ‘STFU!’, ‘Comme des Garçons (Like the Boys)’ and ‘XS’ – the latter sounding like Britney doing nu-metal – the musician’s debut marked her out as an incredibly smart and seriously exciting pop visionary. As more and more people discovered the album, the buzz kept building: ‘Sawayama’ reached its UK chart peak in November 2021, more than 18 months after it first came out.
Elton John joined her for a new version of ‘Chosen Family’, a touching ballad about her queer support network. She collaborated with Lady Gaga on a joyous remix of Gaga’s self-empowerment anthem ‘Free Woman’, and teamed up with Charli XCX on ‘Beg for You’ - an irresistible chart hit that cleverly reinvented September’s Eurodance classic ‘Cry for You’.Along the way, she also became an agent of change. Though she has lived in the UK since she was five, when she and her parents moved to London from Niigata in Japan, Rina revealed in July 2020 that she wasn’t eligible for the Mercury Prize because she doesn’t hold British citizenship. For the same reason, she was effectively barred from the UK artist categories at the BRIT Awards.
Rina holds an indefinite leave to remain visa, which guarantees the right to live and work in the UK permanently. After saying in a statement that it felt “heartbreaking” that she would never “be considered a British artist in the eyes of the awards of a country I call home,” the musician attracted so much social support that she got the rules changed. The BPI, which runs the Mercury Prize and the BRIT Awards, now recognises anyone who has lived in the UK for five years as an eligible British musician. Gratifyingly, she was nominated in the Best New Artist category at this year's BRITs – her second after a Rising Star nod in 2021. “It’s one of those things that I haven't had a chance to take in,” she says today.
“While I’m clearing my back garden,
‘‘ We returned the call to Eurovision and then we didn't get anything back.”
‘‘
that’s the kind of thought that pops into my head. Like, ‘Wow, I actually changed the rules’."
Work on Album Three will begin once Rina has taken a minute to process everything and recalibrate. “You have the regrets and joys of the first album, and the regrets and joys of the second, and then you get to combine it into an amazing third album,” she says. After the emotionally-draining campaign for ‘Hold the Girl’, was she struck by what Ellie Goulding said recently about writing and releasing the “least personal” album of her career? “One of my friends screenshotted that and sent it to me with [the word] ‘You’,” Rina says with a laugh. “It is very iconic. And the truth [that Ellie is expressing] is very important. Sometimes you just want to make music. You don’t want to dig deep and go there emotionally. Like, I’ve done that with the last two albums and it’s been really great. But the personal cost to me has also been great. I want to be doing this job when I’m 60 – am I constantly going to try and find something wrong with myself?”
With this thought in mind, we end on a lighter note by talking about fundamentally fun British pop legends Girls Aloud. “Honestly, the production on ‘Sound of the Underground’ is very inspiring to me. It’s the perfect mash-up of two very contrasting genres,” she says. “But also, there is this whole era of British pop that never made it to the US, so it feels like it’s ours – groups like Sugababes and Liberty X and Girls Aloud. And that era is very much hun culture, which is the culture I grew up with. My favourite pop girl is the hun pop girl.”
No hun pop girl would dream of sleeping in a tent at Glastonbury, so let’s hope Rina’s tour manager has got the memo.
‘Hold The Girl’ is out now via Dirty Hit.
Rina Sawayama plays Governors Ball (9th - 11th June), Bonnaroo (15th - 18th June), Roskilde (24th June - 1st July), Mad Cool (6th - 8th July), NOS Alive (6th - 8th July), Osheaga (4th - 6th August), Lollapalooza (3rd - 6th August), Reading & Leeds (25th27th August), Lollapalooza Berlin (9th - 10th September), and Life Is Beautiful (22nd-24th September). DIY
At a festival, it might not be the most polished performance you've done, but it might be the funnest.”
GOOD TIME GANG The
mean, none of us do meth… that I can think of…” Clams Baker Jr chuckles. The Warmduscher frontman is recalling their Glastonbury 2022 experience, playing a 4AM set at the tail end of Saturday night, promptly followed by a 2PM set less than twelve hours later on the Sunday afternoon. It’s a double bill previously undertaken by fellow Windmill regulars Fat White Family, and one that they reported needing amphetamines to survive. Warmduscher, despite their reputation as hell-raisers, needed no such assistance. “Nothing to it but to do it, man!” he shrugs amicably.
It should come as no surprise that Warmduscher are the genuine article. Their rise – especially since the post-lockdown live music boom – has been nothing short of remarkable. They’ve climbed from being, in Clams’ own words, “just another South London, small venue band” to headlining Kentish Town Forum. Not bad for a group that were originally formed with the sole function of playing a New Year’s Eve house party, and that look to all the world like a noise rock outfit led by a deranged cowboy with a dub station.
Of course, the truth is always stranger than fiction, and in reality the picture of the band that the vocalist paints over the course of today’s call is one of a tightly-choreographed machine. Despite their debauchery-laden canon of songs, Warmduscher take pride in their craft. “Even though we’re not a
Warmduscher
“Iserious band, we take what we do very seriously,” he says. “We do what we do, it just so happens that what we like doing is fun.”
It hasn’t always been so. The band may have tightened up the screws as they’ve ascended playlist placements and column inches, but their reputation for partying was well-earned. “We’re a little bit more aware now that we’ve got to deliver. In the past, [4AM slots] would be more dangerous in the sense that we just wouldn’t care, we’d be wasted. We were almost expected to be that band,” he admits.
There are a few gigs that stand out as low (or should that be high?) points. “We had that show at End of the Road that everyone really loved, but it was one of our shittiest shows. It was pure raucous, they were saying they thought there was going to be a riot, but we were just fucked and over-tired. When we finished, we thought, ‘Oh my god, we just destroyed ourselves; everyone’s gonna hate us now’. But it was the opposite. Everyone was like, ‘Man, I saw you at End of the Road!’” Clams pauses to consider. “You become this weird sort of parody, like the Brian Jonestown Massacre or something, where people want to see you implode.”
Yet, far from imploding, Warmduscher have hit their stride. Last year’s fourth LP ‘At The Hotspot’ stood out as a marked step towards the mainstream, while lead track ‘Wildflowers’ was the closest they’ve ever inched towards a radio-friendly single. Produced by Joe Goddard and Al Doyle of Hot Chip, a pair with acclaimed dancefloor credentials, the record emerged more synth-tinged than previous outings; from the perspective of nightclub veteran Clams (also a member of Paranoid London, a group
have carved out a niche as unmissable party starters, taking their wares to late night festival sets up and down the land. After a hedonistic live highlight? Look no further…
Words: Louis Griffin.
“Even though we're not a serious band, we take what we do very seriously.”
- Clams Baker Jr
WARMDUSCHER’S GUIDE TO LATE NIGHT FESTIVAL ANTICS
Warmduscher know how to do a night right, so who better to guide you through the wee small hours of the festival when all the headliners have finished but the real party’s just beginning…
Be Spontaneous
Go with some good people, or meet some new friends. Make sure you know what you're taking, take enough of it, and just roll with it. Let your guard down. Dance. Dance it up, man, don't waste your time. Just fucking go and enjoy yourself: you spend all that money to get out there, go out and have some fun. Always the dance tent, wherever you can find that. Do something you wouldn't normally do. Just try to expand your horizons, in terms of music. Don't chinwag at 4AM, just fucking close your eyes and enjoy it. Don't take it too serious. If you're around a tent and you’re vibing, everyone's hopping around, just hop in. Don't waste your time sitting with the people that want to talk about all the bad shit.
Get to Block 9
My favourite area of Glastonbury is Block 9. It’s a sure shot at 4AM, at 6AM, at 8AM. If you can get into the Downlow, in that little bar in the back, dude it’s so much fun. Because if you’re still going, and the sun’s coming up, you get the real stragglers. You have these drag queens that have been performing all night, but they’re just sloppy, rolling around on the ground. The sun’s up, and you’re just laughing your ass off, and nobody gives a shit. That’s my favourite part of that whole festival.
The soundtrack is the key
You want the good vibes, but you don’t want too hippy dippy, campfire whatever. Sylvester’s ‘Do You Wanna Funk’ or ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’. Disco, man. Maybe Donna Summer, ‘I Feel Love’ – the ten-minute version, the Giorgio Moroder one. Go right to the cheese. It’s good cheese, too, not like that bad cheese. Just throw on Donna Summer, or a good falsetto. You want the energy, but you don't want the aggro.
once described as “the most riotous act in dance music”), that could only be a good thing. “I always wanted to combine what we were doing with a more synth-y sound, and Joe and Al added the dynamic of a lot of percussion, which was instantly awesome. They did it in a way that we never would have.”
But Warmduscher can’t sit still, and latest single ‘Love Strong’ is a move back towards twitchy post-punk, with Dan Carey returning to the producer’s chair. “Dan just did the latest single, and we did that in about four hours. So we’re going back to the fast mode!” the frontman laughs. He’s not kidding – apparently the next record is almost ready to leave the stable. “Yeah, we’ve got the next album sketched out already, all ready to go. We’re considering doing it ourselves on this one, because Ben (Romans-Hopcraft, bassist) is producing other bands now, and that might be the route that we’re going to go. But the plans are to record it before May ends, and then fingers crossed we’ll have it out before the end of the year.”
If ‘Love Strong’ is anything to go off, it’ll be another dose of vintage Warmduscher – and it seems that the band aren’t about to pivot to wholesome subject matters just yet. When asked what it is to be ‘Love Strong’, Clams smirks. “I don’t always like giving it away, I like people to [have] their own thoughts. But if you want the honest answer, the initial idea was imagining this guy in a chemsex party, just freaking out, and trying to keep it up in a world that’s getting you down - in the literal sense, and in the surreal sense.” He pauses. “I would say ‘Love Strong’ is just trying to be positive as well. Just fucking owning it. Not trying to be cool, and not trying to be down, because everyone’s fucking down, and it’s a lot
harder to be positive now, I’d say, than not.”
It’s a strangely sweet sentiment, which begs the question – would Clams consider himself a positive kinda guy? “Definitely. I have a positive outlook, I’m a can-do guy. I find the negatives funny, like Larry David – I find a lot of humour in absurdity,” he responds.
“When I say I’m positive, I’m not one of these dudes walking around with sunshine flying out of my ears, but my outlook is definitely glass half full, 100%. I kind of thrive in shitty situations. There’s been a million times where I probably should have quit, but I don’t know, I just thrive. So yeah, I like celebrating the shitty aspects of life, finding joy in the pain.”
Warmduscher may seem complex on the page, and underneath it all perhaps they are, but Clams is right. On stage, and on record, all of that washes away, and you’re left with the sheer joy of a middle-aged man in sunglasses and a white tracksuit, telling you all about a chemsex party over what sounds like a partially-melted funk record. After all, as a great man once said – who doesn’t want a little grit in their oyster?
‘At The Hotspot’ is out now via Bella Union.
Warmduscher play Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival (27th April - 7th May), Wide Awake (27th May), Shindig (25th - 28th May), Bearded Theory (25th - 28th May), Indie Rocket (23rd - 25th June), TRSNMT (7th - 9th July), Rock Herk (14th - 15th July), Secret Garden Party (20th - 23rd July), Latitude (20th - 23rd July), Standon Calling (20th - 23rd July), Lokerse Feesten (4th - 13th August), Boardmasters and Green Man (17th20th August). DIY
“I LIKE CELEBRATING THE SHITTY ASPECTS OF LIFE, FINDING JOY IN THE PAIN.”CLAMS BAKER JR
Take ON THE World
EIGHT ALBUMS IN AND OVER FIFTEEN YEARS INTO THE GAME YOU ME AT SIX’S JOSH FRANCESCHI TALKS FESTIVALS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.
Words: Sarah Jamieson. Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett.
hether it’s because they get to play to some of the biggest crowds of their careers, or simply because things can get a little hedonistic after dark, festival season is often the pinnacle of many bands’ calendars. And for a group like You Me At Six - who have been playing them for the better part of 15 years now - you could argue that festivals have become part of their very
From taking to the stage for their first ever arena show during 2008’s Give It A Name weekender, through to playing Main Stage slots at the likes of Reading & Leeds and Slam Dunk, the quartet are no strangers to the challenges and triumphs that these huge events can throw your way. “I remember us talking beforehand and being like, ‘We’re all gonna make mistakes, we’re all gonna fuck up today, but whatever - just enjoy it’,” frontman Josh Franceschi thinks back to that first 2008 big spot. “At that point we didn’t know if it was ever gonna happen again, so we needed to make the most of it, and we did. It was
Fast forward to the present and Josh is back home in Brighton, reflecting on the band’s most recent achievement: the release of their eighth album ‘Truth Decay’. “It came out when we were on tour, so that was quite interesting as we’d never had that before,” he nods. “It was probably the first time in a long time that we’ve put out a record and the songs have connected that quickly. Sometimes you put out music and you don’t know if it’s gonna land or not, so that felt really good. And the shows were pretty special; a lot of fun, great
It might sound like a more measured response, but he’s open about how the past few years of uncertainty have made expectations that much more unpredictable. Ahead of the record and its subsequent tour, the group found themselves in a strange spot: while, of course, the pandemic had already stopped the live world en masse, the band had previously delayed a slew of shows celebrating album anniversaries, meaning they weren’t quite sure where they fit anymore. “We didn’t truly know what the scale of a You Me At Six UK headline show could look like at that time,” Josh admits.
“[Our recent tour] felt good because we didn’t get to experience that with ‘SUCKAPUNCH’; we put out an album, did about five shows in September 2021 and then we didn’t really tour that
Walbum at all,” he continues. “We had no idea whether or not [it] had done wellobviously there was the fact it gave us a Number One, but that doesn’t really say whether or not those songs truly mean anything to anybody until you can see it in real time.”
It was this sense of questioned identity that would feed into the sonic progression of ‘Truth Decay’. “To be honest, not to lead it back to the pandemic and all the imposter syndrome, but coming out of all of that, I didn’t know what the identity of the band was,” he offers up. “With ‘SUCKAPUNCH’, we got to the conclusion that we could all have a little bit of ourselves in the album and so we tried to box-tick for everyone to make sure everyone’s creative appetite was fulfilled. But on this one, we really wanted [it to be] more cohesive and, I guess, a world.”
Looking around, they found themselves continuing to wonder where they fit into the British musical landscape. “We were like, ‘OK, where’s You Me At Six? Where’s our seat at the table?’ We soon drew back on ourselves and knew that we were always renowned as the emo or pop-punk band, so we thought, let’s see if we can reclaim that and become some of our fans’ favourite band again. It was about [asking], how do we reaffirm what we’re about and distinguish what is a quintessential You Me At Six record?”
The result saw the group take some of the spirit of their earliest releases - the punked-up pop of debut ‘Take Off Your Colours’ or the bite of 2012’s ‘Sinners Never Sleep’ - but refine it through the lens of their experience, breathing fresh new life into their take on the genre. And now, with summer fast approaching, they're about to step back onto festival stages; most notably a spot on this year’s eclectic bill at Reading & Leeds.
“I have absolutely no idea what it’s gonna be like,” Josh nods to the varied line-up which sees the likes of Foals and The Killers on the same poster as Becky Hill and Central Cee. “We spoke about it at length and it was a mixed bag as to whether we should do it. For us, though, it’s the festival we grew up going to and I think if, eighteen years in, we’re still being booked to play the main stage of a massive festival which has been so entangled in our band’s DNA…” You Me at Six’s storied festival history can complete the rest of that sentence by itself.
You Me At Six play Nova Rock (7th - 10th June), Deichbrand (20th - 23rd July), Tsunami Xixón (27th29th July), Pukkelpop (17th - 20th August),
Openair Gampel (18th - 21st August), Highfield (19th - 21st August), Reading & Leeds (25th - 27th August), Louder Than Life (21st - 24th September) and Aftershock (5th - 8th October). DIY
A TRIP DOWN
FESTIVAL MEMORY LANE…
Josh revisits a few of YMAS’s most memorable festivals past.
GIVE IT A NAME, 2008
We were actually in the middle of recording ‘Take Off Your Colours’ - we made that record in two weeks, but one of the weekends we lost to go do this festival. It was our first experience of seeing catering, and just seeing like, Fred from Taking Back Sunday and the guys from Four Year Strong [wandering around]; by then we’d done a couple of tours of the UK but that was our first experience of playing with some big fucking bands. It was our first arena show and it was very, very daunting! It felt like we’d been thrown in at the deep end but in the best way possible.
READING FESTIVAL, 2010
I remember when we played it in 2010 and Hayley [Williams of Paramore] came out for ‘Stay With Me’. That was just, ‘Oh, our mate’s gonna join us on stage, that’ll be cool’. But I still see that clip at least once a week! It’s still this thing that ties that whole feeling of, ‘Oh, fuck, they’re my band!’ That’s the great thing about those moments where you don’t know what’s happening; that’s something special.
SLAM DUNK, 2015
I remember in Leeds, I was downstairs warming up and I got a knock on the door. It was Adam Lazarra from Taking Back Sunday and he was like, ‘Let’s have a drink later!’’ And then the same weekend, I got a text from someone I knew saying, ‘The band I’m working with are asking if you want to do a song on stage with them’. I’m not really bothered about that stuff, but I asked who it was, and he said it was Finch. I sang ‘What It Is To Burn’ with them, which was a very full circle moment for me as the first band I was in used to cover that song, and ‘Cute Without The E’ by Taking Back Sunday. If I could’ve told fifteenyear-old Josh that that was gonna go on at a festival he was headlining, I think his little brain would explode.
The Glow
Up
With last year’s lauded ‘And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow’, Natalie Mering cemented her status as one of America’s finest modern songwriters. Taking it into festival season, Weyes Blood is preparing to bring her lyrical apocalypse to the fields (with added glow sticks). Words: El Hunt. Live Photos: Neelam Khan
As perhaps you might expect, given the apocalyptic nature of her most recent album ‘And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow’, Weyes Blood is well prepared for the unpredictable chaos that festival season can often entail. “I would say just staying hydrated and having a granola bar is probably the best you could do,” reasons Natalie Mering, as she gears up for a summer of touring. “I’ll be bringing a backpack full of water, a sweater, good shoes, and maybe a vape pen for if you feel like vaping weed. A mushroom chocolate for if you feel like tripping out… That's not for everybody, though…” she cautions.
Though Natalie is currently enjoying some downtime at home in LA with her pomeranian Luigi – who fears rain and so won’t be accompanying her to Worthy Farm any time soon – when we speak, she’s about to head to Coachella, which will kick off a second wave of touring for the record. The middle panel of a desolate triptych of albums, ‘...Hearts Aglow’ was written during the early days of lockdown, while its 2019 predecessor ‘Titanic Rising’ has ended up taking on an eerie and prophetic prescience. “A lot's gonna change in your lifetime,” she sang on that album’s opening track – a lyric which now feels like something of an understatement.
“I was so sure that I had made this record that was sounding the alarm about things to come,” she says of the former. “I noticed when culture started to shift in this direction, and when isolation became the norm. I just didn't realise how precious and meaningful it would become during the pandemic.” ‘And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow’, meanwhile, emerged straight from the eye of the storm. “Mercy is the only cure for being so lonely,” she sings on aching opener ‘It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody’. ”Has a time ever been more revealing that the people are hurting?”
Touring the record earlier this year, Weyes
Blood often flung glow sticks into the front row. Like the warm red light that bursts out of her chest on the album’s sleeve, these luminous sticks became a symbol of heartbreak for Mering; a bright glow of survival bursting from something cracked and brittle. In a live setting, they also unlocked a kind of nostalgia for a simpler time. ”I had the glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling growing up,” she says. “The ‘90s was all about glow and sparkles and blue lipstick and just all that kind of zany, fun stuff.”
Would she advocate for mandatory glow sticks at all live shows? “I mean, I don't want
to waste too much plastic.…” she says. “But lately I’ve noticed that there's always one or two people in the audience that have managed to make their heart glow with something; a bike light or something random. I’m always so happy to see that.”
With a little distance from ‘And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow’’s release, Weyes Blood’s perspective on the record and the world at large has naturally shifted. Though there’s no one track which seems to get mentioned above all others when she’s chatting to fans – “There's a little something for everybody, I guess,” she says brightly – she’s been fascinated by listeners mishearing and inadvertently adding to certain lyrics. “In ‘Twin Flame’, I say: ‘I followed a light into the night’. Somebody thought it was: ‘I followed a lie into the night’. I wish I had said ‘lie’!” she laughs. “Well, maybe just between you and I, maybe I always said ‘lie’... Who knows?”
Still, she’s trying not to dwell on the recent past too much. “I'm on a completely new page with new songs I've been working on, and in a different zone,” she teases. Though Natalie won’t be debuting any of her next record, which is still in the preliminary writing stages, over this summer’s festival season, she happily elaborates on what the final part of her trilogy could entail. “I will say that it is more about a hope for the future,” she says. “It's going to be more of an extroverted record. There will be less taking stock of the subterranean river of your subconscious.”
As well as heading to her first Glastonbury and pitching up everywhere from Denmark’s Roskilde to Fuji Rock, Weyes Blood will also support Phoenix and Beck on their co-headline tour – and is relishing the chance to “go out and exceed people's expectations every night” as an opening act. Natalie originally met Beck at a party, and their friendship began when she accidentally spilled her entire drink all over him. “I don't think he remembers…” she says, with an audible degree of hopefulness. “We kind of became buddies based on a mutual appreciation of each other's music,” she adds.
“We did a little show together at this theatre in LA called The Largo and sang an Everly Brothers song together. It was the only time I've ever sung it with a man in close harmony where it just felt like it was so perfect. Maybe Josh from Father John Misty has a similar effect? I know very few men who sing and really rattle the ribcage and make you feel it in your heart, you know?”
Another singer Weyes Blood hugely admires is Elton John, who heads up the bill at
“I do karaoke to practise singing, by myself, alone in my house.”
Glastonbury. “‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ stands out because I do that a lot at karaoke,” she reasons. “Otherwise, I love [to cover] the classics. Old country songs. Bonnie Raitt’s ‘I Can't Make You Love Me’. Benny King’s ‘Stand By Me’. The Platters. I am obsessed with karaoke. I do karaoke to practise singing, by myself, alone in my house.”
The real question that remains is this: will Weyes Blood be planning on tracking down Barry from EastEnders for a collaboration at his now-infamous touring karaoke bar Barrieoke during festival season? Can we expect to find her down a secret singing spot any time soon, belting out any doo-wop? Well, it’s not a no… “I've always joked about doing a set and then being like, ‘OK, in 40 minutes, we're doing another hour long cover set. Come on out!’"
Mostly though, Weyes Blood is looking forward to reaching yet more audiences with her end-times love songs, and has felt the fog of isolation gradually lifting. After suffering with complications from long COVID over the last few years, Natalie is beginning to “actually feel better, and that's a miracle”.
“I’m just really looking forward to this spring and summer because I do feel like people are doing a lot of emotional healing, and it feels like energy is finally moving out of the stagnant phase that we were all in,” she says. “Obviously, we're irrevocably changed, but there's all these things to be hopeful about. In the backdrop, there's still a lot of very intense pressing issues, but I think the difference is there's less exhaustion. That was the hardest thing. I'm feeling that lift.”
‘And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow’ is out now via Sub Pop.
Weyes Blood plays Kilby Block Party (12th - 14th May), C6 (18th - 21st May), Rising: Melbourne (7th18th June), Glastonbury (21st - 25th June), Colours (24th June), Roskilde (24th June - 1st July), Rock Werchter (29th June - 2nd July), Pitchfork Music (21st - 23rd July), Fuji Rock (28th - 30th July), Pitchfork Paris (6th - 13th November) and Pitchfork London (7th - 13th November). DIY
LIKE THAT? TRY THIS!
If you’re a fan of Weyes Blood, these three should also be on your festival line-up hit list…
HAND HABITS
Spinning uneasy, sprawling narratives, this LA artist is a master of pairing breezy hints of Americana with heart-wrenching glimmers of grief.
ETHEL CAIN
Crafting expansive, cinematic songs that draw on eerie Southern Gothic and her religious upbringing, debut album ‘Preachers Daughter’ was one of the stand-out first outings of 2022.
OKAY KAYA
Ridiculously ambitious in concept, the Norwegian-American artist’s newest album ‘SAP’ is a thing of brilliantly bizarre beauty, honing in on the cellular shape of human life and feeling with giddying focus.
“The next album will be more extroverted, with less taking stock of the subterranean river of your subconscious.”
MAXIMO PARK . EVERYTHING EVERYTHING THE BIG MOON . THE BETHS . LIME CORDIALE
GENGAHR . PILLOW QUEENS
STAGE
CRAWLERS CMAT LÅPSLEY
BROOKE COMBE . PANIC SHACK
AFFLECKS PALACE . DEADLETTER . DOLORES FOREVER . ENOLA GAY
KINGFISHR . LOW HUMMER . MODERNLOVE. . OPUS KINK . PRIMA QUEEN
PSYMON SPINE . ROSE GRAY
YOUR SUMMER STARTS HERE
Diaries at the ready: Plot your way through a perfect festival-filled summer!
APRIL Cathedral Quarter Arts
27th April - 7th May
VARIOUS VENUES, BELFAST
piglet, Quasi, Warmduscher, Boris, LoneLady cqaf.com
r Yorkgate
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage
28th April - 7th May
VARIOUS VENUES, NEW ORLEANS, LA
Mumford & Sons, Leon Bridges, Lizzo, Ed Sheeran nojazzfest.com
a New Orleans
Sound City
28th April - 30th April
VARIOUS VENUES, LIVERPOOL
Swim Deep, Opus Kink, Courting, Malady, Maisie Peters soundcity.uk.com
r Liverpool Lime Street
Teddy Rocks
28th April - 30th April
CHARISWORTH FARM, BLANDFORD FORUM
Feeder, Panic Shack teddyrocks.co.uk
r Wool
Astral Festival
29th - 30th April
STRANGE BREW, BRISTOL astralfestival.com
a Palm Springs
Is This The Music You Like?
29th April
MARYHILL COMMUNITY CENTRAL
HALL, GLASGOW
Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard, Pale Blue
Eyes, Sister Wives, The Bug Club
r St George’s Cross
Warm Up
29th - 30th April
FICA MURCIA
Namasenda, Yo La Tengo, Franz Ferdinand, Hot Chip warmupfestival.es
a Valencia
Sounds From The Other City
30th April
VARIOUS VENUES, SALFORD
Jelani Blackman, Honeyglaze, PVA, Jessica Winter soundsfromtheothercity.com
r Salford Central
MAY
Focus Wales
4th - 6th May
VARIOUS VENUES, WREXHAM
Squid, The Coral, Walt Disco, Dream Wife focuswales.com
r Wrexham General
Shaky Knees
5th - 7th May
CENTRAL PARK, ATLANTA, GA
Matt Maltese, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Killers, Soccer Mommy, Muse shakykneesfestival.com
a Atlanta
Are You Listening?
6th May
VARIOUS VENUES, READING
Thomas Headon, Coach Party, Panic Shack, Deadletter, Prima Queen areyoulistening.org.uk
r Reading
Kilby Block Party
12th - 14th May
UTAH STATE FAIR PARK, SALT LAKE CITY, UT
The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Run The Jewels, Dominic Fike, Japanese Breakfast kilbyblockparty.com
a Salt Lake City
Tunes in the Dunes
12th - 14th May
PERRANPORTH BEACH, CORNWALL
The Vaccines, Kaiser Chiefs, James Bay tunesinthedunes.co.uk
r Truro
Just Like Heaven
13th May
BROOKSIDE AT THE ROSE BOWL, PASADENA, CA
Hot Chip, MGMT, The Faint, Peaches, Yeah Yeah Yeahs justlikeheavenfest.com
a Los Angeles
Sick New World
13th May
LAS VEGAS FESTIVAL GROUNDS, NV
Deftones, Turnstile, Death Grips, 100 gecs, Placebo sicknewworldfest.com
a Las Vegas
Welcome To Rockville
18th - 21st May
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, DAYTONA BEACH, FL
Ho99o9, Deafheaven, Slipknot, Deftones, Nova Twins welcometorockvillefestival.com
a Daytona Beach
Celebrate This Place
19th - 20th May
VARIOUS VENUES, CARDIFF
Dream Wife, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Lambrini Girls, The Bug Club, Saloon Dion celebratethisplace.co.uk
r Cardiff Central
Hangout
19th - 21st May
GULF SHORES, AL
Tove Lo, Paramore, Thundercat, Calvin Harris, SZA hangoutmusicfest.com
a Pensacola
London Calling
19th - 20th May
PARADISO, AMSTERDAM
Deadletter, Vlure, Blondshell, Enumclaw londoncalling.nl
a Amsterdam
Get Together
20th May
KELHAM ISLAND, SHEFFIELD
Do Nothing, Friendly Fires, CMAT, James Righton, Cathy Jain gettogetherfestival.com
r City Hall
Bristol Sounds
21st - 25th May
CANONS MARSH AMPHITHEATRE, BRISTOL
JUNGLE, First Aid Kit, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
r Bristol Temple Meads
The Great Escape
10th - 13th May
VARIOUS VENUES, BRIGHTON
Once again the pubs, clubs and even the beach in Brighton dedicate themselves to all things new bands. Among those heading to the South Coast in May are the likes of The Last Dinner Party, Katie GregsonMacLeod, Heartworms and Jessica Winter as well as more familiar names like Arlo Parks, and ex-Maccabees project 86TVs greatescapefestival.com r Brighton
Lightning In A Bottle
24th - 29th May
BUENA VISTA LAKE, KERN COUNTY, CA
Caribou, Sofi Tukker libfestival.org
a Meadows Field
Bearded Theory
25th - 28th May
CATTON HALL, DERBYSHIRE
Panic Shack, Yard Act, Primal Scream, Coach Party, Interpol beardedtheory.co.uk
r Lichfield Trent Valley
Bottlerock
25th - 28th May
NAPA VALLEY, CA
Bastille, Lizzo, KennyHoopla, Lil Nas X bottlerocknapavalley.com
a San Francisco
Midnight Sun
25th - 27th May
LEWS CASTLE, STORNOWAY
Pretenders, Edwyn Collins, Honeyblood, Spiritualized, Primal Scream midnightsunweekenderstornoway.com
a Stornoway
Shindig
25th - 28th May
DILLINGTON ESTATE, SOMERSET
Warmduscher, Sister Sledge, Erol Alkan, Dawn Penn, David Rodigan shindigfestival.co.uk
r Taunton
Sonic Temple
25th - 28th May
HISTORIC CREW STADIUM, COLUMBUS, OH
Foo Fighters, Ho99o9, The Bronx, Nova Twins, Bob Vylan sonictemplefestival.com
a Columbus
Art Rock
26th - 28th May
SAINT-BRIEUC
Christine and The Queens, alt-J, Editors, Porridge Radio artrock.org
a Nantes
Boston Calling
26th - 28th May
HARVARD ATHLETIC COMPLEX, BOSTON
The National, Bleachers, Paramore, Foo Fighters, Yeah Yeah Yeahs bostoncalling.com
a Palm Springs
Immergut
26th - 28th May
NEUSTRELITZ
Sorry, Caroline Rose, DITZ, Billy Nomates immergutrocken.de
a Berlin
In Between Days
26th - 28th May
TIMES SQUARE, NEWCASTLE UPON
TYNE
Two Door Cinema Club, The Wombats, Twin Atlantic, Black Honey, Happy Mondays inbetweendaysncl.co.uk
r Newcastle
In It Together
26th - 28th May
OLD PARK FARM, MARGAM, PORT TALBOT
Melanie C, Groove Armada, Kelis, The Kooks, Twin Atlantic inittogetherfestival.com
r Port Talbot Parkway
Sea Change Weekender
26th - 27th May
VARIOUS VENUES, TOTNES
Django Django, O., deep tan, Bill Ryder-Jones, Heartworms seachangepresents.co.uk
r Totnes
Spring Festival Alicante
26th - 27th May
MULTIESPACIO RABASA, ALICANTE
Two Door Cinema Club, Lori Meyers, Amaia, Carolina Durante, Fangoria springalicante.es
a Alicante
Vivid LIVE
26th May - 17th June
SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE
Yaeji, Weyes Blood, Devonté Hynes, Thundercat, Ethel Cain sydneyoperahouse.com/festivals
a Sydney
Adjacent
27th - 28th May
ON THE BEACH, ATLANTIC CITY, NJ
Paramore, Blink-182, Bleachers, Turnstile, Japanese Breakfast adjacentfestival.com
a Atlantic City
CORE
27th - 28th May
OSSEGHEM PARK, BRUSSELS
Little Simz, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, PinkPantheress, alt-J, Channel Tres corefestival.com
a Brussels
Love Saves The Day
27th - 28th May
ASHTON COURT ESTATE, BRISTOL
Years & Years, Kelis, Four Tet, Romy, Katy B lovesavestheday.org
r Parson Street
Movement
27th - 29th May
HART PLAZA, DETROIT
Underworld, Caribou, Skrillex, movementfestival.com
a Detroit
Neighbourhood Weekender
27th - 28th May
VICTORIA PARK, WARRINGTON
The Big Moon, Pulp, Self Esteem, English Teacher, Sugababes nbhdweekender.com
r Warrington Bank Quay
Portals
27th - 28th May
EARTH, LONDON
Svalbard, Bo Ningen, Maybeshewill, And So I Watch You From Afar portalsrock.com
r Dalston Kingsland
Primavera Sound
27th May - 4th June
PARC DEL FÓRUM, BARCELONA
Kendrick Lamar, Calvin Harris, Turnstile, Blur, Måneskin primaverasound.com
a Barcelona
Slam Dunk
27th - 28th May
TEMPLE NEWSAM, LEEDS / HATFIELD PARK
Boston Manor, Pvris, The Menzingers, Creeper, Billy Talent slamdunkfestival.com
r Leeds / Hatfield
Kala
31st May - 7th June
DHËRMI
Daphni, Joy Orbison, I.Jordan kala.al
a Corfu
Nuits de Fourvière
31st May - 28th July
VARIOUS VENUES, FOURVIÈRE
Christine and the Queens, alt-J, Sigur Rós, The Black Keys, Coach Party nuitsdefourviere.com
a Lyon
JUNE Northside
1st - 3rd June
AARHUS-ESKELUNDEN
The 1975, White Lies, First Aid Kit, Muse, Cavetown northside.dk
a Aarhus
Red Rooster
1st - 3rd June
EUSTON HALL, SUFFOLK
Jesse Malin redrooster.org.uk
r Thetford
Dauwpop
2nd - 3rd June
HELLENDOORN
Franz Ferdinand, The Prodigy, Coach Party, Personal Trainer dauwpop.nl
a Amsterdam
Orange
Warsaw
2nd - 3rd June
WARSAW-SŁUŻEWIEC
The 1975, Sam Smith orangewarsawfestival.pl
a Warsaw
Rock Am Ring
2nd - 4th June
NÜRBURGRING / EIFEL
Bring Me The Horizon, Kings Of Leon, Foo Fighters, Nova Twins, The Distillers rock-am-ring.com
a Bonn
Rock Im Park
2nd - 4th June
ZEPPELINFELD NÜRNBERG
Kings Of Leon, Foo Fighters, The Distillers, Turnstile, Bring Me The Horizon rock-im-park.com
a Nuremberg
The Great Estate
2nd - 4th June
SCORRIER HOUSE, CORNWALL
Primal Scream, The Selecter, The Cuban Brothers, Elvana greatestatefestival.co.uk
r Redruth
Wintickets with …
Dot-to-Dot
27th - 28th May
VARIOUS VENUES, BRISTOL / VARIOUS VENUES, NOTTINGHAM
The dual-city discovery event will showcase acts including Nell Mescal, Grove, Opus Kink, Nukuluk and Heartworms, as well as headliners Yard Act and Alvvays dottodotfestival.co.uk
r Bristol Temple Meads / Nottingham
Live at Leeds in the Park
27th May
TEMPLE NEWSAM, LEEDS
Two Door Cinema Club headline the one-day bash this time, with the DIY Stage hosting Cavetown, Crawlers, CMAT, Låpsley, Bully and more throughout the day. liveatleeds.com
r Leeds
Vestrock
2nd - 3rd June
EILAND BUITENVEST, HULST
The Prodigy, Franz Ferdinand, Coach Party, LIFE, Personal Trainer vestrock.nl
a Brussels
We Love Green
2nd - 4th June
BOIS DE VINCENNES, PARIS
Mac DeMarco, Gorillaz, Phoenix, Arlo Parks, Bicep welovegreen.fr
a Paris
Wychwood
2nd - 4th June
CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE
Melanie C, Ash, Happy Mondays wychwoodfestival.com
r Cheltenham Spa
Mighty Hoopla
3rd - 4th June
BROCKWELL PARK, LONDON
Kelly Rowland, Kelis, Years & Years, Flo, Aqua mightyhoopla.com
r Herne Hill
Riverside
3rd - 4th June
RIVERSIDE MUSEUM, GLASGOW
Mall Grab riversidefestivalglasgow.com
r Partick
Canadian Music Week
5th - 10th June
VARIOUS VENUES, TORONTO cmw.net
a Toronto
Primavera Sound Madrid
5th - 11th June
CIUDAD DEL ROCK, MADRID
Blur, Kendrick Lamar, Turnstile, Le Tigre, Bleachers primaverasound.com
a Madrid
Caribana
7th - 10th June
VERBIER, SWITZERLAND
Sum 41, MC Solaar, Bob Sinclar caribana.ch
a Geneva
Eden Sessions
7th June - 1st July
THE EDEN PROJECT, CORNWALL
The War On Drugs, Pet Shop Boys, Beth Orton, Kasabian edensessions.com
r St Austell
Mystic
7th - 10th June
GDAŃSK SHIPYARD
Ghost, Danzig, Sleep Token, Employed to Serve mysticfestival.pl
a Gdansk
Primavera Sound Porto
7th - 10th June
PARQUE DE CIDADE, PORTO
Japanese Breakfast, FKA Twigs, Fred again.., Kendrick Lamar, Arlo Parks primaverasound.com/en/porto
a Porto
Nova Rock
7th - 10th June
PANNONIA FIELDS, NICKELSDORF
The Distillers, You Me At Six, PUP, Slipknot, The Prodigy novarock.at
a Bratislava
Rising
7th - 18th June
VARIOUS VENUES, MELBOURNE
Weyes Blood, Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Obongjayar, Ethel Cain rising.melbourne
a Melbourne
Download
8th - 11th June
DONINGTON PARK, CASTLE
DONINGTON
Slipknot, The Distillers, Nova Twins, Placebo, Bring Me The Horizon downloadfestival.co.uk
r East Midlands Parkway
Greenfield
8th - 10th June
INTERLAKEN
The Distillers, Slipknot, Touché Amoré, The Menzingers greenfieldfestival.ch
a Zurich
Hampton Court Palace
8th - 17th June
HAMPTON COURT, LONDON
Kaiser Chiefs, Grace Jones hamptoncourtpalacefestival.com
r Hampton Court
Heartland
8th - 10th June
EGESKOV
Robbie Williams, MØ, Fatboy Slim heartlandfestival.dk
a Copenhagen
Melt
8th - 11th June
FERROPOLIS
FKA Twigs, Daphni, piri & tommy, Beabadoobee, Nia Archives meltfestival.de
a Leipzig
Rock For People
8th - 11th June
HRADEC KRALOVÉ
Slipknot, Ashnikko, Muse, The Chats, The 1975 rockforpeople.cz
a Prague
Sideways
8th - 10th June
TEURASTAMO, HELSINKI
Fever Ray, Interpol, Phoenix, M83 sidewayshelsinki.fi
a Helsinki
Best Kept Secret
9th - 11th June
BEEKSE BERGEN
The Strokes, Jamie xx, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, alt-J, Leon Bridges bestkeptsecret.nl
a Eindhoven
Brighten The Corners
9th - 10th June
VARIOUS VENUES, IPSWICH
86TVs, Gengahr, Naima Bock, Pulled Apart By Horses, O. brightenthecorners.co.uk
r Ipswich
Governors Ball
9th - 11th June
CITI FIELD, NYC
Kendrick Lamar, Kim Petras, Rina Sawayama, Lizzo, Lil Nas X governorsballmusicfestival.com
a New York
Kite
9th - 11th June
KIRTLINGTON PARK, OXFORDSHIRE
Lynks, Suede, Django Django, Hot Chip kitefestival.co.uk
r Oxford Parkway
Meltdown
9th - 18th June
27th May
BROCKWELL PARK, LONDON
Among the acts joining headliner Caroline Polachek at the South London event are Jockstrap, Tirzah, Enumclaw, Gilla Band and Alex G wideawakelondon.co.uk
r Herne Hill
SOUTHBANK CENTRE, LONDON
Christine and the Queens, Warpaint, serpentwithfeet, Let’s Eat Grandma southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/meltdown
r Waterloo
November 2-4 in Reykjavík, Iceland
Long Division
10th June
VARIOUS VENUES, WAKEFIELD
Field Music, The Howl & The Hum, LIFE, Sea Power, Prima Queen longdivisionfestival.co.uk
r Wakefield Westgate
Parklife
10th - 11th June
HEATON PARK, MANCHESTER
Jessie Ware, Tyler, The Creator, Megan
Thee Stallion, PinkPantheress, Caroline Polachek parklife.uk.com
r Heaton Park
Bergenfest
14th - 17th June
BERGENHUS FESTNING
Shame, Sigrid, Iggy Pop, Warpaint, First Aid Kit bergenfest.no
a Bergen
Copenhell
14th - 17th June
REFSHALEØEN, COPENHAGEN
Architects, Touché Amoré, Employed to Serve, Def Leppard, Fever 333 copenhell.dk
a Copenhagen
Azkena Rock Festival
15th - 17th June
VITORIA-GASTEIZ
Iggy Pop, Calexico, The Nude Party azkenarockfestival.com
a Bilbao
B-Sides
15th - 17th June
SONNENBERG, KRIENS
Japanese Breakfast, Okay Kaya, cumgirl8, b-sides.ch
a Zurich
Bonnaroo
15th - 18th June
GREAT STAGE PARK, MANCHESTER, TN
Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Lil Nas X, Rina Sawayama, Paramore bonnaroo.com
a Nashville
Graspop
15th - 18th June
DESSEL
Slipknot, Architects, The Chats, Tom Morello, Papa Roach graspop.be
a Brussels
Isle of Wight
15th - 18th June
SEACLOSE PARK, NEWPORT
The Chemical Brothers, Blondie, George Ezra, Robbie Williams, Pulp isleofwightfestival.com
A West Cowes / Ryde Esplanade
Piknik i Parken
15th - 17th June
SOFIENBERGPARKEN, OSLO
Phoenix, Tove Lo, The 1975, Warpaint pipfest.no
a Oslo
Sónar
15th June - 17th June
VARIOUS VENUES, BARCELONA
Fever Ray, Peggy Gou, Grove, Erika de Casier, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul sonar.es
a Barcelona
Black Deer
16th - 18th June
ERIDGE PARK, KENT
Kurt Vile, CMAT, Midlake, Calexico blackdeerfestival.com
r Eridge
Body & Soul
16th - 18th June
BALLINLOUGH CASTLE, CO. WESTMEATH
Sorcha Richardson, The Murder Capital, Kurt Vile, Kojaque bodyandsoul.ie
a Dublin
Hurricane
16th - 18th June
EICHENRING, SCHEESSEL
Placebo, Cavetown, The 1975, Ashnikko, Muse hurricane.de
a Hamburg
La Prima Estate
16th - 25th June
PARCO BUSSOLADOMANI, LIDO DE CAMAIORE
Bon Iver, Nas, alt-J, Just Mustard, Japanese Breakfast, Chet Faker laprimaestate.it
a Florence
Lido Sounds
16th - 18th June
DONAUUFER UHRFAHRMARKT, LINZ
Florence + the Machine, Ashnikko, Phoenix, alt-J lidosounds.com
a Salzburg
16th - 18th June
LUKIŠKĖS PRISON 2.0, VILNIUS
Bombay Bicycle Club, Young Fathers, PVA , Shame and slowthai are among those due to head to the converted prison that hosts this Lithuanian festival. 8festival.com a Vilnius
Live in the Wyldes
16th - 30th July
The Wyldes, Bude
Two Door Cinema Club
thewyldescornwall.com
r Exeter St Davids
Maifeld Derby
16th - 18th June
MAIMARKTGELÄNDE, MANNHEIM
Phoenix, Loyle Carner, Death Grips, Lime Garden, Warpaint maifeld-derby.de
a Frankfurt
Pinkpop
16th - 18th June
MEGALAND-LANDGRAAF
Maisie Peters, Nova Twins, Robbie Williams, Tove Lo, Warpaint pinkpop.nl
a Maastricht
Sea Sessions
16th June - 18th June
BUNDORAN, CO. DONEGAL
Kasabian, Joesef, Inhaler, Becky Hill seasessions.com
a Ireland West
Southside
16th - 18th June
NEUHAUSEN OB ECK
Placebo, Loyle Carner, The 1975 southside.de
a Zurich
Inmusic
20th - 23rd June
YOUTH ISLAND, ZAGREB
The Killers, Fontaines DC, Deftones, IDLES, Royal Blood inmusicfestival.com
a Zagreb
Pitchfork
21st - 23rd June
UNION PARK, CHICAGO
The Smile, King Krule, Kelela, Killer Mike, Alvvays pitchforkmusicfestival.com
a Chicago
Tons of Rock
21st - 24th June
EKEBERGSLETTA, OSLO
Iggy Pop, Architects, The Bronx, Bury Tomorrow, Kverlertak tonsofrock.no
a Oslo
Electric Forest
22nd - 25th June
ROTHBURY, MI
Aluna, SG Lewis, Sofi Tukker, Jamie xx, Madeon electricforest.com
a Grand Rapids
I-Days
22nd June - 15th July
IPPODROMI SNAI, MILAN
Florence + The Machine, Foals, Rosalía, Interpol, Arctic Monkeys idays.it
a Milan
Jera on Air
22nd - 24th June
YSSELSTEYN
Billy Talent, Code Orange, PUP, Touché Amoré, The Menzingers jeraonair.nl
a Eindhoven
Metronome
22nd - 25th June
EXHIBITION GROUNDS, PRAGUE
Aurora, Editors, M83, Biig Piig, Tove Lo metronome.cz
a Prague
Glastonbury
21st - 25th June
WORTHY FARM, PILTON
Arctic Monkeys, Lizzo, Elton John and Lana Del Rey are among the big names for this year’s event, with Lil Nas X, slowthai, Måneskin and Rina Sawayama others likely to pull something special out of the bag for those watching both in the field and at home. glastonburyfestivals.co.uk
r Castle Cary
On The Mount
22nd June - 2nd July
Mighty Sounds
23rd - 25th June
Open’er
28th June - 1st July
GYDNIA-KOSAKOWO AIRPORT
Lizzo, Kendrick Lamar, SZA , Arctic Monkeys and Lil Nas X form just some of the must-sees at the Polish event this time around. opener.pl a Gdansk
Rock Werchter
29th June - 2nd July
FESTIVALPARK WERCHTER
Ashnikko, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Stormzy and national hero Stromae are among those packing out the bumper four-day bill for the Belgian event. rockwerchter.be a Brussels
THE MOUNT, WASING
Primal Scream, Sigur Rós, Gabriels r Woolhampton
Summerfest
22nd June - 8th July
Lake Michigan, WI
Bonobo, Bleachers, Declan McKenna, Jenny Lewis, Momma summerfest.com
a Chicago
Tinderbox
22nd - 24th June
TUSINDÅRSSKOVEN, ODENSE
Cat Burns, George Ezra, Black Eyed Peas, Mimi Webb, Oh Land tinderbox.de
a Billund
Tomavistas
22nd - 24th June
RECINTO FERIAL DE IFEMA, MADRID
Ladytron, The Vaccines, Metronomy tomavistasfestival.com
a Madrid
Festival de Nîmes
23rd June - 22nd July
VARIOUS VENUES, NÎMES
Sam Smith, The Black Keys, Placebo, Arctic Monkeys, Sigur Rós festivaldenimes.com
a Nîmes
Full Force
23rd - 25th June
FERROPOLIS
Defeater, The Menzingers, The Bronx, Svalbn full-force.de
a Leipzig
Indie Rocket
23rd - 25th June
Parco di Cocco, Pescara Warmduscher, Ariwo, Daikaiju, Gazebo Penguins indierocketfestival.it
a Rome
La Magnifique Society
23rd - 25th June
PARC DE CHAMPAGNE, REIMS
Japanese Breakfast, Phoenix, Jehnny Beth, Agar Agar lamagnifiquesociety.com
a Paris
AIRPORT ČÁPŮV, TÁBOR
Black Flag, Bob Vylan, Rancid, Enter Shikari mightysounds.cz
a Prague
Outbreak
23rd - 25th June
DEPOT MAYFIELD, MANCHESTER
Earl Sweatshirt, Turnover, Denzel Curry, Death Grips outbreak-fest.co.uk
r Manchester Piccadilly
British Summer Time
24th June - 8th July
HYDE PARK, LONDON
Guns N' Roses, BLACKPINK, Lana Del Rey, Take That bst-hydepark.com
r Hyde Park Corner
Roskilde
24th June - 1st July
ROSKILDE
Alice Glass, Japanese Breakfast, Rina Sawayama, Denzel Curry, Blur roskilde-festival.dk
a Copenhagen
Siren’s Call
24th June
Niemënster
Japanese Breakfast, Phoenix, Sorry sirenscall.lu
a Luxembourg
Hideout
25th - 29th June
ZRCE BEACH, NOVAL hideoutfestival.com
a Zadar
Afro Nation Portugal
28th - 30th June
PRAIA DA ROCHA BEACH, PORTIMO, THE ALGARVE
Burna Boy, Ms Banks afronation.com
a Faro
Resurrection
28th June - 1st July
VIVEIRO, LUGO
Slipknot, Architects, Black Flag, Employed To Serve, Fever 333 resurrectionfest.es
a A Coruña
Barn on the Farm
29th June - 2nd July
OVER FARM, GLOUCESTER
Holly Humberstone, Wunderhorse, Rachel Chinouriri, flowerovlove, Olivia Dean barnonthefarm.co.uk
r Gloucester
Eurockéennes
29th June - 2nd July
MALSAUCY, BELFORT
Yard Act, Wet Leg, Skrillex, Sigur Rós eurockeennes.fr
a Basel
Garorock
29th June - 2nd July
PARC DES EXPOSITIONS, MARMANDE
Fred again.., Phoenix, Skrillex, Lambrini Girls garorock.com
a Bourdeaux
Lollapalooza Stockholm
29th June - 1st July
GÄRDET, STOCKHOLM
Japanese Breakfast, King Princess, Lizzo, Lil Nas X, The 1975 lollastockholm.com
a Stockholm
Lucca Summer
29th June - 28th July
LUCCA, TUSCANY
Blur, Robbie Williams, Lil Nas X, Bob Dylan, The Chemical Brothers luccasummerfestival.it
a Florence
Openair St Gallen
29th June - 2nd July
ST GALLEN
Sam Fender, Aurora, Mimi Webb openairsg.ch
a Zurich
Vida
29th June - 1st July
VILANOVA I LA GELTRÚ
The Libertines, Whitney, Aurora, Spiritualized, Suede en.vidafestival.com
a Barcelona
Down The Rabbit Hole
30th June - 2nd July
DE GROENE HEUVELS
Fred again.., Romy, Working Men's Club, slowthai downtherabbithole.nl
a Weeze
Main Square
Montreux Jazz Festival
30th June - 15th July
VARIOUS VENUES, MONTREUX
Christine and the Queens, Sam Smith, Iggy Pop, Wet Leg and Gabriels are among the acts headed to the picturesque Lake Geneva shoreline this summer. montreuxjazzfestival.com
a Geneva
30th June - 2nd July
LA CITADELLE, ARRAS
Nova Twins, Spoon, City And Colour, Anna Calvi, Fever 333 mainsquarefestival.fr
a Paris
Rolling Loud Rotterdam
30th June - 1st July
BEEKSE BERGEN, HILVARENBEEK
Kendrick Lamar, Denzel Curry, Yung Lean rollingloudrotterdam.nl
a Rotterdam
JULY
Dog Day Afternoon
1st July
Crystal Palace Park, London
Iggy Pop, Blondie, Buzzcocks, Lambrini Girls
r Crystal Palace
Longitude
1st - 2nd July
Marlay Park, Dublin
ENNY, Tyler, The Creator, slowthai, Megan Thee Stallion, Dave longitude.ie
a Dublin
Margate Summer Series
1st July - 30th September
Dreamland, Margate
Bastille, Placebo, Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, McFly margatesummerseries.co.uk
r Margate
Pause Guitare
4th - 9th July
VARIOUS VENUES, ALBI
Queens of the Stone Age, Coach Party, Shaka Ponk, Indochina pauseguitare.net
a Toulouse
Beauregard
5th - 9th July
PARC DU CHÂTEAU DE BEAUREGARD
Interpol, alt-J, Blur, Coach Party, M83 festivalbeauregard.com
a Paris
5th - 8th July
UPCOTE FARM, NEAR CHELTENHAM
Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent are back as Soft Play to headline this year’s event, with Bob Vylan, Empire State Bastard, Joyce Manor and American Football also among those appearing. 2000trees.co.uk
r Cheltenham
Musilac
5th - 8th July
LAC DU BOURGET, AIX-LES-BAINS
Inhaler, Coach Party, Iggy Pop, Phoenix, Franz Ferdinand musilac.com
a Chambery
Bilbao BBK
Live
6th - 8th July
KOBETAMENDI, BILBAO
The Chemical Brothers, Jamie xx, Arctic Monkeys, IDLES, Florence + the Machine bilbaobbklive.com
a Bilbao
El Dorado
6th - 9th July
EASTNOR CASTLE DEER PARK, LEDBURY
Jelani Blackman, Willow Kayne, Sampa
The Great, Mall Grab eldoradofestival.com
r Great Malvern
EXIT
6th - 9th July
PETROVADIN FORTRESS, NOVI SAD
Skrillex, Viagra Boys, The Prodigy exitfest.org
a Belgrade
Festival d’été de Québec
6th - 16th July
VARIOUS VENUES, QUEBEC
The Smile, Alvvays, Lana Del Rey, Green Day, Weezer feq.ca
a Quebec City
Les Ardentes
6th - 9th July
LES ARDENTES, LIÈGE
Ice Spice, Kendrick Lamar lesardentes.be
a Brussels
Love Trails
6th - 9th July
GOWER PENINSULA
Biig Piig, Hollie Cook, High Contrast lovetrailsfestival.co.uk
r Swansea
Mouth of the Tyne
6th - 9th July
TYNEMOUTH PRIORY AND CASTLE
Siouxsie, Gabrielle, LYR mouthofthetynefestival.com
r North Shields
NASS
6th - 9th July
ROYAL BATH & WEST SHOWGROUND, SHEPTON MALLET
Biig Piig, Berwyn, Greentea Peng, Little Simz, Easy Life nassfestival.com
r Castle Cary
NOS Alive
6th - 8th July
PASSEIO MARÍTIMO DE ALGÉS
Rina Sawayama, Sam Smith, Arctic Monkeys, Angel Olsen, Lizzo nosalive.com
a Lisbon
Ottawa Bluesfest
6th - 16th July
LEBRETON FLATS, OTTAWA
Declan McKenna, Alvvays, Orville Peck, Thundercat, Weezer ottawabluesfest.ca
a Ottawa
Rochester Castle Concerts
6th - 9th July
ROCHESTER CASTLE
Rina Sawayama, Sam Smith, Arctic Monkeys, Angel Olsen, Lizzo rochestercastleconcerts.com
a Lisbon
Somerset House Summer Series
6th - 16th July
SOMERSET HOUSE, LONDON
Gabriels, Interpol, Beabadoobee, Young Fathers, Greentea Peng somersethouse.org.uk
r Embankment
Cactus
7th - 9th July
MINNEWATERPARK, BRUGES
Róisín Murphy, The Vaccines, Kim Gordon, Shame, The Comet Is Coming cactusfestival.be
a Brussels
Community
7th July
CRYSTAL PALACE PARK, LONDON
Baby Queen, The Vaccines, Two Door Cinema Club, The Wombats communityfestival.london
r Crystal Palace
North Sea Jazz
7th - 9th July
AHOY CENTRE, ROTTERDAM
Olivia Dean, Fergus McCreadie, Loyle Carner, Sampa The Great, Stormzy northseajazz.com
r Rotterdam
Rock Zottegem
7th - 9th July
ZOTTEGEM
slowthai, Skrillex, Yung Lean, Lil Nas X, PinkPantheress rock-zottegem.be
a Brussels
Ruisrock
7th - 9th July
RUISSALO, TURKU
slowthai, Skrillex, Yung Lean, Lil Nas X, PinkPantheress ruisrock.fi
a Turku
Sjock
7th - 9th July
POEYELHEI, GIERLE
The Bronx sjock.com
a Antwerp
TRNSMT
7th - 9th July
GLASGOW GREEN
The 1975, Sam Fender, Lauran Hibberd, The Big Moon, Pulp trnsmtfest.com
r Bridgeton
Wireless
7th - 9th July
Finsbury Park, London FLO, Ice Spice, Latto, 50 Cent wirelessfestival.co.uk
r Finsbury Park
Dour
12th - 16th July
PLAINE DE LA MACHINE À FEU, DOUR
Phoenix, Yung Lean, Caribou, Denzel Curry dourfestival.eu
a Brussels
Gurtenfestival
12th - 16th July
GURTEN, BERN
Phoenix, Rosalía, Genesis Owusu, Lil Nas X, Sampa The Great gurtenfestival.ch
a Zurich
Beat-Herder
13th - 16th July
THE RIBBLE VALLEY, LANCASHIRE
Alison Goldfrapp, Piri, Peter Hook & The Light, I. Jordan, Gok Wan beatherder.co.uk
r Clitheroe
Benicàssim
13th - 16th July
RECINTO DE CONCIERTOS DE BENICÀSSIM
Franz Ferdinand, Nova Twins, Zara Larsson, Sports Team, Bastille fiberfib.com
a Valencia
Mad Cool
6th - 8th July
ESPACIO MAD COOL, MADRID
There’ll be banger after banger in the Spanish sun as Robbie Williams heads to Madrid, with Lizzo, Sam Smith, The 1975 and Rina Sawayama also among those performing. madcoolfestival.es
a Madrid
Happiness
13th - 15th July
SCHWANN, BADEN-WÜRTTTEMBERG
happiness-festival.de
a Munich
HarleyDavidson Homecoming
13th - 16th July
VETERANS PARK, MILWAUKEE, WI
Green Day, Foo Fighters, KennyHoopla, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Phantogram harley-davidson.com
a Milwaukee
Les Vieilles Charrues
13th - 17th July
CARHAIX, BRITTANY
Robbie Williams, Blur, Easy Life, IDLES, Phoenix vieillescharrues.asso.fr
a Quimper
Ilosaarirock
14th - 16th July
LAULURINNE, JOENSUU
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Years & Years, The Prodigy ilosaarirock.fi
a Helsinki
Positivus
14th - 15th July
LUCAVSCALA, RIGA
Sam Smith positivusfestival.com
a Riga
Rock Herk
14th - 15th July
HERK-DE-STAD, LIMBURG
Mura Masa, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, Warmduscher rockherk.be
a Brussels
Super Bock Super Rock
14th - 16th July
MECO BEACH, SESIMBRA
The 1975, Sampa The Great, L'Impératrice, Franz Ferdinand superbocksuperrock.pt
a Lisbon
Higher Ground
15th July
ROUNDHOUSE, LONDON
The Staves, The Orielles, Aoife Nessa
Frances, Tawiah
r Chalk Farm
Kaleidoscope
15th July
ALEXANDRA PARK & PALACE, LONDON
Gaz Coombes, Hot Chip kaleidoscope-festival.com
r Alexandra Palace
Colours of Ostrava
19th - 22nd July
DOLNÍ VÍTKOVICE
Interpol, Burna Boy colours.cz
a Ostrava
Summer Sonic
19th - 20th July
ZOZOMARINE STADIUM & MAKUHARI
MESSE, TOKYO / MAISHIMA SONIC PARK, OSAKA
Kendrick Lamar, Blur, Fall Out Boy, Nova Twins, Thundercat summersonic.com
a Tokyo / Osaka
Bukta
20th - 22nd July
TELEGRAFBUKTA, TROMSØ
Aurora, Bob Vylan, Susanne Sundfør, Joe & The Shitboys bukta.no
a Tromsø
Bluedot
20th - 23rd July
JODRELL BANK OBSERVATORY
Young Fathers, Grace Jones, Pavement, Big Joanie, Black Country New Road discoverthebluedot.com
r Macclesfield
Deichbrand
20th - 23rd July
CUXHAVEN / NORDHOLZ
You Me At Six, The Wombats, Tones and I deichbrand.de
a Hamburg
Latitude
20th - 23rd July
HENHAM PARK, SUFFOLK
Young Fathers, George Ezra, Pulp, The Big Moon, Black Midi latitudefestival.com
r Diss
Nozstock
20th - 23rd July
BROMYARD, HEREFORDSHIRE
Grandmaster Flash, The Wailers, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Shy FX, David Rodigan nozstock.com
r Hereford
Secret Garden Party
20th - 23rd July
NEAR HUNTINGDON
Dream Wife, Gengahr, The Libertines, Peaches, Lime Garden secretgardenparty.com
r Huntingdon
Standon Calling
20th - 23rd July
STANDON LORDSHIP, HERTFORDSHIRE
Lynks, Bloc Party, Years & Years, Bob Vylan, Katy B standon-calling.com
r Ware
Junction 2
21st - 22nd July
BOSTON MANOR PARK, LONDON
Underworld junction2.london
r Boston Manor
On The Beach
21st - 30th July
BRIGHTON BEACH
Royal Blood, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Vaccines, The Coral onthebeachbrighton.com
r Brighton
PennFest
21st - 22nd July
THE BIG PARK, PENN
Johnny Marr, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Gaz Coombes, Bastille pennfest.net
r High Wycombe
Rolling Loud
21st - 23rd July
HARD ROCK STADIUM, MIAMI, FL
A$AP Rocky, Ice Spice, PinkPantheress, Turnstile, Coi Leray rollingloud.com
a Miami
Tramlines
21st - 23rd July
HILLSBOROUGH PARK, SHEFFIELD
Sam Fender, Alfie Templeman, The Vaccines, Kasabian, Orla Gartland tramlines.org.uk
r Hillsborough Park
Pohoda
6th - 8th July
TRENČÍN AIRPORT
Wet Leg, Jamie xx, slowthai, Dry Cleaning and Yard Act are among those headed to Slovakia this summer, alongside PVA , Arca, Rico Nasty and more. pohodafestival.sk
a Bratislava
Truck
21st - 23rd July
HILL FARM, OXFORDSHIRE
Kasabian, Jade Bird, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Big Moon, Sam Fender truckfestival.com
r Didcot Parkway
Super Bock Super Rock
13th - 15th Juy
MECO, SESIMBRA
The 1975, Steve Lacy and The Offspring top the bill at the Portuguese event, which will also host Franz Ferdinand, WuTang Clan and more. superbocksuperrock.pt a Lisbon
YNot
28th - 30th July
PIKEHALL, DERBYSHIRE
Royal Blood, Crawlers, Mystery Jets, Lime Garden and Panic Shack are among the rock-leaning bill for this year’s event. ynotfestival.com
r Buxton
elrow Town
22nd July
PARSLOES PARK, DAGENHAM
Gorgon City, Armand Van Helden, Patrick Topping elrowtown.com
r Becontree
Splendour
22nd - 23rd July
WOLLATON HALL & DEER PARK
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Sugababes, The Vaccines, Divorce, Sam Ryder splendourfestival.com
r Nottingham
Visions
22nd July
VARIOUS VENUES, LONDON
Spiritualized, Just Mustard, Modern Woman, Katy J Pearson, Scalping visionsfestival.com
r Hackney Central
Belladrum
27th - 29th July
BELLADRUM
Sigrid, Lauran Hibberd, Olivia Dean, Bastille, The Xcerts tartanheartfestival.co.uk
r Inverness
Camp Bestival
Dorset
27th - 30th July
LULWORTH CASTLE
The Kooks, Caity Baser, Melanie C, Grace Jones, Confidence Man campbestival.net
r Wool
Kendal Calling
27th - 30th July
LOWTHER DEER PARK, LAKE DISTRICT
Lime Garden, Royal Blood, Beabadoobee, Rachel Chinouriri, The Murder Capital kendalcalling.co.uk
r Penrith
Tsunami Xixón
27th - 29th July
GIJÓN, ASTURIAS
You Me At Six, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, Shame, Deadletter, Bob Vylan tsunamixixon.com
a Asturias
Deer Shed
28th - 31st July
BALDERSBY PARK, TOPCLIFFE Panic Shack, Gaz Coombes, Dream Wife, Grove, The Big Moon deershedfestival.com
r Thirsk
Fuji Rock
28th - 30th July
NAEBA SKI RESORT, YUZAWA-CHO
The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lizzo, Weezer, Balming Tiger fujirockfestival.com
a Tokyo
Low
29th - 31st July
CIUDAD DEPORTIVA GUILLERMO
AMOR, BENIDORM
Placebo, Interpol, Bombay BIcycle Club, Lynks lowfestival.es
a Alicante
Maha
28th - 29th July
STINSON PARK, OMAHA, NE
Big Thief, Turnstile, Alvvays, Black Belt
Eagle Scout, Peach Pit mahafestival.com
a Omaha
Morriña Fest
28th - 29th July
PORTO DE A CORUÑA
Two Door Cinema Club, Jason Derulo morrinafestival.com
a A Coruña
Radar
28th - 30th July
VICTORIA WAREHOUSE, MANCHESTER
Sleep Token, Loathe, Igorrr, Periphery, God Is An Astronaut radarfestival.co.uk
r Deansgate
South Facing
28th July - 13th August
CRYSTAL PALACE BOWL, LONDON
Johnny Marr, First Aid Kit, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Craig David southfacingfestival.com
r Crystal Palace
AUGUST Rockstadt
Extreme
2nd - 6th August
RÂȘNOV
Architects, Employed to Serve, While She Sleeps, rockstadtextremefest.com
a Brașov
Wacken Open Air
2nd - 5th August
WACKEN, SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN
Empire State Bastard, While She Sleeps, Employed to Serve, Megadeth wacken.com
a Hamburg
Lollapalooza
3rd - 6th August
GRANT PARK, CHICAGO, IL
Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, The 1975, Lana Del Rey, Rina Sawayama lollapalooza.com
a Chicago
Rebellion
3rd - 6th August
WINTER GARDENS, BLACKPOOL
The Damned, Bob Vylan, Opus Kink, Brix Smith, Noah and the Loners rebellionfestivals.com
r Blackpool North
Valley Fest
3rd - 6th August
CHEW VALLEY LAKE, BRISTOL
Ibibio Sound Machine, The Kooks valleyfest.co.uk
r Bristol Temple Meads
Wilderness
3rd - 6th August
CORNBURY PARK, OXFORDSHIRE
Sugababes, Fatboy Slim, Arlo Parks, Christine and The Queens, Joesef wildernessfestival.com
r Charlbury
All Together Now
4th - 6th August
CURRAGHMORE ESTATE, CO. WATERFORD
Jamie xx, Daniel Avery, Jessie Ware, Sugababes, Iggy Pop alltogethernow.ie
a Cork
Bingley Weekender
4th - 6th August
BRADFORD & BINGLEY RUGBY CLUB
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Kate Nash, Sleeper, The Cribs, Razorlight bingleyweekender.co.uk
r Bingley
Edinburgh International
4th - 27th August
VARIOUS VENUES, EDINBURGH
Alison Goldfrapp, John Cale, Lankum, Jake Bugg, eif.co.uk
r Edinburgh Waverley
Indie
4th - 13th August
MITCHELSTOWN, CO. CORK
Raye, Two Door CInema Club, Anne-Marie, Joesef, Nell Mescal indiependencefestival.com
a Cork
Lokerse Feesten
4th - 13th August
LOKEREN
Blur, Placebo lokersefeesten.be
a Brussels
OFF
4th - 6th August
DOLINA TRZECH STAWOW, KATOWICE
Balming Tiger, Melody's Echo Chamber, Tropical Fuck Storm, Gilla Band, Big Joanie off-festival.pl
a Katowice
Osheaga
4th - 6th August
PARC JEAN-DRAPEAU, MONTREAL
Rina Sawayama, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, JPEGMAFIA, Soccer Mommy, The National osheaga.com
a Montreal
Øya
8th - 12th August
TØYENPARKEN, OSLO
Devo, Caroline Polachek, FKA Twigs, Blur, Sigrid oyafestivalen.no
a Oslo
Boardmasters
9th - 13th August
FISTRAL BEACH, WATERGATE BAY Cassyette, Bob Vylan, Florence + the Machine, Liam Gallagher, Little Simz boardmasters.com
r Newquay
Boomtown
9th - 13th August
MATTERLEY ESTATE NEAR WINCHESTER, HAMPSHIRE boomtownfair.co.uk
r Winchester
All Points East
18th - 28th August
VICTORIA PARK, LONDON
Stormzy, The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Haim and Jungle are among the bill-toppers this time around. Here’s hoping they’ve turned the amps to eleven.
allpointseastfestival.com
r Mile End
110 Above
10th - 12th August
GOPSALL HALL FARM, LEICESTERSHIRE
Caity Baser, Twin Atlantic, Jack Garratt, Circa Waves, Walt Disco 110above.com
r Poleswort
Bloodstock
10th - 13th August
WALTON-ON-TRENT, DERBYSHIRE
Bury Tomorrow bloodstock.uk.com
r Lichfield City
Lakefest
10th - 13th August
EASTNOR CASTLE DEER PARK, HEREFORDSHIRE
Johnny Marr, McFly, Clean Bandit, Gaz Coombes lakefest.co.uk
r Ledbury
Sziget
10th - 15th August
ÓBUDA ISLAND, BUDAPEST
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Easy Life, Billie Eilish, Sam Fender, Mimi Webb szigetfestival.com
a Budapest
Way Out West
10th - 12th August
SLOTTSKOGEN, GOTHENBURG
Devo, Blur, Amyl & The Sniffers, Caroline Polachek, Shygirl wayoutwest.se
a Gothenburg
Ypsigrock
10th - 13th August
CASTELBUONO, SICILY
Young Fathers, Just Mustard, Slowdive, Panda Bear & Sonic Boom, TRAAMS ypsigrock.it
a Palermo
Flow
11th - 13th August
SUVILAHTI, HELSINKI
FKA Twigs, Blur, Devo, Shygirl, Tove Lo flowfestival.com
a Helsinki
Four Chord
12th - 13th August
WILD THINGS PARK, PA
Taking Back Sunday, The Gaslight Anthem, Alkaline Trio, American Football, Yellowcard fourchordmusicfestival.com
a Pittsburgh
ArcTanGent
16th - 19th August
FERNHILL FARM NEAR BRISTOL
Deafheaven, SCALPING, And So I Watch You From Afar, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Converge arctangent.co.uk
r Bristol Temple Meads
La Route Du Rock
16th - 19th August
SAINT-MALO
Jamie xx, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Young Fathers, Flohio, Special Interest laroutedurock.com
a Rennes
Summer Breeze
16th - 19th August
DINKELSBÜHL, BAVARIA
Megadeth, While She Sleeps summer-breeze.de
a Nuremberg
Cabaret Vert
17th - 20th August
CHARLEVILLE-MÉZIÈRES
Ashnikko, Calvin Harris, KennyHoopla, Turnstile, Christine and the Queens cabaretvert.com
a Brussels
Camp Bestival Shropshire
17th - 20th August
WESTON PARK, SHROPSHIRE
Primal Scream, Rudimental, Melanie C, Confidence Man campbestival.net
r Telford
Green Man
17th - 20th August
CRICKHOWELL, BRECON BEACONS
Young Fathers, Snail Mail, Michael Kiwanuka, First Aid Kit greenman.net
r Abergavenny
Openair Gampel
17th - 20th August
GAMPEL-BRATSCH
Years & Years, Nova Twins, You Me At Six, Cypress Hill, Macklemore openairgampel.ch
a Geneva
Pukkelpop
17th - 20th August
HASSELT, KIEWIT
Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala, Bring Me The Horizon, George Ezra, Slipknot pukkelpop.be
a Brussels
Reload
17th - 19th August
SULINGEN
Sleep Token, While She Sleeps, Skindred reload-festival.de
a Bremen
Lowlands
18th - 20th August
WALIBIHOLLAND, BIDDINGHUIZEN
Florence + The Machine, Billie Eilish, Boygenius, Foals and Turnstile are among those who’ll need to watch out for the treewielding masses at the Dutch event. lowlands.nl a Amsterdam
Beautiful Days
18th - 20th August
ESCOT PARK, DEVON
Suede, Grandmas House, Primal Scream, KEG, Elvana beautifuldays.org
r Feniton
Core
18th - 20th August
VARIOUS VENUES, GLASGOW
Deafheaven, Rolo Tomassi, cumgirl8, corethefestival.com
r St George’s Cross
Hardwick
18th - 20th August
HARDWICK HALL, CO. DURHAM
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Cribs, The Vaccines, Melanie C, Chilli Jesson hardwickfestival.co.uk
r Newton Aycliffe
Highfield
18th - 20th August
LAKE STÖRMTHAL GROSSPÖSNA, LEIPZIG
You Me At Six, Dropkick Murphys, Enter Shikari, Anti-Flag, Pennywise highfield.de
a Leipzig
Field Day
19th August
VICTORIA PARK, LONDON
Aphex Twin, Fever Ray, Arca, Bonobo, Jon Hopkins fielddayfestivals.com
r Mile End
AMA
23rd - 27th August
VILLA CA’CORNARO, ROMANO D’EZZELINO
Turnstile, Cypress Hill, White Lies, Yungblud amamusicfestival.com
a Venice
Rock En Seine
23rd - 27th August
PARC DE SAINT-CLOUD, PARIS
The Strokes, Angel Olsen, Billie Eilish, Turnstile, Yeah Yeah Yeahs rockenseine.com
a Paris
Lost Village
24th - 27th August
LINCOLNSHIRE
Róisín Murphy, Peggy Gou, Bonobo, Ibibio Sound Machine, Four Tet lostvillagefestival.com
r Newark Northgate
Beach Road
Weekend
25th - 27th August
VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK, MARTHA’S VINEYARD, MA
Bon Iver, Alvvays, Leon Bridges, Japanese Breakfast, Regina Spektor beachroadweekend.com
a Martha’s Vineyard
Big Feastival
25th - 27th August
ALEX JAMES’ FARM, OXFORDSHIRE
Sugababes, The Human League, Lola Young, Alfie Templeman, The Futureheads thebigfeastival.com
r Kingham
Feelings
25th - 26th August
BERGENHUS FESTNING, BERGEN
Yung Lean, Tove Lo, Anna of the North feelingsfestival.no
a Bergen
Victorious
25th - 27th August
SOUTHSEA SEAFRONT, PORTSMOUTH
Amyl & The Sniffers, Katy B, Beabadoobee, The Vaccines, Sigrid victoriousfestival.co.uk
r Portsmouth & Southsea
We Are FSTVL
25th - 27th August
CENTRAL PARK, DAGENHAM
The Prodigy wearefstvl.com
r Dagenham East
Foolhardy Folk
27th August
NOTTINGHAM ARBORETUM
Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage, Honeymoon, Skinny Lister, Beans on Toast r High School
Cala Mijas
31st August - 2nd September
COSTA DEL SOL, MÁLAGA
The Strokes, Florence + The Machine, Arca, slowthai, Siouxsie calamijas.com
a Málaga
End of the Road
31st August - 3rd September
LARMER TREE GARDENS, WILTSHIRE Lucy Dacus, Perfume Genius, Pixies, Kurt Vile, Bright Eyes endoftheroadfestival.com
r Salisbury
Reading & Leeds
SEPT Electric Picnic
1st - 3rd September
STRADBALLY HALL, CO. LAOIS
Steve Lacy, Amyl & The Sniffers, The Killers, Billie Eilish, Fred again.. electricpicnic.ie
a Dublin
FORWARDS
1st - 2nd September
BRISTOL DOWNS
Erykah Badu, RAYE, Aphex Twin, Arlo Parks, Biig Piig forwardsbristol.co.uk
r Bristol Temple Meads
Jazz Aspen
Snowmass Experience
1st - 3rd September
SNOWMASS TOWN PARK, SNOWMASS, CO
Foo Fighters, James Bay, Billy Idol, The Lumineers jazzaspensnowmass.org
a Denver
Creation Day
2nd - 3rd September
WEST PARK, WOLVERHAMPTON
Grandmas House, IDLES, Happy Mondays, Ash, Friendly Fires creationdayfestival.com
r Wolverhampton
Manchester
Psych Fest
2nd September
VARIOUS VENUES, MANCHESTER
Sorry, Heartworms, Ulrika Spacek, Crocodiles, Panic Shack manchesterpsychfest.com
r Manchester Oxford Road
Blue Ridge Rock
7th - 10th September
VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, ALTON, VA
Limp Bizkit, Cypress Hill, Babymetal, Soulja Boy, Corey Taylor blueridgerockfest.com
a Raleigh-Durham
Whitehaven Alive
8th - 10th September
WHITEHAVEN HARBOUR
The Vaccines, Jake Bugg, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Tinie whitehavenalive.com
r Whitehaven
Lollapalooza Berlin
9th - 10th September
OLYMPIASTADION & OLYMPIAPARK, BERLIN
Zara Larsson, Rina Sawayama, Sam Fender, Moonchild Sanelly, Mimi Webb lollapaloozade.com
a Berlin
Riot Fest
15th - 17th September
DOUGLASS PARK, CHICAGO riotfest.org
a Chicago
Sea.Hear.Now
16th - 17th September
ASBURY PARK, NJ
The Killers, Weezer, Royal Blood, Sunflower Bean, The Breeders seahearnowfestival.com
a Newark
Reeperbahn Festival
20th - 23rd September
VARIOUS VENUES, HAMBURG
86 TVs, Big Joanie, Art School Girlfriend, Egyptian Blue, KEG reeperbahnfestival.com
a Hamburg
Louder Than Life
21st - 24th September
HIGHLAND FESTIVAL GROUNDS, LOUISVILLE, KY
Weezer, Royal Blood, You Me At Six, Turnstile, Green Day louderthanlifefestival.com
a Louisville
Life Is Beautiful
22nd - 24th September
DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS, NV
The Killers, Kendrick Lamar, The 1975, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Rina Sawayama lifeisbeautiful.com
a Las Vegas
Pop Montréal
27th September - 1st October
VARIOUS VENUES, MONTRÉAL
Candi Staton, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Junglepussy popmontreal.com
a Montreal
Ohana
30th September
DOHENY STATE BEACH, DANA POINT, CA
The Killers, Haim, Japanese Breakfast, Shame, Big Joanie ohanafest.com
a Los Angeles
Gathering Sounds
30th September
VARIOUS VENUES, STOCKTON-ON-TEES thegatheringsounds.co.uk
r Stockton
Sound on Sound
30th September - 1st October
BRIDGEPORT, CT
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hozier, Margo Price, Cautious Clay, Mt. Joy soundonsoundct.com
a Bradley
OCTOBER Aftershock
5th - 8th October
DISCOVERY PARK, SACRAMENTO, CA
Turnstile, Deafheaven, You Me At Six, Bob Vylan, Korn aftershockfestival.com
a Sacramento
Mondo.NYC
10th - 13th October
VARIOUS VENUES, NEW YORK CITY mondo.nyc
a New York
Twisterella
14th October
VARIOUS VENUES, MIDDLESBROUGH
Cathy Jain, CIEL, Opus Kink, Humour, Cherym twisterella.co.uk
r Middlesbrough
Swn
20th - 22nd October
VARIOUS VENUES, CARDIFF
Heartworms, Jessica Winter, Lynks, Westerman, O. swnfest.com
r Cardiff Central
When We Were Young
21st October
LAS VEGAS FESTIVAL GROUNDS
Turnover, Joyce Manor, Jean Dawson, Green Day whenwewereyoungfestival.com
a Las Vegas
NOVEMBER
Iceland Airwaves
2nd - 4th November
Various venues, Reykjavík is flag Blondshell, Yard Act, Balming Tiger, Squid, Lime Garden icelandairwaves.is
a Reykjavík
C2C
2nd - 5th November
Various venues, Turin
Flying Lotus, Caroline Polachek, King Krule, Yves Tumor clubtoclub.it
a Turin
Pitchfork Music Festival Paris
6th - 13th November
VARIOUS VENUES, PARIS
Weyes Blood
pitchforkmusicfestival.fr
a Paris
Pitchfork Music Festival London
8th - 13th November
VARIOUS VENUES, LONDON
Sleater-Kinney, Just Mustard, Yaeji, Weyes Blood, Porridge Radio pitchforkmusicfestival.co.uk
r Various
Primavera Buenos Aires
25th - 26th November
PARQUE SARIMENTO, BUENOS AIRES primaverasound.com
a Buenos Aires
Le Guess Who?
9th - 12th November
VARIOUS VENUES, UTRECHT
Gustaf, Black Country New Road, Pa Salieu
leguesswho.nl
a Amsterdam
DECEMBER Clockenflap
1st - 3rd December
CENTRAL HARBOURFRONT, HONG KONG
clockenflap.com
a Hong Kong
Primavera São Paulo
2nd - 3rd December
AUTÓDROMO DE INTERLAGOS, SÃO PAULO
primaverasound.com
a São Paulo
JANUARY Rockaway Beach
5th - 7th January
BUTLIN’S, BOGNOR REGIS rockawaybeach.co.uk
r Bognor Regis
ESNS
17th - 20th January
VARIOUS VENUES, GRONINGEN esns.nl
a Amsterdam
Mighty Hoopla Weekender
26th - 29th January
BUTLIN’S, BOGNOR REGIS
Charlotte Church, Sophie Ellis Bextor mightyhoopla.com/weekender
r Bognor Regis
16th September
BOILER SHOP, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
The North East showcase event will feature sets from acts including Avalanche Party, Dylan Cartlidge, Little Comets, Benefits and Lizzie Esau generatorlive.org.uk
r Newcastle