European Music Festivals Summer 2008

Article by: Ghita Loebenstein, May 2008

 

All Tomorrow's Parties Weekend 2 - ATP vs Pitchfork

9-11 May 2008, Pontins Camber Sands Holiday Centre, Sussex, England

'The ultimate mix-tape', as Thurston Moore once described it, ATP earned its indie cred by inviting some very cool bands to curate the festival. The first ATP weekend in 2007 was curated by the Dirty Three, but Weekend 2 gives new meaning to the phrase 'people's choice'. When fans purchased tickets they were invited to take a hand in the curation by voting in their fave bands.

Headliners: Ween, Sebadoh, Of Montreal, Hot Chip plus...

Tickets: £560 four berth, self-catering.

 

Roskilde Festival

3-6 July 2008, Roskilde, Denmark

One of the largest and most musically diverse festivals in northern Europe, the four-day-long Roskilde will be sure to satiate your sonic craving. It's been on the groove since 1971. These Danes know how to put on a well-orchestrated event: lethargic campers can even choose a pre-pitched tent option. All profits go to humanitarian causes.

Headliners: The Chemical Brothers, Grinderman, Jay-Z, Radiohead plus...

£167.50 including camping (free admission if you're 60 or older!)

 

Exit Festival

10-13 July 2008, Novi Sad, Serbia

What started out in 2000 as a protest against the Milosevic regime has turned into an annual event, attracting more than 400,000 people over four days. EXIT prides itself on its political agenda - which includes campaigns around issues like drug trafficking and migration. The line-up has some major international acts.

Headliners: Sex Pistols, Gossip, Paul Weller, The Hives plus...

Tickets: €72 for four days' camping

 

Montreux Jazz Festival

4-19 July 2008, Lake Geneva, Switzerland

Montreux Jazz Festival has been running on the sublime banks of Lake Geneva since 1967. Festival alumni include jazz greats like Miles Davis and Ray Charles, but in recent years the programming has expanded well beyond such refined sounds. The festival consists of a series of concerts that take place at a variety of venues around the lake, on a Salsa Train and on a Blues Boat.

Headliners: Quincy Jones, Leonard Cohen, Etta James, N.E.R.D plus...

Tickets: Vary: free-€189

 

Benicàssim International Festival

17-20 July 2008, Benicàssim, Spain

If the words 'Spain' and 'summer' aren't reason enough to go, then how about the fact that this festival takes place on the gorgeous Costa Azahar? Benicàssim has drawn an increasingly impressive number of indie and electronic acts to this Castilian paradise since 1995. As well as music, the festival includes tempting side-bars like a short-film festival and beach-side art exhibition. The official festival lasts four days, but you can stay and laze around for nine.

Headliners: Leonard Cohen, Gnarls Barkly, Sigur Ros, Roisin Murphy plus...

Tickets: €170 four-day pass, including nine days' free camping/one-day ticket coming soon

 

Pukkelpop

14-16 August 2008, Hasselt-Kiewit, Belgium

With a name like Pukkelpop, what's not to love? Belgium's best outdoor festival has drawn over 135,000 people and a very-now line-up in previous years. This year looks to be heading in the same direction.

Headliners: Metallica, The Killers, Flaming Lips, Serj Tankian plus...

Tickets: 2008 prices yet to be announced. 2007 tickets were €69/130 one-/three-day ticket including camping

 

Sziget Festival

12-18 August 2008, Obudai Island, Hungary

More a self-contained universe than a festival, Sziget is a week-long extravaganza of leisure-making. Want big Brit-bands? Finnish glam rock? Every musical whim is catered for across Sziget's five stages. When your ears need a break there are cinemas, sports, restaurants and kids' activities.

Headliners: Sex Pistols, REM, Iron Maiden plus...

Tickets: Advance booking €120/100 camping/non-camping; €32 day ticket

 

Electric Picnic

29-31 August 2008, County Laois, Ireland

Set amidst the gentle landscape of Stradbelly, Electric Picnic has a killer line-up to go with its boutique philosophies. With felt-hat making, paintball, yoga, a foot spa salon and carbon blueprint talks on offer, Electric Picnic caters for body and soul as much as it does ears and eyes. Swanky camping options include beach huts, bivouacs, podpads, tipis or a double-decker 'bus-bed'.

Headliners: : Sex Pistols, My Bloody Valentine, Underworld, Grinderman plus...

Tickets: €240 for regular camping

 

Bestival

5-7 September 2008, Isle of Wight, UK

Curated by renowned British radio DJ Rob da Bank, Bestival is one of the newest kids on the block, but has already earned its title. Its benefits include boutique camping, the colourful Bollywood cocktail bar, an inflatable church for Vegas-style weddings, the Restival chill-out area and the Breastival baby temple for new mothers. Bestival punters can also take part in the giant fancy dress parade. This year's theme is yet to be announced, but in 2005 Bestival broke a Guinness World Record when 10,000 people hollered their way across the field dressed up as cowboys and Indians.

Headliners: My Bloody Valentine, Amy Winehouse, Underworld, The Breeders plus...

Tickets: £130 including basic camping

Some more of the best

• Hultsfred Festival (Sweden) 12-14 June 2008: Euro-centric rock.
• Glastonbury Festival 27-29 June 2008: The biggest daddy of them all. Even the mud is picturesque.
• Rock Werchter (Belgium)) 3-6 July 2008: Twice voted 'Best Festival in the World' at the Music Festival Oscars.
• Oxegen (Ireland) 11-13 July 2008: Big names, big fun. You'll find a similar line-up at T in the Park (Scotland) 11-13 July 2008.
• 10 Days Off (Belgium) 18-28 July 2008: Belgium's high mass of dance music.
• The Green Man Festival (Wales) 15-17 August 2008: Clean (showers), green (holistic) and very, very good for you.
• Carling Weekend (UK) 22-24 August 2008: Same festival, different stomping ground: Reading and Leeds