With the end of July looming, we're officially entering the final phase of Festival Season 2024 - but don't don't panic! Just because the likes of Glastonbury, the Isle Of Wight and (a very muddy) Download are long lost to history by now, it doesn't change the fact that there are literally dozens upon dozens of awesome festivals still to come across the UK before summer is up.
Mega-fests such as Reading and Leeds, Creamfields and All Points East will doubtless grab headlines, but dig a little deeper and you'll find a wealth of independent festivals packing killer lineups across a dizzying array of genres. From progressive metal showdowns to psychedelic rock showdowns, bass-heavy rave-ups to world music heritage, here are 10 festivals well worth your time if you're still thinking of venturing out of the house before September.
Secret Garden Party (July 26-28, Huntingdon)
One of the UK's most proudly adventurous and hedonistic fests, Secret Garden Party made a triumphant return to the scene in 2022 after a few years away. This year, the festival is going back to its roots with a low-key but high-quality lineup that represents SGP's independent spirit. Crystal Fighters, Unkle, Chinchilla and Alchemist are amongst the most notable names this year, but really Secret Garden Party is all about getting lost in the festival (and, indeed, yourself) to find some of the more out-there, strange sights and sounds to delve into, be it spa days, yoga sessions or workshops. Plus, there's a lovely big lake for swimming in. Sound like fun? Get your tickets here.
Radar (July 26-28, O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester)
Since starting as a prog metal get-together in a Guildford nightclub five years ago, Radar Festival has expanded its horizons and grown considerably. The three-dayer takes place in Manchester’s 3,500-capacity O2 Victoria Warehouse now, and joining experimental heroes Leprous and Tesseract as headliners will be synthwave beloveds The Midnight. The undercard promises just as much variety: extreme metal nasties Conjurer and metalcore warriors Ithaca will surely bang heads together, whereas Plini and Earthside will offer more dulcet sounds. The weekend will end with Leprous hosting a ‘real-time request set’, playing audience demands as and when they’re shouted out. Get tickets here.
WOMAD (July 25-28, Charlton Park, Wiltshire)
Founded by Peter Gabriel and chums in 1980 as a means to celebrate world music without boundaries, WOMAD (that's World Of Music, Arts and Dance) has been a staple of the British festival scene ever since. This year will see a typically diverse lineup of artists descend upon Wiltshire, from acclaimed Scottish alt-indie-soul trio Young Fathers and eccentric, multinational folk-punks Gogol Bordello to electronic queen Alison Goldfrapp, Senegalese worldbeat sensation Baaba Maal and Zambian rap main eventer Sampa The Great. And that's just the headliners. Get your tickets here.
Junction 2 (July 26-28, Boston Manor Park, London)
Having steadily installed itself as one of the most essential EDM festivals in the UK over recent years, Junction 2 returns with another stellar lineup of DJs and producers across three days in one of West London's most underrated outdoor spaces, Boston Manor Park. From chart-bothering heavyweights Camelphat to modern house icon The Blessed Madonna, euphoria master Yotto and fast-rising stars such as TSHA and Barry Can't Swim, the latter of whom is enjoying a huge surge in popularity after his show-stealing turn on Glastonbury's Park Stage in June, it's a smorgasbord of talent. If you do head along, don't forget to check out the festival's incredible bridge stage, housed directly under the M4. It's quite a sight. Tickets are still available here.
Bloodstock Open Air (August 8-11, Catton Hall, Derbyshire)
If Download is a little too light for your tastes, Bloodstock remains the definitive, independent outdoor heavy metal festival the UK has to offer. This year's lineup includes progressive metal gods Opeth, Viking metal marauders Amon Amarth and a debuting Architects as its headliners, with the likes of Carcass, Hatebreed, Malevolence, Clutch, Green Lung and Deicide building up a typically stacked undercard. Given its lineup always goes hard AF, it's easy to overlook the fact that Bloodstock always packs one of the friendliest atmosphere's you'll find anywhere here or elsewhere. Get your tickets here.
Arctangent (August 14-17, Fernhill Farm, Bristol)
The most essential weekend of the progressive metal/post-rock calendar returns for its 10th anniversary in August. Headliners Explosions In The Sky, Meshuggah and Mogwai will lead an unsurprisingly stacked three-day lineup at Bristol’s Fernhill Farm, also featuring black metal maven Ihsahn, sludge/prog pioneers Baroness, space rockers Slift and many, many more. In addition, the weekend will have a warmup day including some of last year’s most beloved performers, such as And So I Watch You From Afar and Curse These Metal Hands. If you like your music to be both heavy and forward-thinking, this will be a must-go. Get your tickets here.
End Of The Road Festival (August 29-September 1, Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset)
End Of The Road festival launched in 2006 with the most basic of aims: to book bands that founders Simon Taffe and Sofia Hagberg loved, and present them in a manner which did both their music, and their audience, justice. Almost two decades on, that mission statement remains. Held in Larmer Tree Gardens in Wiltshire, the 15,000-capacity weekender has no VIP area, helping to foster a chilled, drama and ego-free vibe, with artists and attendees mingling freely. The line-up for 2023 saw King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Murder Capital and Wilco among the main draws, and 2024’s bill is both stacked and thrillingly eclectic, with indie-rock royalty (IDLES, Slowdive, Sleater-Kinney), rubbing up against cutting edge hip-hop (Billy Woods, Casisdead), boundary-smashing folk and world music (Lankum, Mdou Moctar) and some of the world’s most exciting emerging talent, from French riff monsters Slift to Indonesian noise-rockers Senyawa. And if none of that appeals - you massive weirdo - there’s film screenings, art workshops, book readings… oh, and the world’s finest comedian, Stewart Lee, elsewhere on site. Get tickets here.
Supersonic (August 30-September 1, various venues, Birmingham)
It’s tempting to describe Supersonic as one of those festivals that has something for everyone, but that’s not entirely true. However, if you’re open to getting your mind bent a little, like your music on the more esoteric side or just fancy catching some weird-ass stuff you simply won’t get to see on other festival line-ups, Supersonic has you covered. Held in Birmingham – a place not shy about its connection to heavy metal, as is made clear at the festival every year – it’s a multi-venue event that will see you hopping about the city in a way that allows you to feel part of its cultural underbelly, rather than just an obvious tourist. The festival has hosted cult heavyweights like Godflesh, Neurosis and Wolves In The Throneroom in previous years, while this year’s highlights include Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Emma Ruth Rundle and Melt Banana. There’s also a 24 hour pub which this writer may or may not have been barred from. Get your tickets, see cool shit, party.
Forwards Bristol (August 31-September 1, Durdham Downs, Bristol)
An ambitious yet still relatively intimate festival that packs in everything from hip hop to rock to EDM to indie and beyond, Forwards will once again touch down in Bristol's beautiful Durdham Downs for a weekend of legendary artists and exciting, upcoming names from the local era. This year's bill features UK rap firebrand Loyle Carner mixing it up with EDM icons Four Tet and Underworld, as well as electro-rock faves LCD Soundsystem, singer-songwriter Jessie Ware and much more. Whether you want to have a rave, zone out or mosh around, Forwards has something for you. Get your tickets here.
Manchester Psych Fest (August 31, various venues, Manchester)
For one day in August, Manchester Psych Festival will be showcasing the biggest, trippiest bands in psychedelic rock across multiple venues in the city centre, with indie songwriter/multi-instrumentalist BC Camplight and Dutch-Turkish psychedelic folk rockers Altın Gün topping the bill. Also filling out the 70+ strong schedule includes Baxter Dury, The Horrors, Pigs*7, Temples, Slift, Lambrini Girls and many more. For the full, tripped-out experience, there will additionally be psychedelic video installations, DJs, workshops, arts, films and talks. For folks looking to attend on either side of the country, there’s Brighton Psych Fest and Edinburgh Psych Fest, both also taking place late summer. Get tickets to Manchester's edition here.
