Festival Getaways
Thinking of pushing the boundaries a little further this summer? Then look no further. Following on from our No Glasto? No Problem! feature last week, we cast our eyes further afield to the standout events taking place away from our shores. Attending festivals abroad can be a far cry from wellies in a UK field, whether that’s sun soaked vistas, villa stays with purpose built arenas, or parties in the savannah. Read on to see our expert’s highlights for 2026.
Primavera Sound
3rd to 6th June - Barcelona, Spain
A festival that treats music like tapas. Where else can you sample Addison Rae’s sugary pop and Merzbow’s molten-hot wall of sound on the same day? And if you’re still not satisfied, you can take a bite of The Cure, PinkPantheress, fakemink and Joan La Barbara until you’re well and truly stuffed. There’s bound to be something for everyone, plus a true feast for listeners who don’t want to confine themselves to a specific genre.
Set on the Barcelona seafront at the Parc del Fòrum, the festival boasts 16 stages alongside the indoor Auditori Fòrum for a chance to see your favourite artists in an intimate, air-conditioned setting. It’s easy to spend the day at the Picasso Museum or Sagrada Familía before the sun begins to set and the music starts in earnest. Plus, included with the price of a weekend are standalone gigs across the city as part of the Primavera a la Ciutat line-up. A mini-festival in itself that runs from Monday to Sunday, the Ciutat shows have everything from the uplifting Chilean art-rockers Candelabro to the queer post-punk of Model/Actriz.
If you’re hungry for a holiday and the chance to see some of the most exciting music around today, then Primavera is the way to go.
Line-up Highlights: Geese, caroline, Oklou, Grace Ives, Sudan Archives, Ninajirachi
Tickets: Sold out, but it’s usually easy to snag a resale through the waitlist.
Price: €350
Down The Rabbit Hole
3rd to 5th July - Near Nijmegen, Netherlands
Between the great rivers of the Waal and Meuse, occurs a hidden gem in the European festival scene. In early July, De Groene Heuvels near Nijmegen becomes the playfully designed site of Down the Rabbit Hole set amongst woods and a beach along a lake.
The festival is easily accessible from the UK by Eurostar – just change in Amsterdam or Brussels for Nijmegen – with a convenient free shuttle service dropping you at the entrance to the campgrounds. The music program begins on Friday, but ticketholders can arrive on Thursday to explore the grounds, swim in the floating lido on the lake, and make friends on the campsite. From the moment you arrive, everything feels like it’s been perfectly fine-tuned since the festival’s 2014 debut. Where else do you get people walking around selling ice cold beers for £2.50 whilst you set up your tent?!
Along the sandy lake shore, the three main stages – the outdoor amphitheatre of Hotot, the giant half-tent of Teddy Widder, and the enclosed Fuzzy Lop – host big-name live acts until around 1am. All are large stages with screens to aid visibility and wooden boards to prevent any mud. The interior of the site set amongst the woods is ripe for exploration, and home to six further stages designed for an eclectic mix of music. You’ll find acoustic and folk sets from mid-morning, never-ending experimental drone, secret evening punk gigs, places to dance in the sun, and thumping electronic and techno sets which stretch on towards dawn.
Regardless of which stages grab your attention, the standout feature of Down the Rabbit Hole will be the incredibly good vibes of a crowd hell-bent on enjoying every minute.
Line-up Highlights: David Byrne, Little Simz, The xx, Loyle Carner, Oklou, Avalon Emerson, ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U
Tickets: Available from Ticketmaster NL
Price: €329
Rock In Rio Lisboa
20th to 21st & 27th to 28th June - Lisbon, Portugal
Rock in Rio Lisboa is the perfect festival for fans who want massive chart-toppers to sing along to across a range of genres, from pop and rock to nu-metal and hip-hop. One day you can get the pop-leaning tunes of Katy Perry and Charlie Puth, the next rock and hip-hop with Linkin Park, Cypress Hill and Kaiser Chiefs. Each of the four days brings its own flavour, whether that means chasing nostalgia, big choruses or something more intense. This makes it ideal for those looking for a day ticket in Lisbon that suits their particular tastes, perhaps as part of a city break.
Set at Parque Tejo Lisboa, a beautiful setting along the city’s river, the festival will have a larger site than in previous years, bringing with it more comfort and new activities, including street performers and art exhibitions. Sponsors are also funding enhanced A/V shows. Indeed, there is enough on offer beyond the music to make arriving early and staying late feel worthwhile, with the setting itself adding to the sense of occasion. With the cost of seeing one of each day’s headliners at their own show likely to eclipse the price of a day ticket, it is a no-brainer for anyone looking to have a large-scale European festival experience against the backdrop of a Lisbon sunset.
Line-up Highlights: Linkin Park, Katy Perry, 21 Savage, Central Cee, Cypress Hill, Rod Stewart, Cyndi Lauper, Kaiser Chiefs
Tickets: Available now from Fever
Price: €89 for a day ticket, €157 for each weekend
Bilbao BBK
9th to 11th July - Bilbao
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Bilbao BBK is truly pulling out the big guns to celebrate the milestone - but still at an unbelievable price. Set in stunning hills overlooking one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, this year’s line-up is packed with a diverse set of heavyweight names to suit every palate - electronic music superstar Calvin Harris, pop royalty Robbie Williams and the purveyor of this year’s most sought-after show David Byrne are among the highlights. A stacked supporting cast includes Lily Allen, FKA Twigs, Alabama Shakes, Interpol, Soulwax, Idles, Paris Paloma, Belle & Sebastian, CMAT, and Spanish hit machines Dellafuenta and Dani Fernandez. Throw in some incredible late night offerings from the likes of Richie Hawtin, Charlotte de Witte, 2manydjs, DJ Koze and the Chemical Brothers spin-off project Tomora - as well as some absolutely stacked lower order acts including Westside Cowboy, Thee Sacred Souls and Apparat - and it truly promises to be an unmissable weekend for music lovers of every tribe.
Line-up Highlights: Robbie Williams, Calvin Harris, David Byrne, FKA Twigs, Charlotte de Witte, Richie Hawtin, Idles, Interpol, CMAT, Alabama Shakes, Belle & Sebastian
Tickets: Available from Fever Up
Price: From approximately £150 without camping to £190 with camping
Nyege Nyege
18th ro 22nd November 2026 (TBC) - Kalagala Falls, Uganda
“World” music done right, Nyege Nyege highlights the best of contemporary African electronic and dance music. It gives you the opportunity to explore musical genres that get little coverage out of the region, as well as the warm hospitality and culture of Uganda.
Whilst heavily focused on new electronic music coming out of Africa, it also brings together a global line-up that includes traditional Ugandan musicians, big names from international dance scenes, reggae, afrobeat and local popular genres such as kidandali. Running 24 hours over the weekend, it attracts a crowd of locals, dedicated party-goers from neighbouring counties and European and American visitors. Exploration extends beyond the line-up and festival, with visitors encouraged to experience Uganda though safari, adventure sports and exhibitions of fashion and art.
It’s hard to describe the atmosphere and vibe of the festival to those whose experience of festivals is Europe or the USA. Engaged, lively (everybody dances) and friendly crowds, a healthy disregard for line-up timings, cheap (at least for visitors) drinks and the characteristic Ugandan determination to have fun makes for a thrilling though exhausting weekend. As the unofficial “rules” of Nyege Nyege state - “No leaving the venue. You’re tired and I want to go to bed? NO! We stay till 7am, then go home, shower and return”
Line-up Highlights: 2026 to be announced, but for 2025 - DJ Travella, DJ Diaki, Arsenal Mikebe, Afrorack, Tash LC, Skrillex, Jay Mita, Flowdan, Ahadadream, Lady Hash, Kampire
Tickets: When on sale - through the festival website and Resident Advisor (for non-East African resident tickets)
Price: 2026 to be announced - 2025 prices were: East African Residents $40-60, International Visitors $150-250. Note that accommodation or camping is not included
Way Out West
13th to 15th August - Gothenburg, Sweden
Held across the city of Gothenburg, Way Out West has everything for fans of left-field pop. During the day, the festivities are held in Slottsskogen park, just outside the city centre, before moving across venues in the city after midnight.
The curation across the line-up is amongst the best at any festival in Europe. Huge headliners like the Cure and Gorillaz are joined by local legends Veronica Maggio, The Hives, Zara Larsson and Lykke Li, plus international buzz bands in Geese and Fcukers. With “popenhagen” and cool Scandi pop particularly in vogue at the moment, there’s never been a better time to put your trust in the tastemakers of Gothenburg.
Line-up Highlights: The Cure, Gorillaz, Geese, Smerz, Lorde, Anna Von Hausswolf, Zara Larsson
Tickets: Weekend are sold out, try Ticketswap. Day tickets are still available
Price: Weekend 3495 SEK (~£280), Day 1895 SEK (~£150)
Rock en Seine
26th to 30th August - Paris, France
Set against the backdrop of the eponymous iconic river, France’s largest urban festival moves into its 24th year with a veritably broad line-up of global acts. Offering a unique programme of five distinct line-ups across as many days – the festival is bookended with performances from Tyler, The Creator (Wednesday) and The Cure (Sunday) – Rock en Seine continues to cater for the more nomadic fan of live music.
With the recent addition of ‘Mini-Rock’ providing younger fans the opportunity to experience an introduction to festival culture, Rock en Seine’s commitment to diverse bookings is reflective of the wide-demographic of their clientele. Pop devotees can see New Zealand’s phenom Lorde (Thursday) play alongside viral smash Djo, whilst hardened veterans of metal and post-punk will be roused to see Deftones (Saturday), and Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (Friday), whose headlining shows suitably match the ambience of Domaine Nation De Saint Cloud’s historical, gothic history.
Line-up Highlights: Sombr, CMAT, Amyl and the Sniffers, Wet Leg, Mannequin Pussy
Tickets: Full festival tickets, as well as individual tickets for 27th and 30th August sold out, tickets remain for other days and combinations.
Price: £79-£99 per day
Phillgood
17th to 19th July - Plovdiv, Bulgaria
A brand new festival comes to the beautiful city of Plovdiv in Bulgaria. Situated at one end of the picturesque rowing canal, Phillgood features stunning global superstar headliners The Cure, Gorillaz and Moby, with the former two making their Bulgarian debut. For an unbelievable price, see these artists and more alongside a stunning backdrop in one of the nation’s most historically rich cities. Brought to you by the team behind the same site’s Hills of Rock, this new festival promises to deliver the very best music from Bulgaria itself alongside a collection of huge artists from abroad.
The main stage’s stacked line-up also features Wolf Alice, Kneecap and Suede before the headliners, but across three stages there’s really something for everyone. The PhillCool stage features a selection of the very best Bulgarian music including 80s legends Клас (pronounced Klas) whilst the PhillRave stage plays host to legends of contemporary dance music such as Daniel Avery and Kelly Lee Owens.
Line-up Highlights: The Cure, Gorillaz, Moby, Wolf Alice, Kneecap, Suede, Thievery Corporation
Tickets: Available from Ticket Station
Price: Final Release - 153.99 EUR/138.06 GBP