Bristol Vegan Fayre
30th – 31st May @ The Amphitheatre, Bristol
£10 day
The King Blues, Soho Dolls, Horace Andy
If vegan is your thing then head down to the heart of Bristol for the largest vegan event found anywhere in the world – and if you’re not, there’s still plenty of top reggae, jazz and ska on offer along with more stalls, workshops, talks, demos and circus acts than you can shake a cabbage at.
www.bristol.veganfayre.co.uk

Download
12th – 14th June @ Donington Park, Leicestershire
£135 weekend
Marilyn Manson, Faith No More, Slipknot
Download is the UK’s premier rock festival, a 5-day mammoth rock event hosted in the spiritual home of rock – Donington Park. Now in its 7th year, there is nowhere better to see new and old rock and metal legends together for one weekend across 3 monsterous stages.
www.downloadfestival.co.uk

Beach Break Live
16th – 19th June @ Polzeath, Cornwall
£84 week
Dizzee Rascal, The Zutons, Mystery Jets
June sees school out so head down to Cornwall to join 10,000 students for the UK’s very own Spring Break! Celebrate the end of exams with sand and surf while the sun’s up and brill bands and DJs when the sun’s down. Added extras like the masquerade ball, the Cornish Goblet games and the world’s biggest pyjama party ensure this is one festival you won’t forget.
www.beachbreaklive.com

Sónar
18th – 20th June @ Barcelona, Spain
£125 weekend
Grace Jones, Orbital, Late Of The Pier
Now in its 16th year, Barcelona’s International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Art is 3-days of cutting edge music and art set right in the heart of this great city. Expand and blow your mind by day, party party party by night.
www.sonar.es

Winterwell Festival
19th – 21st June @ Secret Location, Gloucestershire
£85 weekend
Norman Jay, Smerins Anti-Social Club, Slow Club
Winterwell sprung from a simple goal of crafting a great independent boutique festival in a beautiful location for like-minded people. Small, unspoilt, wholesome fun! The wonderful atmosphere is key and this is stoked with entertainment like world record attempts, midnight lantern launches, the Winterwell Olympic Games and fancy dress on Saturday judged by Norman Jay himself!
www.winterwell.co.uk

Glastonbury
24th – 28th June @ Worthy Farm, Somerset
£175 weekend
Franz Ferdinand, Bruce Springsteen, Blur
Everyone has to experience Glastonbury Festival at least once in their lifetime, it is the benchmark against which all other music festivals around the globe mark themselves and now in its 39th year, it is still daisies and dreadlocks above anything else out there – let’s just hope this year’s is sunny!
www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Exit
9th – 12th July @ Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad, Northern Serbia
£72 weekend
Andy C, Arctic Monkeys, Moby
Launched 10 years ago as a student protest against the Milosevic regime, Exit has proved that music is the universal language to unite the world and has grown into one of the most highly regarded festivals in Europe. Set in a unique 18th century fortress, 25 stages hosting a renowned, diverse line-up are connected by cobbled streets, ramparts and tunnels. Wizard!
www.exitfest.org

Cornbury Festival
11th – 12th July @ Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire
£110 weekend
The Sugarbabes, Scouting For Girls, The Pretenders
This beautiful boutique festival returns in its stunning Cotswolds location for a 6th year; expect hot air balloons, fantastic food, morris dancers, children’s theatre, workshops, a huge fairground and a farmers’ market with a dancefloor (!) all held together by an eclectic musical tradition and a ‘something for everybody’ approach.
www.cornburyfestival.com

Larmer Tree Festival
15th – 19th July @ Larmer Tree Gardens, Salisbury
£177 week
Jools Holland, Dreadzone, Richard Thompson
Set in a beautiful Victorian pleasure garden with forest, hidden statues and peacocks as standard, this festival is all about world foods and world music. It also retains its independent vibe by having no large sponsors and they preserve their intimate atmosphere with limited ticket sales.
www.larmertreefestival.co.uk

Festival Internacional de Benicàssim
16th – 19th July @ Benicàssim, Eastern Spain
£155 weekend
Oasis, The Killers, Kings of Leon
Set on the sunny Spanish coast near Valencia, this 4 day festival is hailed as the ultimate summer party and one of the very the best festival in Europe. Spend the days basking on the golden beach under guaranteed sunshine and dance through the night to 8am to the world’s best indie/rock.
www.fiberfib.com

Latitude
16th – 19th July @ Henham Park, Suffolk
£130 weekend
Pet Shop Boys, Grace Jones, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Now in its fourth year, Latitude continues to inspire and innovate; bringing together the world’s very best music, film, comedy, cabaret, dance, poetry, literature and art along with some very special theatre for a fun-filled, calming, cultural adventure by the sea.
www.latitudefestival.co.uk

Glade
16th – 19th July @ Matterley Bowl, Wincheter
£125 weekend
Underworld, Juan Atkins, Booka Shade
Winner of 2008’s Best Dance Festival, Glade 2009 promises to big louder, later and longer. Formed 5 years ago by the people behind The Glade at Glastonbury, this festival focuses on cutting edge electro-dance music playing all range of breaks, heavy drum’n’bass and real chill-out.
www.gladefestival.com

2000trees
17th – 18th July @ Upcote Farm, Cheltenham
£47 weekend
British Sea Power, Fightstar, The King Blues
This is how festivals should be done – reasonably priced, a manageable size (only 2,000 people compared to Glasto’s 200,000), strong ethics, a raft of brilliant bands, hosted in stunning countryside and all very, very green (last year they recycled 78% of the festival’s entire waste) – staggering stuff!
www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk

T4 On The Beach
19th July @ Weston-super-Mare
£35 day
The Saturdays, Dizzee Rascal, Calvin Harris
This annual event is always a fantastic day out on the beach of Weston-super-Mare and this year should be no exception. There’s over 25 brilliant bands playing live, games and Channel 4 always have plenty of surprises for you up their sleeves.
www.channel4.com/t4onthebeach

Global Gathering
24th – 25th July @ Long Marston Airfield, Warwickshire
£115 weekend
Prodigy, Orbital, Pendulum
Expect some heavy beats and high energy hooks at this year’s Global Gathering as 55,000 people congregate for a 2-day, non-stop electronic music weekender that brings together the world’s greatest live and DJ talent playing the very best house, trance, leftfield and breaks.
www.globalgathering.co.uk

Camp Bestival
24th – 26th July @ Lulworth Castle, Dorset
£130 weekend
PJ Harvey, Mercury Rev, Roots Manuva
Rob da Bank (the DJ who established the first Bestival 6 years ago) created Camp Bestival last year to try and retain that intimate festival vibe. 2008 worked so well that 2009 is back with bells on, packed with top bands, top DJs and top comedy and enough elbow room to get down to some top boogeying!
www.campbestival.net

WOMAD
24th – 26th July @ Charlton Park, Wiltshire
£122 weekend
Fat Freddy’s Drop, Soloman Burke, Ethiopiques
Now in its 27th year, WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) aims to bring together art forms from all the countries and cultures of the world. The WOMAD experience is all about the discovery and enjoyment of the unknown and unexpected - it’s a magical, musical melting pot, enriching all who experience it.
www.womad.org

Bristol Harbour Festival
31st July – 2nd August @ Harbourside, Bristol
FREE
This city centre festival is now a barometer of the South West’s buzzing music, circus, dance and art scene. 2008 saw a quarter of a million people descend onto the harbourside to enjoy all sorts of home grown entertainment along with a fantastic array of ships and, of course, the best firework display you could ever hope to ogle!
www.bristolharbourfestival.co.uk

Bristol International Balloon Fiesta
6th – 9th August @ Ashton Court Estate, Bristol
FREE
Bristol’s Balloon Festival has become a cultural jewel in the crown of the South West, bringing people flocking from the far reaches of the globe. Starting with the Night Glow and firework display on Thursday and with a Red Arrows display on Saturday, the weekend will be brought to life with regular hot air balloon flights over Bristol.
www.bristolfiesta.co.uk

The Big Chill
7th – 9th August @ Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire
£145 weekend
Orbital, Basement Jaxx, Norman Jay
Having made its name in the mid-‘90s as an ambient event to chillax to the max, The Big Chill is now a regular fixture of the English summer and provides a diverse range of music and entertainment. 15 years on and they still haven’t lost sight of their ideals – it’s all about energy, community and fun!
www.bigchill.net

Boomtown Fair
7th – 9th August @ Secret Location, near Bristol
£60 weekend
Babyhead, Chaz and Dave, Babylon Circus
Formerly known as Recydrate The West, this fantastic festival is purely about celebrating all things Somerset! Expect fantastic local bands, local produce stalls, summer fete-style games and lots and lots of free flowing cider and scrumpy! Gurt lush!
www.boomtownfair.co.uk

Bloom
14th – 16th August @ West Littleton Down, South Gloucestershire
£75 weekend
Noah & The Whale, Dub Pistols, Just Jack Promotions
Nominated as Best New UK Festival in 2006, this 3-day independent event sees several arenas pumping out music in a plethora of genres as well as cabaret, comedy, stunning live visuals, fire shows, instillations, live art, Bloom bingo, circus acts, Bloom vegetable patch, beat jigsaw and a digital funfair?! Woop!
www.bloomfestival.com

Croissant Neuf
14th – 16th August @ Usk, South Wales
£80 weekend
Steve Knightly, Yes Sir Boss, The Hit-Ups
Growing from a small skiffle band that did the rounds at local folk festivals, Croissant Neuf is now a fully fledged family festival packed with music and circus and boasts using all local and organic produce and is powered just by the sun!
www.partyneuf.co.uk

Green Man Festival
21st – 23rd August @ Glanusk Park, Wales
£105 weekend
Wilco, Bon Iver, British Sea Power
Set deep in the heart of the Brecon Beacons, this (predominantly folk) festival offers a unique weekend of music, dancing, film, comedy, art and literature set in a landscape that is only open to the public for these few days a year. It’s a must to enjoy the music, magic and sense of escape.
www.thegreenmanfestival.co.uk

Shambala
27th – 30th August @ Secret Location, Northamptonshire
£99 weekend
Shambala have endeavoured to cultivate a free-spirited, warm, friendly, low-profile and ethical festival with a down-to-earth mix of creativity. The festival is completely independent from advertising and sponsorship and having never promoted it, Shambala’s excellent reputation has grown through word of mouth alone.
www.shambalafestival.org

Creamfields
29th – 30th August @ Daresbury, Cheshire
£115 weekend
Basement Jaxx, Paul Van Dyk, Dizzee Rascal
Since it began life in 1998, Creamfields has now established itself as the biggest and best dance festival in not just the UK, but the entire world! It’s action packed, lively and the only place to truly paaaarty this summer!!!
www.creamfields.com

Bestival
11th – 13th September @ Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of Wight
£140 weekend
Massive Attack, Kraftwerk, Klaxons
2009’s Bestival is hailed as ‘The Year of the Spectacluar!’ and as ever, Rob da Bank has been working his socks off to put on a cornucopia of fantastic acts, across 14 fantastic stages at this fantastic festival. The dress code in Outer Space so let’s get cosmic!
www.bestival.net

Waveform
11th – 13th September @ Liddington Warren Farm, Wiltshire
£75 weekend
Waveform returns with its 2 live stages and 3 dance tents all playing the best banging dance/trance music around. Last year Waveform won the UK’s greenest festival award so look out for the solar and wind powered green village with saunas, hot-tubs, solar showers, spa and composting toilets!
www.waveformfestival.com

Bristol Festival
19th – 20th September @ Canon’s Marsh Amphitheatre, Bristol
£5 day
Bristol Festival is a city centre based community festival celebrating Southwest music, art, theatre and circus talent. During the day it’s Brizzolfest with 2 stages next to the harbour and during the night it’s Rave-on-Avon, a multi-club linkup to dance ‘til sunrise.
www.thebristolfestival.org