A music festival is not just a venue for watching your favourite bands perform live. It is a place where the rules of every day life are suspended and you are immersed in a world where the only thing that matters is having a good time. Thousands of music festivals take place throughout the year all over the world, but some are more deserving of their ticket price than others. If you are a fan of festival vibes and want to tick some of the big hitters off your list, here are five that every true festival lover should experience at least once in their life.
Coachella, USA
When Coachella comes around, everyone knows about it. Instagram overflows with photos of impossibly attractive festival-goers decked out with floral wreaths on their heads and colourful playsuits. Often attracting the biggest names in the music industry, both on the stage and in the crowd, this star-studded event is a bucket list experience. The only thing you might not love about this festival is the heat – it takes place in the Californian desert after all.
Glastonbury, UK
Glastonbury is basically the Holy Grail of festivals, despite its rather unglamorous appearance. The festival takes place in the fields of the UK’s West Country and no matter how sunny it might seem that weekend, they will be transformed into pools of knee deep mud by the end of day one. Glastonbury has hosted world-class headliners in the past, including Beyoncé, David Bowie, Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys, and Kendrick Lamar.
Sziget Festival, Hungary
Sat on an island in the middle of the Danube River, Sziget is more than just a music festival. It is an immersive world that brings together music, art, and culture in an explosion of sound and colour. Perhaps one of the key selling points of the Sziget festival is the diversity of its line-ups. Every genre is catered for, so no-one has an excuse not to come. To top it all off, the festivities go on for an entire week, so you can really get some good bang for your buck.
Exit, Serbia
If a line-up of kickass artists wasn’t enough to convince you to add Exit to your festival bucket list, the fact that it is held in a fortress should bring you down off that fence. The location of the Exit festival is the jewel in its shining crown. The festival started out as a freedom movement among students in Serbia and the Balkans, and has since blossomed into the international superstar that it is today. Nevertheless, social responsibility is still an important part of the festival, which appeals to a lot of forward-thinking young people.
Tomorrowland, Belgium
Tomorrowland is one of the world’s largest music festivals and its tickets usually sell out in a matter of minutes. So, if you’re thinking about joining the other 400,000 people that hit up this festival each summer, you better have a good strategy for getting tickets. If you manage to bag some, you will be in for a real treat. DJs from all over the world fly in for the festival and many describe the event as the highlight of their year. Get yourself organised and you could be saying the same thing.
