Greenman Festival                   Quite apart from very easily having the coolest website, the lineup for this Welsh festival is just lovely: Kings of Convenience (when was the last time they were in the UK?!), Ben Howard, Local Natives, and the Horrors. They also have comedy and some cool science-y looking things. Check it out, yma.

 

 

Pukkelpop is a Belgian open-air festival, and they evidently don’t subscribe to the same definition of ‘pop’ as we do over here. The line-up includes the Prodigy, Eminem, the XX, Foals, Chase and Status, etc. See for yourself hierher.

Ireland. Grass, sheep, adorable accents, sheep, potatoes, grass, sheep—they have it all. Oh and a sick summer festival: Electric Picnic have done good. From the legends that are Fatboy Slim and Björk (wrote about her in my last exam. yup.) to Noah and the Whale, Disclore, the 1975, Palma violets, and Mount Kimbie, this looks like a wonderful festival. Hopefully the weather will hold up. To find out more, click anseo.

 From one corner of the UK to another— T in the Park. I must confess that for the longest time I really thought that T was Tea, (yes, I was one of those people who pronounced it Deadmau-five) and that I couldn't, therefore, think of a more boring sounding festival. How wrong was I? T stands for Tennet's lager, and this festival is an exciting British epic— The Killers, Rihanna, and Mumford and Sons are scheduled to headline. come here.

 

 

Named the best ‘overseas’ festival (and, incidentally, my local…win for living in Valencia) FIB Benicassim has been consistent in unveiling excellent line-ups, and never going a year without something devastating occurring. A fire, hurricane, or campsite evacuation before the festival is through: or your money back. Go to the website, aquí.

 

And now for something completely different: Larmer Festival. "The happiest, friendliest, quirkiest festival in the land...", Larmer festival is a music festival with a difference. Originally a two-day jazz and blues festival, nowadays it prides itself on eclecticism and a family-friendly environment, all situated in some of the country's most beautiful and calm landscapes. We're not talking muddy fields, we're talking historic, manicured gardens. Van Morrison, Imelda May and KT Tunstall. Interested?

 

It is absolutely amazing this year: Latitude. Closer to its European festival cousins, Latitude is certainly not just music. Dance, poetry, comedy, cabaret and more come together for a true art festival. I really can't say more than that this festival probably wins for best line-up. Surprised? Check it out here, and get back to me. Yeah. Told you so.   

 Reading/Leeds is a King among festivals. It’s absolutely unique, filthy; four days of camping chaos. Reading is perhaps not for the faint of heart; don’t be surprised at a bout of ‘Delhi Belly’— but certainly a must for die-hard music lovers, for which “Reading” has become almost a right of passage. In true Reading Rocks fashion, the anti-pop battlecry has gone forth: Green Day, Biffy Clyro, and Eminem will be taking to the main-stage this year. Have a look at who else, here.

 Indietracks. There are very limited numbers of tickets (only 2500!) to this immensely cool festival. It takes place on trains. Yes, artists actually perform on moving trains, at the Midland Railway Festival in Derby. There is also an all-you-can-eat buffet car, and considering I'm writing this and thinking about getting Nando's for dinner, that sounds incr-EDIBLE.(Ouch, I'm sorry. Slipped into the Tab's pun domain there briefly...) The bands are very under-the-radar, the venue couldn't get much more ironic, and their awesome charity status all make this festival something to look forward to this summer. See here for yourself.

Could it be anyone else? Glastonbury dress to impress again with their monolithic line-up, encompassing basically everyone else from the other festivals (although, and this is personal, no Kraftwerk…but it’s completely possible that their name has simply been lost in the cascade of names). There is always far too much going on to even think about doing, or watching, anywhere close to half of it. Maybe that's a downfall, maybe a massive win. Either way, Glastonbury is synonymous with Music festivals, and for a very good reason. See what they have to offer this year, here.

 

Varsity is launching a brand new festival blog— VARSTIVAL. Search 'Varstival' in google, or click here to check it out.