The Best Summer Music Festivals To Attend In 2022
It’s official - Summer’s finally here! And since there’s no better way to spend the season, we collated the best summer music festivals going down in 2022. Which will you be tearing up?
Last updated: 23rd Jun 2022
Originally published: 21st Jun 2022
Summer festivals are where it’s at. Sun, pints, messing about with your mates, and singing along to your favourite tunes until you lose your voice. There’s nothing like it.
And as today is officially the first day of the UK summer, we gathered the summer festivals that look so good it almost hurts.
So here are the best summer music festivals in 2022 that we just can’t wait for.
Photo: All Points East on Facebook
When: dates from 19th - 28th August
Where: Victoria Park, London, England
Lineup: Gorillaz, The Chemical Brothers, Kraftwerk, Peggy Gou, Tame Impala, The National, Disclosure, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Caroline Polachek
All Points East has come through with a tasty lineup spread across six days, so you can choose which dates are more your vibe. With the dates in August, there’s a solid chance the weather will be stunning. But who needs good weather when you’re in a field, three or four pints in, listening to Peggy Gou?
Photo: Y Not on Facebook
When: Friday 29th - Sunday 31st July
Where: Pikehall, Didsbury, England
Lineup: Stereophonics, Blossoms, Courteeners, Kelis, Pale Waves, The Vaccines, Nothing But Thieves, Manic Street Preachers
Award-winning indie, rock, and electronic festival Y Not is back with another killer lineup. Expect icon Kelis alongside all your indie faves, as well as hip hop karaoke, musical bingo, comedy, and other performing arts to keep you entertained for the entire weekend. For festival veterans or newbies, Y Not is a solid choice.
Photo: Truck Festival on Facebook
When: Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th July
Where: Hill Farm, Oxfordshire, England
Lineup: Bombay Bicycle Club, Sam Fender, Kasabian, Sigrid, The Kooks, Easy Life, Kelis, Blossoms, Wilkinson
Or you could try Y Not’s sister festival, Truck. Similar to Y Not, Truck showcases the best in indie, rock, and electronic. As this year's edition will be the festival's 25th birthday, we expect the atmosphere will be more electric than usual. And, you never know, they might pull some tricks out of the bag!
When: Friday 1st - Saturday 2nd July
Where: Bygrave Wood, Hertfordshire, England
Lineup: Hybrid Minds, Annie Mac, Hannah Wants, Solardo, Sub Focus, Flava D, Skepsis, Example, Nia Archives
Just a short journey from London, Electric Woodlands has dropped a pretty jaw-droppingly beautiful electronic lineup. Despite this stunning lineup, there are still a few tickets left. And they’re pretty damn cheap too. But if you’ve already splashed too much cash on other summer festivals, you can get a day ticket and still have a cracking time.
Find tickets for Electric Woodlands - here
Otherlands Music & Arts Festival
Photo: Otherlands on Facebook
When: Friday 19th - Sunday 21st August
Where: Scone Palace, Perth, Scotland
Lineup: Bicep, Tom Misch, Jamie xx, Honey Dijon, Chaos In The CBD, Sherelle
Let's put that stunning lineup to the side for a second while we talk about what Otherlands Festival offers besides the tunes. At this year's edition, attendees can expect a multi-sensory dining experience, a wellness sanctuary, yoga and meditation classes, DJ workshops, and so much more. All that with Bicep, Honey Dijon, and a bunch of other artists dominating their scene? Count us in!
Find tickets for Otherlands - here
Photo: Mad Cool on Facebook
When: Wednesday 6th - Sunday 10th July
Where: Espacio Mad Cool, Madrid, Spain
Lineup: Metallica, Muse, Alt-J, Twenty One Pilots, Placebo, Florence + The Machine, Pixies, Incubus, Stormzy
But we all know British weather isn’t exactly the most… reliable. So why not jet out to a fest that almost guarantees perfect weather and a killer lineup? It just makes sense. And, if you have a group of mates with massively different tastes, Mad Cool is the one with metal, rock, indie, pop, RnB, soul, blues, house, hip hop, and just about everything else on the lineup.
Find tickets for Mad Cool Festival - here
Wacken Open Air
Photo: Wacken Open Air on Facebook
When: Thursday 4th - Saturday 6th August
Where: Norderstrasse, Wacken, Germany
Lineup: Slipknot, Judas Priest, Limp Bizkit, Mercyful Fate
One for the metalheads, Wacken Open Air is a heavy music fest in Germany. This year, we’ll see performances from iconic acts such as Judas Priest, Slipknot, and Limp Bizkit. Other bands on the lineup include 5th Avenue, Attic, Avantasia, Brothers of Metal, Crypta, Disconnected, Epica, and many more. It’ll be a mad one, for sure.
When: Thursday 25th - Sunday 28th August
Where: Daresbury, Cheshire, England
Lineup: Afrojack, Calvin Harris, Black Coffee, Becky Hill, Amelie Lens, Bicep, Hannah Wants, Eric Prydz, Nina Kraviz, Sonny Fodera, Chase & Status, Fatboy Slim
Well, where do we begin? Perhaps the biggest electronic music fest in the world, Creamfields has such a massive lineup that if we listed all the big names above, it’d take up half this page. If electronic music's your thing, Creamfields is the place to be. Just about every genre and subgenre of electronic music is represented in what’s set to be the biggest party of the year.
Find tickets for Creamfields North - here
Photo: elrowtown.com
When: Saturday 20th August
Where: Parsloes Park, Dagenham, England
Lineup: TBA
Going off about an hour's drive or tube away from London, one of the world’s biggest party brands is putting on its biggest festival yet. Even though we don’t have a lineup yet, we know it’ll be killer. Expect this summer festival to be a massive party soundtracked by the best DJs in house and techno.
Find tickets for Elrow Town London Festival - here
Photo: Sonus Festival on Facebook
When: Sunday 21st - Thursday 25th August
Where: Zrce Beach, Novalja, Croatia
Lineup: Amelie Lens, Black Coffee, Boris Brejcha, Carl Cox, Deborah de Luca, FISHER, Hot Since 82, more TBA
A festival on the beach in sunny Croatia? Our dreams have come true! Sonus is known for its handpicked lineups of house, tech house, and techno DJs, from household names to rapidly rising stars. You can picture it now: five days and nights of straight partying on a gorgeous beach with a turquoise sea as your faves hit the decks.
Find tickets for Sonus Festival - here
When: Friday 26th - Sunday 28th
Where: Richfield Avenue Festival Site, Reading, England / Bramham Park, Leeds, England
Lineup: Arctic Monkeys, Megan Thee Stallion, Rage Against The Machine, Dave, Bring Me The Horizon, Halsey
Reading and Leeds are easily two of the biggest festivals in the UK that always come through with a great lineup. This year's lineup has plenty of indie, rock, hip hop, grime, pop, alternative, electronic, metal, and more. As always, Reading and Leeds are guaranteed to go off.
Find tickets for Reading Festival - here / Find tickets for Leeds Festival - here
When: Friday 2nd - Sunday 4th September
Where: Stradbally Hall, Laois, Ireland
Lineup: Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala, Dermot Kennedy, Megan Thee Stallion, Picture This, Snow Patrol
Coming in with a pretty diverse lineup, Electric Picnic is one to check out if you’re the kind of person who loves a range of genres. At the top of the lineup alone, you'll find hip hop, indie, rock, psychedelic, pop, and pop-rock. And, as an Irish festival, there are a fair few Irish artists on the lineup too.
Find tickets for Electric Picnic - here
When: Friday 8th - Sunday 10th July
Where: Glasgow Green, Glasgow, Scotland
Lineup: Paolo Nutini, Lewis Capaldi, The Strokes, Foals, Wolf Alice, Sam Fender
TRNSMT is a crazy predominantly indie/alternative festival in Glasgow. The crowds are always amazing and have so much energy. But with The Strokes, Example, Foals, Wolf Alice, Sam Fender, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Fontaines D.C., and The Lathums set to hit the stage, this year’s might be wilder than any other.
Find tickets for TRNSMT Festival - here
Photo: Boardmasters on Facebook
When: Wednesday 10th - Sunday 14th August
Where: Watergate Bay and Fistral Beach, Cornwall, England
Lineup: George Ezra, Disclosure, Kings of Leon, De La Soul, Bastille, Bombay Bicycle Club, Damian Jr Gong Marley
You don’t have to go abroad for that holiday feeling! Boardmasters is a festival that combines music with surfing, skating, and BMX. Going down at the "home of British surfing", it's the summer festival to be at in 2022. And with artists such as Joel Corry, Flava D, Kurupt FM, and Shy FX, the party just never stops.
Find tickets for Boardmasters - here
Photo: Sundown on Facebook
When: Friday 2nd - Sunday 4th September
Where: Norfolk Showground, Norwich, England
Lineup: AJ Tracey, Sean Paul, Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Bru-C, Ms Banks, Flava D, Tom Zanetti, Sam Divine
With a lineup that screams summer in every sense, Sundown might be the best summer music festival in 2022. The crowd reacting to jams like Ladbroke Grove and Temperature alone will make the whole weekend worthwhile. And sets from Bad Boy Chiller Crew will, of course, be hectic. We’d expect nothing less.
Photo: Maiden Voyage on Facebook
When: Sunday 28th August
Where: Lee Valley Showground, Waltham Abbey, England
Lineup: Shanti Celeste, Yung Singh, Sherelle, Jeff Mills, D Double E, Hunee, Jayda G
Maiden Voyage is back with jazz, hip hop, soul, world music, house, techno, soul, and other sunny genres. An absolute steal, the remaining few tickets are going for just £20. Just twenty quid for a day of sun (fingers crossed), tunes, and immaculate vibes, Maiden Voyage is a great shout. Oh, and there’s no chance of your faves clashing as all artists share the same stage!
Find tickets for Maiden Voyage Festival - here
These summer festivals will be absolutely killer. With cracking lineups, the mad-for-it crowds, and the (hopefully) good weather to compliment it, we know they’ll be stunning.
For more summer music festivals in 2022, click or tap here.
Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.
