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There are many notable
music festivals A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or hol ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, covering a wide variety of genres, which are usually run from late May to early September. Some are world-renowned and have been held for many years, including the world's largest greenfield festival,
Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
, which has been held since the 1970s.


History

Large-scale modern music festivals began in the 1960s with festivals such as the
Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...
and following the success of
Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and free festivals. Some began as jazz festivals such as the
Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
which began as the
National Jazz and Blues Festival The National Jazz and Blues Festival was the precursor to the Reading Rock Festival and was the brainchild of Harold Pendleton, the founder of the prestigious Marquee Club in Soho. History Initially called The National Jazz Festival, it was a ...
in the 1960s and the first
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
was the 1970 Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival. In the 21st century the number of festivals has grown significantly,


Events


Bluegrass

* Didmarton Bluegrass Festival


Classical and opera

*
Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival Th ...
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BBC Cardiff Singer of the World BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition (known as Cardiff Singer of the World from 1983–2001 and BBC Singer of the World in Cardiff in 2003) is a competition for classical singers held every two years. The competition was started by BBC W ...
*
Buxton Festival The Buxton Festival is an annual summer festival of opera, music and (since 2000) a literary series, held in Buxton, Derbyshire, England since its beginnings in July 1979. The 2020 festival would have run but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 cri ...
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Cheltenham Music Festival The Cheltenham Music Festival is a British music festival, held annually in Cheltenham in the summer months (June, July) since 1945. The festival is renowned for premieres of contemporary music, hosting over 250 music premieres as of July 2004. ...
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Cymanfa Ganu A Cymanfa Ganu (, ''Singing Festival''), is a Welsh festival of sacred hymns, sung with four part harmony by a congregation, usually under the direction of a choral director. The Cymanfa Ganu movement was launched in 1859 at Bethania Chapel in A ...
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East Neuk Festival The East Neuk Festival is an annual music festival that takes place over five days around 1 July in the area known as the East Neuk of Fife. History Established in 2004 it was the brainchild of Donald and Louise MacDonald and founding a ...
*
Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...
* English Music Festival *
Garsington Opera Garsington Opera is an annual summer opera festival founded in 1989 by Leonard Ingrams. The Philharmonia Orchestra and The English Concert are its two resident orchestras. For 21 years it was held in the gardens of Ingrams's home at Garsingto ...
* Glyndebourne Opera Festival *
Grange Park Opera Grange Park Opera is a professional opera company and charity whose base is West Horsley Place in Surrey, England. Founded in 1998, the company staged an annual opera festival at The Grange, in Hampshire and in 2016–7, built a new opera hou ...
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Grimeborn Grimeborn is an annual East London musical theatre and opera festival which coincides with the world famous East Sussex Glyndebourne Opera Festival. Founded by Arcola Theatre’s artistic director Mehmet Ergen in 2007, the festival is held a ...
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Harrogate International Festivals Harrogate International Festivals (HIF) is a registered charity and one of the UK's longest running arts festivals, having been established in 1966. Based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Festivals include the Harrogate Music Festival, Theakston O ...
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Henley Festival The Henley Festival of Music and the Arts is held, at Henley on Thames, each July, on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames, at the same spot and using adapted facilities from the Henley Royal Regatta, which is held the week before. The main s ...
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Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (also known by the acronym HCMF, stylised since 2006 as the lowercase hcmf//) is a new music festival held annually in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since its foundation in 1978, it has featu ...
* Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod *
Lake District Summer Music Lake District Summer Music (LDSM) is a music festival in the English Lake District. An annual event held in August, it features performances by international artists and there is also an academy for young musicians. Founded in 1985, LDSM was liste ...
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London International Festival of Early Music The London International Festival of Early Music (LIFEM) is an English music festival which is devoted mainly to baroque and renaissance music. It takes place each November in Blackheath, London, at Blackheath Halls. History The festival was fou ...
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Nevill Holt Opera Nevill Holt Opera is an arts festival at the end of June and beginning of July that is held at Nevill Holt Hall in Leicestershire, the home of Carphone Warehouse co-founder David Ross. History Nevill Holt Opera launched its first independent s ...
* Oxford Lieder Festival *
The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
* Prom on The Close *
Spitalfields Music Spitalfields Music (previously known as Spitalfields Festival, officially registered as Spitalfields Festival Ltd) is a music charity based in the Bethnal Green area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Through musical events, the charity hop ...
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St Albans International Organ Festival The International Organ Festival (IOF) is a biennial music festival and organ competition held in St Albans, England since 1963. Originally held annually, it was changed to every two years in 1965 due to the complexity of organising the increasin ...
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St Magnus Festival The St Magnus International Festival is an annual, week-long arts festival which takes place at midsummer on the islands of Orkney, off the north coast of mainland Scotland. History and management The festival was founded in 1977 by a group incl ...
* Southern Cathedrals Festival *
Swaledale Festival The Swaledale Festival takes place over two weeks in May and June each year, in churches, chapels, castles, ‘Literary Institutes’, pubs, fields and village halls scattered around Swaledale, Arkengarthdale and Wensleydale. The largest venues s ...
* Three Choirs Festival *
Two Moors Festival The 'Two Moors Festival'' is an annual classical music festival based in Devon and Somerset, England. It covers the largest geographic area of any U.K. festival, and is based in the towns and villages of Dartmoor and Exmoor. History The festival ...
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York Early Music Festival The York Early Music Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music from the 18th century and earlier. It was established in 1977, and takes place in York each July, organised by the National Centre for Early Music, York ...


Country

* C2C: Country to Country


Dance and Electronic

* Bang Face * Beat-Herder *
Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festival relocated to the Lulworth Estate in Dorset. The event was organ ...
*
Bloc Festival Bloc Festival was an electronic music festival in England which began in 2006. It was devoted to electronic music of all genres including electro, hip hop, IDM, techno, house music, reggae, drum and bass and dubstep Dubstep is a genre o ...
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Boardmasters Boardmasters Festival is an annual event held in Cornwall, United Kingdom, usually spanning five days on the second weekend of August. The event is a combination of live music and surfing/skateboarding competitions in and around the town of ...
*
Boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, althou ...
*
Chilled in a Field Festival Chilled in a Field Festival is a small, family-friendly music festival in the United Kingdom. First run in 2010, in 2014 it was listed by The Guardian as one of their ''Top 25 summer festivals for music and arts lovers, foodies and families'', and ...
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Creamfields Creamfields is an electronic dance music festival series founded and organised by British club promoter Cream, with its UK edition taking place on August Bank Holiday weekend, with a number of international editions held across various territ ...
* Glade Festival * Infest UK *
Live at Loch Lomond Live at Loch Lomond was a concert festival that took place at Balloch Country Park in 2007 and 2008. The inaugural festival took place from August 4 to August 5, 2007. Nearly 30,000 people attended over the two days. Main bands performing were ...
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PlanetLove PlanetLove was an annual Northern Irish electronic music festival which was held since 1998 - with a skipped year in 2004. Held at Shane's Castle near Randalstown in County Antrim, it was previously held at Nutts Corner (also in Antrim), King ...
*
Play Fest Play Fest is an annual independent music festival that takes place at New Eccles Hall, Quidenham, Norfolk, England. It was first held in May 2011. Play Fest consists of a comprehensive bill of musicians, bands and artists across various stages. T ...
* Shambala Festival


Ethnic

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Africa Oyé Africa Oyé Festival is the largest celebration of live African music in the UK. Originally a smaller, multi-venue event, Oyé now attracts over fifty thousand people every June to Liverpool's Sefton Park.Bradford Mela Bradford Mela is a large scale celebration principally of South Asian culture and was the first such event in Europe. The Mela is a free one-day festival held in Bradford City Park and is part of the Bradford Festival. Mela from Sanskrit ...
* Cardiff Mela *
Edinburgh Mela The Edinburgh Mela is an annual multi-cultural festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is one of the 12 festivals that make up the Edinburgh Festival. The first '' mela'', a Sanskrit word meaning "gathering" or "to meet", was held in 1995 at ...


Folk

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Beverley Folk Festival The Beverley Folk Festival is a three-day celebration of folk music, art, comedy and spoken word held in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was first organised in 1983 by the White Horse Folk Club and grew considerably over thirty y ...
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Big Burns Supper Festival The Big Burns Supper Festival (Big Burns Supper) is an international Scottish music festival and performing arts festival of music, theatre, comedy and cabaret which takes place annually in Dumfries in south Scotland every January. The eleven- ...
* BunkFest *
Boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, althou ...
*
Cambridge Folk Festival The Cambridge Folk Festival is an annual music festival, established in 1965, held on the site of Cherry Hinton Hall in Cherry Hinton, one of the villages subsumed by the city of Cambridge, England. The festival is known for its eclectic mix o ...
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Celtic Connections The Celtic Connections festival started in 1994 in Glasgow, Scotland, and has since been held every January. Featuring over 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, the festival focuses on the roots of tra ...
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Cropredy Festival Fairport's Cropredy Convention (formerly Cropredy Festival) is an annual festival of folk and rock music, headed by British folk-rock band Fairport Convention and held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. The festi ...
* Folk East *
Hop Farm Festival Hop Farm Music Festival was an annual music festival at The Hop Farm Country Park in Paddock Wood, Kent, England, first created by John Vincent Power of Festival Republic. After its first year it was nominated at the UK Festival Awards with " ...
*
International Eisteddfod The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Llangollen, North Wales. It is one of several large annual Eisteddfodau in Wales. Singers and dancers from around ...
* IVFDF * Middlewich Folk And Boat Festival * Royal National Mòd *
Shrewsbury Folk Festival Shrewsbury Folk Festival is an annual festival of folk and world music and traditional dance held in the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England. It takes place over four days on and around the UK Late Summer bank holiday weekend (usually th ...
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Sidmouth Folk Week There has been a folk festival in the coastal town of Sidmouth in South West England in the first week of August every year since 1955, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to over 700 diverse events. Sidmouth Folk Festival offers a wide r ...
*
Soma Festival The Soma Festival ( sa, सोम, or ''sóma'', meaning ''drink of the Gods'', see Soma (drink); ) is an annual music, arts, and cultural festival. The festival includes concerts, musical performances, well-being activities, art exhibitions and ...
,
Castlewellan Castlewellan () is a small town in County Down, in the south-east of Northern Ireland close to the Irish Sea. It is beside Castlewellan Lake and Slievenaslat mountain, southwest of Downpatrick. It lies between the Mourne Mountains and Slie ...
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Towersey Village Festival Towersey Festival is an annual festival of folk, world music and traditional dance, previously held in the village of Towersey, now relocated to neighbouring Thame in Oxfordshire, England. It has taken place every August bank holiday weekend ...
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Trowbridge Village Pump Festival The Village Pump Festival is a folk music festival that takes place near Trowbridge, England. It has its roots years ago in a barn at the Lamb Inn, Trowbridge, and later moved a few miles outside the town to Stowford Manor Farm at Farleigh H ...
* Glasgow West End Festival *
Wickham Festival Wickham Festival is a four-day music event that takes place in the village of Wickham, Hampshire, England. Wickham hosts live music and comedy across four stages, as well as food stalls, craft stalls, real ale and cider bars and children's ente ...


Jazz

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Brecon Jazz Festival The Brecon Jazz Festival is a music festival held annually in Brecon, Wales. Normally staged in early August, it has played host to a range of jazz musicians from across the world. Created in 1984 by local enthusiasts – musicians, promoters a ...
*
Cheltenham Jazz Festival Cheltenham Jazz Festival is one of the UK's leading jazz festivals, and is part of Cheltenham Festivals' annual festival season, also including the Science, Music and Literature Festivals in Cheltenham Spa. Introduction and history The Chelt ...
* City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival *
Glasgow Jazz Festival {{coord, 55.861, -4.259, display=title, region:GB_scale:20000 Glasgow International Jazz Festival is a jazz festival in Glasgow, Scotland. Main Festival The Glasgow International Jazz Festival is held annually in June in the Merchant City are ...
* Glenn Miller Festival *
London Jazz Festival The London Jazz Festival is a music festival held every November. It takes place in London venues such as the Barbican and the Royal Festival Hall and in smaller jazz clubs, such as Ronnie Scott's and the Vortex Jazz Club. It is produced by Ser ...
* Love Supreme Jazz Festival


Metal

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Bloodstock Open Air Bloodstock Open Air is a British heavy metal festival held annually at Catton Hall in Walton-on-Trent, Derbyshire, since 2005. Originally held indoors for one day with two stages, the festival started in 2001 at the Derby Assembly Rooms and h ...
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Boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, althou ...
*
Damnation Festival Damnation Festival is a one-day heavy metal music festival currently held annually at Bowlers Exhibition Centre. Manchester. It was held at held at Jilly's Rockworld in Manchester from 2005 to 2006 and then University of Leeds, Leeds, England ...
* Deathfest *
Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2 ...
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Hammerfest Hammerfest (; sme, Hámmerfeasta ) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Hammerfest is the northernmost town in the world with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamm ...
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Hard Rock Hell Hard Rock Hell is a three day music festival held at Vauxhall Holiday resort, Great Yarmouth. It was previously held at Hafan y Môr Holiday Park, Pwllheli, Gwynedd, North Wales, and up until 2011 at Pontin's Holiday Village, Prestatyn, Wales. ...
* Hellfire Festival *
High Voltage Festival High Voltage was a music festival, held twice in Victoria Park, London. The event hosted artists from various strands of rock music, including classic rock, progressive rock, and heavy metal. The first festival was held on 24 and 25 July 2010. Th ...
* In-Fest *
Ozzfest Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...
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ProgPower UK ProgPower UK is a progressive and power metal festival held annually in the United Kingdom since 2006. Its latest edition, which would have taken place in the Anson Rooms at the University of Bristol on 28 March – 29 March 2008, headlin ...
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Sonisphere Festival The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It ...


Pop

* Guernsey Festival Of Performing Arts * Jack Up The Summer Festival * Jersey Live *
Jingle Bell Ball The Jingle Bell Ball is a concert held annually in December since 2008 (except for 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic), by the radio station Capital FM at The O2. Artists that have headlined the concert include Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, ...
* Midlands Music Festival *
Osfest Osfest was an annual music festival held at Oswestry Showground, organised by Seventh Sense Management. History Plans for the festival were made public in December 2009. The first show took place in 2010 and featured headliner Lemar alongsid ...
*
Party in the Park Party in the Park is the generic name given to music concerts organised by various radio stations and local authorities and groups in the United Kingdom, typically in large parks during the summer, however it is also used to refer to a family ori ...
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Summertime Ball Capital's Summertime Ball is a mini-festival in London, held on either first or second Saturday or Sunday of June by the radio station Capital. The first ball was at Emirates Stadium in 2009, and it has since been held at Wembley Stadium. The ...
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T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused B ...
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T4 on the Beach T4 on the Beach was an annual British one-day music event which was held on the beach at Weston-super-Mare and televised on Channel 4. The event began in 2003 as Pop Beach in Great Yarmouth, changing to the current title and venue in 2005. The d ...


Punk

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Common Ground Festival Common Ground Festival was originally called "The Dirty Weekend" (until 2016) and is a not-for-profit punk rock festival held in the United Kingdom every September since 2004. Profits go to various grass roots charities focusing on political ...
* Give it a Name Festival *
Rebellion Festival The Rebellion Festival, formerly Holidays in the Sun and the Wasted Festival is a British punk rock festival first held in 1996. The festival has attracted mainstream press coverage from such sources as The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily ...
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Slam Dunk Festival Slam Dunk Records or Slam Dunk Music is a British independent record label, promoter and concert organising company, founded in Leeds, England, in 2007. Some notable signees include You Me at Six and Decade. The label evolved from "Slam Dunk", ...


Rock

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Boardmasters Boardmasters Festival is an annual event held in Cornwall, United Kingdom, usually spanning five days on the second weekend of August. The event is a combination of live music and surfing/skateboarding competitions in and around the town of ...
*
Boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, althou ...
* Bourne Festival *
Damnation Festival Damnation Festival is a one-day heavy metal music festival currently held annually at Bowlers Exhibition Centre. Manchester. It was held at held at Jilly's Rockworld in Manchester from 2005 to 2006 and then University of Leeds, Leeds, England ...
*
Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2 ...
* Forfey Festival *
Headlander Festival Headlander Festival was a small UK family friendly festival held on the ground of Stockport RUFC in Bramhall, with the first two-day event being held from 21 June to 22 June 2013. The two-day event attracted around 6,000 music fans each year. T ...
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Hevy Music Festival Hevy Music Festival was a rock festival established by Claire Baker and James that took place annually near Folkestone, Kent, in the UK. It was originally held on 1 August 2009 on Folkestone seafront as a one-day festival with Feeder, Gary ...
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High Voltage Festival High Voltage was a music festival, held twice in Victoria Park, London. The event hosted artists from various strands of rock music, including classic rock, progressive rock, and heavy metal. The first festival was held on 24 and 25 July 2010. Th ...
*
Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...
* Jersey Live * Marvellous Festivals *
Play Fest Play Fest is an annual independent music festival that takes place at New Eccles Hall, Quidenham, Norfolk, England. It was first held in May 2011. Play Fest consists of a comprehensive bill of musicians, bands and artists across various stages. T ...
*
Projekt Revolution Projekt Revolution was a music festival hosted by Linkin Park, bringing artists of various genres of music together. Linkin Park started Projekt Revolution in the year 2002 with just one stage. Then, in 2004, they announced the Revolution Stage ( ...
* Ramblin' Man Fair *
Sonisphere Festival The Sonisphere Festival was a touring rock music festival which took place across Europe between the months of June and August. The festival was owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It was jointly promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live. It ...
* Stamford Festival *
Summer Sundae Summer Sundae (also called the Summer Sundae Weekender) was an annual music festival held in Leicester, England which initially focused on indie, alternative, and local music. The festival began as a one-dayer in 2001 and grew year on year si ...
* Garden Party Festival * TRNSMT *
Tennents ViTal Belfast Vital (formerly Tennent's Vital) is an annual music festival in Northern Ireland. It was first held near Botanic Gardens in 2002 then later moved to Ormeau Park in 2007, both of these venues were in Belfast. The festival had taken a not ...
* Uxfest *
Whitby Gothic Weekend Whitby Goth Weekend, abbreviated to WGW or nicknamed Whitby, is a twice-yearly music festival for the gothic subculture, in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, organised by Jo Hampshire. Summary Whitby Goth Weekend is an alternative music fes ...
* Walk the Line Festival


Tribute act festivals

* Glastonbudget * Marvellous Festivals


Cross-genre

* Lytham Festival * 110 Above Festival (formerly Lainfest) *
2000 Trees Festival 2000trees festival is an independent music festival held from Wednesday to Sunday on the second week of July at Upcote Farm, Withington, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. It offers a diverse selection of more than 120 acts across five stages, ...
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All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...
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ArtsFest ArtsFest was an annual arts festival held in September in Birmingham, England. Between 1997 and 2012 ArtsFest brought together free short demonstrations of dance, music, film and theatre to concert halls, theatres, and open-air stages in var ...
(inactive) *
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...
(Traveling) * Bearded Theory Festival * Beautiful Days * Beggars Fair *
Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festival relocated to the Lulworth Estate in Dorset. The event was organ ...
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Big in Falkirk Big in Falkirk was a festival of the arts held in Falkirk, Scotland, from 2000 to 2009. Since its inception in 2000, the award-winning (Scottish Thistle Award Events & Festivals 2005) free weekend event was one of the largest cultural events in S ...
(inactive) *
Blissfields Blissfields is an annual music festival in Hampshire, England founded by Paul and Mel Bliss in 2001 at Bradley Farm, Bradley, near Alresford. In 2011 the festival moved to a new site in Vicarage Farm, Woodmancott near Winchester. The festival i ...
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Boardmasters Boardmasters Festival is an annual event held in Cornwall, United Kingdom, usually spanning five days on the second weekend of August. The event is a combination of live music and surfing/skateboarding competitions in and around the town of ...
* The Bollington Festival *
Boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, althou ...
* Brentwood Festival *
British Summer Time During British Summer Time (BST), civil time in the United Kingdom is advanced one hour forward of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), in effect changing the time zone from UTC±00:00 to UTC+01:00, so that mornings have one hour less daylight, and ...
* Brownstock Festival * Butserfest *
Camp Bestival Camp Bestival is a British music festival, the "little sister" of Bestival, both organised by BBC Radio 1 DJ Rob Da Bank. It is held annually, in July, at Lulworth Castle in Dorset and is targeted at families with small children. In 2019 it ha ...
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Cardiff Big Weekend The Cardiff Big Weekend took place annually from 1993 to 2011 and in 2017 as part of the Cardiff Festival organized by Cardiff Council. It lasted three days and was billed as "the UK’s biggest free outdoor music festival". The Line Up 20 ...
* Celtic Blue Rock Community Arts Festival *
City of London Festival The City of London Festival was an annual arts festival that took place in the City of London, England, over two to three weeks in June and July. The Festival was strongly geared towards classical music, but also offered a programme that included ...
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Clarence Park Festival Clarence Park Festival is the longest running free music festival in Yorkshire, England. Known initially as Clarence Rocks Off it has been held annually at the bandstand in Clarence Park, Wakefield since 1991. It is the flagship event foWakefiel ...
* End of the Road Festival * Evolution Emerging *
Evolution Festival Evolution Festival was a music festival held annually across Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, England, from 2002 until 2013. The festival attracted tens of thousands of attendees every year and usually took place on the Quayside. Evolution ...
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Fairport's Cropredy Convention Fairport's Cropredy Convention (formerly Cropredy Festival) is an annual festival of folk and rock music, headed by British folk-rock band Fairport Convention and held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. The fest ...
* Farmfestival *
Festival Too Festival Too is a free music festival held yearly in King's Lynn, Norfolk, in the East of England, running throughout July. It has been running since 1985. It is free for anyone to attend, and is funded by donations and through local business ...
* Field Day * Forest Tour *
Fusion Festival The Fusion Festival is a music festival, music and arts festival with a counterculture, countercultural character. It takes place at a former military airport called Rechlin-Lärz Airfield, Müritz Airpark in Lärz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, in no ...
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Garforth Arts Festival The Garforth Arts Festival is an annual arts festival that takes place in Garforth, Leeds, England. The events take place over a two-week period in June and July, ending with a full-day ‘Playground Party’ on the final Saturday. The festival fea ...
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Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
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Godiva Festival The Godiva Festival is a three-day music festival held each year in the War Memorial Park, Coventry, England, named after the city's famous former inhabitant Lady Godiva. It first appeared as a day-long event in 1997 and became a 3-day event ...
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The Great Escape Festival The Great Escape Festival is a three-day music festival held in Brighton and Hove, England every year in May. It is operated by MAMA Festivals and showcases new music from a variety of genres. The festival was founded in 2006 and roughly hosts ...
* Greenbelt festival *
Green Man Festival The Green Man Festival is an independent music, science and arts festival held annually in mid-August in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. Green Man has evolved into a 25,000 capacity week long event, showcasing predominantly live music (in particular ...
* Guilfest *
Hampton Court Palace Festival The Hampton Court Palace Festival (also promoted as the Hampton Court Palace Music Festival) is an annual musical event at Hampton Court Palace in London. Established in 1993, the Festival is known for presenting artists across the music genres ...
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Hastings Musical Festival Hastings Musical Festival is an annual festival of the performing arts held in the White Rock Theatre, Hastings, England. History The Festival has been running since the early 1900s when Dr Herman Brearley organised a festival "for the encour ...
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HowTheLightGetsIn HowTheLightGetsIn Festival is a philosophy and music festival, hosted by the Institute of Art and Ideas. It aims "to get philosophy out of the academy and into people's lives" by bringing together philosophers, writers, academics, comedians and ...
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Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...
* Kendal Calling *
Killin Music Festival Killin Music Fest is a Scottish music festival held annually in Killin, Perthshire. Killin Music Fest The festival was launched in late 2015 by a local voluntary team who started planning for their first event in the summer of 2016. In June 2 ...
* Knebworth Festival * Knockengorroch Festival *
Larmer Tree Festival Larmer Tree Festival is a three-day music, comedy and arts festival held annually at the Larmer Tree Gardens near Tollard Royal on the Wiltshire-Dorset border in England. Described as "one of the most family-friendly festivals around", it ta ...
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Latitude Festival The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006 and has been held every year since, apart from 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-1 ...
* LeeStock Music Festival * Let's Rock * Limetree Festival * Lindisfarne Festival * Mathew Street Fringe Festival * Looe Music Festival *
Loopallu Festival Loopallu was a 2-day music festival that took place in Ullapool, in the north of Scotland. It was held annually between 2005 and 2019, attracting 2,500 people which essentially doubled the population of the village while the event was being h ...
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Lounge On The Farm Lounge On The Farm was a music festival held annually at Merton Farm, Canterbury, Kent, which attracted thousands of visitors each year. Organisers presented it as ‘non-conformist’ and promoted bands and produce from Kent. The event was held ...
(inactive) * The Magic Loungeabout (inactive) * Marvellous Festivals *
Meltdown Meltdown may refer to: Science and technology * Nuclear meltdown, a severe nuclear reactor accident * Meltdown (security vulnerability), affecting computer processors * Mutational meltdown, in population genetics Arts and entertainment Music * ...
* Monmouth Music Festival *
Montrose Music Festival Montrose Music Festival is an annual event, taking place at the end of May in Montrose, Angus, Scotland. The festival first took place in 2008 and is organised by volunteers on a non-profit basis. It won the "Pride of Angus Award" in 2008. The ...
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Norfolk and Norwich Festival Norfolk & Norwich Festival is an arts festival held annually in Norwich, England. It is one of the oldest city festivals in England, having been held since 1824 and tracing its roots back further to 1772. It was initially conceived as a fundra ...
* Nozstock *
Offset Festival Offset Festival was a musical festival held at Hainault Forest Country Park, just outside London, from 2008 to 2010. 2008 The first event aimed to join the dots between cutting-edge, new artists and their influences, with 8 stages covering art ro ...
* Outlines Festival *
The Outsider Festival The Outsider Festival was a music and comedy festival held in 2007 in the Rothiemurchus Estate near Aviemore in the Highlands of Scotland. It was a festival with green credentials and attracted 9,000 attendees on each of the two days that it was ...
(inactive) * Oxjam * Parklife *
Phoenix Festival The Phoenix Festival was set up by John Vincent Power of the Mean Fiddler Music Group in 1993 as an alternative to the established Glastonbury and Reading Festivals. It was held at Long Marston Airfield near Stratford-upon-Avon and was one of t ...
(inactive) *
Play Fest Play Fest is an annual independent music festival that takes place at New Eccles Hall, Quidenham, Norfolk, England. It was first held in May 2011. Play Fest consists of a comprehensive bill of musicians, bands and artists across various stages. T ...
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Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fes ...
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Redfest Redfest was an annual music festival at Robins Cook Farm, Kings Mill Lane, Nutfield, Redhill, Surrey, England. It was established in 2007 as a small (5,000 capacity) independent music festival geared toward youth, with over 70 per cent of its ...
* Rewind Festival * Rhythm Festival (inactive) *
Rise Festival Rise was a free anti-racism music festival held in London, England, from 1996 to 2008. Originally organised as an anti-racism festival by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), it was revived as such by the former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. In ...
(inactive) * RockNess (inactive) *
Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival The Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival (formerly the Oakwood Real Ale and Music Festival) is an annual real ale festival that takes place in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. The event takes place annually at the Magna Centre, Rotherham a forme ...
* Scarborough Fair Festival * St. Magnus International Festival *
Stamford Riverside Festival Stamford Riverside Festival was an annual music festival in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. It has been going for over 25 years, previous event names being 'Rock on the Rec', 'Rock on the Meadows' and 'Music on the Meadows'. The festival pr ...
* Strawberry Fair * Seahouses Festival *
Secret Garden Party The Secret Garden Party, often colloquially shortened to the SGP, is an independent arts and music festival which takes place in Abbots Ripton near Huntingdon in England. This location is on part of the grounds of a Georgian farmhouse and has it ...
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Sellindge Music Festival {{Use British English, date=August 2015 Sellindge Music Festival was a three-day outdoor event that took place in the countryside between Ashford and Folkestone in South Kent. The site for the festival was on Hope Farm. Although it planned to be ...
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Sesiwn Fawr Dolgellau Sesiwn Fawr Dolgellau is a world music event held in the town of Dolgellau in Wales. The event was established in 1992 by Ywain Myfyr, Huw Dylan Owen, Esyllt Jones, Elfed ap Gomer and Alun Owen, and was held in the town's streets. From 2002 unt ...
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Sheep Music Sheep Music is a three-day world music festival which takes place during July each year in Presteigne. It has 22 years of history, starting as a party on The Warden in 1991. Since moving to its current site at Wentes Meadow in the mid-1990s it ...
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Shifnal Festival The Shifnal Festival was an annual Music, Arts and Culture Festival held in the market town of Shifnal, Shropshire. History Little is known about the origins of the festival. A book published in 1904 by Harold Sadler suggests the festival wa ...
* Skye Music Festival (inactive) *
Solfest Solfest is a music and arts festival on the Solway Coast in the North West of England. It is held annually at North Lakes Country Park on the August Bank Holiday weekend. It has grown from a 1,800 capacity event in 2004 to a 10,000 capacity ...
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Splendour in Nottingham Splendour in Nottingham (more commonly known as Splendour or Splendour Festival) is an annual one-day music festival held in Nottingham, England since 2008. Organised by Nottingham City Council and DHP Concerts, the event is held within Wollaton ...
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Standon Calling Standon Calling is an annual music festival held near the village of Standon, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, in the grounds of private residence Standon Lordship. It is a themed boutique festival which grew from a birthday barbecue into an annual ...
* Sunrise Celebration * Supersonic Festival * Sŵn Festival *
T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused B ...
* Tartan Heart Festival *
Tafwyl The Tafwyl festival is an annual Welsh-language festival which takes place in Cardiff, Wales. It culminates with a two day open air festival, normally held in Cardiff Castle. Background The event was set up in 2006 and initially took place on a ...
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Tramlines Festival The Tramlines Festival is an annual music festival held in Sheffield, UK. The festival was originally free to attend, but now requires tickets. The line-up consists of national and local artists. The festival was curated and organised by a pan ...
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Truck Festival Truck Festival is an annual independent music festival in Oxfordshire, England. It was started in 1998 by the Bennett family (including the brothers Robin and Joe of the band Goldrush), who decided that mainstream festivals such as Glastonb ...
* Twinwood Festival * Underage Festival (inactive) * V Festival * Vale Festival *
Victorious Festival Victorious Festival is a three-day music festival held in Portsmouth, United Kingdom. It was founded in 2011. In its first year, the festival was named the Victorious Vintage Festival. For the first two years, the festival was held in Portsm ...
* Wakestock * Walk the Line Festival * Weyfest * Whitwell Music Festival *
Wickerman Festival The Wickerman Festival was an annual music festival held near Auchencairn in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Dubbed "Scotland's Alternative Music festival", its motto was "The Wickerman Festival – it's better than it needs to be!" It bega ...
(inactive) *
Wickham Festival Wickham Festival is a four-day music event that takes place in the village of Wickham, Hampshire, England. Wickham hosts live music and comedy across four stages, as well as food stalls, craft stalls, real ale and cider bars and children's ente ...
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Wireless Festival The Wireless Festival is a rap and urban music festival that takes place every year in London, England. It is owned and managed by Live Nation. While it started as primarily a rock and pop festival, in recent years it has focused on hip hop and ...
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WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...
* Worcester Music Festival * Wychwood Music Festival *
Y Not Festival The Y Not Festival is an annual music festival held in Pikehall, Derbyshire, United Kingdom. It first took place in 2005, at a disused quarry site as a party for around 120 people organised by Ralph Broadbent who was planning a party in the ...
* Young London into Music


See also

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List of festivals in the United Kingdom England A *Albion Fairs *Aldeburgh Festival, Suffolk *Appleby Jazz Festival * Arundel Festival B * Barnes Film Festival * Bath Fringe Festival *Bath International Music Festival * Bath Literature Festival * Beached Festival in Scarboroug ...


References


Bibliography

* Andrew Blake (1997). ''The Land Without Music: Music, Culture and Society in Twentieth Century Britain''. Manchester:
Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with t ...
. . * George McKay (2000). ''Glastonbury: A Very English Fair'', inc. chapter one "Histories of festival culture", also "Timeline of British pop festival culture". London: Victor Gollancz. . * George McKay (2005). ''Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain'', chapter one "New Orleans jazz, protest (Aldermaston) and carnival (Beaulieu azz Festival 1956–60". Durham NC:
Duke University Press Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 ...
. .


External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Music Festivals In The United Kingdom * British music-related lists
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
Lists of festivals in the United Kingdom