Lost Weekends

EH1 Festival
15 August
Royal Highland Centre and Showground, Ingliston

A brand new dance festival taking place across no fewer than nine stages and spanning twenty years of music. In association with Colours, Hacienda, Ministry of Sound, Hed Kandi and others, the line up includes Carl Cox, Rodger Sanchez, Adamski, Fabio & Grooverider, Lisa Lashes and Fergie. Taking place in the middle of August, the promoters have planned for the unpredictable Scottish weather, by hosting the eighteen hour event over both indoor and outdoor stages, so an onslaught of rain need not stop the festivities.

EH1's launch year boasts a never before heard set from Carl Cox, comprising of only old school tracks and Rodger Sanchez's only Scottish festival appearance. Orbital, Josh Wink and Seb Fontaine are also lined up to play in what is shaping up to be a surprising end to the summer festival season.

12pm - 6am, tickets start from £39.50.

The Waverley Riverboat Shuffle
24 July
Waverley Steamboat and a secret location

After hosting two barn dances, Optimo move in a new direction this year, teaming up with Melting Pot to bring The Waverley Riverboat Shuffle to the Clyde. Optimo's JD Twitch and JG Wilkes will be joined by Bill Brewster and Melting Pot's Simon Cordier.

Meeting at the Glasgow Science Centre, guests will be taken on a three hour journey on the only remaining steam paddler in the world, before everyone falls overboard to travel to a secret location for a warehouse party.

Special guest Bill Brewster is the author of Last Night A DJ Saved My Life. As a DJ he is most well know for curating compilations and mixes, such as the Spiritland soul and funk compilation and the deep house compilation Praxis as well as running the small disco edits label Disco Sucks. Brewster also records and releases his own material under the alias Fat Camp and World Discothéque Movement.
This looks set to be a memorable and exciting event, so get tickets early. Although, you'll have to make up your own pun about 'steamboats on a steamboat'.

7.45pm - 3am, £25, transport from Waverley to warehouse party is provided.

Spirit of Burgas
14-16 August
City Beach, Bulgaria

Now in its second year, Spirit of Burgas takes place along the Black Sea coast for three days of techno and drum 'n' bass. Spread across five stages, the line up includes LTJ Bukem, Sub Focus, Speedy J, Mario Ranieri, Aleksander Kowalski, JackRock and Stephan Panev. A tempting opportunity to catch cutting edge music from across the globe on sun drenched beaches that won't hit your budget too hard. Bulgaria was recently found to be the cheapest holiday spot out of eighteen popular destinations. Flights from under €200, accommodation from only €20 and drinks on average costing just €2 each. On top of all that, the Spirit of Burgas promoters are currently offering people the chance to get a free 3 day pass in exchange for helping out at the festival. More information available at www.spiritofburgas.com

€45-€50 for a weekend pass, €15-€20 for a day pass.

Melt Festival
17-19 July
Ferropolis, Germany

A strong contender for festival of the year, as Melt goes toe to toe with Sonar in terms of strength of line up. Thunderheist, Tim Exile, !!!, Diplo, Boy 8 Bit, Kode 9, Moderat, DJ Koze and Drop the Lime are just some of the names appearing this year, as these three days prove to be a highlight of the German musical calendar.
Now in its twelfth year Melt festival shows no signs of slowing down, consistently cramming as many quality acts into 72 hours as possible.

Tickets range from €50 to €110 depending on access. Camping available.

Pukkelpop
20-22 August
Hasselt, Belgium

Crookers, Booka Shade, Ebony Bones, Vitalic, Busy P, Zombie Nation, Simian Mobile Disco, Kraftwerk, Bloody Beetroots, Count and Sinden, Alter Ego, Fake Blood, Tocadisco, Don Rimini and many more are booked for this Belgian festival that has been running since 1985. Yet another event that looks set to satisfy more or less any musical taste, as those already mentioned are also joined by the likes of The Jesus Lizard, Dizzie Rascal, Black Lips, La Roux and Patrick Wolf.

Tickets range from €75 to €135, camping is available.

Exit
9-12 July
Petrovaradin Fortress, Serbia

The well known music critique network that is CNN recently heralded Exit as 'one of the finest festivals in the world'. While we here at The Skinny aren't too concerned with the American network's attempts to cut our grass, we have to admit they do have a point.

Featuring Roots Manuva, a back to back set of Green Velvet and Carl Cox, Grandmaster Flash, Japanese Popstars, Alex Metric and Ritchie Hawtin to name but a few, it is easy to see why so many people make the annual trip to sample the wares within the Serbian fortress.

Tickets begin at just €37.

Sziget
10-17 August
Budai-sziget, an island in the Danube, Budapest

Pete Tong, Armin Van Buuren, Coldcut and Grooverider headline the Party Arena whilst Nouvelle Vauge, Fatboy Slim and The Prodigy appear on the Main Stage. Squarepusher, De Staat, Tricky and White Lies take to the WanTwo stage for those seeking an alternative soundtrack to their week.

All this alongside several open air theaters and an expansive world music stage. Lose yourself in seven whole days of performances by cutting yourself off from the outside world in an island right in the middle of the Danube.

Tickets range from €42 to €180, camping available.