Music Festivals 2017: Denmark, Norway, Finland & Iceland

We pick out some of the year's best music festivals across Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland; expect lovely architecture, friendly people, eye-watering beer prices and some incredible live music

Preview by Tallah Brash & Will Fitzpatrick | 08 Mar 2017

Secret Solstice
Reykjavík, Iceland, 16-18 Jun
Experience 72 hours of daylight at Secret Solstice, aka the midnight sun music festival, as at this time of the year there’s no such thing as a night sky in Reykjavík, so you really can party all day! The line-up includes big guns like The Prodigy and Foo Fighters, but there’s also a strong contingency of Icelandic artists on offer from the energetic hip-hop of GKR to minimal experimental techno duo Kiasmos. Oh, and apparently if you’re lucky you can even catch some live music inside a frickin’ glacier! From £143.

Roskilde
Roskilde, Denmark, 24 Jun - 1 Jul
One of Europe’s largest festivals, and a mainstay event on the calendar since first taking place in 1971, Roskilde has long since outgrown its hippy origins. This year sees A Tribe Called Quest and Justice topping the bill alongside the much-anticipated return of Canadian showstoppers Arcade Fire – there’s always good reason to visit Denmark, but this might well be one of the best. From £114.

Flow Festival
Helsinki, Finland, 8-11 Aug
Everyone loves a festival at an unexpected location, and Flow’s home just happens to be a defunct power station in downtown Helsinki. Frank Ocean, Aphex Twin and Lana Del Rey add up to a solid set of headliners, but there are even more treats to be found lower down the bill: Sparks, Car Seat Headrest, Jenny Hval, plus a plethora of local talent… our advice? Load up on Lonkero and Salmiakki and bliss out. From £84.

Øya
Tøyenparken, Oslo, Norway, 8-12 Aug
Since its inception in 1999, Øya festival has grown pretty rapidly and is now one of Norway’s biggest festivals. Over the years it’s moved around the city and currently resides in the capital’s Tøyenparken, near the Edvard Munch Museum, which will make for a nice visit while you’re in town. That aside this year’s Øya line-up includes Danny Brown, Ryan Adams, Mac Demarco, Angel Olsen, MØ and Pixies amongst others. From £91.

Haven
Refshaleøen, Copenhagen, Denmark, 11-12 Aug
Bryce and Aaron Dessner of The National have teamed up with food activist Claus Meyer and Danish microbrew Mikkeller to put this li’l ol’ thing together, and it looks like it was worth the effort. The Dessners and pals are joined by Chance the Rapper, Iggy Pop, Perfume Genius and Beach House, plus the likes of Copenhagen electro-meisters When Saints Go Machine; meanwhile expect a distinct pushing of the boundaries between art and music. Sounds good to us. From £147.

Iceland Airwaves
Reykjavík, Iceland, 1-5 Nov
We’ve already told you to go to Reykjavík, but winter and summer in Iceland are two very different things. Iceland Airwaves offers off-venue performances by day in bars, launderettes, hostels, cafes, record shops and cinemas while the evening opens up the city’s bigger venues like the Harpa Concert Hall for the official festival. Arab Strap and Be Charlotte are already announced for this year and we guarantee you’ll love the Icelandic music selection on offer. Oh, and it’ll be dark a lot of the time, so you might see the Northern Lights too! From £65.


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