Music Festivals 2024: Outwith Scotland

These are our top recommendations for 2024 music festivals outwith Scotland – our Scottish music festival picks can be found elsewhere on the site.

Wide Awake
Brockwell Park, London, England, 25 May
Celebrating its fourth year, London independent festival Wide Awake signals the start of outdoor festival season in the south. An environmentally conscious festival, with an aim for gender equality across its lineup, this year King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard lead the charge with Slowdive, Young Fathers, Sevdaliza and Alice Glass also playing. wideawakelondon.co.uk

North Sea Jazz Festival
Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 12-14 Jul
Taking over the Rotterdam Ahoy Centre, the North Sea Jazz Festival is the world’s largest indoor music festival. Launched in 1976, it’s hosted countless icons over the years, and 2024 is no different with multi-Brit Award winner RAYE and unexpected flautist André 3000 both set to play alongside the likes of Corinne Bailey Rae, Noname, Sampha and corto.alto. northseajazz.com

WOMAD
Charlton Park, Malmesbury, England, 25-28 Jul
Founded by Peter Gabriel of Genesis fame, WOMAD has been running since the early 80s with a music focus that isn’t defined by genre or geographical location. Alongside workshops, great food, art and more, Young Fathers top this year’s music bill which also features Amadou & Mariam, Gogol Bordello, Sampa the Great and Baaba Maal. womad.co.uk

Flow Festival. Image: Konstantin Kondrukhov.

Flow Festival
Helsinki, Finland, 9-11 Aug
Hosted on the former site of Finland’s Suvilahti power plant, this industrial setting makes for a unique festival experience. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, RAYE, IDLES, PJ Harvey, Alvvays, Overmono, Pulp and Jessie Ware are all set to perform at this festival which celebrates culture, music, arts and debate. flowfestival.com

End of the Road
Larmer Tree Gardens, England, 29 Aug-1 Sep
End of the Road returns to the idyllic surrounds of Larmer Tree Gardens in north Dorset, signalling the end of summer UK festival season. Celebrated for its unique and friendly atmosphere and gorgeous art installations, musically EOTR is led by focusing on what excites them each year; IDLES, Fever Ray, Sleater-Kinney, Mdou Moctar and Camera Obscura all play this autumn. endoftheroadfestival.com

Supersonic Festival
Digbeth, Birmingham, England, 30 Aug-1 Sep
Birmingham’s Supersonic Festival is an internationally renowned frontrunner when it comes to its penchant for new and experimental music and art, and in 2024 celebrates its 21st outing. Their first wave announcement includes Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Gazelle Twin, Emma Ruth Rundle, Brìghde Chaimbeul, Mary Lattimore and Melt-Banana. supersonicfestival.com

FORWARDS
Bristol, England, 31 Aug-1 Sep
“A music festival in Bristol, for the future” so goes FORWARDS’ tagline. Having only launched in 2022, this year sees the inner city Bristol Downs festival really ramp things up with some pretty big names. London rapper Loyle Carner headlines Saturday, with New York dance punk icons LCD Soundsystem dusting off their disco ball on Sunday. forwardsbristol.co.uk

Supersonic Festival. Image: Joe Singh.

Hidden Notes Festival, vol. 4
Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, 21-22 Sep
Celebrating its fourth edition this autumn, Good On Paper’s Hidden Notes Festival returns to the churches, galleries, art centres, and independent record shops of Stroud. With a focus on contemporary classical, folk, electronic and avant-garde composers, this year’s festival is headlined by Suzanne Ciani and the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble. hiddennotes.co.uk

C2C Festival
Turin, Italy, 31 Oct-3 Nov
The largest indoor music festival in Italy, C2C festival celebrates its 22nd edition this year, taking place during Turin’s prestigious Contemporary Art Week, giving you twice as many reasons to visit the north of Italy this year, if C2C's lineup isn’t enough to tempt you. Arca, Bicep, billy woods, Mandy, Indiana, Romy, Shabaka and Sofia Kourtesis are amongst the first wave. clubtoclub.it

Iceland Airwaves
Reykjavík, Iceland, 7-9 Nov
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Iceland Airwaves' first wave lineup includes Shygirl, bar italia, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, Magdalena Bay and Saya Gray. They celebrate local talent too, with disco trio Inspector Spacetime, hip-hop duo Úlfur Úlfur and composer, performer, artist, and carpenter Klemens Hannigan announced so far. icelandairwaves.is