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PRESENTS.... BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Great nights
don’t come to you.
Buy and sell tickets to your favourite events.
G-Eazy
WELCOME... To the complete edition of the Festival 250, a new annual project from Festival Insights that ranks the world’s top festivals in terms of size and commercial success. The data used to determine the rankings was sourced and analysed by the renowned business intelligence consultancy CGA Strategy during the 2015 season, and was based on such metrics as duration of the event, ticket revenue, capacity, and sponsorship estimates. Each entry on the list is accompanied with a short bio, and I hope that you enjoy reading through and gaining a little insight into some of the history and unique characteristics of these eminent events. Next year’s edition will maintain the same format, and will also demonstrate whether festivals have moved up or down in the league table. In the meantime, please enjoy the inaugural list and feel free to provide any feedback that you think will help to refine and improve the initiative. Cheers, Michael Baker Editor, Festival Insights
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250. THE GREAT ESCAPE BRIGHTON, UK
The Great Escape’s singular remit is to showcase the most exciting emerging artists from all over the world,
with over 450 of them performing across 30+ Brighton venues that are all accessible on one wristband.
Branding itself as ‘the festival for new music’, TGE is attended by a multitude of music industry insiders
who are on the hunt for the next big thing. A convention runs alongside the gigs, featuring insightful
panels, topical debates, and keynote speeches, with networking opportunities in abundance.
249. BUKU MUSIC & ART FESTIVAL NEW ORLEANS, USA
Buku Music & Art is a vibrant and charismatic boutique event that
aims to achieve the clout of a major festival without compromising
its underground house party atmosphere. Tucked right in the heart of
New Orleans’ burgeoning Warehouse District, Buku’s intimate post-
industrial setting complements its – for lack of a better term – ‘urban’
centric line-ups, graffiti wall, classic New Orleans food, pop-up street
performers and art exhibits.
248. INCUBATE TILBURG, NETHERLANDS
If these rankings had been conceived based upon the imagination of each festival’s respective line-up
rather than by quantitative and commercially focused metrics, then Incubate would be much, much higher
up. Its utterly preeminent programmes coalesce everything from free jazz to electronica and contemporary
classical, staging unique one-off performances and collaborations between its artists and forever retaining
its propensity to surprise.
In addition to hosting acts that are seldom seen on the festival circuit – such as the ambient pioneer
William Basinski, melancholy raconteur Sun Kil Moon, and the stupidly prolific Japanese noisemaker
Merzbow – Incubate has comprehensive film, art, and theatre offerings. Microcosmic of the imagination
and idiosyncrasy encoded into Incubate’s DNA, last year’s visual art component featured a Simpsons and
Akira mash-up called ‘Bartkira’.
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247. I LOVE TECHNO GHENT, BELGIUM
Held annually since 1995, I Love Techno attracted up to 35,000 attendees year-on-year to the Belgian city
of Ghent by virtue of its 24/7 devotion to 909s in 4/4. Its success culminated in the launch of a number
of satellite events, but – according to the festival’s former organiser – the ascent of dubstep and electro
house took its toll on ticket sales. Ostensibly, as a result of this inter-genre competition, I Love Techno has
cancelled all future spin-offs and has relocated the main event to Montpellier, France for the foreseeable
future.
246. KAPPA FUTURFESTIVAL TORINO, ITALY
Kappa FuturFestival is a techno event fittingly located in Torino’s
Parco Dora, an open green space juxtaposed against symmetrical
formations of rusted pillars, a river rendered inaccessible by the
now defunct factories on its banks, and all manner of mechanical
miscellany.
The contrast of the natural and man-made serves more than just
an aesthetic purpose. Manifested in eco-conscious art installations
and recycling initiatives, FuturFestival lives up to its forward-looking
namesake by championing sustainable solutions.
245. POSITIVUS FESTIVAL SALACGRIVA, LATVIA
Latvia’s Positivus Festival has received impassioned chants of assent from esteemed music publications
such as The Quietus and DIY Magazine, with a particular focus on the natural beauty of its surroundings.
Taking place in the picturesque coastal town of Salacgriva in Latvia in an unspoiled atmospheric setting
amid stunning woodland, Positivus offers one of the most idyllic escapes to festivalgoers. Attracting 30,000
visitors over a span of three days and nights, it has become the biggest music event in the Baltic region and
was shortlisted for Best Medium-Sized Festival in the 2015 European Festival Awards.
244. LAUNDRY DAY ANTWERP, BELGIUM
Laundry Day, a one-day EDM festival in Antwerp, distinguishes itself from its ilk with a distinct, themed
aesthetic that partially involves hanging laundry all over the place.
Laundry Day’s organiser Quentin Van Damme told Festival Insights:
“What separates Laundry Day is that we put a lot of effort into staging, and do all of the production in-house.
For 2014’s Main Stage we constructed a 14 storey high, 312 tonne, 84 metre wide Roman palace with 40
video screens and 200 moving lights, and we had a truck or two of pyrotechnics too.”
The insanity illustrated above may explain how the event has evolved from a 400-person, single day, single
DJ booth, single bartender set-up to a Belgian stalwart that welcomes 70,000 annual visitors to its site.
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243. PULP SUMMER SLAM QUEZON CITY, PHILLIPINES
Presented by Pulp Live World and Red Horse Beer, Pulp Summer
Slam is South East Asia’s biggest and longest-running metal festival,
hosting its 16th edition in 2016. With a line-up neatly divided between
national and international talent, it brings together the best of the
Philippines’ metal scene and the best of everywhere else’s.
242. OPPIKOPPI LIMPOPO PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA
The thing that stands out most about Oppikoppi is the organisers’ collective sense of humour. In addition
to a yearly naked run – which due to a loose organisational approach ended up being two separate unclad
Photo: Charlemagne Olivier
marathons last time – the festival’s official website includes a 35-point list of advice that encourages
attendees to use both the Force and wet wipes. Having been founded in 1994, OppiKoppi’s two-day festivities
now comprise seven stages, roughly 160 sets of music and entertainment, and 20,000 festivalgoers.
241. MAYDAY DORTMUND, GERMANY
Mayday is one of the only festivals on this list to run to nine in the AM, constituting an all-night rave that
typically encompasses trance, tech-house, techno and minimal. The 24-year-old event now attracts 25,000
Photo: Ralph Larmann
visitors every year, and boasts seven sister events across Germany.
240. LIFE FESTIVAL OSWIECIM OSWIECIM, POLAND
Oswiecim’s Life Festival is the brainchild of Darek Maciborek – a journalist for the broadcasting station RMF
FM – who founded the festival in order to undo his hometown’s sole association with Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Life Festival’s mission statement, of course, is not to minimise the tragedies associated with the region but to
conversely celebrate peace and challenge anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia.
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239. REEPERBAHN FESTIVAL HAMBURG, GERMANY
Situated in the legendary street of the same name – home to The Beatles in their formative years as well
as Hamburg’s red light district – Reeperbahn Festival attracts an international crowd of managers, agents
A&R folk, label heads and more, owing to its incisive conferences and performances from the headliners
Photo: Lisa Meinen
of tomorrow.
238. PRINTEMPS DE BOURGES BOURGES, FRANCE
Many elder statesmen of the festival industry stick to their original, narrow and self-imposed stylistic
restraints with an aggressive indifference towards evolution. Therefore it’s refreshing to see an old timer
like Printemps de Bourges – running since 1977 – understand that the only constant in life is change and
adapt accordingly. Its 2015 Rock’N’Beat stage booked electronic innovators such as Cashmere Cat and
France’s own Rone, exemplifying its ability to remain relevant.
237. HEGY FESTIVAL TOKAJ, HUNGARY
There aren’t many festivals that take place in a UNESCO World Heritage Centre, but Hegy is one of them.
Specifically located within the idyllic Tokaj Wine Region, it’s a rather refined affair characterised by
rowboats, theatre and – rather predictably – wine.
236. COMMON PEOPLE SOUTHAMPTON, UK
A relatively recent entrant into the festival market, Common People helps to kick off the UK festival season
in two locations over the second May bank holiday weekend. It shares much of the same sensibilities of its
parent festival, Bestival, most importantly featuring The Chuckle Brothers on this year’s programme.
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235. COMMON PEOPLE OXFORD, UK
Like Southampton’s edition of Common People, but in Oxford.
234. STORM ELECTRONIC FESTIVAL SHANGHAI, CHINA
For all of the things China is synonymous with: exponential industrial development, an extensive historical
impact on science and culture, street food that ranges from life-changing to potentially life-ending,
authoritarian political regimes, and spitting – festivals are not one of them. Storm Electronic Festival is one
of few aiming to change that, albeit with a cast of international EDM superstars.
233. HEBCELT FEST STORNOWAY, UK
The long running, multi-award winning HebCelt celebrated its 21st
anniversary in 2016, once again showcasing the best of Celtic talent
alongside more traditional rock, indie-folk and world music. Set in
Stornoway’s Lews Castle grounds, the festival is a gateway to the
wildlife-rich Scottish Isle of Lewis. The four-day festival’s 18,000
Photo: Colin Cameron
attendance figure for 2016 was its biggest and highest-grossing to
date, with tickets selling faster than at any time before.
232. MIDI FESTIVAL BEIJING, CHINA
Midi Festival – whose name might suggest a predominantly electronic output – actually caters to an equally
rock loving audience. Occurring across Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen – China’s trinity of metropolises – the
environmentally conscious festival attempts to shine the light of sustainability through the cyberpunk-esque
smog of its host cities.
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231. ELECTRIC CASTLE BANFFY CASTLE, ROMANIA
Since its first edition in 2013, Electric Castle has been shortlisted every year for the Best Medium-Sized
Festival Category at the European Festival Awards, alongside other famous European names.
Held on the domain of Bánffy Castle, just 30km from the city of Cluj-Napoca, Electric Castle Festival
combines a visually innovative concept with an eclectic music line-up, breaking the boundaries between
electronic, rock, and reggae.
This year’s edition took place from July 14 – 17, where over 250 performed across eight musical stages.
230. TRAMLINES FESTIVAL SHEFFIELD, UK
Now in its eighth year, Tramlines is one of the UK’s biggest inner-city
music festivals. In 2014, it attracted 100,000 people as the festival
took over the entire city centre across 20 stages. Tramlines gives
festivalgoers a chance to see established artists alongside up-and-
coming acts, with this year’s edition notably featuring George Clinton
Parliament Funkadelic, Kelis, Jurassic 5, Gaz Coombes, Field Music,
Photo: Simon Butler
Young Fathers, Dizzee Rascal and Goldie.
229. ULTRA EUROPE POLJUD, CROATIA
Best known for exporting European dance music to the US, Ultra Europe endeavours to import it right back,
under its own umbrella of course. Ultra has franchises set up not only in Florida and Croatia, but also in
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, South Korea, South Africa, Colombia, Japan and Belarus.
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228. FIELD DAY LONDON, UK
Field Day is a beautifully curated, dichotomous event that splits its
days between mostly electronica and hip-hop on the former and indie
rock darlings and debutantes on the latter. On one side of this year’s
coin you have James Blake, Holly Herndon, and Floating Points, and
Photo: Carolina Faruolo
on the other you have PJ Harvey, Beach House, and Mbongwana Star.
227. COLOURS OF OSTRAVA OSTRAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC
Founded in 2002, and named as one of the top 10 music festivals in Europe for 2016 by The Guardian, Colours
of Ostrava offers a selection of contemporary and classic performers – from electro to world music, jazz, indie
rock, and reggae – guaranteeing festivalgoers a lively long weekend packed with music and culture.
Held in an atmospheric former steel mill and European Cultural Heritage Site, the festival comprises over
300 events – ranging from bands and DJs to films, open discussions, workshops, theatre, poetry, and art
installations.
226. RUHR IN LOVE OBERSAUSEN, GERMANY
Part of the rare breed that is the family-friendly electronic music
festival, Obersausen’s Ruhr in Love is a one-day open-air event that
invites various clubs, event organisers, record labels, booking agencies,
radio stations and magazines to curate its 40 ‘floors’.
225. MS DOCKVILLE FESTIVAL HAMBURG, GERMANY
MS Dockville – founded in 2007 – is a music and arts festival situated on Europe’s largest river island,
Hamburg’s district of Wilhelmsburg.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
224. PAASPOP SCHIJNDEL, NETHERLANDS
Taking place across the Easter period in Schijndel, Paaspop is an
annual music and performing arts festival whose 12 stages offer
everything from rock and metal to hip-hop and house. Supplementing
the core entertainment at this year’s event is a vinyl shop, a barber, a
Photo: Mike Breeuwer
David Bowie tribute and gospel sessions.
223. ONBLACKHEATH LONDON, UK
Last year, over 30,000 music and food lovers gathered to enjoy the two-day festivities of OnBlackheath.
This year’s music line-up included Primal Scream, Hot Chip and Belle & Sebastian, and the festival also
featured a whole range of chefs giving one-off performances and a huge array of street foods. Furthermore,
OnBlackheath collaborated with John Lewis and Puffin Books to bring the Magical Storytelling Stage, a
Talking Maze, a Village Green Sports Day, and a plethora of workshops and activities for children.
222. SUNDOWN NORWICH, UK
Sundown returned to Norfolk Showground in 2016 for its fourth
edition, featuring performances from Jason Derulo, Chase & Status,
Dizzee Rascal, David Rodigan, Jess Glynne, Ms Dynamite and more.
The new addition of a third stage allowed the festival to collaborate
with more renowned underground dance brands such as Defected,
Ministry of Sound, UKF, and Drum&BassArena.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY
TO DELIVER
BETTER FESTIVALS
FOR FANS AND ORGANISERS
When you think of music festivals, you probably picture floral for fans, and they use personalisation to do this. When attending a
headbands, wellington boots, glow sticks and your favourite band live event, the traditional customer journey started at the moment
performing in a rural field. You probably don’t associate festivals of purchasing the ticket, but we see now that the dialogue with the
with the latest technology; however, technology has a big impact on attendee has many more traceable interactions points, whether it
festivals and makes the experience, both as a fan and as an organiser, be through social media, pre-tours, or apps. At StubHub, our mission
seamless. There are some great trends in the festival industry that is to provide best-in-class experiences to our fans, by adding new
are starting to take off, so we have investigated a few of them to see value to the experience. We do this for both the fan and the promoter.
what impact they are making on the industry and what we are doing Wouldn’t the experience be better if we sent a cake to a fan who was
at StubHub, the world’s largest ticket marketplace to serve fans as celebrating their birthday at a festival? What if we targeted fans who
they get much more sophisticated in the way they approach attending only had a one-day pass for a multi-day festival by providing them
festivals. with an upgrade for the next day as they left the venue? We trialled
these rewards with fans at Cruïlla Festival in Barcelona this year, with
CHANGING THE RELATIONSHIP MODEL WITH FANS success. These are all ways of using personalisation to better engage
We can all agree that life today has become truly digital. We use our with the fan and give them an inspiring event experience, something
mobiles and the internet to plan our weekends, learn about what’s that we are very passionate about at StubHub.
happening in the news and to share content that we find interesting
or engaging with our friends. However, everything that we do online WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY AND CASHLESS FESTIVALS
is also very personalised. Through social and online media, we select Everyone seems to be obsessed with wearable tech, regardless of the
what we want to read by clicking through to an article that catches industry that you work in. This trend has definitely not been ignored by
our interest on Twitter, businesses and brands target us based on the the festival industry. Radio Frequency Identification, more commonly
interests that we’ve declared on Facebook and we only follow brands known as RFID is taking festivals by storm. Instead of queuing up
or friends that we want to hear from on Instagram. to get a paper wristband, fans can now wear wristbands with the
The entertainment industry is all about creating unique experiences RFID technology already built in. This gives them the opportunity toBROUGHT TO YOU BY enter the festival with a paperless ticket, use the wristbands to make to life and find ways to deliver a meaningful impact to customers. payments for food, drink and memorabilia as well as links up with Festivals are also jumping on board and are looking for ways to their social networks, so fans can share their experiences with their change the way that we experience live events. One of the world’s network of followers. It’s all about digitalising on-site activities, and most recognisable festival brands, Coachella experimented with VR wearable tech is the clear enabler for this. It allows us to truly know with the Coachella VR app. The app gave fans “unprecedented access the customer by managing and understand all of their interactions to behind-the-scenes VR content.” It also gave fans the opportunity to with the festival before, during and after the event. experience the festival from other fans’ perspectives. StubHub is actively involved with the RFID and cashless ecosystem At StubHub, we have been experimenting with this technology to by bringing this experience to fans and promoters. Working with complement the ticket-buying experience. We were the first ticketing one of our RFID partners, PlayPass, one of the RFID market leaders, brand to launch VR in our app. We launched Virtual View in late March StubHub is developing this experience to bring it to more festivals. 2016 (and brought the technology to UK fans in June 2016). When Festival organisers use StubHub to transparently list face value tickets developing Virtual View, we focused on using VR in an impactful way for purchase. StubHub will then send out the RFID bracelets to the for our business and users. Virtual View gives fans more information fans in advance of the festival, making it a seamless process with prior to purchasing their tickets to help inform them of their decision. festivals like Standon Calling, Holi Festival of Colours, Eastern Electrics They will understand exactly what the view will look like from their and Cruilla Festival. These have been great partnerships for us and seat. In the UK, this is available at the key venues including The O2 we hope to bring the full cashless experience to more festivals next and SSE Wembley Arena and we are exploring ways of making VR summer. useful and impactful for festival fans. VIRTUAL REALITY There are endless ways in which technology can impact festivals and Virtual reality (VR) has become the technology trend of 2016. at StubHub, we cannot wait to see what exciting new technology will Businesses from all sectors are looking for ways to bring this technology shape the festival landscape in years to come. BY: ANTONIO VALERO, HEAD OF NEW BUSINESS MODELS, STUBHUB ANVALERO@EBAY.COM
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221. LES VIEILLES CHARRUES FINISTERE, FRANCE
Les Vieilles Charrues claims to be the largest festival in France, welcoming 200,000 revellers for its four-day
celebrations. The top end of its line-ups are typically a cross section of pop culture’s most influential, but
beyond that is a deep dedication to emerging talent that sees it team up with its partnering label to coach
local musicians and provide a platform for them at the festival. Its promotion of responsible travel, waste
management initiatives, resource preservation efforts, and commitment to welfare all further exemplify
these strong ethical foundations.
220. BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR DERBY, UK
A little more purist than its larger metal counterparts, Bloodstock has
cultivated a loyal fanbase thanks to its refusal to pander with crossover
and entry-level acts. In keeping with its love of heavy metal, Bloodstock and
the 100% CA team will host two special strongmen events for the first time
Photo: Enda Madden
at this year’s festival.
219. GODS OF METAL MILAN, ITALY
Held annually since 1997 and acquired by Live Nation in 2010, Gods
of Metal is Italy’s biggest metal festival. Its location and duration have
both been known to switch up from year to year, but the essence of
the festival remains much the same.
218. TAUBERTAL ROTHENBURG OB DER TAUBER, GERMANY
Nestled within Bavaria’s striking Tauber Valley since 1996, Taubertal has matched the punk ethos of its acts
via its collaboration with Sounds For Nature, whose mission is to propagate environmentalist information.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
217. LES ARDENTES FESTIVAL LIEGE, BELGIUM
Les Ardentes’ name is a French plural noun meaning ‘The Burning’, a referral to the
nickname of host city Liège, La Ville Ardente (‘The Burning City’). Last year saw the
hip-hop demigod Kendrick Lamar and the preternaturally sensual D’Angelo bring their
idiosyncratic brands of Afrocentric protest music to Belgium, sharing the bill with Nicki
Minaj, Iggy Pop and many more. The latest edition welcomed Brainfeeder boss and LA beat
scene progenitor Flying Lotus, as well as Pharrell Williams, Mark Ronson and Cat Power.
216. GAROROCK MARMANDE, FRANCE
Unlike many events on this list, Garorock is free from the shackles of
the dreaded curfew, meaning the acts of its cosmopolitan roster are
permitted to make copious amounts of noise until dawn, and that
they do. Garorock’s original incarnation took place within the old
slaughterhouses of Marmande, but moved after 15 editions to the
more rural and less morbid region of Plaine de la Filhole, in tandem
Photo: LA CLEF
with its burgeoning ecological ambitions.
215. SPRING FESTIVAL GRAZ, AUSTRIA
Every year Springfestival attracts 12,000 electronic music aficionados
to southern Austria for five days of DJ performances, visual arts,
workshops and talks.
214. PAREDES DE COURA FESTIVAL PRAIA DO TABUAO
Founded in 1993, Paredes de Coura has grown to become one of Portugal’s three biggest music festivals. Its
alumni range from Pixies to LCD Soundsystem and Crystal Castles, with this year’s confirmations including
Photo: Hugo Lima
psychedelic indie rockers Tame Impala, abrasive post-punkers Iceage and The War on Drugs.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
213. ROCK FOR PEOPLE HRADEC KRALOVE, CZECH REPUBLIC
Since embarking on its conquest in 1995, Rock for People has gradually
become one of the largest open air festivals in the Czech Republic,
now residing in the otherwise unused airport of Hradec Králové.
212. STONEFREE FESTIVAL LONDON, UK
Featuring rock ‘n’ roll storytelling sessions, a record fair, fringe stages,
after shows, film screenings, plus a line-up of classic rock legends,
Stonefree Festival is the ultimate dad rock fest and fittingly takes place
over Father’s Day.
211. M’ERA LUNA FESTIVAL HILDESHEIM, GERMANY
With the iconic image from Georges Méliés’ Le Voyage Dans La Lun
front and centre on its website, it’s clear that M’era Luna seeks to
Photo: Christoph Eisenmenger
cultivate a nocturnal aesthetic, reinforced by the gothic, industrial and
metal acts that permeate its line-ups.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
210. FUSION FESTIVAL BIRMINGHAM, UK
Fusion Festival is an unashamed, singular celebration of pop music, with Jason
Derulo, Olly Murs, Tinie Tempah and Busted on this year’s bill.
209. C/O POP FESTIVAL COLOGNE, GERMANY
One of Germany’s biggest metropolitan festivals, C/O Pop invites 30,000 visitors to its 70 concerts that take
place across 30 different locations in Cologne across five days. As a supplement to its ticketed headline
performances, the festival also incorporates a number of free shows. In addition, C/O Pop Convention takes
place in parallel, and delves deep into industry-facing issues.
208. FESTIVAL MUNDIAL TILBURG, NETHERLANDS
On [100% recycled] paper, Festival Mundial sounds incredibly pleasant and eco-friendly, and not just
because it has to be. The term ‘grass roots’ is a subjective and oft-misappropriated one, but Mundial’s
claim is a strong one due to its predominantly homegrown talent, educational urban farm area, three-year
Photo: Dolph Cantrijn
plan to become a waste-free event, and bustling market of ‘nice and honest’ products.
207. OLLESUMMER TALLINN, ESTONIA
The Estrella-sponsored Õllesummer is an annual beer festival in Estonia, and although it welcomes
acts such as The Prodigy to entertain its patrons, the main focus of the event is its intoxicants. Not too
dissimilar to the average music festival then.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
206. PROVINSSIROCK FESTIVAL SEINAJOKI, FINLAND
Since its inception in 1979, the Kemu ry founded Provinssirock has enjoyed continued success as one
of Finald’s largest festivals. It is now organised by Selmu ry, a live music association that was birthed in
1992 with the sole purpose of taking the reins of Provinssi from its predecessor. Situated in Seinajoki’s
Törnävä Park, the event favours a collectivist and grass roots approach, with the organisation of the festival
Photo: Mika Vesala
dependent upon hundreds of volunteers and workers who are compensated with nominal fees.
205. FESTIVAL OF HOUSE ANGUS, UK
Unfortunately, due to conflicting plans between key players, Festival
of House has been cancelled for 2016. It was set to bring Rudimental,
Leftfield, Eats Everything, Bicep, Underworld, Dubfire, Dixon, and
more dance music luminaries to Scotland in June. Plans to stage
the festival in 2017 seem to be underway, which is nice considering
the organisers’ clear ethical commitments, integrity, and passion for
music.
204. SUMMERFEST MILWAUKEE, USA
The late Mayor of Milwaukee, Henry Maier, inaugurated Summerfest in the 1960s. Following a visit
to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, Mayor Maier dreamed of a festival for the people that would
revitalize Milwaukee’s downtown district and foster community spirit. In 1968, the first Summerfest
debuted at 35 separate locations throughout the city.
Over the years, the permanent 75-acre festival site has seen tremendous growth and
enhancements – including capital improvements, new partners, vendors and exhibits. Most recently,
festival producer Milwaukee World Festival renovated approximately 22-acres of the 75-acre site,
Henry Maier Festival Park, with a two-phase $35 million construction project – the biggest in
Summerfest history.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
203. DANCE VALLEY AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
The self-professed ‘Woodstock of Dance’, the Netherlands’ Dance Valley
made a name for itself in the mid ‘90s by avoiding a reliance on its host
nation’s most prominent sub-genre: trance. By diversifying into styles
such as electro, hardstyle, experimental, techno, tech-house and more, it
has remained a staple of the Dutch festival calendar and now welcomes
50,000 daily visitors through its gates.
202. SUNFEST WEST PALM PEACH, USA
SunFest – Florida’s largest music festival – is produced by the private
non-profit organisation of the same name. Although its musical remit
isn’t focused on one area in particular, SunFest has a very clear vision
when it comes to providing for its local communities. Said vision
manifests itself in SunFest365, an initiative purporting to restore
housing for low-income families, fund scholarships for gifted teens,
and provide complimentary tickets for locals that otherwise wouldn’t
Photo: SUNFEST
be able to attend.
201. SHAMBALA NORTHAMPTON, UK
Over its 17-year history, Shambala has been a vanguard for
sustainability, introducing numerous pioneering initiatives such as
becoming 100% renewably powered and eliminating all disposable
plastics. Going meat and fish free for the first time in 2016 is arguably
its most controversial decision to date and yet has received huge
Photo: Carolina Faruolo
support. Proving that conscientious organisation needn’t be at odds
with financial success, Shambala sold out well in advance this season.Great nights don’t come to you. Buy and sell tickets to your favourite events.
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200. INCHEON PENTAPORT ROCK INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA
The only Korean festival to make this list, Incheon Pentaport Rock fuses homegrown talent with established
Western stars. Not literally.
199. UNDERNEATH THE STARS BARNSLEY, UK
A collaborative venture between Barnsley singer-songwriter Kate Rusby, her family production team Pure
Records, and Cannon Hall Open Farm, Underneath the Stars aims to showcase a mix of music including
folk, swing, rock, jazz, and world music as well as arts, crafts and cultural activities.
Each stage is sheltered and comes with seating, so music fans can stay dry and comfortable no matter
how vengeful the sky is feeling. Embracing the relatively recent festival phenomenon of hospitality, its
facilities include hot showers, glamping options, and the ability to park next to your tent.
198. PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL CHICAGO, USA
As you might expect from a festival curated by a longstanding musical trendsetter, Pitchfork Music Festival
shifts tickets exclusively on its expertly selected line-ups. This year’s programme includes Anderson Paak
& the Free Nationals, Beach House, FKA Twigs, Jlin, Kamasi Washington, Brian Wilson, Julia Holter, Neon
Indian, Car Seat Headrest, Blood Orange and more.
197. SECRET SOLSTICE REYKJAVIK, ICELAND
Secret Solstice is an Icelandic music festival that takes place during the 24-hour daylight of the nation’s
famous summer solstice. Perhaps the most notable performance of this year’s edition was Deftones
frontman Chino Moreno’s acoustic set within the Thrihnuagigur volcano. A mere 20 guests, who reportedly
paid north of $1300 for the privilege, witnessed the intimate subterranean performance.
Secret Solstice is also a perpetually shining light in terms of sustainability, having recently received
CarbonNeutral certification. In 2016, all of the festival’s CO2 emissions from supplier and organiser travel,
Photo: Vlad Solovov
as well as event waste, were compensated for via the purchase of high quality, verified carbon offsets from
the rainforest conservation project Makira REDD+ in Madagascar. Furthermore, 100% of Secret Solstice’s
power requirements are fulfilled through geothermal energy.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
196. ILOSAARIROCK JOENSUU, FINLAND
Founded in 1971, Ilosaarirock is a lakeside festival within the Finnish city of Joensuu. The three-day festivities
begin with two separately sold club nights on the Friday, followed by a two-day unified programme on the
main site. The five stages therein host more than 60 artists, and the event also features film screenings, DJ
sets, table tennis and more.
Aside from entertainment, Ilosaarirock’s primary areas of focus are food, drinks and relaxation. The
organisers pride themselves on the festival’s ecological and ethical considerations, manifested in its
extensive use of renewable energy and through the partial donation of its proceeds to local music projects.
Photo: Arttu Kokkonen
With over 50,000 annual guests, Ilosaarirock is one of the largest festivals in Finland. The event is organised
by Joensuu Pop Musicians’ Association, a non-profit association founded with the express purpose of
supporting live music.
195. AMERICANA INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL NEWARK, UK
For several decades now, Americana International Festival has been the UK’s leading celebration of music,
food, automobiles and culture from across the Atlantic.
Unfortunately, the 36th anniversary of the festival was cancelled in 2016 due to unforeseen problems with
the owner of its site. However, the organisers have since announced that the event is still alive and will
continue after they decide upon a new location.
194. NATURE ONE KASTELLAUN, GERMANY
In early August, 65,000 visitors converged on the Pydna missile base
near Kastellaun for Germany’s largest electronic music festival, Nature
One. Robin Schulz, Paul van Dyk, Sven Väth, Adam Beyer, Laidback
Luke, Chris Liebing and Sander van Doorn are just some of the acts that
performed over Nature One’s four days and three nights. All in all, the
event hosted 350 DJs and live acts across 23 stages in 2016.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
193. SUNBURN GOA, INDIA
In 2015, Insights interviewed Shailendra Singh, ‘The Inceptor’ of Sunburn Festival. The EDM titan claimed its
place as the most successful dance music festival in Asia as far back as 2013. Since 2007 it has grown from
a 10,000-capacity gamble to an absolute certainty, now attracting 150,000 digital dreamers to Goa every
year for the parenthetical holiday stretch of December 27 - 30. Its avoidance of Christmas and New Year’s
isn’t accidental; Singh knew that detracting from the local economy – rather than enhancing it – would
cripple the event before it had legs.
Through its plethora of national and international incarnations, plus its extensive experiential programming,
Sunburn has effectively transcended the reductive moniker of ‘music festival’, as Singh attested.
“Sunburn is a lifestyle product rather than just an event,” he said. “We’re running a marathon in which we
want to incorporate the entire culture surrounding music. Since our inception in 2007 we’ve consciously
dedicated 50% of the programme and the venue space to experiences, including painting areas, tarot card
readings, astrology, educational and artistic installations, conference panels, a flea market, a massage
centre, volleyball, table tennis, basketball, a rock-climbing wall, an art gallery and more.”
192. MYSTERYLAND HAARLEMMERMEER, NETHERLANDS
The SFX owned Mysteryland combines both hyper mainstream and under the radar electronic music with
an extensive arts and culture line-up. With over 350 acts spanning house, techno, disco, African beats,
vinyl-only, hardstyle, hip-hop and feelgood bands, this year’s line-up includes everything from commercial
sensations Diplo, Martin Garrix, Sam Feldt and Afrojack to underground stalwarts such as Seth Troxler, Dave
Clarke, Detroit Love, Green Velvet, Karenn, and Tom Trago.
Plus there’s theatre, movies, street performers, and art installations from revered artists such as Kate
Raudenbush, best known for her work on Burning Man; and Robert Bose, famed for his Balloon Chain at
Coachella.
191. CAVENDISH BEACH MUSIC FESTIVAL CAVENDISH, CANADA
What was once a cow pasture in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, is now the home of the largest multi-
day outdoor music festival in Atlantic Canada: the Cavendish Beach Music Festival. More than 70,000 fans
annually flock to the festival for dining, camping, and the biggest names in country music. Its core offerings
are rounded out with a variety of peripheral experiences, including interactive songwriters circles, sampling
sessions and food demos.
Cavendish Beach is committed to protecting the PEI coastline, limiting its carbon footprint and abiding
by self-imposed environmentally conscientious practices such as having a full onsite recycling programme,
encouraging the use of public transit and carpooling, and using renewable energy.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
190. NORTHWEST FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL SEATTLE, USA
For four decades, the year-round institution of Northwest Folklife has been strengthening communities
through arts & music, with core values of participation, free expression and inclusiveness. The epitome of
these continual efforts and a distillation of its grassroots ethos is the free Northwest Folklife Festival, which
Photo: Piper Hanson
attracts around 250,000 revellers each Memorial Day Weekend in Seattle for a celebration of roots music,
hip-hop, poetry, spoken word, philanthropy, and togetherness.
189. PARKLIFE MANCHESTER, UK
Parklife is a two-day festival whose expansive line-ups blur the lines between hip-hop, house, techno, indie
and electronica. Owing to its parentage from The Warehouse Project and Live Nation, it regularly scores a
Photo: Daniel Watson
smorgasbord of innovative international talent.
188. POHODA FESTIVAL TRENCIN, SLOVAKIA
Pohoda celebrated its 20th anniversary this year with The Prodigy, Sigur Rós, PJ Harvey, James Blake, Flying
Lotus, Parov Stelar, Nina Kraviz, The Vaccines, Gogol Bordello, Savages, Odesza, and many more.
Michal Kaščák, CEO of Pohoda, told Insights: “Our main goal is always to make the festival better than it
was a year ago. It was the same with the anniversary. We didn’t want to do some retrospective edition or
Photo: Martina Mlčúchová
an ego trip celebration. The philosophy was ‘no fireworks, but more art, better service and a more exciting
experience’. It was the best birthday party I can imagine, with the best guests on the planet.”
187. ROCKLAHOMA PRYOR, USA
Rocklahoma celebrated its 10th year in 2016 with a personal record breaking 70,000 attendees. America’s
biggest Memorial Day Weekend party featured a line-up of contemporary rock artists and classic bands,
including Scorpions, Disturbed, Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, Megadeth, Chevelle, 3 Doors Down,
Collective Soul, Sebastian Bach, and many more at ‘Catch the Fever’ festival grounds just outside Tulsa,
Oklahoma. The three-day camping festival featured music on three stages each day, as well as premium
Photo: Jason Squires
onsite camping amenities and unparalleled VIP packages, living up to its motto of ‘Life, Liberty & the
Pursuit of Rock.’ In addition, the Rocklahoma charity guitar auction raised over $72,000 for local causes.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
186. GREENBELT FESTIVAL KETTERING, UK
Greenbelt’s remit strikes at the intersection between justice, faith and
the arts – exploring the Christian and humanitarian issues alongside
comedy showcases, literature, and child-friendly performances. The
festival’s promotion of Christian scripture ¬– however gentle – may
be off-putting to the average festival loving hedonist, but the broad
appeal of its entertainment and decidedly inclusive attitude prove that
a fundamentally Christian event needn’t be one solely for Christian
fundamentalists.
185. ARENAL SOUND VALENCIA, SPAIN
Clocking in at just shy of a week, the beach based Arenal Sound brings 55,000 ‘sounders’ to its annual
Mediterranean gathering to enjoy a line-up composed of acts like The Hives, Steve Aoki, Crystal Castles,
Crystal Fighters, Two Door Cinema Club, and Kodaline, amongst others.
184. MAIN SQUARE FESTIVAL ARRAS, FRANCE
Live Nation founded the Main Square Festival in 2004, and this
year invited Odesza, Editors, The Offspring, Flume, Boys Noize, Ellie
Goulding, Disclosure, Iggy Pop, Birdy Nam Nam and more to perform
during its three-day festivities.
183. NIBE FESTIVAL NIBE, DENMARK
Deliberately limiting its capacity to 9,000 to foster its guiding principles of ‘presence’ and
‘intimacy’, Nibe Festival shares its host town’s quaint and hospitable atmosphere. Amongst
its litany of impressive attributes, Nibe claims to spend an inordinate amount of money on
the comfort of its guests, more so than most other festivals. Furthermore, the proceeds of its
four-day festivities go towards promoting cultural life in Aalborg, and the festival shares a
similarly conscientious attitude towards the environment.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
182. RAINFOREST WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL SARAWAK, MALAYSIA
The Rainforest World Music Festival is an annual three-day event celebrating the manifold permutations
of world music. Owing to its daytime music workshops, cultural and craft displays, food stalls, and main
stage evening concerts, it is now one of the largest music events in Malaysia with a total weekend audience
approaching 30,000.
181. LA ROUTE DU ROCK BRITTANY, FRANCE
La Route du Rock is a biannual music festival that entered its 26th year
in 2016. Its most recent summer edition had a particularly weird and
wonderful line-up, including the ethereal and eccentric Julia Holter,
downtempo producers Gold Panda and Pantha Du Prince, returning
champions of sampling The Avalanches, and seething polemicists
Sleaford Mods.
180. 80S REWIND (SCOTLAND) PERTH, UK
The three 80s Rewind festivals treat their atavistic attendees to
overwhelmingly nostalgic line-ups, a human carwash disco, posh
food, a funfair, and firework displays. Rick Astley, Adam Ant, Marc
Almond, and Erasure’s Andy Bell were amongst the acts at this year’s
festivals.
179. BEAUREGARD FESTIVAL NORMANDY, FRANCE
Beauregard Festival is one of France’s biggest rock, pop and indie events. Taking its name from the incredible
château whose grounds it stands on, Beauregard has amassed a huge, loyal fanbase since making its debut
in 2009.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
178. NASS SOMERSET, UK
Aside from its music programme – which incorporates everything from drum ‘n’ bass to hip-hop, grime, and
techno – NASS most interestingly centres much of its entertainment on high-octane sports. In addition to
hosting the IBMXFF World Championships this year, the event also featured more participatory elements
such as skateboarding, freestyle mountain biking, and rollerblading. Beyond that, a wider sense of hip-hop
culture is represented through street art, DJ & MC workshops, and B-boy dancing.
177. LOVE SUPREME JAZZ FESTIVAL BRIGHTON, UK
Taking its name from John Coltrane’s magnum opus A Love Supreme, the UK based festival is presented by
Jazz FM, and was founded in 2013 by Neapolitan Music, Ingenious Media and Serious. Although the event
is still in its infancy, its alumni already includes the Robert Glasper Experiment, Bryan Ferry, Chic and Nile
Rodgers, De La Soul, Jamie Cullum, Snarky Puppy, Gregory Porter, and Laura Mvula.
176. WORLDWIDE FESTIVAL SETE, FRANCE
Conceived by British DJ, record aficionado and Brownswood label
boss Gilles Peterson, Worldwide Festival began as a modest seaside
weekender that now resides in a converted shipyard. Peterson’s
erudite and intimate knowledge of international music ensures that
the line-ups are tastefully programmed, epitomised this year with acts
like Anderson Paak, Kamasi Washington, and Four Tet.
175. FREEDOM FESTIVAL HULL, UK
Hull’s flagship arts festival, Freedom, was founded in 2007 to commemorate
anti-slavery pioneer William Wilberforce. The three-day event illuminates
the City of Culture’s streets with theatre, music, dance, and spoken word.
This year the festival anticipates that a horde of 100,000 will come for its
diverse family-friendly programme, which includes renowned international
musicians, local talent, comedy, and even some aerial acrobatics.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
174. FEEST IN HET PARK OUDENAARDE, BELGIUM
Feest in het Park is a four-day music festival held in Oudenaarde, Belgium since 1996. Last year’s line-up
included Band of Skulls, Claptone, and Girl in Hawaii. It is unclear whether the organisers have plans for a
2016 iteration of the event.
173. COCOON IN THE PARK LEEDS UK
Launched in 2009, the single-day Cocoon in the Park has become a
prominent fixture of the UK’s house and techno scene, ushering in
legions of four-to-the-floor fanatics to the stately grounds of Temple
Newsam each July for some of those sweet, sweet, sweet repetitive
beats they all crave.
172. URBAN ART FORMS FESTIVAL WIENER NEUSTADT, AUSTRIA
Founded in 2004, Urban Art Forms Festival has become one of Austria’s largest electronic music festivals.
171. LOKERSE FEESTEN LOKEREN, BELGIUM
Lokerse Feesten is organised by the independent non-profit
organisation Lokerse Events, and depends almost entirely on its team
of around 40 volunteers to operate. The line-up is a broad church,
housing everyone from thrash metal pioneers Slayer to Norwegian
EDM producer Kygo.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
LIVING ON THE
FLY
HOW LAST MINUTE
PURCHASING BEHAVIOUR
AFFECTS THE
FESTIVAL INDUSTRY
We have all been there. Your weekend plans are sorted Over the past three years, last minute purchases on
and your friend cancels on you last minute. So, now you StubHub have increased from 12% in 2013 to 18% so far
need to figure out what to do with your weekend. When in 2016, and a lot of these purchases happen over the
you’re stuck in this situation, you may turn to some old summer. Last year, July, August and September saw the
favourites – your local pub, your favourite restaurant or highest percentage of last minute purchases on StubHub -
you may just spend the weekend inside your flat with your 17% of all StubHub sales in 2015. So far this year, fans of
old friend, Netflix. all types of festivals including: Eastern Electrics, Wireless
Festival, Standon Calling, We are FSTVL and Capital
But, what if you want to switch off that Game of Thrones Summertime Ball have all benefited from being able to
marathon and get off the sofa to experience something buy and sell tickets at the last minute.
fun and exciting? Is it too late to snag tickets to a festival
that weekend? No, it’s not! At StubHub, we are seeing For festival organisers, it is important to understand the
that more and more people want to buy tickets at the purchasing behavior for fans in this increasingly social and
last minute, which we classify as the last 72 hours before mobile world. Fans clearly want to be able to buy and sell
event time. tickets to festivals whenever it suits them and if somethingBROUGHT TO YOU BY
crops up meaning that they cannot go, they need a safe weekend. So they will then want to resell their ticket to
and secure place to sell those tickets to someone else. someone who is willing to brave the weather to see their
favourite act live on stage. This is where StubHub comes
But, why do fans want to plan their festivals so last minute? into play.
Friday is the most popular day of the week for last minute
purchases, indicating that people are not planning their We allow fans to buy, sell and collect their ticket whenever
weekends as far in advance anymore. it’s convenient for them, even right up to show time. We
have a last minute services office located on Charing Cross
The famous British summer weather also comes into play Road in the heart of London, along with smaller offices
when booking festival tickets. Some fans may be waiting across the UK. We also sometimes set up pick up points
to see what the forecast is before buying event tickets. If it at the event so that fans can collect their tickets from the
looks to be a nice weekend, consumers may decide to take event site.
advantage of the weather and enjoy a festival. Equally,
fans who have already bought tickets may find that they
do not like the look of the forecast for the following
BY: ANTONIO VALERO, HEAD OF NEW BUSINESS MODELS, STUBHUB
ANVALERO@EBAY.COMBROUGHT TO YOU BY
170. BEAUTIFUL DAYS DEVON, UK
Beautiful Days is the Levellers’ family music festival, organised by
DMF Music and set at Escot Park in Devon. It boasts six stages, onsite
art, a huge children’s area, comedy, theatre, family camping, licensed
real ale bars from Otter Brewery, and a wide array of food and craft
stalls.
Winner of the Grass Roots Festival Award at the UK Festival Awards
in 2015, Beautiful Days has no sponsorship or branding and does
not advertise. The 13th, star themed edition of the festival hosted
headliners Leftfield, James, and Levellers, plus Afro Celt Sound System,
The Coral, The Proclaimers, Mariachi el Bronx, Gentleman’s Dub Club,
Reef, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Terrorvision, and Billy Bragg.
169. FALLS FESTIVAL NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA
The near-simultaneous trinity of events that fall under The Falls’ Music & Arts
Festival umbrella – situated in Lorne, Marion Bay and New South Wales – all
play host to the same diverse styles of hip-hop, downtempo, indie rock, disco,
and whatever else that’s good.
168. OPENAIR ST. GALLEN ST. GALLEN, SWITZERLAND
OpenAir St.Gallen is one of the oldest outdoor festivals in Switzerland.
The campsite is included within the festival arena, removing the
barriers from where you dance and where you sleep. If you’re lucky,
you’ll be able to see your favourite band perform on-stage while
you’re relaxing in front of your tent. This is one of the traits that make
Photo: Nick Lobeck
OpenAir St.Gallen special, besides its unique flora-adorned setting in
the valley of the river Sitter.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
167. BOSTON CALLING BOSTON, USA
The biannual Boston’s Callin’s line-up is co-curated by Aaron Dessner of The National. Performers of past
Boston Callings have included The National, Beck, My Morning Jacket, Of Monsters and Men, Kendrick
Lamar, Passion Pit, Vampire Weekend, and Modest Mouse.
Boston Calling was held on City Hall Plaza from 2013 to 2016, and in 2017 it is expected to move to
Harvard University’s athletic fields in Allston. There are two performance stages, notably featuring non-
overlapping sets, festival-wide beer experiences, and a food pavilion. The festival is produced by Crash Line
Photo: Mike Diskin
Productions, a Boston-based entertainment production company that also produces Eaux Claires Music &
Arts Festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
166. SW4 LONDON, UK
For 12 years, SW4 has welcomed the world’s very best DJs and live electronic acts, evolving into one of
Europe’s most respected music festivals. Last year’s edition marked its most ambitious extravaganza to
date, by offering more headline talent than ever before and unveiling a colossal 10,000 capacity indoor
main stage, the biggest ever indoor structure erected on Clapham Common.
Following on from what the organisers describe as the best SW4 in its illustrious history, 2016’s event
eclipsed all that has gone before it as it continued its quest to deliver the UK’s finest inner city electronic
music festival. Headliners for 2016 were The Chemical Brothers, Dizzee Rascal, Andy C, Knife Party, Carl
Cox, Above & Beyond, and Paul Kalkbrenner.
165. DIGITAL DREAMS TORONTO, CANADA
Set against the iconic skyline of Toronto, Bud Light Digital Dreams Music Festival
offers partygoers a sophisticated experience supposedly unlike any other in the
Canadian music landscape.
164. HIGHFIELD FESTIVAL GROSSPOSNA, GERMANY
The newly relocated Highfield provides plenty of room for its three-
day festival, which features live performances from national and
Photo: Dario Dumancic
international acts.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
163. DAS FEST KARLSRUHE, GERMANY
Das Fest plucks its artists from the regional scene and further afield
in equal measure, and since 1991 has hosted a separate stage for
theatre, a children’s playground, and a youth-focused hip-hop and
techno stage.
162. WICKERMAN FESTIVAL GALLOWAY, UK
As Wickerman’s name suggests, the festival climaxes with the ritualistic immolation of a
colossal wicker effigy, possibly with Nicolas Cage trapped inside.
Sadly the two-day event doesn’t actually involve Pagan-esque human sacrifice or Cage
sprinting around in a bear costume and dropkicking people through walls. What it does
involve – in addition to music – is aromatherapy, as well as yoga and qigong sessions.
161. SÓNAR REYKJAVIK REYKJAVIK, ICELAND
The term ‘metropolitan festival’ is often a synonym for ‘multiple
physically and stylistically-disparate venues temporarily united the
same banner.’ Contrary to this trend is Iceland’s edition of Sónar
Festival, whose entire proceedings occur in Reykjavik’s Harpa concert
hall, the nation’s bastion of symphonic music.
Despite the literal transparency and openness of the public
building, many young Icelanders apparently consider it relevant
only to the interests of the aged and affluent. Sónar’s programme of
predominantly future-cognisant electronic music does a great deal
to offset this notion, and demonstrates how a prestige brand can
redefine itself across smaller locations and venues.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
160. SONNEMONDSTERNE SAALBURG-EBERSDORF, GERMANY
After 2,500 people attended its inaugural event in 1997, SonneMondSterne has
grown to annually bring 35,000 electronic music enthusiasts to Saalburg-Ebersdorf.
Its bills chart pretty diverse territory, from South African rap rave duo Die Antwoord to
Photo: Tony Guenther
wonky Brainfeeder signee Mr. Oizo and EDM antichrist David Guetta.
159. REGGAE SUN SKA FESTIVAL BORDEAUX, FRANCE
Reggae Sun Ska became one of the French festival scene’s eminent voices on sustainability after launching its
Eco Sun Ska initiative with Meduli Nature in 2005. Each year the festival evaluates its environmental impact
Photo: Campagnie Valentin
and accordingly adjusts its approach to transport, local partnerships, waste management and more.
158. VOLT FESTIVAL SOPRON, HUNGARY
Although Volt Festival draws over 100,000 fans each year, it prides itself on managing to maintain a close-
Photo: szigetfestival.com/aliYO
knit and quintessentially family-friendly atmosphere. With around 10 stages, 150 performers and a number
of quality lounges, bars, cafes, and restaurants – all built up in the middle of a green forest – Volt touts itself
as a great place to meet open-minded and friendly music lovers.
157. BOSPOP WEERT, NETHERLANDS
Bospop is a cosy, old-fashioned pop-rock festival that was held for the 35th time in mid July. What
began in 1980 as a small festival for the region’s amateur acts has become a platform for bands of
Photo: Maurice Moonen
international stature.BROUGHT TO YOU BY
156. BUMBERSHOOT SEATTLE, USA
Bumbershoot began as a city-funded arts and music festival called Mayor’s Arts Festival, held at
the Seattle Center from August 13 - 15, 1971. Amidst the local economic depression triggered
by the near collapse of Boeing, the event attempted to revive the optimism of its 125,000 local
visitors, and was the largest event held in the Seattle Center since the 1962 World’s Fair.
155. SUMMERJAM COLOGNE, GERMANY
Summerjam annually gathers an audience of 30,000 reggae fans to
celebrate Jamaica’s most celebrated musical export. Over the years,
it has hosted acts like Black Uhuru, Dennis Brown, Jimmy Cliff, Lee
Scratch Perry, Maxi Priest, Shaggy, Beenie Man, Sizzla, and Sean Paul.
Photo: summerjam.de
154. GROEZROCK MEERHOUT, BELGIUM
One of the world’s most renowned punk, hardcore and metal festivals,
Groezrock consistently brings together the scenes’ collective veterans
and newcomers, this year personified in part by Rancid, Less Than Jake,
Sick of it All, Mad Caddies, Four Year Strong, Me First and the Gimme
Gimmes, and Sum 41.You can also read
