Fancy heading?
With the first few lineups being announced for Irish festivals – check out the Longitude, Forbidden Fruit and Croke Park dates for BrucEoncye – it’s easy to overlook the fact that there’s also a healthy interest in what’s going on abroad, especially for music fans that fancy a holiday.
With this in mind, we’ve drawn up a list of the best festivals that are taking place around Europe this summer along with the bands that are playing at them and the cheapest way to get there. Sadly Glastonbury and Tomorrowland are already sold out but there’s still plenty of great gigs to see.
Note: All flights are departing from Dublin and as always with any festival there’s a few variations of ticketing packages that you can buy to suit your needs.
BBK Live – Bilbao
Main acts playing: (So far it’s) Arcade Fire, Pixies, Foals, New Order and lots more.
Dates and cost: 7-9 July, €100.
Getting there: Dublin to Bilbao from July 6-11 is currently €172 but you can probably find cheaper ways of getting there.
¿Con este CARTELAZO todavía te lo estás pensando?
Compra tu abono para el @bilbaobbklive en https://t.co/6klD5idiNd pic.twitter.com/pALzM1mwWN— BeLive Music (@Belivemusic_es) February 5, 2016
Opener – Gdynia, Poland
Main acts playing: (So far it’s) Foals, Florence and the Machine, LCD Soundsystem, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Sigur Ros and lots more.
Dates and cost: June 29th -2nd July, 4 day ticket with camping is €150.
Getting there: Dublin to Gdansk on June 27-July 5th is €155.
Reading/ Leeds Festivals
Main acts playing: (So far it’s) RHCP, Disclosure, Foals, Imagine Dragons and lots more.
Dates and cost: 26-28 August, €275 for the weekend campaign.
Getting there: Dublin to Leeds/Bradford on August 25-29 is currently €34.
JUST ANNOUNCED!!!
So hyped to be returning to @OfficialRandL this year! One of last years highlights for sure! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/xUFzWvMnCd
— Hannah Wants (@hannah_wants) January 28, 2016
Rock Werchter – 30km outside of Brussels
Main acts playing : (So far it’s) Disclosure, RHCP, At the Drive In, Jamie XX, Rammstein, Florence and the Machine and lots more.
Dates and cost: June 30th – July 3rd, €236 but there are variations.
Getting there: Dublin to Brussels on 29 June – July 4th is only €70.
Yihaa! We won a European Festival Award last night! Rock Werchter is "Artists' Favourite Festival" 🎉 #efa #rw16 pic.twitter.com/gCJqAZ266O
— Rock Werchter (@RockWerchter) January 14, 2016
Rock Im Park – Nuremberg
Main acts playing: (So far it’s): Biffy Clyro, Black Sabbath, Deftones, Foals, Rudimenta, RHCP and lots more.
Dates and cost: 3-5 June, €195 for camping.
Getting there: Flying from Dublin to Nuremberg on June 2nd – 7th is €120.
Sonar – Barcelona
Main acts playing: Fatboy Slim, Boyz Noize, James Blake, Flume, Four Tet, New Order
Dates and cost: 16-18 June, €180.
Getting there: It’s a bit steep, €182 when flying out on the 14th and coming back the 20th but maybe you can find a cheaper route.
Sónar 2016 just got even bigger #sonarbarcelona #roadtosonar pic.twitter.com/M6K80GQqcM
— Sónar Festival (@SonarFestival) January 25, 2016
Sziget Festival – Budapest
Main acts playing: (So far it’s) Muse, David Guetta, Bloc Party, Sigur Ros, The Lumineers and lots more.
Dates and cost: 10-17 August, €249 for the week.
Getting there: Dublin to Budapest from August 8th – 18th is €162.
Szitizens! 200 days till #sziget2016 ! Excited!? 😉 pic.twitter.com/uzzlFnn94A
— Sziget Festival (@szigetofficial) January 22, 2016
Primavera Sound- Barcelona
Main acts playing : Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, Sigur Ros, Brian Wilson, Tame Impala, The Last Shadow Puppets and loads more.
Dates and cost – June 1st-5th. Full weekend tickets are already sold out but you can get individual dates for Thursday and Saturday at €80.
Getting there: If you fancy spending a few days in Spain then a return from Barcelona to Dublin on May 29th- June 6th is is currently €143.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we're in orbithttps://t.co/ZTZxA9zwif#primaverasound pic.twitter.com/YqF7Bj0JA6
— Primavera Sound (@Primavera_Sound) January 21, 2016
Roskilde Festival, 30 km west of Copenhagen
Main acts playing: (So far it’s) LCD Soundsystem, New Order, RHCP, Foals, PJ Harvey and loads more.
Dates and cost: June 25- July 2nd, €270 for 8 days of camping.
Getting there: Dublin to Copenhagen from June 24th- July 3rd is currently €95.
SO FUCKING HAPPY AND STOKED THAT I'M GONNA PLAY AT ROSKILDE FESTIVAL THIS YEAR!!!! ✨😵✨ https://t.co/sybQzLIy8x pic.twitter.com/cXk0DZY0rN
— MØ ∞ (@MOMOMOYOUTH) January 25, 2016
Isle of Wight, Off the coast of Southern England
Main acts playing: (So far it’s) Queen with Adam Lambert, Faithless, The Buzzcocks and loads more.
Dates and cost: 9-12 June, €250
Getting there: Dublin to Southampton on June 9-13 is €95. Then you’ll need to get a boat.
Benicassim , Costa del Azahar
Main acts playing: (So far it’s) Muse, Disclosure, Kendrick Lamar, The Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack and loads more.
Dates and cost: July 14th-17th , €148
Getting there: Dublin to Barcelona for €183 from July 13-20th.
We always make time for a walk in the sand at Benicàssim! Do you? #benicassim #FIB2016 #wanderlust pic.twitter.com/eWeKAOUUtv
— FIB Benicàssim Festival (@fiberfib) January 20, 2016
Rock en Seine – Paris
Main acts playing: Hasn’t been announced yet but it’s an absolutely gorgeous festival and their lineup is always excellent. Last year it was The Libertines, Kasabian, Hot Chip and Alt-J that were the main draws.
Dates and cost: 26-28 August, €120.
Getting there: Dublin to Paris on Aug 25-29 is €72.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2-nSSYBZ7o
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge