Europe is fortunate enough to be rich in summer music festivals. The number of dance festivals taking place in the continent has exploded over the last few years. Whether you are looking for a day of fun or a whole solid weekend of dancing to the beats of the best DJs in the world, we’ve got the best festivals lined up for you to get yourself in a state over.
When: Friday, 17 -19 August, 2018
Where: Walibi Holland, Biddinghuizen
Main Attractions: Gorillaz, Kendrick Lamar, NERD, The War On Drugs, Dua Lipa, James Bay, Bonobo, Dropkick Murphys, Gavin James, Grizzly Bear, Patti Smith, Rag’n’Bone, Tom Odell, Stormzy, Âme II Âme, Avalon Emerson, Ben UFO, Bicep, David August, David VunkThe, Fatima Yamaha, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Red Axes, RHYE, The Blaze, Yaeji, Nils Frahm and Max Cooper.
When: 13 July – 15 July 2018
Where: Wildeburg, Netherlands
Main Attractions: Gerd Janson, Izabel, Jennifer Cardini, JP Enfant,Yør Kultura, Robag Wruhme, Applescal & Some Chemistry, Paranoid London, Baikal, Bambounou, Legowelt, Leif Müller, Cosmin TRG, Detroit Swindle, Honey Soundsystem, Human Space Machine, Imarhan, Nightmares on Wax, Vessels, Will Oirson William Djoko Willow Woody’92, andYør Kultura.
3. Primavera Sound
When: 30 May – 3 June 2018
Where: Barcelona, Spain
Main Attractions: DJ Koze, John Talabot, The Black Madonna, Hunne, Antal, Gerd Janson, Floating Points, Arctic Monkeys, Björk, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Lorde, The National, Migos, ASAP Rocky, Tyler the Creator, CHVRCHES, Fever Ray, Lykke Li, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Beach House, Slowdive, Father John Misty, Mogwai, Grizzly Bear, The Breeders, Panda Bear, Deerhunter, Oneohtrix Point Never, Chromeo, Jon Hopkins, Vince Staples, Madlib, Beastie Boys’ Mike D, Warpaint, Rhye, Ty Segall, Shellac, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Four Tet, Thundercat, Kelela, Waxahatchee, Lindstrøm, and Mount Kimbie.
When: 29 June – 1 July 2018
Where: Belgium
Main Attractions: DJ Koze, ACID ARAB, ATTARI, Bedouin, Byron The Aquarius, Call Super & Objekt, Cleveland, Denis Horvat, Gidge (Live), Henrik Schwarz, Jayda G, Jennifer Cardini, Joey Anderson, Joris Voorn, KiNK, Konstantin Sibold, Laurent Garnier, Lil Louis, Nico Morano, Omar Souleyman, Or:la, Patrice Baumel, Perel, Red Axes live, Rodriguez Jr & Liset Alea, Romare live band, Satori (Live), Stavroz (DJ), Studio Barnhus (Axel Boman, Kornél Kovács, Petter Nordkvist), Timmerman
When: 15– 18 August 2018
Where: Hasselt, Belgium
Main Attractions: Arcade Fire, Kiasmos, The War On Drugs, Dua Lipa, Bonobo, Martin Solveig, Oscar and the Wolf, Travis Scott, SubFocus, Kendrick Lamar, Justice, Kolsch, Nina Kraviz, Rhye, Vitalic, Maribou State and The Blaze.
When: 11-15 July, 2018
Where: Belgium
Main Attractions: Action Bronson, alt-J, Âme II Âme, Amelie Lens, Angèle, BadBadNotGood, Baxter, Dury, Ben Klock, Ben UFO, Boris Brejcha, Boys Noize, Cashmere Cat, Daphni, Dave Clarke, Diplo, Fatima Yamaha, Floating Points, Joey Bada$$, Jon Hopkins, Modeselektor, Mogwai, Mount Kimbie, Mura Masa, Nils Frahm, Noisia, ODESZA, Pan-Pot, Parcels, Paul Kalkbrenner, Pan &, Polo [live], Princess Nokia, Rødhåd, Shame, Slowdive, Soulwax, Talaboman, The Chemical Brothers, Tyler The, Creator, and Wizkid + more to be announced.
When: 31 March – 1 April 2018
Where: NDSM, Amsterdam
Main Attractions: Âme, Tale Of Us, Jackmaster, Maceo Plex, Eats Everything, Recondite, Hot Since 82, Matador, Maya Jane Coles, Mano Le Tough, Damian Lazarus, Stephan Bodzin, Jeff Mills, Floating Points, Tom Trago, Oliver Koletzki, Job Jobse, Gerd Janson, De Sluwe Vos, Dvs1, Hunee, Ida Engberg, Speedy J, Romare, Red Axes, Blawan, Nightmares On Wax, Amelie Lens, Laurent Garnier, Modeselektor, Sandrien, Denis Sulta, Satori, Dax J, Elias Mazian, Ferro, Monolink, Honey Dijon, Call Super, Cinnaman, Samuel Deep, DJ Dustin, JP Enfant, Palmbomen II, Awanto 3, Dollkraut, Philou Louzolo, Seth Schwarz, Theo Parrish, Man Power, Nathan Fake, Mall Grab, and Schwarzmann.
When: 20 – 24 Jun 2018
Where: Domaine De Gayfié, France
Main Attractions: Asaf Samuel, John Talabot, Khidja (live), Katzele, Siriusmo, Modeselektor, Fjaak, Die Wilde Jagd, Zenker Brothers, and Baba Stiltz+ more to be announced.
When: 7-10 June 2018
Where: Rhodopian Mountains, Bulgaria
Main Attractions: To be announced.
10. Farr Festival
When: 5-8 July 2018
Where: Bygrave Wood, Hertfordshire, UK
Main Attractions: Mount Kimbie, Tom Misch, Dixon, Daphni, Maribou State, Moodymann, George FitzGerald (live), Mr G (live), DVS1, Optimo, Young Marco, Shy FX, Roman Flügel, Jah Shaka, Benji B, Lena Willikens, Paranoid London (live), Gerd Janson, Willow, Job Jobse, Claro Intelecto (live), Jacques Greene (live), Call Super, DJ Stingray, Prosumer, Shanti Celeste, Or:la, and Tama Sumo.
When: 1-5 Aug 2018
Where: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Main Attractions: Call Super, Carl Craig Synthesizer Ensemble, Clark presents Death Peak, Daphni, Dazion (live), Dekmantel Soundsystem, DJ Stingray, Donato Dozzy, Floating Points (dj), Four Tet (live), Gesloten Cirkel (live), Gilb’R & Max Abysmal, Helena Hauff, Jah Shaka, James Holden & The Animal Spirits, Jamie xx, Job Sifre, John Maus, John Talabot, Joy Orbison, (live), Khidja (live), Matrixxman, Modeselektor (dj), Mount Kimbie (live), Optimo, Or:la, Orbital (live), Palmbomen II (live), Palms Trax, Ricardo Villalobos, Rødhåd, Samuel Kerridge (live), Sassy J, Shackleton (live), Shanti Celeste, Skatebård, Voiski (live) , Woody, and Young Marco (live)
12. Waking Life 2018
When: 15-19 August 2018
Where: Crato, Portugal
Main Attractions: To be announced, previous year included Ben UFO, Jennifer Cardini, Youandewan, Zenker Brothers, Sebastian Mullaert, Aurora Halal, DJ Dustin DJ Nobu, and Kassem Mosse
Cover Photo by Pasco Photography.
