The 14 Best London Music Festivals to Book Now
The summer of music is finally approaching. With warmer weather on the horizon, now’s the time to start planning for festival season. This year, the capital’s festival scene is an exciting one, with beloved favourites and emerging artists all scheduled to bring international talent to the capital. Spanning every genre, this summer’s top London music festivals promise to delight.
All Points East
Victoria Park, 19 — 28 August
After a stripped back version last year, this summer London’s most popular music festival returns in full force with six days of top music acts. Across the two weekends, Victoria Park will host an incredible line-up, with Gorillaz, The Chemical Brothers, Tame Impala, The National, Disclosure and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds each headlining their own day. James Blake, Pusha T, Channel Tres and more are also scheduled to take to the stage, guaranteed to have you jumping and dancing throughout the day.
Field Day Festival
Victoria Park, 20 August
The smaller, dancier sister festival to All Points East, this one day park party is focused on the best electronic dance music. Underground rising talent such as Logic 1000 and Helena Star join huge names like The Chemical Brothers, Kraftwerk, and Floating Points to keep the all-day party going, while Folamour is also set to bring his immersive ‘Power To The PPL’ audio-visual show to the occasion. Sweaty, raving fun is pretty much guaranteed.
Mighty Hoopla
Brockwell Park, 3 — 4 June
A particularly beloved summer celebration for the LGTBQ+ community, this joyful festival is firmly interested in the best of pop. Spanning two days for the first time, the festival returns to Brixton’s Brockwell Park for a fourth year with a lineup of talent pulled from LGBTQ+ club nights and venues including Sink the Pink and The Cocoa Butter Club. Nostalgia abounds this year, with Sugarbabes, Steps, Anastasia, Casacada, Basement Jaxx and Eve all announced as part of this summer’s line up.
Lovebox
Gunnersbury Park, 16 July
After taking a two year hiatus, it looks like the club-night-turned-epic-festival founded by Groove Armada is set to return this summer. Having previously sprawled across Finsbury Park, Clapham Common and Victoria Park, this year the festival will be taking place in Hounslow, where an as yet unannounced line-up will be keeping crowds dancing all day. Given that past line-ups have included the likes of Chance the Rapper, Brockhampton and Solange, you can bet that they’ll be back with a bang.
Risen
Hackney Wick, 9 April
For those looking for something new, head to Hackney Wick for this one-day electronic music celebration. Driven by the aim to “help balance gender inequality across the electronic music world,” this newcomer has curated a line-up focused on female talent and those who “represent the feminine energy” to bring eclectic sets to 10 different venues around the East London neighbourhood. Spanning a range of electronic music genres, including house, disco, garage and techno, the debut line-up includes Girls Don’t Sync, Foundation FM, Ifeoluwa, Kiara Scuro and much more.
Gala
Peckham Rye Park, 2 - 4 June
The independent South London music festival, founded in 2016 with the aim of diversifying the music festival scene and bringing international talent to Peckham Rye, returns this year with a bang. A celebration of dance music and club culture in a woodland setting, this unique festival brings together jazz musicians, DJs, queer icons and rising star talent to fill the park with sound. This year’s line-up includes Goldie, Children of Zeus, Little Dragon and many more names.
Cross the Tracks
Brockwell Park, 5 June
A mix of soul, funk and jazz, this one day festival returns to Brockwell Park for its third year this summer. Former cover star Joy Crookes joins this year’s exciting line-up, alongside Khruangbin, Sampa The Great, Macy Gray, Patrice Rushen and many more. Kicking off at midday and running into the night, attendees can enjoy truly special live music with a side of delicious street food, craft beer and thought provoking talk and workshops.
Hampton Court Palace Festival
Hampton Court Palace, 9 - 25 June
For a more genteel affair, opt for a festival in the grounds of the historic Hampton Court Palace. The annual festival returns this summer with three weeks of special performances from Kacey Musgraves, Elbow, UB40, McFly and Ministry of Sound Classical ft. special guests Fat Tony & Seb Fontaine. Pick your performance and enjoy a pre-set picnic on the lawn, or splurge for a Waterside Gazebo with ten friends for a truly luxurious experience.
BST Hyde Park
Hyde Park, 24 June - 25 July
If you’re after the heavy-hitters, this is the concert for you. This all-star festival is returning for two summer weekends of seriously impressive musical talent, with Adele, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Eagles, Pearl Jam and Duran Duran headlining. Hometown icon Adele is the big draw this year, performing her new album for the first time in the UK for a concert crowd — which is why she’s doing it twice. Special guests and exciting rising star talent are also part of the package.
Wireless
Crystal Palace, 1-3 July; Finsbury Park, 8 - 10 July
This year, the epic rap festival spans two London weekends and one in Birmingham, and each location boasts an impressive line-up of some of today’s biggest rap stars. A$AP Rocky, Cardi B, J. Cole, Tyler the Creator, SZA and Nicki Minaj are all set to headline the London weekends — pay close attention to the day’s line-up to ensure you pick the headliner of your dreams — with equally exciting performances coming from the likes of City Girls, 6lack, Burna Boy, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat and recent Brit Award winner, Little Simz.
Kaleidoscope Festival
Alexandra Palace Park, 23 July
For a more laid back summer music experience, opt for Alexandra Palace’s one day festival. Against the backdrop of the spot’s sweeping views of the city, this family-friendly festival hosts a live music stage, DJ tent and a number of activities for kids. Orbital and Happy Mondays headline the main stage, while those looking for a dance party can head to the DJ tent to hear sets from Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show, Crazy P Soundsystem and The Cuban Brothers.
Higher Ground
Alexandra Palace Park, 24 July
It may be a newcomer, but Higher Ground is making its debut with a bang, with none other than Patti Smith headlining. The boutique one-day festival is focused on bringing a mix of singer-songwriters, genre-defying acts and contemporary sounds to the North London grounds, with Mercury-nominated Nadine Shah, Connie Constance and SPELLING all joining Smith on the stage. DJ sets, workshops, talks and readings, food trucks and bars are also all on the menu.
Yam Carnival
Clapham Common, 27 August
Returning for its second year, this South London festival was created by the team behind Afro Nation and is intended to be a celebration of Black culture. This summer, the team have curated an exciting line-up that includes Wizkid, Black Sherif, DJ Maphorisa, Naira Marley, and more. Plus, after seeing how popular the food offering was last year, this summer Yam is curating three food areas, with international cuisine celebrating culinary traditions from around the world.
Meltdown
Southbank Centre, 10 - 19 June
Initially scheduled for 2020, the 27th edition of the UK’s longest-running artist-curated music festival is finally taking place this year, with none other than Grace Jones curating the line-up. The pioneering figure has brought together a truly exciting line-up that includes Peaches, Skunk Anansie and Baaba Maal. Honey Dijon opens the festival with her club night, and Grace Jones herself will be giving a closing performance. It may not be outside, but it’s sure to be a summer highlight.
