As summer approaches, you may now be considering the best music festivals to attend. Here, Daily Info breaks down the local festivals worth the pennies, as well as a handful of festivals slightly further afield that are also worth your consideration.
Local choices
Following on from the Henley Regatta, this riverside festival (complete with a floating stage) packs in pop acts and stand-ups as well as jazz musicians. The 9th looks particularly promising with workshops, activities and a whole lot of fun for the whole family.
Unlike some other festivals this is not a camping one, with each individual day feeling like its own entity.
Headliners: Rag‘n’Bone, Westlife, Nile Rodgers and Chic
Other highlights: Robyn, Marcus Brigstocke, Jo Brand, Jack Dee
Cost: From £75
Date: 5th to 9th June
Kite Festival (Kirtlington Park, Kidlington)
Back for a sophomore festival, Kite Festival pitches itself as a festival of music and ideas, giving even weight to speakers as well as musical acts. So the likes of John Major and Alastair Campbell share a bill with Hot Chip and Suede, all in the resplendent surroundings of Kirlington Park.
Headliners: Hot Chip, Suede, Pretenders
Other highlights: Django Django, David Baddiel, Marina Hyde, David Corman
Cost: £59 (day tickets), £145 to 154 (weekend tickets)
Date: 9th to 11th June
Nocturne Live (Blenheim Palace)
Fancy bops are the name of the day at Nocturne, which takes place in the resplendent surroundings of Blenheim Palace. With a pair of headline sets from Lionel Richie plus the Palace’s extensive grounds, this a great way to kick off a summer in Oxford.
Headliner: Lionel Richie, Gregory Porter, Emilie Sande, Pete Tong Presents Ibiza Classics
Other highlights: Tunde Baiyewu, Jules Buckley
Cost: £54 to 90 (individual tickets), £440 (full pass)
Date: 14th to 18th June
Truck Festival (Hill Farm, Steventon)
Celebrating 25 years on the Oxfordshire music scene, Truck Festival returns with another line-up packed with indie hit makers as well as exciting up-and-coming acts. As well as music, there’s a Sunday workout with Mr Motivator, musical bingo and barrioke (featuring Shaun Williamson).
Book now as Truck sells out long before the day.
Headliners: Two Door Cinema Club, Alt-J, Royal Blood, The Wombats
Other highlights: The Vaccines, Self Esteem, Circa Waves, Everything Everything, Pale Waves, We Are Scientists
Cost: £160 to £245
Dates: 21st to 23rd July
Wilderness Festival (Cornbury Park)
This boujee weekend promises ‘escapism, high jinks, and wholesome hedonism’. Mixing music, talk, arts and wellbeing, Wilderness is geared towards a weekend of pure escape with headliners that straddle 90s dance music (The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim) with something a bit more modern (Christine and the Queens).
Although be warned, this has been known to be David Cameron’s favourite festival.
Headliners: The Chemical Brothers, Christine and the Queens, Fatboy Slim
Other highlights: Sugababes, Arlo Parks, Confidence Man, Sara Pascoe
Cost: £199.80 to 275.40
Date: 3rd to 6th August
Further afield
Penn Festival (Amersham)
The upstart festival based near High Wycombe has a strong pair of headliners in the form of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Bastille. The two day festival is perfect for those who want a more bite sized festival experience and comes with a whole heap of activities for younger members of the audience, like a Big Bubble Disco, giant zorbs and circus skills.
Headliners: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Bastille
Other highlights: Johnny Marr, Gaz Coombes, Corinne Bailey Rae, Embrace
Cost: £68.63 (day ticket), £123.75 (weekend)
Date: 21st and 22nd July
Outside of Glastonbury, Reading Festival is perhaps the largest music festival in the UK, having expanded for two headline stages. Which means there are a lot of very big musical acts on the bill. You can grab day tickets for this festival, but really to do Reading right, you have to make it a whole debauched weekend of music and fun.
Headliners: Sam Fender, Foals, The Killers, Lewis Calpaldi, Billie Eilish, Imagine Dragons
Other highlights: Wet Leg, Nothing But Thieves, Declan McKenna, Rina Sawayama, Becky Hill
Cost: £101.20 (day ticket), £265-297.50 (weekend)
Date: 25th to 27th August
Victorious Festival (Southsea, Portsmouth)
Perhaps this writer’s favourite line-up is at Portsmouth’s Victorious Festival. With many indie darlings that have persevered (Kasabian, Friendly Fires, Hard Fi), more poppy acts like Natalie Imbruglia and Ellie Goulding, and none other then Jamiroquai headlining the Friday, this is a festival that has come of age and blossomed into a must attend musical event.
Headliners: Jamiroquai, Kasabian, Mumford & Sons
Other highlights: Friendly Fires, Jake Bugg, Blossoms, Alt-J, Natalie Imbruglia, Ellie Goulding, Hard Fi
Cost: £65 (day tickets), £175-195 (weekend tickets)
Date: 25th to 27th August