Fun in foreign fields: 14 music festivals to tempt you overseas this summer
Fans enjoy the music at one of the European festivals that are often accessible from Ireland. Picture: Simone Joyner/Getty Images
Founded by Groove Armada, Lovebox celebrates the best of British and international music, dance, and the arts, and promises flamboyant mayhem. They head seaside to Dreamland Margate, an amusement park and entertainment centre based on a traditional English seaside funfair, to mark a new beginning in 2026. Coming with them are indie sleaze stalwarts Friendly Fire (their hit might come to fruition here), DJs including Goldie and Mike Skinner, and the revived and rejuvenated Scissor Sisters (minus original vocalist Ana Matronic).
Where else would you rather be than Barcelona to kick off summer. Primavera Sound always sets a high bar for festivals — and its 24th edition is no different. The xx play their first European show of the decade on Saturday night. You’ll likely be sweating from more than the heat as that day alone also features My Bloody Valentine, Kneecap, Little Simz, Dijon, Marina, and Knocked Loose. Not only does that show Primavera’s booking quality, but it also ensures clashes galore. With more than 150-acts performing, we’re dreading — and drooling — at the forthcoming Clashfinder dropping. Its sister festival Primavera Porto features a slimmed down line-up a week later in the Portuguese city.
Set up in 2011, Paris festival We Love Green says it aims to raise public awareness of the issues surrounding sustainable development, in an original context that will arouse people’s curiosity. It shows it is possible to combine major musical events with environmental respect. Taking place in the sprawling Bois de Vincennes green space, its 2026 line-up features “artists who break codes, who create bridges, who wear exclusive moments suspended in time”. Gorillaz wowed the 3Arena at a pair of shows at the start of April, and are sure to deliver in Paris, while Sebastien Tellier, Jim Legxacy, Hayley Williams, and Overmono promise to push boundaries with their eclectic, genre-blurring sets.
Headliners: Limp Bizkit, Guns N' Roses, Linkin Park
Moshing like it’s 1999, Download XXIII is the biggest rock and metal festival in the UK and its headliners are billed as exclusive. Nu-metal stalwarts Limp Bizkit celebrate 30 years together in 2027, while the revamped Linkin Park reach that milestone this year. They continue to draw huge crowds despite the loss of Chester Bennington in 2017. Elsewhere, Download remains a haven for heavier fare — you’re unlikely to see names like Bloodywood, Decapitated and Slay Squad on many other major bills.
Running since 1971 and attracting over 130,000 music lovers, Roskilde has a long and storied history — and always attracts the biggest bands in the world. With about 180 acts performing across eight days, the festival is split into First and Final days, with the four main headliners listed above featuring on the respective last four days of Roskilde. The Bolivian-American duo Los Thuthanaka, who released one of the best and most acclaimed albums of 2025, make a relatively rare appearance, in a coup for the festival. Madra Salach are the sole Irish representative.
Running for over 20 years and attracting more than 110,000 fans, Open’er is Poland’s premier summer festival. Set against the expansive backdrop of Gdynia-Kosakowo Airport, it blends massive headliners with eclectic discoveries across every type of genre. The Cure and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds will attract their usual diehard fanbases, while Calvin Harris will offer something else entirely. Emerging talent also features heavily, giving festival-goers a taste of Poland’s thriving local scene alongside international stars. Kneecap and Just Mustard fly the Irish flag.
The dance-oriented festival Love International takes place over seven full days and nights, with a 24-hours-a-day music programme that stretches between idyllic sunrise sessions, boat parties along the Dalmatian Coast, and the infamous Barbarella’s Discotheque. Central to Love International is a family of returning artists, crews and partygoers from across the world, coming together in Tisno for a celebration of sun, music, and community. Running for more than 20 years, Love International is overflowing with beloved and acclaimed DJs of all sizes. The line-up is listed alphabetically and maybe the best way to experience it is to just follow your ears and the vibe — or just stick to the beach!
Set high on the hills of Bilbao’s Kobetamendi, BBK Live offers panoramic city views alongside a line-up that blends iconic names with contemporary stars. David Byrne might well be the tour of the year if his show at Dublin’s 3Arena was anything to go by. It should translate seamlessly to the festival stage. Robbie Williams is fresh off his latest album and adds stadium-pop spectacle, while Spain’s Dellafuente injects flamenco-infused energy.
Long known for its sustainability focus having been established in 1999, Oya is set in Oslo’s expansive Toyen Park, with the site surrounded by trees. This year’s bill features the usual big hitters alongside beloved elder statesmen of indie such as Wilco, Band of Horses, and Blood Orange. Amyl & the Sniffers add some new pop-punk struts, while Underworld and Tomora (a collaboration between Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands and Aurora) ensure the party lasts into the night.
A meeting place for scenes, styles, and cultures, Flow takes place against the post-industrial landscape of the Suvilahti Power Plant — a site where Helsinki’s industrial past meets its forward-looking cultural present. It offers an environment where music, art, food, and community merge seamlessly. From orchestral Brazilian psychedelia to industrial electronics, Scandinavian pop auteurs to boundary-pushing newcomers, the line-up reflects a world in constant creative dialogue. Swedish pop star Lykke Li releases her final album in May and makes a relatively rare outing at Flow. Other draws include rappers Clipse and the best band in the world right now, Geese.
A four-day festival, We Out Here celebrates world-class music alongside wellness, family, and cultural activities, curated by BBC Radio 6’s Gilles Peterson, so expect a melange of genres, pioneers, and emerging talent. For its seventh edition, jazz legend Gary Bartz returns, joined by soul/alt-country artist Cleo Reed, Brazilian pianist Amaro Freitas, LA-based Liv.e, the collaborative duo GENA with Karriem Riggins, and a special project from Dave Okumu, ‘DVTN: A Prayer For D’Angelo’ — a soaring big band and choir tribute to the late neo-soul icon.
Organised by the Humanist Youth of Leopoldsburg since 1985 — and named after their youth centre, De Pukkel — Pukkelpop attracts about 66,000 fans each day. The Belgian festival has hosted the likes of Nirvana and Amy Winehouse in the past, and this year again mixes weighty guitars with rising stars. Deftones bring more than three decades of alt-metal pedigree, while Turnstile look poised to return as fully fledged headliners next time round.
The ultimate in coming-of-age festivals, Reading and Leeds are the equivalent of Electric Picnic in Ireland. As Glastonbury takes a break this year, these sister festivals are all about the music and are bursting with acts. As well as the stacked headliners, special guests include Gunna, Skepta, Sombr, Loyle Carner, and Role Model. They’ve come a long way from their Britpop and indie sleaze heydays. Now, rap, rock, pop, and dance all rub shoulders across the weekend. Kingfishr, Kneecap, and Florence Road are among the Irish representatives.
End of the Road always draws a sizeable crowd of Irish music fans — it helps that it's in between Bristol and London. Now in its 20th year, it’s renowned for its lack of advertisements — a breath of fresh air after you’ve walked through most other festival sites; a necessary evil. An eclectic line-up in an intimate setting, the artists can usually be found milling about the site themselves, rubbing shoulders with punters while watching acts. Ones to watch: Angine de Poitrine, rappers Earl Sweatshirt and Mike, London experimental guitar band Caroline, and Welsh DJ Kelly Lee Owens are a snippet of what’s on offer. What a way to round out summer!
