8 Summer Music Festivals You Don’t Want To Miss

The best music festivals worldwide to catch this summer include Creamfields North, Summer Sonic and Outside Lands.

Grab your festival fits, boots, face paint and belt bags, it’s that time of the year: summer music festival season! If you’re looking for somewhere to escape and all the good vibes, we’ve rounded up the best upcoming summer music festivals (and a couple to keep an eye on!) all over the world — including Creamfields North in the UK, Summer Sonic in Osaka and Tokyo, and Outside Lands in San Francisco — to grab your tickets for, covering genres like eDM, rock, R&B and more. Book your flights and get set for plenty of tunes, dance, live music and more…

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Sziget Festival — Budapest, Hungary

Any festival lover would have heard of Sziget. One of Europe’s largest music and cultural festivals, it’s held annually over six days in northern Budapest, Hungary. Expect over 1,000 performances by some of the biggest names in music. This year’s line-up includes Billie Eilish, Lorde, Imagine Dragons and Macklemore, to name a few!

Fly to: Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, then get to the Island of Freedom directly with miniBUD (€17.50, approximately $150, for a single journey or €33, approximately $284, for a journey including return).
Flight time: 15 hours, 15 minutes

When: Thursday, 10 to Tuesday, 15 August, 2023
Where: Óbuda Island, Budapest, Hungary
How much: $817 to $903 for a one-day ticket, from $2,323 for a three-day pass, from $3,262 for a full six-day festival pass — see all ticket types and passes here and buy yours

Sziget Festival, szigetfestival.com

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Outside Lands — San Francisco, USA

Taking place annually in San Francisco, Outside Lands is a three-day event celebrating music, food, art and more. In celebration of its 15th year, the 2023 festival will see Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters and Odesza headline alongside Megan Thee Stallion, Lana Del Rey and more big-name acts. Tickets are selling out as we speak — grab yours quickly from the official website.

Fly to: San Francisco International Airport (SFO), then take a 23-minute drive to the park. Please note that parking is not available at the festival. Outside Lands offers official rideshare from Balboa Street & 30th Avenue (adjacent to George Washington High School) and Irving Street between 25th and 27th Avenue.
Flight time: 12 hours, 55 minutes

When: Friday, 11 to Sunday, 13 August, 2023
Where: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, United States
How much: From $1,678 — see all ticket types and buy yours here

Outside Lands, sfoutsidelands.com

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Summer Sonic — Osaka and Tokyo, Japan

Summer Sonic — also known as Supersonic — is held annually over two days in August, in two separate cities in Japan: Osaka and Tokyo. The line-up in both cities is set to be more or less the same, with Kendrick Lamar or Blur alternating headlining in the different cities according to the day, and acts like Liam Gallagher, Fall Out Boy and Two Door Cinema Club. Tokyo will also offer an extra stage. Tickets for both venues have already sold out on the official website but you can try your luck on some reseller platforms.

Fly to:
Osaka — Osaka Kansai Airport, then a 27-minute drive to Cosmosquare Subway Station or a 1 hour, 20 minutes journey on public transport. From the airport, walk to Hatarugaike Station, take the Takarazuka Main Line to Osaka-Umeda Station and switch to the Midosuji Line towards Nakamozu direction. Get off at Hommachi Station before changing to Chuo Line to Cosmosquare Station. Once you arrive at the train station, take the paid shuttle bus to Maishima Summer Sonic Park.
Tokyo — Haneda-Airport, then get the airport shuttle bus to Kaihin-Makuhari Eki, which is two minutes from Kaihin-Makuhari Eki Station. Then it’s a seven-minute walk to Makuhari Messe or a 15-minute walk to ZOZO Marine Stadium.
Flight time: 3 hours, 55 minutes to Osaka, 4 hours, 25 minutes to Tokyo

When: Saturday, 19 and Sunday, 20 August, 2023
Where: Maishima Sonic Park, Osaka; ZOZO Marine Stadium & Makuhari Messe, Tokyo, Japan
How much: Osaka — $884 for a one-day ticket and $1,658 for a two-day ticket; Tokyo — $1,022 for a one-day ticket and $1,879 for a two-day ticket

Summer Sonic Festival, www.summersonic.com

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Rock en Seine Festival — Paris, France

The City of Love is also home to Rock en Seine. The annual rock music festival has been one of France’s biggest summer events for almost two decades (the venue has the capacity for up to 40,000 festival-goers!). For three days, enjoy all kinds of rock music and discover some of the best up-and-coming French artists. This year’s headliners include Billie Eilish, Placebo, The Chemical Brothers, Florence + The Machine and The Strokes.

Fly to: Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. First, get on the RER B to Châtelet Les Halles and change to RER A to La Défense, then take RER L to Saint-Cloud. The park is a 15-minute walk from the station.
Flight time: 13 hours, 50 minutes

When: Wednesday, 23 to Sunday, 27 August, 2023
Where: Saint Cloud National Park, Paris, France
How much: From $639 — see all ticket types and buy yours here

Rock en Seine Festival, www.rockenseine.com

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Delta Festival — Marseille, France

If you’re looking for the ultimate summer beach party, this is it! Delta Festival in Marseille is a three-day music bash that brings an epic line-up of dance music to the sunny Plage du Prado in the South of France. With some of the best French-speaking artists like Angèle and Damso headlining, alongside Amelie Lens and Charlotte de Witt, this really is a summer music festival that’s not to be missed.

Fly to: Marseille Provence Airport. Get the TER train to Saint-Charles station, change to Line M2 towards Sainte-Marguerite Dromel and get off at Rond-Point Du Prado. From there get bus 19 to Plague Du Prado.
Flight time: 16 hours, 10 minutes

When: Wednesday, 23 to Sunday, 27 August, 2023
Where: Plage du Prado/ Parc balnéaire du Prado, Marseille, France
How much: From $550 — see all ticket types and buy yours here

Delta Festival, www.delta-festival.com

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Creamfields North — Daresbury, England, UK

Creamfields is one of the UK’s best electronic dance music festivals. With the event’s growing popularity, there’s been not one but two Creamfields festivals organised in the country, North and South. Taking place this August, Creamfields North’s headliners include Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Tiësto, Diplo, DJ Snake and Martin Garrix.

Sassy Tip: If you can’t make it all the way to England for this, don’t worry. Creamfields has expanded to Asia with festivals hosted in Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam and, of course, Hong Kong! Make sure to check out its website for news on upcoming events.

Fly to: Manchester Airport, then take a train to Warrington Central and get on a shuttle bus from the station to the festival. Shuttle bus tickets are £12 (approximately $119) each (£24, approximately $237, for a return)
Flight time: 14 hours, 20 minutes

When: Thursday, 24 to Sunday, 27 August, 2023
Where: Daresbury, Cheshire, United Kingdom
How much: From $1,043 — see all ticket types and buy yours here

Creamfields North, creamfieldsnorth.com

Kalorama Festival — Lisbon, Portugal

If you’re looking for a real unique music festival experience, Kalorama Festival in Lisbon promises to deliver. With Florence + The Machine and Arcade Fire headlining alongside acts like The Blaze, Blur and The Prodigy, this Portuguese music event is guaranteed to be Europe’s last big summer festival before the cold starts to sink in.

Fly to: Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport then take the red line directly to Bela Vista station, which is seven stops away. From there, it’s a 12-minute walk to the park.
Flight time: 17 hours, 30 minutes

When: Thursday, 31 August to Saturday, 2 September, 2023
Where: Parque da Bela Vista, Lisbon, Portugal
How much: From $556 — see all ticket types and buy yours here

Kalorama Festival, meokalorama.pt

Lights On Festival — California, USA

This summer R&B music festival is curated by H.E.R. and features huge-name acts like Jazmine Sullivan, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Alina Baraz, Smino, Syd, Doechii, UMI, FLO, Amerie and more! It promises to be an experience like no other — all for the love of R&B.

Fly to: San Jose (SJC) Airport. The Shoreline Amphitheatre is a 15 to 20-minute car ride away from San Jose.
Flight time: Starting from 18 hours for a flight with a layover. We’d recommend flying direct from Hong Kong, 13 hours, 25 minutes, to Los Angeles and taking a second one-hour flight to San Jose.

When: Saturday, 16 to Sunday, 17, September, 2023
Where: Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California, United States
How much: From $1,920 — see all ticket types and buy yours here

Lights On Festival, lightsonfest.com

More Summer Music Festivals To Keep An Eye On — For 2023 & 2024!

• KCON, Friday, 18 to Sunday, 20 August, 2023 in Los Angeles — The largest fan celebration of Korean culture and music. This year’s headlines include ATEEZ, (G)I-DLE, Stray Kids, XG and Everglow. www.kconusa.com
• Head In The Clouds — 88rising’s annual music festival with a line-up featuring artists from across Asia and the Asian diaspora. New York’s edition in May 2023 saw ITZY, Rich Brian, beabadoobee and Milli headline while LA’s edition in early August 2023 featured DPR Live, DPR Ian, Rich Brian, NIKI, Rina Sawayama and more. Look out for more upcoming HITC festivals this year in Jakarta (September 2023) and Guangzhou (TBC!). hitcfestival.com
• All Things Go Music Festival, Saturday, 30 September to Sunday, 1 October, 2023 in Washington, DC — A music festival with 32 groundbreaking artists performing across multiple stages at the historic Merriweather Post Pavilion. Acts include headliner Maggie Rogers, Carly Rae Jepsen, Lana Del Rey and Boygenius plus Lizzy McAlpine, beabadoobee and more. allthingsgofestival.com
• Glastonbury Festival, Wednesday, 26 to Sunday, 30 June, 2024 TBC in the UK — A five-day contemporary performing arts festival with music, dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret, and more. www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk
• Fiji Rock Festival, July, 2024 TBC in Niigata — The annual rock festival held at one of Japan’s most popular ski resorts, Naeba Ski Resort. This year’s line-up saw over 200 Japanese and international musicians. www.fujirockfestival.com
• Lollapalooza, August, 2024 TBC in Chicago — The perpetually sold-out annual four-day music festival covering various genres. This year’s edition in Chicago included NewJeans, beabadoobee, Sabrina Carpenter, Maggie Rogers and more huge names. Lollapalooza also saw editions in Mumbai, India in January 2023; Sao Paulo, Brazil, Argentina and Chile in March 2023 (with March 2024 for all three to be confirmed soon!), Stockholm, Sweden in June 2023, Paris, France in July 2023 and Berlin, Germany in September 2023. www.lollapalooza.com

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