Strike up the band -- summer concerts are coming and in Europe, that means some of the biggest, as well as small but hot, bands in the world are crossing the continent for huge summer music festivals. Several-day extravaganzas with camping, food and merriment mean summer concerts in Europe are a ready-made vacation with thousands of your soon-to-be closest new friends. Details and websites for concerts and concert tickets for like Sziget, T in the Park, Roskilde and more:
Budapest's Hajógyár Kikötö (Shipyard) on the Danube River's Óbudai Island becomes its own tent city for the Sziget Festival, Hungary's massive music blast with tons o' stages featuring fun from mainstream to "HammerWorld" starting August 12 in 2008. Sziget Festival kicks off with one concert (Iron Maiden) on "Zero Day," followed by five days of bands like last year's headliners The Killers, Gogol Bordello, Nine Inch Nails and Pink. Jazz makes an appearance and the MTV Theater provides entertainment, while the Roma Tent hosts "underground electric music called Meduza (Jellyfish)." Yeah, huh. 100€ festival tickets include a week's camping (starts 8/11) amid at least 50,000 folks. Start wearing purple.
Everything from metal bands to Scandinavian punk takes center stage for this four-day world party kicking off July 5 in Denmark (warmups start July 1). The usual suspects like The Chemical Brothers will be on hand at 2008's Roskilde Festival, offset by where-did-they-go groups like My Bloody Valentine and Radiohead -- and you can request through the Roskilde Festival's website that a band make an appearance this year, too. Partiers exceed 90,000, and camping is the thing; you can even rent a tent if you ask early. Tickets are 220 euros -- not bad for parking, camping, luggage storage, 160 acts and a gazillion activities.
Dublin plays host to over 100 acts and 100,000 rockers at this sells-out-fast event featuring confirmed concerts so far from R.E.M. and Kings of Leon (Snow Patrol, Scissor Sisters, Wu Tang Clan, Tori Amos, The Goo Goo Dolls, Razorlight, Arcade Fire, and Cagedbaby were on hand last year). Overnight camping at Punchestown Racecourse, Naas, County Kildare for those doing all three days (and everyone is) of the Oxegene Festival starting July 11 in 2008. Tickets go on general sale March 7. Scalpers thrive here; may the force be with you if you forge on to Dublin ticketless -- you can always commiserate with other hopes-dashed travelers in Temple Bar, Dublin's downtown pub-hopping place to be.
Tool, Kaiser Chiefs, Sonic Youth, Basement Jaxx, Smashing Pumpkins, Iggy and the Stooges, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Badly Drawn Boy, Nine Inch Nails and CocoRosie were among the names entertaining 100,000 younger rockers last year; in 2008, the fun starts August 14 at this three-day summer music festival featuring several staging areas, including the "Chateau Crapule" for some interesting acts. $145 covers camping, concerts and train or bus tix from anywhere in Belgium. No booze or free water at the Pukkelpop Festival, but plenty of food and drink to buy.
Rage Against the Machine, The Hives, Timo Raisanen, Rufus Wainwright, Arch Enemy, Sugarplum Fairy, Nina Natri and Witchcraft have been confirmed as fronting the fun for a ton of mostly Euro bands at the three-day Hultsfred festival, starting June 12 in southwest Sweden. You can get $250 tickets online at Ticnet.se or locally in locally in Norway, Denmark and Finland that cover camping and concerts with at least 25,000 folks. This is one of Europe's summer music festivals that does sell out -- hop on the wagon quick.
Sigur Ros, Lenny Kravitz, Mika, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Editors, R.E.M. and Radiohead are some of the acts headlining Belgium's 2008 Rock Werchter, a four-day music festival literally beside the road 15 kilometers from Leuven July 3-6. Buses run to the festival, and those under 26 ride Belgian rails free; everyone rides free with a concert ticket. Sixty euro daily tickets don't cover 15 euro onsite camping.
Seinajoki, Finland will come alive June 13-15 with "The Party of the People" as Foo Fighters, Serj Tankian, The Sounds, Hardcore Superstar, Apulanta and many Euro acts take the riverbank and island stages. Bars on site and friendly folk highlight the Provinssirock music festival, one of Europe's finest and funnest summer concerts. Weekend concert passes are 95 € (single day passes available). Man the bridges!
Big stages, big steel fence, and big names like Primal Scream and R.E.M. headlining for scores of hot-now names including the Kooks and the Verve plus may-be-hot-again bands like The Pogues (wow) at this July 11-13 music festival at Balrado, by Kinross, in green, green Scotland. No concert tickets at the gate (don't bother trying -- serious security). Bring campervans (like VW Westfalias -- no trailers, though) and tents -- this is the biggest camping party in Europe. T in the Park sells out instantly (within an hour of opening ticket sales in February, 2008) -- chances to buy new (and usually progressively more expensive) tickets will keep popping up through the spring, though.
The Mediterranean beach in summer and music, music, music -- that's the four-day Benicassim Festival in Spain July 17-20. American Music Club, The New Pornographers, My Bloody Valentine and Siouxsie round out an eclectic FIB (Festival Internacional de Benicassim) concert lineup that will probably feature a few oldies but goodies (Devo and the B52's last year). Free-spirit camping in fields for nine days.
Check out a video preview, including concert footage of the music festival.
Notting Hill Carnival, London -- "Sound Systems" are key when the Caribbean comes to town. The smell of island spice sets the stage for two million partiers watched by hundreds of policemen. Dirty dancing and crazy costumes.
Glastonbury Festival - old and new hippies will gather late June in muddy Brit fields.
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