Best Music Festivals Of 2025: The 10 Biggest Events Of The Year

Wide Awake

When: 23 May

Where: Brockwell Park, London

Ushering in the UK summer vibes, Wide Awake is returning to South London’s Brockwell Park in May 2025. Promising a thrilling day full of cutting-edge electronic beats and vibrant indie music, the festival serves as an essential forum for music lovers seeking the freshest and most innovative sounds on the planet. Priding themselves on fostering a community led by the ethical values of environmental sustainability, Wide Awake’s organisers consistently create a welcoming atmosphere for attendees. With this year’s edition boasting a diverse line-up including Northern Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap, Meath-born country-rocker CMAT and the 2024 Mercury Prize winners English Teacher, there is no doubt that Wide Awake will be a calendar highlight.

Headliner: Kneecap, CMAT, English Teacher

Psychedelic Experience Festival 2025

When: 29 May-1 June

Where: Lubz Festival Grounds, Lübz, Germany

If your dream festival involves going down a rabbit hole of transcendent colours and mesmerising lights underpinned by mind-expanding sounds, look no further than Psychedelic Experience Festival 2025. Celebrating creativity and exploration amid the lush green surroundings of North-Eastern Germany, this vibrant event lives up to its name, offering a staggering 70-plus hours of psychedelic music across two magical stages. With sets from the best in the scene, it sits among the best music festivals of 2025 for any psytrance enthusiast eager to get to catch all their favourite artists in one perfect outdoor setting.

Headliners: Avalon, Akari System

The Governors Ball

When: TBC

Where: Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, New York City, US

The Governors Ball is the standout music event on the NYC scene, and a dream destination for any tourist. Although precious little information about the 2025 edition is out there right now – not even the dates – one thing is certain: set within touching distance of the landmark sights in what’s arguably the most famous city in the world, Gov Ball always delivers the goods. Last year its organisers provided lucky audiences with a career-defining performance from alt-pop’s most promising new act, Chappell Roan, alongside a set from the current queen of pop, Sabrina Carpenter, then riding high off the back of her summer smash, Espresso. We’re sure we can can expect more of the same in 2025.

Headliners: TBC

Glastonbury Festival

When: 25-29 June

Where: Worthy Farm, Somerset

No list of the best festivals of 2025 would be complete without mentioning Glastonbury Festival. It’s no wonder tickets are notoriously hard to obtain, considering the event’s continuing relevance and the formidable Wellington boot-print it has left on music culture. Hosted on Michael Eavis’ iconic Worthy Farm, Glastonbury is known for its hippie spirit and peerless assortment of daytime activities, hidden intimate stages and breathtaking after-hours rave venues. Retaining its more humble origins, the festival has always ensured that holistic community values and an ethos of togetherness sits at its heart. While the full 2025 line-up has yet to be announced, latter-day organiser Emily Eavis has a well-deserved reputation for booking an unparalleled assortment of established legends and future leading lights, making attending Glastonbury an experience of a lifetime.

Confirmed headliners: Neil Young

Rumoured headliners: Olivia Rodrigo, Green Day

BST Hyde Park

When: 27-29 June; 4-5 and 13 July

Where: Hyde Park, London

Comprising a series of unforgettable concerts across multiple weekends throughout the summer, BST Hyde Park is known for giving audiences the rare chance of seeing some of the world’s most celebrated acts, supported by exciting rising stars. Of the artists already conformed for 2025, we’re excited at the prospect of catching Olivia Rodrigo’s headline performance on 27 June, with those saviours of baroque pop, The Last Dinner Party, in support. Upholding BST Hyde Park’s reputation for eclectic billings, Hugh Jackman will be taking to the stage on Sunday, 6 July, to sing a collection of classic musical anthems. And, confirming this year’s event as one of the best music festivals of 2025, the trailblazing symphonic pop act Jeff Lynne’s ELO will making a rare live appearance on Sunday, 13 July. With more acts to be announced, grab your tickets while you can. They are selling out fast!

Headliners: Olivia Rodrigo, Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan, Hugh Jackman, Jeff Lynne’s ELO

Open’er Festival

When: 2-5 July

Where: Gdynia-Kosakowo Airport, Poland

In July 2025, Gdynia-Kosakowo Airport, in Poland, will once again be transformed into the sprawling wonderland of the Open’er Festival. Open’er provides its congregation with a visual feast of avant-garde art installations, a community vibe that strives to put inclusivity and diversity first, and, last but by no means least, a musical line-up you will be talking about for years. This edition’s carefully curated acts include the hypnotic beats of EDM royalty Justice, an exciting return from nu-metal pioneers Linkin Park and the powerful vocal stylings of Raye. Spanning multiple genres, there is something for everyone in this year’s line-up. So whether you’re a first-timer or a hardened festivalgoer, get yourself down to the Polish coast for what’s undoubtedly one of the best music festivals of 2025.

Headliners: Raye, Justice, Linkin Park

Mad Cool Festival

When: 9-12 July (TBC)

Where: Villaverde, Madrid, Spain

Hosted in Madrid, Spain, since 2016, Mad Cool has rapidly grown into one of the biggest and most talked-about festivals on the European circuit. More than 100,000 fans descend upon the Spanish capital every summer, seeking the event’s generous helpings of music, sun and all-round immersive party vibes. With its genre-spanning line-ups featuring internationally renowned talent and rising stars alike, Mad Cool offers the mid-summer reset so many of us are hungry for. Beyond the music, attendees have the chance to lose themselves in enriching art installations and indulge in the endless temptations of the delicious food available. While this year’s line-up is yet to be announced, rumoured acts include dream-pop icon Lana Del Rey, indie royalty The National and heart-on-sleeve star Olivia Rodrigo.

Rumoured headliners: Lana Del Rey, The National, Olivia Rodriguo

NOS Alive

When: 10-12 July

Where: Passeio Marítimo De Algés, Lisbon, Portugal

NOS Alive is back, returning to the Lisbon shore for 2025 with what organisers have described as “the best line-up ever”. In the tranquil setting of the Passeio Marítimo De Algés, on the Portuguese coastline, NOS Alive brings together music fans from all over the world, gathering to bask in the sun while taking in sets from a diverse collection of the best in pop, R&B, rock and EDM. The acts announced so far include one of the biggest breakthrough artists of 2024, Benson Boone, the majestically shape-shifting St Vincent and the psychedelic-infused indie heroes Glass Animals. With so many more acts still to be announced, NOS Alive is effortlessly shaping up to be one of the best music festivals of 2025.

Headliners: Olivia Rodrigo, Kings Of Leon

Sziget Festival

When: 6-11 August

Where: Óbudai-sziget, Budapest, Hungary

In August 2025, Óbudai-sziget – aka the Island Of Freedom – will once again become the home of Sziget Festival. Located on the Danube River and surrounded by the historic scenery of Budapest, Sziget is so much more than its top-tier line-up. Whether you’re camping amid the blissful island landscape or staying more comfortably nearby, the festival has an electric atmosphere that keeps its community coming back year after year. While organisers have yet to reveal the 2025 line-up, past events have featured the likes of Dua Lipa, Arctic Monkeys and Kendrick Lamar, so it’s safe to assume that Sziget 2025 will be a star-studded affair among the best music festivals of 2025. And, as of this year, Sziget’s nightlife will be taken to new heights with the brand-new Night Quarter, billed as a place where attendees can dance until dawn. This near-week-long adventure is something everyone should try at least once.

Headliners: TBC

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