Primavera, Pinkpop, Glastonbury... 10 of the best overseas music festivals in 2025

Irish Examiner

21-05-2025

Wide Awake
Brockwell Park, London Friday, May 23
Headliners: Kneecap, CMAT, English Teacher
An independent festival for music fans looking for something different, Wide Awake 2025 is also for CMAT fans who just can't wait any longer to see her play new songs from her forthcoming third album Euro-Country, due out August 29.
Wide Awake kickstarts her tour that takes her through the summer, including All Together Now on the August bank holiday weekend. Joining her at Brockwell Park in south London are the notorious Irish rappers Kneecap, fresh from their month of controversy since appearing at Coachella, and plenty of buzzy up-and-coming acts like Fcukers and Fat Dog. Wide Awake is curated by the people behind beloved London venues the Shacklewell Arms and MOTH Club.
Tickets: £59.50
Primavera Sound
Parc Del Forum, Barcelona, June 4-8
Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan
Charli XCX is at Glastonbury and Primavera. (Photo by)
Overlooking the pristine Balearic Sea, Primavera Sound is gearing up for its 23rd iteration. It's boasted in recent years of a 50-50 gender balance in its lineup — a disappointingly hard target for some festivals both at home in Ireland and further afield to hit — and goes a step further in 2025: The three headliners are all female, all big pop acts, and all coming off an incredible year in 2024.
If for some reason you're not ready to reprise Brat Summer, there's plenty more to savour on the PS lineup — Fontaines DC should get a huge crowd for their Saturday showing. Unlike other festivals, Primavera is all about the music, which runs through the night until 6am. You won't want to go home.
Tickets: €350
Pinkpop
Landgraaf, Netherlands, June 20-22
Justin Timberlake, Olivia Rodrigo, Muse
One of Europe's longest-running music festivals, Pinkpop returns for its 54th edition with a lineup that bridges generations and genres. Justin Timberlake plays Malahide Castle at the end of June, but a week earlier will be headlining Pinkpop, with other acts on Friday including pop's next big hopeful Tate McRae and Dublin act Inhaler. Confidence Man are the definitive festival act while it's nice to see Mika still going strong 18 years after the release of the irresistible song Grace Kelly.
The Last Dinner Party, who had a breakout 18 months, have taken a break so far in 2025 — Pinkpop will be only their fourth show of the year. Pinkpop is a curious mix of, well, pop and rock — riff oldies Muse, Korn, and Biffy Clyro rub shoulders with Girl in Red and Hannah Mae on the Sunday.
Glastonbury
Worthy Farm, Somerset, June 23-29
The 1975, Neil Young and the Chromehearts, Olivia Rodrigo
Neil Young is among the headliners at Glastonbury. (Photo by)
Glastonbury says it's the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world and a template for all the festivals that have come after it. And it is simply unlike anywhere else.
Set across some 900 acres and over 100 stages, the attractions go much deeper than the lineup — though look past the three headliners listed above and you've got any number of highlights, such as Gracie Abrams and Charli XCX for the pop girlies, Ezra Collective and Amyl and the Sniffers for the hipsters, and Rod Stewart and Nile Rodgers for the grizzled music fan. But as people say, considering the crowd tops more than 200,000 people — and with talk about jam-packed crowds in the past couple years — the best way to experience Glasto is at home on BBC.
Tickets: £373.50 (sold out)
Rock Werchter
Festivalpark Werchter, Belgium, July 3-6
Linkin Park, Deftones, Green Day, Simple Minds, Sam Fender, Olivia Rodrigo
Celebrating its 50th anniversary — you can view all of its lineup posters dating back to 1975, which all festivals should provide for us music nerds — a special 2manydjs set to commemorate Rock Werchter's milestone will close the festival. After the untimely passing of Chester Bennington in 2017, Linkin Park have made a tentative return in the past year.
With new vocalist Emily Armstrong, they released their eighth studio album From Zero last November and Rock Werchter is among a slew of European festivals they're headlining this summer. There's a classic rock feel, obviously, to this long-standing Belgian festival; Beth Gibbons, Overmono, and a host of local acts add to the experience. It also has a strong environmental bent.
Tickets: Four-day combi €312
Rock Werchter festival in Belgium. (Photo by VIRGINIE LEFOUR/BELGA MAG/AFP)
Love International
Tisno, Croatia, July 9-15
Ben UFO, Shanti Celeste, Floating Points, Horse Meat Disco, Bonobo
Set beside the Adriatic Sea on the beautiful Croatian coastline, Love International celebrates 10 years in July. It's one of, if not the, prime dance music festival in the world, with DJs including NTS resident Moxie — putting together a compilation to mark the festival's 10th anniversary — and BBC 6 Music's Jamz Supernova as well as dozens of others to soundtrack every type of taste. There are boat parties and beach sessions, with the sun practically guaranteed to keep you dancing all night long.
Tickets: €230 (sold out)
Mad Cool
Iberdrola Music, Madrid Thursday-Sunday, July 10-13
Kings of Leon, Gracie Abrams, Nine Inch Nails, Olivia Rodrigo
Perhaps no festival packs as big a punch with its headliners this year as Mad Cool, held on the outskirts of Madrid in the sprawling Iberdrola Music venue. As well as the above mentioned names, there's Iggy Pop, Weezer, Noah Kahan, Alanis Morissette, Benson Boone, Justice, and Jared Leto's Thirty Seconds to Mars, on top of dozens of other acts. Limerick trio Kingfishr, fresh from touring the US in April/May, are on the lineup for Thursday. Mad Cool actually reduced its capacity last year, from around 70,000 a day to 58,000, with improved travel options and late metro introduced.
Day tickets: From €99, three-day €210
OFF Festival
Perlage, Katowice, Poland, August 1-3
Kraftwerk, James Blake, Fontaines DC
Tucked away in the scenic Valley of Three Ponds, the 18th edition of OFF Festival is curated by Artur Rojek, the former frontman of Myslovitz, with a focus on curation — quality over quantity — and a capacity capped at 15,000 a day. Last year, concerts at OFF's BLIK Open Stage were interpreted into Polish sound language, 'removing yet another barrier to the enjoyment of the best alternative music and the event's unique atmosphere.' Kraftwerk are one of the headliners this summer, as they celebrate 50 years of Autobahn.
Tickets: Three-day pass 692 zł (approximately €160), camping 168 zł (€39)
We Out Here
Wimborne St Giles, Dorset, England, August 14-17
Michael Kiwanuka plays at Gilles Peterson's festival, We Out Here. (Photo by) desmusic
Michael Kiwanuka, Noname, Rotary Connection 222, Ben UFO, Theo Parrish
Curated by BBC Radio 6's Gilles Peterson, We Out Here promises a four-day musical getaway celebrating world-class music, alongside wellness, family and cultural activities with the help of an amazing community. Among the musical highlights are Rotary Connection 222, a commissioned 30-piece orchestral celebration of legendary composer, producer and arranger Charles Stepney, renowned for his work with Earth Wind & Fire, Minnie Riperton and Marlena Shaw. As you'd expect with Peterson, there's a strong focus on DJs and eclectic music, from jazz to rap to A Guy Called Gerald & The Jungle Drummer. We Out Here 2025 is a love letter to music far and near, legendary and emerging, celebrating the scenes and communities that nurture it.
Tickets: Day tickets £69, weekend camping £275 (plus £19.50 booking fee)
Rock En Seine
Domaine de Saint-Cloud, Paris, August 20-24
Chappell Roan, ASAP Rocky, Justice, Queens of the Stone Age
Set against the historic backdrop of the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud — the gateway to Paris, with 460 hectares of gardens alive with fountains and sculptures — Rock En Seine returns for its 21st edition. One of the big draws this year is Doechii, the US rapper who blew up late in 2024 — her Tiny Desk concert is essential viewing. She features on the festival's opening day, which comprises an all-female lineup headed by Chappell Roan alongside the likes of London Grammar, Suki Waterhouse, and Luvcat.
Tickets: Day tickets from €84, four-day pass €229