Music festivals are very important to music lovers and artists themselves. They allow people to see bands in one place that would never play together on an actual tour. Most music festivals range in style to fit the wants of the music lovers. You can hear anything from rap to death metal within a festivals grounds. Music festivals are found all around the world. Some of the most appreciated are in the United States of America but there are so many more out in the world. Here are the top 5 International music festivals.
Number Five: Splendour in the Grass. Splendour in the Grass is a music festival that takes place in the North Byron Parklands in Australia. Splendour in the Grass has been an annual event since 2001 and is still going strong. The festival has featured artists such as Outkast, Coldplay, Laura Marling, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Kanye West. This festival offers such a wide variety of artists it is nearly impossible to find something not to want to listen to. This year’s festival features Of Monsters and Men, Tame Impala, and Death Cab for Cutie. There are lesser known artists there so do not miss out on those guys as well.
Number Four: Lollapalooza. The famous Lollapalooza music festival is most known for its location in Chicago, Illinois. The festival is actually a touring music festival that ventures outside the USA and into the international music world. Lollapalooza has expanded to Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Germany. The international music festivals have been quite a hit as they have been returning every year since 2010. The Argentina Lollapalooza this year features The Smashing Pumpkins, Interpol, and Skrillex. The variety is very wide throughout the international Lollapaloozas.
Number Three: Primavera Sound. Primavera Sound is an ongoing music festival that occurs annually. The festival occurs in Barcelona, Spain. The festival usually occurs during late May or early June. The festival has drawn in over 100,000 people in one year before. Primavera Sound has been going on since 2001 and is still continuing to today. In addition to the music festival in Barcelona, Primavera Sound has expanded to Portugal which has been going on since 2012. Primavera Sound Barcelona has featured some of the biggest names in the music industry. The festival has had Neutral Milk Hotel, Yo La Tengo, and A$AP Rocky. This year’s festival also includes a genre for everybody with bands like Sleater-Kinney, Pallbearer, Mac DeMarco, and Belle & Sebastian. The festival’s wide genre range is why it is known as one of the best music festivals in the world.
Number Two: Reading and Leeds Festival. The Reading and Leads Festival are a two piece music festival that take place throughout England. That means that it is two music festivals that combined to make one giant music lovers paradise. In 2011 the attendance at the Reading site was 87,000 and at the Leads site it was 75,000. Both of these music festivals have been going on since 1961. This is one of the longest running music festivals of all time. In the 1990’s Nirvana played what was their last UK tour date at the Reading site. The festival is becoming so popular that the tickets for both of the festivals sell out within a matter of days or even hours. Last year’s festival had a great lineup featuring Blink 182, Arctic Monkeys, the 1975, Of Mice and Men, and Macklemore. This year’s festival is not a disappointment. It has some of the most widely known artists in the modern age of music. The headliners are Metallica, Mumford and Sons, and the Libertines. There are also smaller bands that are playing the festival like The Districts, American Football, and Modern Baseball
Number One: Glastonbury. The Glastonbury music festival is another music lovers paradise in England. Glastonbury features rap, hip-hop, folk, indie-rock, heavy metal, and alternative. There is something there for everybody. The festival has been going on and off since the 1970s. The festival seems to skip a year or two for some reason every 3 or 4 festivals they do in a row. Since 2013, the festival has sold 135,000 tickets per year. The headliners from each year are usually Rock, hip-hop, and then an alternative one. Last year’s festival featured Arcade Fire, Metallica, and Kasabian. This year’s festival headliners are the Foo Fighters, Kanye West, and the Who. The festival also features some big names this year such as Motorhead, Alt-J, Pharrell Williams, and Father John Misty.
The music industry is reliant on going on tours and having massive music festivals to satisfy the music lovers from all around the world. The USA is known for some of their music festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo. There are other great music festivals across the Atlantic Ocean that often go unlooked at here in the states.