Europe’s Lesser Known Music Festivals

Stokepedia

Primavera Sounds music festival was on in Barcelona over the weekend and half the Stoke Travel office is coming down and the other half is still high – on music! But even though our serotonin is depleted we’ve already got our eyes on the music festivals we have coming up this summer, because too many music festivals is never enough. Want to party with us? Read on.

Stoked In The Park

This is the first music festival of the Stoke summer season, and it just so happens to be our own! Stoked in the Park will run alongside Pamplona’s San Fermin festival (the one with the bull run) and features live acts and DJs, like uber-popular Australian electronic act Art Vs Science, who will be playing their first Spanish show at our own campsite. Stoked in the Park is a free festival for our San Fermin guests, included in the €60 nightly price (including camping accommodation, meals, guides, etc), and will serve as the perfect pre-and-post party for travellers wanting to experience Pamplona’s street parties, live music, bars and restaurants and even for those wanting to run with bulls. Joining Art Vs Science will be Hiaground, Kiwi Pips, Paul The Kid, Honey Hayze, and Mesmeriser, plus other local and international acts, as well as pool parties, food trucks, wine tasting and party-focused friendly sporting events. Stoked in the Park will revive interest in Pamplona’s famous festival for travellers not interested in the bull run, as it compliments the street parties and concerts that the city has organised.

Bilbao BBK Live

This is the best mid-sized festival in Europe, taking place in the hills behind the Basque Country’s biggest city. Bilbao BBK Live will feature Florence and the Machine, Alt J, Childish Gambino, The XX, The Chemical Brothers, My Chemical Romance, Gorillaz, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and many more acts, over the three days from the 12th to 14th of July. The festival is held close to Pamplona and San Sebastian, making it easy for travellers to combine it with Stoked in the Park and the San Sebastian Surf Camp. The Basque Country is one of our favourite places to visit, but many travellers miss out on its main city, Bilbao. This lineup, and the €240 all-inclusive ticket and camping accommodation price, may entice Stokies to spend a few extra days in north Spain and make the most of this epic festival.

Sziget

Billed as the “love revolution” on the “island of freedom”, Sziget festival takes place on an island literally in the middle of the Danube River, that divides the twin cities of Buda and Pest. When on the island you may forget that you are in the centre of one of central Europe’s most vibrant cities, Hungary’s Budapest. Sziget is hectic, running for a week from the 8th of August, and featuring artists like Kendrick Lamar, the Arctic Monkeys, Kygo, Gorillaz, Stormzy, The War On Drugs, Wolf Alice, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and too many others to list here. While there is camping available on this loose-as island, Stoke Travel chooses to stay in our partners’ Retox Hostel in central Budapest, which is, as the name suggests, one heck of a place to get the party started, finished, or to keep it going for as long as possible. In addition to the live music, Sziget also features plenty of art installations, different kinds of performances, free love and general looseness. Stoke’s accommodation packages are at €60 per night, on top of which you’ll have to get your Sziget ticket.

Which other European festivals do you plan on hitting up this summer? Can your serotonin handle the fun? Maybe a Stoke Passport is in order to lessen the stress on your wallet.