The best music festivals in London

Reality Unfolds is London's premier festival for hardcore, screamo, extreme metal, and other such hard-hitting, loud, and heavy genres. It takes place at the New Cross Inn across three days, from Friday to Sunday. The 2024 line-up features Pupil Slicer, Fuming Mouth, and Genocide Pact as headliners, along with a host of other acts.

An annual seven-day celebration of independent music and arts venues that takes place across all of the UK, Independent Venue Week is an important part of the live music landscape in London as well. During this week, local communities come together to celebrate the venues with thousands of artists playing hundreds of shows. IVW is championed by a different ambassador every year, including the likes of Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) and Arlo Parks.

C2C: Country to Country is a music festival for all who enjoy good old American country music. The multi-day event, held at The O2, has been running for over a decade and has received an award from the Country Music Association in recognition of its contributions to developing country music outside of the US. The festival regularly draws some of the biggest country stars, with the 2024 bill headlined by Kane Brown, Brad Paisley, and Old Dominion.

In the Round Festival is a series of special live music events held at the iconic Roundhouse venue. The one-off concerts all take place on a circular stage, with the audience seated all around. This not only guarantees the top seating for all audience members, it also provides a unique experience and an intimate connection with the performers. The line-up is varied and includes acts such as Tirzah, Lonnie Holley, and Emeli Sandé.

La Linea is an annual Latin music festival that's held in various venues across central London every April. Established in 2001, the festival showcases the finest and most current contemporary Latin music of the 21st century. Acts for the 2024 edition include Lila Downs, Ana Tijoux, Los Tigres del Norte, and La Yegros.

The Brick Lane Jazz Festival celebrates the diverse and boundary-breaking artists that make up the London jazz scene, offering a one-of-a-kind annual experience to explore the latest culturally vibrant sounds from the capital. The festival's venues are conveniently located within a minute's walking distance of each other, inviting you to discover new music and connect with a diverse community while enjoying the iconic Truman Brewery site in Brick Lane.

Queen's Yard Summer Party is a day festival at various venues in Hackney Wick, exploring all kinds of electronic and urban music with the help of dozens of crews. More than 150 DJs and producers perform throughout the day, turning the entire neighbourhood into a massive street party and ushering in the summer season.

With sibling editions in Berlin, Antwerp and New York, Desertfest is a globally recognised pilgrimage for fans of heavy riffs and musical psychedelia. In London, the weekend festival takes place across multiple venues in Camden, including iconic spots such as The Roundhouse and The Black Heart, with the ticket ensuring access to all (until max capacity is reached). In 2024, Masters of Reality, Godflesh, Ufomammut, and many other will play the festival.

Project 6 launches the spring bank holiday festivities in Brockwell Park with a hefty dose of the finest drum & bass, hip hop, techno and related genres during the day, then continues the party late into the night at select venues around the city. In 2023, the daytime programme featured more than 60 artists across seven stages, headlined by Ghetts, Shy FX and Fabio & Grooverider, along with 40+ food vendors, a craft beer market, workshops, site art and more.

Held over the spring bank holiday, Gala Festival is an independent South London festival in Peckham Rye Park. The community-driven festival puts on three days of some of the most tantalising, promising electronic music acts, kickstarting the summer festival season with all-day party vibes and a joyous atmosphere. The 2023 line-up included names such as Young Marco, Nubya Garcia, Sherelle, Horse Meat Disco and many more.

Held across several stages in Brixton's Brockwell Park, Wide Awake is a celebration of inquisitive independent music, highlighting international up-and-coming bands that are on the cusp of headlining major stages around the world. The team behind the festival includes veteran local promotor Bad Vibrations, the people behind MOTH Club and The Shacklewell Arms, and others. The 2024 edition features Wide Awake's most requested headliner yet, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, as well as the likes of Alice Glass, Squid, and Young Fathers.

In 2023, for its biggest edition yet, Portals Festival moved to the EartH venue in Hackney. With 35 artists across three stages and two days, it's one of the largest events exploring alternative, experimental, math, prog, and post rock music in Europe. The 2023 line-up included genre stalwarts such as Mono, Gggolddd, Bossk, And So I Watch You From Afar, and plenty of rising talent.

We Are FSTVL is an open-air festival at an airfield on the outskirts of London, held over the bank holiday weekend. Some of the biggest names in electronic dance music, spanning a range of genres, perform to crowds of thousands who come to camp out, bask in the sun, and enjoy the beats. Celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2023, We Are FSTVL went all out on the line-up, inviting the likes of The Prodigy, Amelie Lens, Carl Cox, Fisher, and Skream.

Cross The Tracks brings together fans of contemporary jazz, funk and soul for a day of concerts, workshops, activities and all sorts of other merriment in Brockwell Park. A variety of independent food and drink traders is on hand, along with a craft beer market, site art installations and more. The 2024 line-up includes Badbadnotgood, En Vogue, Eve, and many more.

Taking place in a bespoke canopied auditorium in Holland Park over three months, the Opera Holland Park festival puts on critically acclaimed opera performances in a beautiful, leafy setting. Talented performers put on classic works by the likes of Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Engelbert Humperdinck in the warm summer air. Opera Holland Park also acts as a charity and a talent incubator throughout the year.

The 1990s and 2000s come back into the spotlight at this inclusive, fun-loving festival that caters to those with a fondness for the pop stylings of the previous decades. Period-appropriate fancy dress is encouraged, and the line-up always features names that have lodged themselves firmly on your playlist with bangers upon bangers. The 2024 acts include, among others, Nelly Furtado, Kim Petras, Bananarama, Jessie Ware, Rita Ora, and Rebecca Black.

For a couple of weeks each summer, Hampton Court Palace, the impressive former residence of Henry VIII, hosts a selection of iconic musical acts in its beautiful grounds. You can pick up a picnic hamper to relax during the day, book a fountain-side gazebo for friends and family, or even indulge in the King's VIP Dining Experience, then enjoy gigs by the likes of Nile Rodgers & Chic, Paloma Faith, Sam Ryder, and Sheryl Crow.

The Proms at St Jude's festival takes place in Hampstead and includes an assortment of musical performances, comedy, literature events, heritage walks and more. The 2023 concert programme featured classical and jazz shows, as well as renditions of musical soundtracks. The festival is organised almost entirely by local volunteers and raises funds for the Toynbee Hall charity and the North London Hospice.

At the Pub in The Park festival, the headliners are chefs – though the music programme features big names as well. Launched by Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, Pub in The Park was the biggest food and music festival tour in the UK, celebrating British pub culture with delicious food by award-winning chefs and restaurants, music stars, and a drinks offer to match it all. In 2024, it's changing the format, focusing on four fixed-location events, including Chiswick, instead of regional tours, with pop punkers Busted one of the headliners.

Across multiple weekends each summer, BST Hyde Park brings some of the biggest icons in the world to the famous London park for massive all-day events in front of thousands of devoted fans. The 2024 line-up announced so far features headliner Andrea Bocelli. The programme is padded out with a host of support acts, ranging from established stars in their own right to promising local talent.

Featuring bands such as Greenleaf, Dopelord, Nebula, and Acid Mammoth, StoomFest is a two-day celebration of doom, stoner and psychedelic music, held at the legendary Highbury venue The Garage, with an afterparty thrown in for good measure. The festival aims to build a community of likeminded artists and fans, providing a fair platform to both established acts and promising new artists in the field of heavy alternative genres.

Though it started out as a rock and pop festival, Wireless Festival focused on rap and other urban styles in recent years, turning Finsbury Park into a hip-hop mecca for one weekend each summer. The biggest acts in the world have taken to its stage, including Drake, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and countless others, many often showing up as unannounced secret acts or flying in for UK-exclusive gigs. Local artists are well represented too. The 2023 line-up was headlined by Travis Scott, Playboi Carti, D-Block Europe and 50 Cent.

BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts, talks, workshops, and family events held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It features a diverse range of classical music, including symphonic and chamber music, opera, choral music, and contemporary works. The festival was founded in 1895 and is the largest classical music festival in the world, with a wide audience of music enthusiasts and newcomers. It culminates in the famous Last Night of the Proms, a boisterous celebration featuring popular classical music and flag-waving.

Featuring a who's who of contemporary electronic music, from superstar producers such as Adam Beyer, Amelie Lens, and The Blessed Madonna, to rising talent such as Sama' Abdulhadi, Ahmed Spins, and Dee Diggss, the Junction 2 festival turns Boston Manor Park into an open-air club across two summer days. Exploring techno, bass, house, minimal and more through one-off B2B pair-ups as well as solo sets, the festival is a must for ravers from all walks of life.

Greenwich Summer Sounds is a new concert series launched in 2023 and taking place in July on the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The headliners of the inaugural edition included Nile Rodgers & Chic, Black Eyed Peas, Tom Jones, and the Kaiser Chiefs, accompanied by an assortment of talented support acts.

51st Festival pays homage to the origins of house music, bringing together the various elements of this profoundly influential sound. The program features classic house, tech house, afro house, garage, disco, soul, dancehall and more. The festival's line-up reflects a truly transatlantic vibe, connecting the dots between the US, the UK, Europe, and the Caribbean with acts such as David Morales, Roger Sanchez, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Todd Terry.

South Facing Festival brings the festival atmosphere to Crystal Palace Park with its acclaimed open-air concert series encompassing a range of musical trailblazers and genres. The festival is held at the Crystal Palace Bowl, a historic music venue that goes back more than 150 years, with the likes of Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Bob Marley, and The Cure all playing there. In 2024, the festival headliners include Jess Glynne.

More than just a couple of stages thrown together, Elrow Town provides is an immersive experience within a themed festival town that pops up around the world, including London. The festival is organised by Spanish promotors that rose to prominence on Ibiza, so expect plenty of electronic beats, party vibes, theatrical shows, and wild dancing. The festival set pieces are memorable, starting with the stunning main stage, and it all makes for a fun, colourful day out. The 2023 line-up included Patrick Topping, Gorgon City, and Armand van Helden.

It's not exactly in London, but with the Elizabeth line now in operation, Reading Festival is closer than ever. One of the most iconic British festivals after Glastonbury, the festival packs a punchy line-up of some of the biggest global pop, rock, electronic and hip hop stars into a weekend of camping, legendary moments, crowd singalongs, and wild abandon. Headline acts for 2024 include Blink 182, Fred Again.., Lana Del Rey, Liam Gallagher, and The Prodigy.

All Points East takes over Victoria Park for 10 days in summer, holding daylong concert programmes on the weekend. Each day is curated around a specific artist or brand, with the 2024 edition including Loyle Carner and LCD Soundsystem as headliners. During the week, when there are no concerts, the festival organises free events and activities for the local community.

Rally is a brand new festival launched by the Birds on the Wire concert promotor and by the team behind Gala Festival. The festival aims to celebrate the city's music and arts communities, create opportunities for grassroots culture, promote new sounds, diversity and sustainability, and raise funds for local causes. The collaboration has delivered an exciting and varied line-up featuring acts such as PVA, Wu-Lu, Erika de Casier, Princess Nokia, and more.

Over the August bank holiday weekend, Battersea Park hosts open-air picnic concerts celebrating classical music, West End musicals, and soul and jazz. Among others, the inaugural 2023 edition featured the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and guest vocalists performing sounds from some of the most popular West End musicals, followed by a programme of classical masterpieces, and a live performance by Gabrielle.

Held at the Southbank Centre, Meltdown selects a globally recognised music icon to shape its programme each year, letting them present their creative vision through a series gigs, activities and other events. The festival's 30-year history has included David Bowie, Nile Rodgers, Grace Jones, and Robert Smith as past curators, and in 2023, it was Christine and the Queens' turn. The singer invited Sigur Rós, Bat for Lashes, Oxlade, Warpaint, Let's Eat Grandma, and many others to the event.

Somerset House is a prominent arts centre in a grand Georgian-era building, home to various organisations and professionals in the fields of arts and social innovation. Each summer, they put on a series of memorable gigs in their spectacular courtyard. The 2023 edition featured headliners such as Interpol, Greentea Peng, Beabadoobee, Olivia Dean, Alison Goldfrapp, Gabriels, and La Femme.

Taking full advantage of its incredible setting in Alexandra Palace Park, Kaleidoscope is undoubtedly one of the most picturesque festivals in the city, combining panoramic views of London with a grand building and vast parkland. Celebrating the best of London's summertime culture with lively festivities, the festival has invited the likes of Hot Chip, Erol Alkan, Gaz Coombes and many other musical acts to perform, along with a whole host of stand-up comics, family-friendly activities, and much more.

Held at the Roundhouse, Higher Ground features an all-female line-up during the day and night. The 2023 edition featured modern folk-pop band The Staves, indie rockers The Orielles with a live string section, one of the UK's most exciting live acts Tawiah, and Irish singer-songwriter Aoife Nessa Frances.

The Hackney-based Visions Festival takes place across several local indoor venues, including unusual ones, such as a church. Don't expect to see major names on the line-up – at least not until you look back at the festival a few years later and realise that most of the acts have since graduated to bigger stages and crowds. The festival has a knack for showcasing top rising talent in a welcoming neighbourhood setting.

Waterworks Festival is a day-long celebration of independent electronic music, held in Gunnersbury Park in West London and organised in collaboration with Percolate Music. A wide range of artists and sounds are featured across multiple stages, guaranteeing a day of dancing and fun. The 2023 edition featured the likes of Blawan, Pearson Sound, Special Request, and Josey Rebelle.

Held annually in November, London Jazz Festival is the biggest pan-city music festival and has been bringing some of the most brilliant jazz minds in the world to the capital for more than three decades. The festival is held across a range of venues, from renowned jazz clubs such as Ronnie Scott's to grand venues such as the Barbican, catering to fans of both classical jazz and its various spin-offs. The 2023 edition featured names such as Marcus Miller, Cory Henry, Hiromi, and Samara Joy.

Maiden Voyage Festival brings together promotors from some of London's most thrilling electronic music venues, for example Phonox and Fold, as well as Berlin institution Hör. The line-up is a reflection of their values, with a number of rising underground stars tapped to keep the bank holiday dance floor moving. Maiden Voyage Festival is held at the Lee Valley Showground north of the city.

Islington Festival of Music and Arts has its roots in a series of post-lockdown garden concerts in the summer of 2020. Emboldened by the display of community spirit, the now ten-day event brings together live classical music and fine art at various venues in the neighbourhood. The 2023 edition of the festival was inspired by Vincent van Gogh's “Starry Night over the Rhône”, featuring night-themed music, a spotlight on French works and wines, and more.

The London Festival of Baroque Music is a celebration of this classical music style in all its forms, held in the atmospheric setting of the restored St John's Smith Square church in Westminster. Under the heading of “Kaleidoscope”, the 2023 edition of the festival explored the beauty of the baroque in all its shapes and sizes, hosting international performers over nine days. The programme included intimate solo concerts as well as masterclasses and full orchestral shows.

The annual K-Music Festival serves as a showcase of some of the most exciting contemporary music to come out of South Korea, highlighting boundary-pushing Korean artists and intriguing genre fusions. Celebrating ten years in 2023, the festival put together a line-up featuring talented acts such as Jambinai, Haeparry, and Leenalchi, as well as pianist and composer Jung Jae-il, who'll open the festival by performing his scores from hits such as “Parasite”, “Okja”, and “Squid Game” with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Starting in 2021, hipster bible Pitchfork has been bringing an eclectic selection of some of the buzziest names in forward-thinking rock, pop, electronic and urban music to acclaimed venues such as Village Underground. Expect multiple days of indoor gigs and good vibes when the festival returns in 2024, with the 2023 edition having featured the likes of Sleater-Kinney, OFF!, Porridge Radio, and Weyes Blood on the bill.

The First Fifty serves as an introduction or better yet, a teaser, for The Great Escape, an acclaimed showcase festival that's held in Brighton the following spring. In autumn each year, The Great Escape brings the first fifty acts to be announced for its line-up to East London for one day, playing a host of shows across various venues in the area. Due to the timings, it's impossible to catch all of the acts, but if you're looking for some exciting new tunes and a shot of summer festival vibes during the gloomy season, The First Fifty is a great choice.