Best European Rock Music Festivals
A Brief Guide to Europe's Biggest Rock Alternative & Indie Festivals
Apr 9, 2008
With the highest concentration of outdoor concerts and music festivals in the world, it sometimes seems that the entire population of Europe takes to living in fields with beers in hands throughout the summer months. This guide looks at just a few of the biggest and best indie, pop and rock music festivals the continent has to offer.
Roskilde Festival: Line-up and Details
What: One of the three biggest music festivals in Europe (the others being Glastonbury in the UK and Sziget in Hungary), Roskilde is notable for the fact that every act gets to play a full set of around an hour or longer.
When: 3rd-6th July
Where: Near Roskilde, Denmark
Headliners: Radiohead
Best of the rest: Slayer, The Streets, Enter Shikari, Chemical Brothers, At The Gates, Clutch, My Bloody Valentine, Neil Young, Judas Priest, Dillinger Escape Plan, Duffy, Kings Of Leon
Sziget Festival: Line-up and Details
What: Sited on an island in the Danube, Sziget is a huge (attendance has peaked at close to 400,000) week-long festival with a line-up spanning rock, metal, jazz, pop and more.
When: 12th-18th August
Where: Obudai Island, Budapest, Hungary
Headliners: Iron Maiden, R.E.M., Sex Pistols
Best of the rest: Kaiser Chiefs, Roisin Murphy, Die Arzte, Lauren Harris
Rock am Ring and Rock im Park: Line-up and Details
What: A dual-site festival with a revolving line-up format similar to that of the Reading and Leeds festivals in the UK, boasting the odd shot of indie within a decidedly rock and metal-centred weekend.
When: 6th-8th June
Where: Nurburgring Racetrack, Nurburg, Germany and Frankenstadion, Nurnburg, Germany
Headliners: Rage Against The Machine, Metallica, Die Toten Hosen
Best of the rest: Queens Of The Stone Age, HIM, Manic Street Preachers, Dimmu Borgir, The Verve, The Offspring, Nightwish, In Flames, Jonathan Davis, The Prodigy, Motorhead, Incubus, Bullet For My Valentine, 36 Crazyfists, Against Me!, Babyshambles, Bedouin Soundclash, The Fratellis, Futureheads, Opeth, Coheed & Cambria
Pinkpop Festival: Line-up and Details
What: One of the earliest festivals of the season, PinkPop takes it name from the Pentecost weekend it's traditionally held on (although for the first time in its history the event will not be taking place on Pentecost weekend this year) and features an eclectic mix of rock, metal and alternative music.
When: 30 May - 1st June
Where: Landgraaf Megaland Park, Landgraaf, Netherlands
Headliners: Metallica, Foo Fighters, Rage Against The Machine
Best of the rest: Flogging Molly, Incubus, Porcupine Tree, Jonathan Davis, KT Tunstall, Groove Armada, Alanis Morissette, Editors, The Hives, Alter Bridge, Chris Cornell, Bad Religion, The Eagles Of Death Metal, Kate Nash, Cavalera Conspiracy
Click here for the essential festival survival guide.
Click here for updated 2009 line-ups and details.
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