The onset of summer season also signals the beginning of some of the wildest and grandest music festivals around the world. Jazz and techno festivals abound throughout Europe while the American festivals can be found everywhere from the city to the desert. India Outbound has compiled a list of some of the best festivals taking place in June and July.
Defqon.1: The Netherlands (June 27 to June 30)
Against a stunning backdrop of Amsterdam outskirts in the Netherlands is the two-day Defqon.1 Weekend Festival that receives 100,000 visitors per day. Defqon.1 made its debut in 2003 and grew in size and popularity over the years because, at that time, not many music festivals were putting hardstyle music on a pedestal. With performances by leading artists presenting different genres, mostly hardstyle, as many as 250 global artists perform to music enthusiasts from all over the world. The festival specialises in electronic music and a mix of related genres such as hardstyle, hardcore, hard house, freestyle, hard trance, psychedelic trance, hard techno and speedcore.
Tomorrowland: Belgium (July 19 to July 28)
Tomorrowland Belgium 2024 will revolve around the new theme ‘Life,’ the prequel of the 2016 ‘Elixir of Life’ theme. First held in 2005 at Antwerp in Belgium, from a relatively humble beginning has today evolved to be one of world’s largest annual electronic dance music festivals and a worldwide phenomenon. Every year, over two weekends in the summer, over 400,000 music enthusiasts from over 200 countries attend Tomorrowland, which features hundreds of well-known artists spread across more than 16 stages. Tomorrowland has won numerous accolades and awards, including being voted five times in a row as “best musical event of the year” at the International Dance Music Awards.
Exit Festival: Serbia (July 10 to July 14)
What started as a students’ movement fighting for democracy and freedom in Serbia and the Balkans in 2000, Exit Festival is one of the world’s most anticipated music festivals today that is visited by over 200,000 people from 120 countries. In 2001, it shifted to the medieval-era Petrovaradin Fortress where it has stayed ever since. Exit Festival contributed nearly EUR 250 million to the Serbian economy in 2023. Notably, data says that 65 pc of the attendees were not from Serbia. While the largest groups of international visitors hailed from Austria, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and France, 46.6 pc of attendees were first-time visitors to Petrovaradin Fortress.
Fuji Rock Festival: Japan (July 26 to July 28)
Within a gorgeous venue located at the foot of Mount Naeba, the Fuji Rock Festival is held annually in Naeba Ski Resort, drawing in over 100,000 attendees. The biggest open-air music festival in Japan, spanning three days, with more than 200 international musicians showcasing their talents on seven main stages. Although the 1997 inaugural edition of the Fuji Rock Festival took place at the foot of Mount Fuji, the Naeba Ski Resort in Yuzawa in Niigata has hosted the festival since 1999.
High Sierra Music Festival: United States (July 4-7)
When the first edition of the High Sierra Music Festival took place in 1991, camping music festivals were limited to a single genre. High Sierra Music Festival was a pioneer in the concept of combining different genres at one event, which is something that now stands out to music enthusiasts. This Northern Californian music festival brings close to 10,000 people each year to the Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds in the serene Mountains of Sierra Nevada. High Sierra Music Festival boasts a dedicated community of underground electronic music fans.