The best music festivals 2025: an event for every vibe
Everyone’s talking about Glastonbury, but if you didn’t get a ticket, fear not: dozens of other amazing music festivals take place in the UK every summer.
While Glastonbury is obviously a stonking good time, it isn’t the only good time. In fact, going to a smaller event can have plus points, like fewer crowds, and less need to be super well organised with how you spend your day.
2024 was bloodshed for UK music festivals. With the cost of living crisis forcing up production costs, dozens closed for good. But there is still plenty of choice when it comes to places to seek out festival fun this year.
Here are some of the best music festivals happening in the UK in 2025, no matter your vibe.
The Family One: Latitude
Latitude has a huge kids field so the whole family can keep entertained, and plenty for the adults too. As well as the music, there are tents dedicated to comedy, theatre, poetry and film, and live performances on a stage that appears to be floating above a pretty lake. After hours there’s plenty of DJs too, so Latitude really suits any type of punter: the atmosphere by day is as strong as the vibe at night. 24 – 27 July, Suffolk, latitudefestival.com
The Posh One: Wilderness
This Oxfordshire knees-up boasts about having ‘banquet feasts’, which, last time we checked, was the weekend activity du jour when Henry VIII assumed the crown. Well, they’re back, and at Wilderness, alongside scoffing lovely food from some of the country’s top chefs at makeshift outdoors restaurant set ups, you can catch loads of music, do wild swimming, and even participate in a range of lawn games. See, told you it was posh. 31 July – 3 August, Oxfordshire, wildernessfestival.com
The Glastonbury (ish) One: Shambala
Those who do not get tickets to Glastonbury go to Shambala. Known as a miniature version of the UK’s most famous festival, it attracts lots of the same crowd, and has a similarly artsy feel, with a big focus on live entertainment alongside the music. There’s a really strong focus on community at Shambala, so you’ll likely go home with a group of new friends after a weekend kicking back here. 21 – 24 August, Northamptonshire, shambalafestival.org
The New One: Found
This Blues, Americana, Folk and Country music festival is running its first edition in 2025. Alongside the music there’s a strong comedy line-up and an emphasis on dance and movement, with workshops helping punters pick up ballet, tango, ballroom, swing and more. The festival is also advertising to solo attendees to encourage them to attend to make new friends, spreading the message that you needn’t have a big group to have fun. 22 – 24 August, Buckingham, foundfestival.uk
The Hipster One: Houghton
Houghton is a proper rave, but a grown up one that attracts a slightly older crowd. It’s perfect if you really like your dance music and want to have absolutely no limits: there’s a 24 hour stage, so there’s also somewhere to find music (even if it’s seven in the morning) and one of the friendliest, most plugged-in set of attendees of any UK festival. They seriously know their dance music so you’ll be sure to pick up a recommendation or twenty, and see the absolute best DJs spinning vinyl right now. 7 – 10 August, King’s Lynn, houghtonfestival.co.uk
The Northern One: Lost Village
Fancy dress rules the day at this northern knees-up, where DJs play in the cockpits of old planes and ravers dance all day on top of banged up old cars. No one’s breaking any rules though: these props are there to be interacted with, all designed as part of an immersive festival experience that creates a sort of lost village in the woods. There’s a pretty lake and some darn good food, too, as well as theatre and circus acts. 21 – 24 August, Lincolnshire, lostvillagefestival.com
The Day-Long Ones
If camping sounds hellish there’s a whole plethora of day-long festivals that mean you can rave without needing to sleep in a tent. All Points East is reuniting indie favourites The Maccabees this year, Mighty Hoopla brings pop music favourites together for a big knees-up and SXSW is holding their first ever London edition this summer too.