Festival Fever – Our Hot Picks For 2025…

 

 

Last year’s festivals’ menu was a very tasty treat and enticed our fab team to venture forth and cover a few dozen of ’em and soak up the vibes for the delectation of our lovely readers spread around the globe. But it looks like the 2025 offering is even more mouth watering…

Something out there for everyone no matter what your musical tastes are: Pop, rock, jazz, soul, r&b, metal, indie, Americana, punk, old school, country, folk, so-called World Music and much more…

Our festival season coverage begun in April and May with a review and super photographs from Cheltenham Jazz Festival [30th April to 5th May] and our comprehensive coverage of all four days of the excellent annual new music extravaganza in Brighton, The Great Escape Festival [14th to 17th May].

All coverage of the festivals our teams attend is in our “Live Zone” – for great photos on stage, backstage and out in the crowds….and as always, a smattering of exclusives.

For June, July, August and September, the UK has a fabulous number of great festivals to choose from and many not yet sold out – some with camping and some superb one-day events too that will quench your thirst for great live music and some fun in the sunshine [no, it is not gonna rain – PMA please!!]

In this annual feature, Music Republic Magazine’s team of ace photographers and writers choose their favourite festivals, many of which we will be covering; and then the editor adds his ten pennorth too.

• Look out for coverage of some of these beauties in our “Live Zone”…You may even be in some of the photos from our roaming snappers!!!

 

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• Probably the biggest and best metal and rock festival in Europe, attracting more than a quarter of a million fans from around the world, Hellfest in Clisson, France really does offer a sparkling array of major bands and artists along with rising stars who may well be future main stage headliners.

The 18th edition of this huge multi-stage festival offers up a starry lineup, including headliners Korn, Muse, Scorpions and Linkin Park, plus the likes of Judas Priest, Within Temptation, Electric Callboy, The Sex Pistols fronted by Frank Carter and The Damned.

Music Republic Magazine has covered this festival for the last few years and will be there again this year, for comprehensive coverage to bring you lots of great photographs and a review of the spectacular annual event.

 

 

• Rock N Roll Cicus at Earlham Park, Norwich is a new event for 2025 and offers a three-day feast of current chart acts and a smattering of legendary bands and artists too; such as McFly, Olly Murs, Blue, Courteeners, The Lathums, Sam Ryder, Lottery Winners, Scouting For Girls, Pixie Lott and many more across the three-days [ Thursday 14th August to Saturday 16th August].We say look out for rising stars such as the band Deco, fabulous Scottish artist Brooke Combe, and The Rosadocs; all superb acts we have tipped for big things for a good while.

  

 

The award winning Rock N Roll Circus combines the best of musical talent and circus entertainment to deliver “an incredible spectacle.” There are daily circus workshops, a large food and drinks village, and multiple stages to choose from.

 

 

• The festival has a Sheffield edition too, at Don Valley Bowl on 29th, 30th & 31st August, with such stars as Bryan Adams, Melanie C, James, Reverend &  The Makers, Ocean Colour Scene, Embrace and many more, across the three days and many stages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A festival our team really enjoyed last year is Latitude in Suffolk – and we will be there again this year…

The Suffolk site has a capacity of 45,000 for each of the three days of the celebrated music and arts festival run by Festival Republic.

It began in 2006 in Henman Park near Southwold, Suffolk where it has been based ever since – running for 18 years as 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic.

A cracking line-up for the 2025 edition, which runs on 24th, 25th and 26th July – with headliners Sting, Fatboy Slim and Snow Patrol; plus Basement Jaxx, Kaiser Chiefs, Elbow, Clean Bandit, Mika, Air, Leon Bridges and Sigrid, plus a vast array of more stars and rising stars. Plus a huge menu of comedians, including Greg Davies.

One of the best and most eclectic lineups of any UK festival this summer.  We say: Check out Nxdia, Lambrini Girls, Amble and Cliffords…

 

 

 

• Download Festival: The UK’s annual homage to rock and metal genres, Download draws fans from around the world to the Donington, Leicestershire site [circa 75,000].

  

There is a mouth watering 2025 lineup; with the likes of Green Day, Korn, Steel Panther, Within Temptation, Sex Pistols with Frank Carter, The Darkness, Weezer, Sleep Token and McFly among the many, many bands and artists on the many stages across the three days [13th, 14th & 15th June].

 

 

 

 

• The Long Road Festival held at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire is a three-day feast of country, Americana and roots music across six stages. There is also a car show, camping and glamping too.Held over the bank holiday weekends of 22nd, 23rd and 24th August, and its sixth year, Friday sees a UK exclusive with the headline appearance of US country star and actor Drake Milligan. Saturday’s bill topper is Texan country trio Midland.

  

  The band are double Grammy nominees, and they reintroduced the Western plains, Laurel Canyon-cum-Bakersfield and Lone Star juke joints to Country music, since coming together at a friend’s wedding over common influences and the desire to see a return of post-Urban Cowboy Country.

  

  

  Sunday’s headliner is James Bay, the UK star and Brit Award winner, Ivor Novello recipient and Grammy nominee will close the festival. The singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer will make his first appearance at The Long Road, released his fourth studio album “Changes All The Time” last year via Mercury/Republic Records.

  His seminal, multi-Platinum, UK #1 debut “Chaos and the Calm”, featuring hits “Hold Back The River” and “Let It Go” was recorded at the famed Blackbird Studio in Nashville with multiple Grammy-winning producer Jacquire King, and James has returned to Music City to record and perform frequently throughout his career. James has amassed a staggering nine billion streams for his music.

  “Country and Americana have always been huge inspirations for me,” shares James. “So much of my music has roots in Nashville – I’ve been lucky to play some of the city’s iconic venues like the Bluebird and the Ryman and I’ve always been drawn to the incredible storytelling in these genres. I can’t wait to close out The Long Road 2025, headlining the Rhinestone Stage on Sunday, August 24th – it’s going to be a special one!”

  The festival’s Creative Director, Baylen Leonard, adds: “At The Long Road, we’re all about celebrating the best in country, roots, Americana, and always looking to broaden our lineup with something for every music lover. James Bay is one of the finest singer-songwriters out there and is the perfect complement to what we do. Can’t wait for the Sunday sing-along!”
  
  

 

 

 

• Radar – “the UK’s most exciting new progressive music festival” – moved to Manchester for its 2023 edition, the third iteration of the festival.

Radar pride themselves on providing a first home for the best international artists – previous years have seen Dirty Loops’ (2022) and The Callous Daoboys’ (2023) first UK shows.

Joining the list were Radar 2024’s Friday headliners – synth royalty The Midnight, making their UK festival debut. Accompanying them were Saturday headliners TesseracT, as the UK prog metal titans delivered a special War Of Being album set. Finally, closing the festival on Sunday, modern progressive titans Leprous performed a world-first live, by request fan set.

Radar 2023 saw Friday headliners Sleep Token joining Periphery (Sunday) and Igorrr (Saturday) among a host of the best from the UK and global progressive underground.

Radar capped their intensely impressive 2022 by winning the Best New Festival Award at the UK Festival Awards on 6th December in Manchester, and were shortlisted for Best Small Festival and Best Metropolitan Festival at 2023 and 2024’s UK Festival Awards.

Radar Festival was launched in 2019 to acclaim, with performances from Animals As Leaders, Agent Fresco, Rolo Tomassi, among others. Following the Covid hiatus, Radar 2022 expanded to three days with triumphant appearances from Leprous, Haken, Dirty Loops, Plini, Conjurer, Soen and more.

Alongside the acts announced, Radar’s commitment to a musical and gaming paradise continues: their music & gaming market will return. Expected to be wowed by a retro arcade, the best new instruments and music tech, and many more besides.

Also demonstrating their commitment to new bands, Radar will continue to donate a portion of ticket sales proceeds to Music Venue Trust and Save Our Scene’s Liveline Fund, in order to support grassroots music venues.

2025’s edition runs on 4th, 5th and 6th July, with headliners Carpenter Brut as a UK exclusive, Bob Vylan, and 2025 UK festival exclusive Underoath.

 

 

 

• Fancy a mucky weekender? Well, we have news of just the thing… Mucky Weekender at Vicarage Farm, Winchester, on 11th, 12th and 13th September is a very chilled festival, fast becoming one of the jewels in the crown of late summer UK festivals.

  Do not just take our word for it: “Mucky is already a phenomenon, that go-to bitter-sweet swamp of beauty where you send off summer festival season for the year & say farewell to your friends. My god, there’s a lot of love & fun to be had at this place.” So says Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh.“Mucky by name mucky by nature – gotta love Barry n’ crew for all they do to make their festival one of the most memorable in the UK and presenting the Rebel Dread with the perfect place for some heavyweight bass”, says Don Letts, the DJ, musician, film director and Grammy winner who has appeared at all of the festivals held so far and is back this year.

  

  Mucky Weekender is an independent boutique festival, with up to 5,000 capacity, expanded to three days for the second year running. Curated by music industry veteran Barry Ashworth, frontman of the Dub Pistols (the festival is named after one of their fan-favourite tracks, “Mucky Weekend”). Barry is Patron of Tonic Music for Mental Health within the music industry, which the festival raises funds for.

  

 

 

 

 

• Wilderness @ Cornbury Park, Cotswolds – 31st July – 3rd August. Returning to the nature reserve at Cornbury Park this summer for its fourteenth year, and this year’s programme promises an array of music, culture, wellness and food and drink.

The genre-spanning line-up is headed by four major names. Thirty years after the release of their debut album “I Should Coco”, Supergrass take to the stage to play the recording in its entirety, along with other hits.

Also at the top of the bill are techno and rave pioneers Orbital and still-ascending indie rock stars Wet Leg. They’re joining the already announced Basement Jaxx, who will play their first full live show on a main stage in ten years.

The Other Wilderness Stage will welcome a host of names spanning dreampop, folk rock and feel-good nostalgia, with Air, Aurora, The Bootleg Beatles, Gentlemen’s Dub Club and Bear’s Den. Meanwhile, over at the Valley, Annie Mac headlines the canopied dance music stage. There are also a ton of unique musical experiences on offer, from the electrifying Women In Jazz collective to a DJ set from Gok Wan.

 

 

 

* Lytham Festival near Blackpool is a little gem right by the sea and really pushes the boat out with its power-packed line-up every year; 2025 being no exception, held on 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th July.

They do not come much bigger than the one and the only Stevie Wonder who headlines day two. Alanis Morissette, Justin Timberlake, Simple Minds and Texas headline the rest of the dates.

Kings Of Leon were due to open the festival on Thursday, but they have recently cancelled some shows including this one, so as it was too late for the organisers to find a suitable replacement for that date, the festival has been forced to run for four days instead of the scheduled five.

Here is the band’s statement about the cancellations: “Kings of Leon are updating fans that Caleb Followill has recently sustained a serious injury, shattering his heel and requiring a significant emergency surgery, that will prevent him from traveling and performing. The anticipated recovery process is expected to take 8 weeks, under strict guidance of expert orthopaedic specialists. The band regrets to report that they will need to cancel all upcoming UK and European festival headline shows in June and July of this year.”

 

 

 

 

• The Peak District in Derbyshire is the location for Y Not? Festival, perhaps one of the most picturesque sites for a UK festival, at Pikehall. 31st July – 3rd August.For the 18th edition of the festival, the lineup includes The Prodigy, Courteeners, Madness, The Wombats, The Last Dinner Party, Sigrid, Red Rum Club and loads more; plus top comedy lineup.

 

 

 

 

• Wasing Estate in Berkshire, an hour from London, announces its full line up for Solstice at Wasing 2025, now reimagined as a weekend festival hosted at The Woodland at Wasing.

Taking place from Friday 20th – Sunday 22nd June 2025, the festival celebrates the Rite of Summer and will feature Alex Serra, Âpe Chimba, The Egg, Afrosideral, Tritha and many more. This year’s Saturday night fireside headliner is Âpe Chimba and the Sunday headliner is Alex Serra.

They join previously announced world-renowned artists James Blake (Solo Piano), Anoushka Shankar, Salif Keita, Nubiyan Twist, K.O.G. and The Turbans. Together, they complete a rich and diverse weekend programme of music, nature and connection at one of the UK’s most beautiful outdoor venues.

 

 

 

 

Not a festival as such, more a season of gigs across the summer, Live At The Piece hall, Halifax is organised by the same promoters as Lytham Festival and sponsored by TK Maxx.

Very starry lineup for the 2025 season which starts on 6th and 7th June with James, and takes in 27 headliners and a slew of top support acts, closing on 24th August.

 

 

• This Feeling By The Sea 2025 on 29th & 30th August will be headlined by Lottery Winners on day one and Stone on day two, alongside an A-Z of contemporary and rising indie and alternative talent.

  

  As with last year’s festival, every artist on the bill has emerged via This Feeling shows held in grassroots venues across the UK.

  

  The Bridlington Spa venue is a beautiful Art Deco designed 3800-capacity Royal Hall ballroom, with the adjacent beach close by.

  

   

  We covered the festival last year on its second year in Brid’, and it turned out to be one of the best small festivals of the year, and delivered a lot of bang for your buck – as the lineup this time seems to suggest will be repeated…We will see you there…

 

 

 

 

• Pride On The Park is Brighton Pride’s music and comedy festival in Preston Park [2nd and 3rd August], and following last year’s sparkling headliners Girls Aloud and Mika, they have really pushed the boat out for the 2025 edition…

  

  Global superstar Mariah Carey is day one headliner –  a UK festival exclusive – supported by Ashnikko, Confidence Man, Sister Sledge with Kathy Sledge, and more. Day two doesn’t disappoint, with The Sugababes, Will Young, Natalie Imbruglia, Andy Bell from Erasure, Nxdia, Fat Boy Slim, Beth Ditto, Sonique and more.

 

 

 

 

• Donny Fest in Doncaster is a new one-dayer with a pretty punchy line-up…

 

 

 

 

• Nottingham’s Splendour Festival is back after last year’s hiatus.

More than 25 new acts have recently joined the Splendour bill headlined by Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Travis and Jake Bugg at Nottingham’s Wollaton Park on 19-20 July 2025.

This year sees three new stages at the festival, which has grown over the last 17 years into a 30,000 capacity flagship cultural event for the East Midlands.

 

 

 

• Love Supreme.

  We loved covering this festival last year, held at Glynde Place in beautiful East Sussex.

  The 2025 edition, its 12th year, has a stunning lineup, including Motown legend Smokey Robinson on his first return to the UK for 15 years, Maxwell with a UK exclusive, Jacob Collier and another UK exclusive, Nile Rodgers and Chic, The Roots, En Vogue, War, Thee Sacred Souls, Branford Marsalis, Stanley Clarke, and lots more.

  Supreme indeed…

  

  Love Supreme really is one of the sparkling jewels in the crown of UK music festivals, which will see more than 60,000 music fans flock to the picturesque East Sussex site.

 

 

 

• Reading and Leeds Festivals are among the longest running music festivals in the world.

   

  Reading has been going in one form or another since 1955 and Leeds since 1999. These days more than 100,000 fans attend each of the three days it is held –  simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend [22nd/23rd/24th August].

Reading Festival is held at Little John’s Farm on Richfield Avenue in central Reading, and Leeds in Bramham Park, near Wetherby, the grounds of a historic house.

 

 

Headliners and most supporting acts typically play at both sites, with Reading the longest-running popular music festival in the UK. The festivals are run by Festival Republic.

The 2025 headliners include Travis Scott, D-Block Europe, Hozier, Chappell Roan, Bring Me The Horizon and Limp Bizkit.

 

 

 

 

• Sting, Stereophonics, Justin Timberlake, Clean Bandit, Supergrass, James and Example are the worthy headliners across the various stages for this year’s iconic Isle Of Wight festival. Lots more superb bands and artists on offer across the four day event too…

 

 

 

 

29^th June  – Craig David Presents TS5 

Earlham Park, NORWICH  

An unforgettable day as the UK’s iconic R&B sensation, Craig David, takes the stage with an iconic show. Get ready to sing along to his timeless hits like “7 Days” and “Fill Me In” at Norwich’s favourite park. Gates open at 2 PM

 

 

4^th – 6^th July – ROCHESTER CASTLE CONCERTS

Rochester Castle, KENT.   

This annual event spans 3 days of music, with a different genre each day in the grounds of this fabulous castle venue on the banks of the Medway. Steeped in history and surrounded by the pretty village and boutiques of Rochester, Kent music fans have been delighted year on year with some of the biggest names in music performing every July in the castle.

This year Friday 4^th July sees Symphonic Ibiza Orchestra Live, Courteeners and The Lathums on Saturday 5th, and Sunday 6^th July will see Craig David presents TS5.

 

 

 

 

27^th July  – UPTOWN FESTIVAL  – LONDON 

BLACKHEATH, LONDON.   

Uptown Festival heads to London again this year on Saturday 27^th July with Boy George & Culture Club headlining this fantastic family friendly event. Packed with loads of exciting activities for all the family and great music from 80’s pop supremoes and further line up to be announced.

• Uptown Festival with Boy George & Culture Club also heads to Bute Park Cardiff on Sept 14^th

 

 

Fri 5^th & Sat 6^th Sept   – REMINISCE & INDEMAND PRESENT RETROSPECTIVE & REMINISCE FESTIVAL

SHERDLEY PARK, ST HELENS. (LIVERPOOL/ NORTH WEST)

The guys at Reminisce Festival & In Demand Radio, following more than 10 years of sell out success have added a brand-new festival date to Sherdley Park on September 5^th.

Retrospective Festival  features Belinda Carlisle, Martin Kemp (DJ Set), Go West, Katrina (of Katrina & The Waves) Roachford, Tiffany, Reminisce Classical (Live Orchestra) and many more.  

 

Reminisce Festival Saturday 6^th September line up to be announced – the festival now boasts over 20,000 attendees every year and presents the very best line ups of 90’s pop and dance club acts and DJ’s.

Reminisce are well respected for their fantastic production, stellar line ups, lots of fun & vibrant stages, great nostalgic music, well organised & excellent on site safety.

 

 

FYI: Some of the line-ups for some of the festivals included here may not have been complete at the time of publication of this annual feature]… 

 

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Photo credits:

 

Aerial festival crowd photo: by Katja Ogrin

Boy George / Olly Murs / Sting x 2 / Frank Carter/ Main stage – flames – at Download: by Jason Sheldon

Mohican kid in crowd x 2/ This Feeling By The Sea photo  / Lottery Winners: by Liam Battersby

Craig David x 2 / Belinda Carlisle / Deco / Brooke Combe / Gok Wan: by Steve Best

Hellfest ‘tree’: by David Bronstein

Stone: by Andrea Bottino

Simon & Oscar photo: by Tony Briggs

Smokey Robinson photo: by Wilhelm Rosenthal

* Where no photographer is credited, photos are PR-supplied

 

Words: Steve Best