Less Famous Music Festivals in Europe that You Should Check Out

Reeperbahn festival Hamburg is a true gem not just for those in love with music but also for people wanting to discover Hamburg city. The biggest club festival in Europe, Reeperbahn is taking place throughout the city next to the infamous Reeperbahn street (aka the red light district). It will take you to some of the newest and coolest venues Hamburg has to offer (and believe me, being a music capital of Germany it has many!).

Among my favorite ones is Prinzenbar with a big chandelier hanging from an old ceiling and Mojo, which looks like an abandoned underground station turned into a nightclub, that surprises visitors with a DJ playing in the bathrooms. The festival serves as a great avenue for new and exciting vibrant artists to get discovered. A lot of famous names such as Ed Sheehan and Rag’n’Bone Man started here. But thanks to a huge selection of names to see and venue to visit, in one day you can hear everything from hip-hop and pop to classical music and rock’n’roll. Reeperbahn is a great place to discover the next big thing in the music industry.

Atlas weekend is a newbie in the list of Ukrainian festivals. Starting off as an extension of a nightclub activity involving only local bands in 2015, it quickly turned into one of the biggest festivals in Ukraine. Now, international stars such as Placebo, The Chemical Brothers and Nothing But Thieves come to play here. The territory of the festival is huge allowing you to jump around at least 4 main stages as well as rest in the chill-out area and eat some delicious local food.

In 2015 the music-festival Tinderbox is on of the best music fests in Denmark. Itfirst saw the day of light and every year since it has only grown larger. The festival takes place in Odense, the third largest city in Denmark, and has a bit of mixed programme. You will find Robbie Williams as well as Depeche Mode and Rammstein on the programme. Besides that, there is an extra scene, Magicbox, where some of the most popular and trending electronic music artists are featured. About 30.000 tickets are released every year.

Colors of Ostrava is the largest multi-genre music festival in Central Europe. It’s visited every year by people from all over Europe. The festival takes place every year in July and lasts for 4 days. There are numerous Czech bands playing and several international ones too. Usually at least one well-known star is invited. In 2019 it should be The Cure.

What’s one of the most unique things about Colors is the venue. It takes place at a former metallurgical site called Dolní Oblast Vítkovice.

This festival takes place in the third largest city in Sweden, Malmo. Every year it brings in visitors from all over Sweden, Denmark, and the rest of Europe. Malmofestivalen is one of the largest summer music festivals in Europe, showcasing arts, food, and crafts in Sweden and one of the best city festivals in Northern Europe spanning over 7 days. What is super special about this festival is the accessibility for people of all ages and backgrounds. The performances are free for everyone and the biggest artists from the region play to thousands of people in front of the rådhuset (city hall) in central Malmö. There’s a specific area for food stands around Gustav Adolfs Torg as well as smaller stages set up throughout central Malmö with performances in music, theater, dance, opera, and workshops for kids to adults. Held every year around the beginning of August it is worth the trip to Malmö during the festival as the city comes alive with energy. Text by Alaine from Travel With Alaine.

After growing up in Cambridge and being huge festie lovers we didn’t realize we had a world-famous festival sitting on our doorstep until last year. The Cambridge Folk Festival is one of the premier festivals of its kind and folk lovers come from far and wide each year to attend the 3-day event. Not only does it showcase the best names in folk music, but you can also expect a huge variety of sounds ranging from world music to blues and Irish rebel music. Set in a leafy woodland just outside of Cambridge city center, the festival has been running since 1965 and takes place at the beginning of August each year. Music aside, there is a beautiful community atmosphere and you’re quick to make friends and meet people. On top of all of this, it’s also won plenty of environmental awards for its sustainable practices – icing on the cake!

One of the lesser known, but very impressive festivals in Europe is the EDM (Electronic Dance Music) festival called Alfa Future People. Alfa Future People is held in a small village near Nizhny Novgorod, Russia every July (don’t be scared away, it’s just 3 hours away from Moscow by a train / it also has a big airport, so you can easily fly there). I attended the festival in 2016: this was the third and probably the best year of the festival in terms of headliners – all the headliners from Tomorrowland were there. Moreover, four out of the top five DJs in the world (according to the DJ Mag) were part of Alfa Future People in 2016. However, in 2017 and 2018 the line-up was quite impressive as well, but the tickets are quite affordable (around 60 euros for all the 3 days of the festival). Alfa Future People is not just a simple EDM festival – it has a lot to offer its visitors – a lot of workshops on Artificial intelligence, the exhibition of the newest robots and even the sports “activities of the future”.

OpenAir St. Gallen is a lively outdoor music festival that takes place in the Swiss city of St. Gallen. This multi-day festival is jam-packed with talented acts from all across the globe, often featuring big acts like Justice, Milky Chance and, Lorde. Its eclectic blend of music ranges from indie rock to pop, so there’s guaranteed music to suit all tastes. The festival is one of the first to kick-off the summer season in Switzerland, usually taking place in the month of June. Tickets are put on sale from as early as January so persons can plan their festival experience a long time ahead. Festival-goers also have the choice to camp out at the festival if they really want to get into the real festival vibe.