Summer Music Festivals

"Oh is this the way they say the future's meant to feel?
Or just 20,000 people standing in a field..."

Like so many other apt descriptions of everyday life, Jarvis Cocker really hit the nail on the head back in 1995 with this description of summer music festivals - that's right, music festivals back in the days before designer wellies and token celebrities slumming it glamorously. Back to the music, the camping, the mind-blowing line-ups and of course, those hideously disgusting toilet blocks. Summer time has long been synonymous with live music and for some it's the ultimate way to escape the daily grind and end up in a secluded field or woodland that has been expertly converted for the purposes of amazing live music performances.

Despite talk of global warming heating things up all around the world, there's still not enough time to check out all the festivals on the UK and European summer circuit, let alone their counterparts in the US and Canada. Doubling up the festival weekends often means that you have to take your pick between Rock Werchter and Roskilde, and due to the popularity of the UK festivals for concert goers who wish to stay closer to home, the whole system of buying and selling tickets is virtual madness as you either need to be among the few fortunate first purchasers or enter into a system of allotting tickets in a lottery format. Although this may be the most equitable way of ensuring that the widest range of fans gets their tickets for concerts, it still makes it difficult to plan your summer festival schedule.

A good idea is to see the opportunities presented further afield, like Hungary's phenomenal Sziget festival that has taken place annually on the Danube's Óbudai-sziget or Old Buda Island since 1993. Smaller towns are winners for festivals too, and it pays to head off to Arras in early July for the Main Square Festival (rather than waiting in Paris for Rock en Seine in late August for instance) or festivals that are multi-purpose events, like another French favourite, the Fête de L'Humanité held in mid-September and attracting some of the biggest names in international music.