The Best Music Festivals In London 2024

Will Noble
By Will Noble Last edited 6 months ago

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Last Updated 28 May 2024

The Best Music Festivals In London 2024

Our roundup of the best music festivals happening in London in 2024 — from the start of spring till the last rays of summer sunshine in September.

A festival at Ally Pally overlooking London
Three guesses where this festival is held. Image: Lloyd Winters

IN THE ROUND FESTIVAL: Surround yourself with music (quite literally) with In The Round Festival, at — where else — the Roundhouse. A collection of one-off gigs rather than a full-on fest, this year's lineup includes Tirzan, Jlin and Vashti Bunyan — as well as the songs of Joni Mitchell as performed by the likes of Emeli Sandé and Lail Arad. 18-27 April

LA LINEA: Ushering Latin colour into the often-grey London springtime, La Linea features top acts — including Grammy award winning Mexican-American singer-songwriter Lila Downs, and evolving family band Los Tigres del Norte (who have over 70 albums!) — at venues across the city, including the Jazz Cafe, Cafe Oto and Barbican. 12-22 April

A woman in traditional Latin style clothes
Mexican singer-songwriter Lila Downs performs at 2024's La Linea. Image: La Linea

BRICK LANE JAZZ FESTIVAL: Rich Mix hosts three days of fresh jazz, featuring Brother Portrait, The Silhouettes Project, Miryam Soloman and plenty more. If you're so inclined, you can also get stuck into an afterparty at Village Underground on the Saturday. 26-28 April

BRIXTON DISCO FESTIVAL: A disco festival jiving away in the venues around Brixton's Windrush Square (inc. the Ritzy, Electric and Brixton Jamm)? Tbh we're already sold, although a juicy lineup featuring Norman Jay, Jocelyn Brown and Artwork certainly doesn't hurt. 4 May

QUEEN'S YARD SUMMER PARTY: Over 20 venues around Hackney Wick come alive with the sounds of house, techno and disco, pumped out by a slew of names inc. Cabin Fever, Jive Talk, Saturn Sisters and Terra Obscura. Throw in some ticker tape explosions and a spot of canal-side drinking, and you've got yourself a good time. 4 May

London music festivals 2024: a DJ spins tunes beneath a mirror ball
Brixton Disco Festival takes place in various venues around Windrush Square. Photo: Brixton Disco Festival

GYPSY JAZZ FESTIVAL OF LONDON: This mini festival debuted in 2022, and continues in style with a week of shows from gypsy jazz talent including Sylvain Luc Trio and Karen Street's L'espirit du Jazz, across a selection of London venues, including Vortex Jazz Club in Dalston and Toulouse Lautrec in Kennington. 6-12 May

GALA: Dance away the second May bank holiday at GALA in Peckham Rye Park — an al fresco party featuring house, techno, jungle, drum 'n' bass, jazz, disco... it goes on. Headliners this year are DJ EZ, Job Jobse and Folamour. 24-26 May

London music festivals 2024: people partying in the sun
Dance away the second May bank holiday at GALA. Photo: GALA

WE ARE FSTVL: Urban, bass, house, techno — two days of non-stop bangers are on the cards at We Are FSTVL, with acts inc. Eric Prydz, The Martinez Brothers, Hedex and Cloonee. Snds grt. 25-26 May

SLAM DUNK FESTIVAL: The UK's biggest independent rock festival, Slam Dunk returns to Hatfield Park (just outside London, but we'll allow it). Don your ankle-length shorts and mosh to a stacked lineup feat. You Me At Six, Funeral for a Friend and Mallory Knox. 25 May (also 26 May in Leeds)

WIDE AWAKE: Wide Awake festival is an orgy of left-fielders from the worlds of indie, post-punk, and techno. Headliners at this hip Brockwell Park gathering include Slowdive, Young Fathers and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. 25 May

A man crowdsurfs
Absolute scenes at Wide Awake. Image: Wide Awake

CROSS THE TRACKS: Hot on the heels of Wide Awake (aka the next day), Cross The Tracks Festival lands in Brockwell Park — a glorious cacophony of funk, jazz and classic soul with 2024's headliners including Erykah Badu, Eve and En Vogue. 26 May

CITY SPLASH: OK, you're going to start to see a theme emerge here. City Splash comes to, yup, Brockwell Park the day after Cross the Tracks — embracing reggae, dancehall and Afrobeat by jampacking 60+ artists across seven stages. Beenie Man, Capleton and Busy Signal are among the big acts. 27 May

MIGHTY HOOPLA: Yes, yes, it's Brockwell Park again — this time for the poptastic Mighty Hoopla, an unabashedly glittery blowout that's catchy as it is camp. Saturday and weekend tickets have already been snaffled, but a few remain for the Sunday, which has Jesse Ware, Rita Ora and Alison Goldfrapp on the bill. 1-2 June (1 June already sold out)

London music festivals 2024: crowds partying by a stage in front of the palace
Nile Rodgers and Paloma Faith play Hampton Court this summer. Photo: Hampton Court Palace Festival

HAMPTON COURT PALACE FESTIVAL: Want a taste of pop royalty? Hampton Court Palace Festival's two-week shindig is back this June (it's individual shows rather than a festival that actually lasts 12 solid days — imagine!), ready to welcome you with a glass of champagne and space for a picnic before performances from Nile Rodgers, Paloma Faith and — we're showing our age here — a live outing from the magnificent The Rest Is History podcast. 11-22 June

MELTDOWN: Chaka Khan steps up to curate Southbank Centre's annual Meltdown Festival; at time of writing the lineup hasn't dropped, although we will be requiring a singalong to I'm Every Woman at some point, thank you. 14-23 June

BST HYDE PARK: On the eclectic line up for 2024's BST Hyde Park so far are Andrea Bocelli (5 July), Robbie William (6 July) and K-popsters Stray Kids (14 July). Something for everyone then (almost) — and more to be announced too. July

London music festivals 2024: people partying in front of a stage at dusk
It's an eclectic lineup as ever at BST Hyde Park. Photo: BST Hyde Park

BIG SMOKE FESTIVAL: Renowned grime artist Skepta curates and headlines a brand new one-dayer, Big Smoke Festival, which unfolds in Crystal Palace Park, and also stars The Streets and Mas Tiempo. 6 July

KEW THE MUSIC: BYOP (bring your own picnic) for Kew The Music, featuring a series of gigs in the grounds of Kew Gardens. These evenings are on the laid back side, with acts including Passenger, Richard Ashcroft and, er, Monty Don. 8-14 July

WIRELESS: Three-day Wireless Festival swaggers into Finsbury Park once again, hitting you left, right and centre with on fleek rap and hip hop stars: Niki Minaj, 21 Savage, J Hus, Ice Spice — and basketloads more. 12-14 July

An artist performs in front of a huge crowd outside Ally Pally
Ally Pally's Kaleidoscope Festival boasts some stonking views. Image: Kaleidoscope Festival

KALEIDOSCOPE FESTIVAL: The grounds of Ally Pally explode into life with the sounds of Mr Scruff, the Go! Team and Ministry of Sound Classical at this year's Kaleidoscope Festival. The comedy offering looks tasty too, feat. Simon Amstell, Sophie Duker and Brian Blessed (who we presume they don't bother mic-ing up). 13 July

PUB IN THE PARK: What do you get if you mix Glastonbury Latitude with Saturday Kitchen? Pub in the Park of course — the roving culinary/music fest that pitches up in Chiswick Park. Mainstream artists (Van Morrison, Busted, McFly, Gabrielle, Paloma Faith, Sam Ryder and Olly Murs) provide an easy listening soundtrack to live cookery demos from the likes of Angela Hartnett, Mary Berry and Jose Pizarro. 28-30 June

A young family at a festival
What do you get if you mix Latitude with Saturday Kitchen? Pub in the Park of course! Image: Pub in the Park

FOLK BY THE OAK: Travel a few miles outside London to find yourself at the sylvan Folk by the Oak festival in Hatfield Park. Embrace music from Levellers, The Staves and Grace Smith Trio — and participate in creative workshops like pendant making. Sounds like a chill one. 21 July

JUNCTION 2: Many dance music festivals grace London this summer, but Junction 2 in Boston Manor Park is the only London festival we're aware of where you party beneath a flyover. Acts this year include Fideles, Layla Benitez, Haai and Eliza Rose. 26-28 July

London music festivals 2024: A festival stage in a grassy setting
Levellers, The Staves and Grace Smith Trio play at 2024's Folk by the Oak — which is juuust outside London, but we'll allow it. Photo: Folk by the Oak

SOUTH FACING FESTIVAL: Crystal Palace Park's 'rusty laptop' flips open to host what is essentially a run of one-off shows from late July till mid August. Love Motion feat. Grace Jones and Rosin Murphy, Future Islands and Dizzee Rascal are among the performers this year, as it Damian Marley, whose dad played a legendary slot on this very spot in 1980. 26 July-10 August

HOSPITALITY IN THE WOODS: A blazing midsummer festival made up of "100% drum and bass": we're told that Hospitality in the Woods will happen again in 2024, although at time of writing, where and when is still TBD. August?

Five ageing rockers
Death Cab for Cutie co-headline with The Postal Service at All Points East. Image: Jimmy Fontaine

51ST STATE: Party in the USA but make it London, as transatlantic festival 51st State returns to Barnet's Copthall Playing Fields this summer — embracing house, garage, R'n'B, disco and soul. Louie Vega, Brandon Block and Angie B are on the lineup. 3 August

ALL POINTS EAST: Along with Brockwell Park, Victoria Park is ground zero for London in terms of the city's park-based day festivals, and All Points East continues the tradition with four days of curated music over August, headed by Loyle Carner, LCD Soundsystem, Fields Day and The Postal Service/Death Cab for Cutie. 17-25 August

London music festivals 2024: a carnival dancer
51st State returns to Barnet's Copthall Playing Fields this summer. Photo: 51st State

FIELD DAY: Yves Tumor, Yaeji, Justice and PinkPantheress are among the rizzy acts taking over Victoria Park for the 2024 incarnation of Field Day. 24 August

EASTERN ELECTRICS: Expect bass. Enough bass to leave your ears thudding for a week after. Not much has been given away about the lineup at this Lee Valley Showground one-dayer yet, but we know there'll be five stages, over 30 artists, and that Jamie Jones will headline. 24 August

Grace Jones with sparklers going off behind her
Grace Jones is at South Facing Festival on 26 July. Image: Lawrence Watson

MAIDEN VOYAGE: Lee Valley Showground hasn't had time to catch its breath, before Maiden Voyage typically rocks up the day after Eastern Electrics. That's yet to be confirmed though, so stay posted on the Maiden Voyage website. 25 August?

SOUL TOWN: Billy Ocean; Earth, Wind & Fire Experience; Maxi Priest and Kenny Thomas top the bill at this laid-back two-dayer in Beckenham. You can get tickets for Sat or Sun, or go all in and sign up to both. 31-Aug-1 September

WATERWORKS: Gunnersbury Park plays host to dance music beano Waterworks, with various stages — Water Tower, Orbit, Cedar — showcasing top notch acts. Well, we're pretty sure they will be when they're announced, anyway. 14 September

Any big ones we've missed? Tell us the comments below or email [email protected]. We'll update this article as more events are announced.