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.
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
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
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
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
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)
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
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
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
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
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?
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
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
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.
