Best festivals of 2019 around the UK: line-ups, dates and how to buy tickets

The music festival has become one of the most quintessential experiences of the British summer.

Exciting new events are popping up all over the country, with plenty to please fans of all genres.

Here’s a selection of some of the best festivals to head to in 2019:

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Latitude Festival

Organisers say Latitude in Suffolk is “more than a festival”. With DJs hiding in the woods, colourful sheep wandering the fields, lakeside opera and clowns, it might sound like a weird trip, but it’s very much kid-friendly with an area designed for children. George Ezra, Snow Patrol, Lana Del Rey and Underworld will feature alongside creative artists of all kinds.

Latitude takes place on 18-21 July, with tickets starting at £77.50 for adults and £10 for children, latitudefestival.com

Camp Bestival

Taking place in a beautiful English castle, Bestival is one of the most engaging and exhilarating festivals the UK has to offer. Dorset’s Lulworth Castle Estate plays host to the festival, featuring headline performances from Jess Glynne, The Human League, Sister Sledge, Annie Mac and Ash among many others. And if that’s not enough, Bestival also features an adventure centre and park, medieval jousting, face painting, comedy and poetry.

Camp Bestival takes place 25-28 July, with tickets starting at £65, festicket.com

Kendall Calling

A four-day music extravaganza at Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District, Kendall Calling is a firm fixture on the festival calendar. Among those topping the bill this year are Courteeners, Doves, Manic Street Preachers and Orbital.

Kendall Calling is on 25-28 July, with weekend passes from £148, kendallcalling.co.uk

Boardmasters Festival

Boardmasters at Fistral Beach and Watergate Bay in Newquay celebrates a diverse musical line-up, as well as sports, wellbeing and sustainability. It is known to attract professional athletes for its surfing, BMX, yoga and paddleboarding, with a range of activities open to all. Attendees party into the night and clean up the beach each morning. This year Florence + the Machine, Foals and Wu-Tang Clan are among the performers.

Boardmasters takes place on 7-11 August, with tickets starting at £69, boardmasters.com

Boomtown Chapter 11

With a vibrant atmosphere and extraordinary art design, Boomtown remains the ultimate celebration of the UK’s underground music and theatre scenes; a creative melting pot spread over five days just outside Winchester in Hampshire. With a diverse line-up that pushes boundaries of immersive art, this year’s festival looks set to be bigger and better than ever, featuring artists such as The Streets, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Chronixx and UB40.

Boomtown takes place on 7-11 August, with tickets starting at £83.50, boomtownfair.co.uk

Houghton Festival

One of the hottest dance music festivals in the country, Houghton debuted just two years ago in rural Norfolk, but has already become a staple of the electronic music lover’s calendar. It is certainly not for the faint-hearted; with a 24-hour licence to play music, the party never stops. There are also bound to be spontaneous back-to-back sets, so nobody knows the exact schedule in advance, but expect appearances from Ben UFO, Four Tet, DJ Stingray and Tama Sumo.

Houghton Festival takes place on 8-11 August, with weekend camping tickets starting at £187, festicket.com

Green Man

Taking place on the picturesque Glanusk Estate in the Brecon Beacons, Green Man is the largest music festival in Wales. Father John Misty and Four Tet will be headlining, with anthemic US singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten also making an appearance.

Green Man takes place on 15-18 August, with weekend tickets from £189, greenman.net

Creamfields

With immersive stages, light shows and pyrotechnics, the village of Daresbury in Cheshire will transform into the UK’s biggest dance music festival this August bank holiday weekend. There are stages devoted to house, EDM, techno, drum and bass, trance and grime, while this year’s line-up includes 300 artists, from Swedish House Mafia and Martin Garrix to deadmau5 and Calvin Harris.

Creamfields takes place on 23-25 August, with non-camping tickets starting at £85, creamfields.com

Reading Festival

While it no longer exclusively caters to the indie rock kids, Reading is still one of the UK’s most famous rock music festivals. Over the years it has hosted the likes of The Rolling Stones and The Who, but more recently the mix of genres spans hip-hop, techno, house and more. This year’s line-up includes The 1975, Post Malone, Twenty One Pilots, Bastille and Billie Eilish.

Reading Festival takes place on 23-25 August, with day tickets starting at £69, readingfestival.com