The UK music festival 2022 season is upon us and the weather is hotting up. Glastonbury aside, there are still plenty of tickets for everything listed below, so whether you desire a thrummed lute in a shady dingle or larging it hard in a grime tent, let Travel Begins at 40 music critic Robert Spellman’s UK Music festival 2022 guide take you to that ideal place.
UK Music Festival 2022 Guide
All Points East at Victoria Park, London
August 19-28
A very respectable six days of live music coming up at this Tower Hamlets jolly. Last year’s big cancellation Kraftwerk beam in as headliners on the 20 August, while the Gorillaz, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, The National, Tame Impala and Disclosure fill the other top slots. Other highlights include Anna Calvi, Sleaford Mods, Femi Kuti and Fleet Foxes.
See: allpointseastfestival.com
Big Feastival at Kingham, Oxfordshire
August 26-28
Hosted by Blur bassist Alex James at his Cotswolds farm and now in its 11th year. This family friendly event offers great food, comedy, kids’ activities and some big names of a pop bent. On stage: The Human League, Sugababes, Jake Bugg, Basement Jaxx, Gabrielle, Stereophonics, The Futureheads, Matilda Mann, Annie-Marie and more.
See: thebigfeastival.com
BST Hyde Park, London
June 25-July 10
Grimly expensive ticketing and the beer’s dire but hopefully The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Eagles, Duran Duran, Pearl Jam and Adele will make up for it. Although not on the same day.
See: bst-hydepark.com/
Cambridge Folk Festival, Cherry Hinton Hall
July 28-31
Old hippies, academics and lovers of real ale and rootsy music rejoice, Cambrige Folk Festival is back after last year’s miserable cancellation. Seasick Steve, Suzanne Vega, Passenger, Gipsy Kings, Billy Bragg, Clannad and Orchestra Baobab make up and nice strong bill. (See our preview of the Cambridge Folk Festival).
See: cambridgelive.org.uk
Camp Bestival
Dorset: July 28-31
Shropshire: August 18-21
The presentation is hippy-lite but the billing always expansive. There are two Camp Festivals this year, Dorset for July and Shropshire for August, and some acts play both events. Only at Dorset are Sister Sledge, Kool and The Gang, David Rogidan, Razorlight and Snapped Ankles, while Shropshire boasts Fatboy Slim, 808 State, EMF, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Dreadzone and reggae legend Sister Nancy.
See: campbestival.net/
Cropredy near Cropredy village, Oxfordshire
August 11-13
Last year’s cancelled festival appears to have been mapped on to this. So it’s the Trevor Horn Band and Clannad leading the charge on Thursday, followed by Genesis’ Steve Hackett and Turin Breaks on Friday. True to custom, Richard Thompson and Fairport are Saturday night’s entertainment. The environs are lush and the real ale floweth.
Deer Shed Festival at Baldersby Park, North Yorkshire
July 29-31
There’s all sorts going on at this Yorkshire party: circus acts, science demonstrations, literary and spoken word tents, comedy, theatre, cinema, kids stuff galore and some great music. Django Django, Dry Cleaning, Snapped Ankles, Nadine Shah, John Grant, Yard Act and Billy Nomates are just some on the acts.
See: deershedfestival.com
End of The Road at Larmer Tree Gardens, Wiltshire
September 1-4
Serious indie and alt-dance shindig now into its 17th year, EOTR is the place to hear the greats and experience the cutting edge of rock, electronic and dance. This year’s headliners are the Pixies, Fleet Foxes, Bright Eyes and Khruangbin. Coming up the rear: Kurt Vile, The Magnetic Fields, Aldous Harding, the Battles and well over 200 others.
Glastonbury, global livestream event
Sold out, of course, but you can catch it on television. The big bookings this year are Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish, Robert Plant and Alison Kraus, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Diana Ross and Kendrick Lamar.
Tickets on sale now at: glastonburyfestivals.co.uk
Grace Jones’ Meltdown, Southbank Centre, London
June 10-19
Her Grace curating this year and featuring Adrian Sherwood, Peaches, Cut Hands, Angelique Kidjo, Desire Marea, Dry Cleaning, Skunk Anansie, Baaba Maal, Hot Congotronics and the great lady herself.
Isle of Wight Festival at Seaclose Park, Newport
June 16-19
Mid-June festival with a legendary past. Lewis Capaldi, Madness, Nile Rogers and Chic, Sigrid, Kasabian, Mavis Staples, UB40 and The Vaccines strut their stuff this year. (Read our preivew of the Isle of Wight Festival).
Kendal Calling at Lowther Deer Park, Cumbria
July 28-31
With its Lake District setting, Kendal Calling is one of the UK’s most picturesque music weekends. This year it’s Stereophonics, Supergrass, The Kooks, Bastille, The Wombats, 808 State, Scouting For Girls, The Cribs and more – a lot more.
See: kendalcalling.co.uk
Love Supreme at Glynde Place, East Sussex
July 1-3
Jazz, soul and funk get-together where organisers stress “the music comes first”. So it’s another deadly line-up: Erykah Dadu, TLC, Gregory Porter, Sister Sledge, Candi Staton, Ethiopian jazz don Mulatu Astatke, Charles Lloyd and the Marvels, The Brand New Heavies, Sons of Kemet and Gary Bartz all feature.
Moovin Festival, Etherow Country Park, Stockport
August 27-29
Superb dance-oriented bank holiday weekend event starring Orbital, Roy Ayers, Louie Vega, Sugarhill Gang, Jungle Brothers, Sister Nancy, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mad Professor, Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, Grandmaster Melle Mel and Scorpio and a whole lot more.
See: moovinfestival.com
The Notting Hill Carnival, London
August 27-29
Needs no introduction. Very welcome return for London’s most important musical and cultural get-together always thrown over the August bank holiday weekend. (Read our preview of the Notting Hill Carnival).
Splendour at Wollaton Park, Nottingham
July 23-24
It’s to Nottingham for this two-dayer. Richard Ashcroft, Supergrass, Razorlight, The Human League, Anne-Marie, Ocean Colour Scene, Belinda Carlisle, Happy Mondays, Sleeper, The Magic Numbers and The Selecter make for an excellent line-up.
Standon Calling, Hertfordshire
July 21-24
No-nonsense festival with some great acts and DJs. Primal Scream, Sugababes, Madness, Sleaford Mods, Sigrid, Declan McKenna, Craig David and Basement Jaxx are among this year’s bookings.
See: standon-calling.com
Victorious Festival, Portsmouth
August 26-28
Esteemed gathering neatly sandwiched between the seaside and the town. This year: Suede, Paolo Nutini, Sam Fender, The Libertines, Bombay Bicycle Club, James, Anna Calvi, Primal Scream, Ocean Colour Scene, Kula Shaker and The Subways will entertain you.
Womad at Charlton Park, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
July 28-31
40th anniversary of the daddy of UK world music festivals and what a line-up to celebrate. The Flaming Lips, A Certain Ratio, Sugarhill Gang & the Furious Five, Osibisa, The Selecter, Gilberto Gil and Family, Kae Tempest, Lianne La Havas, Nitin Sawhney, The Dhol Foundation, Fantastic Negrito and numberless acts from around the globe – on stages, in tents, in fields and in glades. (Read our preview of Womad).
See: womad.co.uk/