Festivals in London All Points East This is not your usual festival but strings of events starting with three-day festival (May 25-27) and three jaw-dropping names acting as headliners: Björk, LCD Soundsystem and The xx. Boom. Then there’s the All Points East Presents series (June 1-3) – three one-day concerts led by three different acts. In between there are four days of community-driven entertainment on the site, with comedy, film screenings, street food and much more. Those four days are free to enter, with some ticketed events inside. Where: Victoria Park, South Hackney When: Friday May 25th - Sunday June 3rd 2018 We are FSTVL Over the last few years this festival has established itself as one of the best dance festivals. It’s not technically in London but in Essex, but still very popular with Londoners, as you can get there via Upminster tube. House and techno of all flavours are the main ingredients here but you find others too. Where: Damyns Hall Aerodrome , Corbets Tey When: Friday May 25th - Sunday May 27th 2018 Steel Yard London This successful piece from Creamfields returns for the third year to London, this time heading north to Finsbury Park which is pretty busy hosting most of London festivals this year. Once again, it’s all about the seriously big-name dance artists, with the headliners such as trance act Above & Beyond on the Saturday, and globe-conquering DJ Tiësto on the Sunday. Where: Finsbury Park, London Saturday May 26th - Sunday May 27th 2018 Gala This May bank holiday Sunday has a big focus on street food alongside the DJ-driven artists line- up – simply beats and eats. For 2018 it’s moving from Brockwell Park to Peckham Rye Park. The musical roster mixes house, disco and general good-time music. Where: Peckham Rye Park , London When: Sunday 27th of May 2018 Jam on Rye A new one-day music festival celebrates a sound system culture with a side order of jerk chicken. Expect a laid-back mix reggae, afrobeat and new wave jazz, while sizzling street food stalls offer everything from pizza and vegan tacos to ginger-beer battered nuggets and that’s the killer combination. Where: Peckham Rye Park, London When: Monday 28th of May 2018 Field Day Over the last decade Field Day has slowly become one of London’s very best music festivals, with a great cover of the world’s finest alternative acts. This year marks a big change for the event – for the first time in its history, it's leaving its east London home and heading south of the river to Brockwell Park. It looks like nothing has changed apart from its location. Where: Brockwell Park, Herne Hill When: Friday June 1st - Saturday June 2nd 2018 Hampton Court Palace Festival This open-air concert series in the lovely grounds of Hampton Court Palace offers a different take on the summer festival. Big acts such as Lionel Richie, the Beach Boys and Tom Jones will be crooning away to the night sky. Feeling posh? Upgrade your pre-gig picnic by hiring your own waterside gazebo! Where: Hampton Court Palace, London When: Tuesday June 5th - Saturday June 23rd 2018 Junction 2 Calling all techno fans: this emerging festival returns for 2018 and takes place in Boston Manor Park in Zone 4 which has never been used for a festival before. The initial line-up is full of top- grade underground house and techno from the likes of Nina Kraviz, Adam Beyer, Joy Orbison, Tale of Us, Scuba and Carl Cox and many more. Where: Boston Manor Park, Brentford When: Saturday June 9th 2018 Southport Weekender Festival The Southport Weekender is a bona fide dance music institution having thrown legendary parties for almost three decades. The team called it a day in 2015 but obviously missed the buzz. After a storming London debut last year, the crew is back for more in 2018, much to the delight of the city’s party goers. Where: Finsbury Park, London When: Saturday 9th of June 2018 British Summer Time: Roger Waters If you’re missing the enduring sound of Pink Floyd, Hyde Park is the place to get your fix this summer, as Roger Waters, the Floyd’s bassist, will be performing songs from some of the band’s biggest albums, including ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, ‘The Wall’, ‘Wish You Were Here’ and ‘Animals’ . Where: Hyde Park, Kensington When: Friday 6th of July 2018 British Summer Time: The Cure Robert Smith’s seminal gloom-pop combo is a rare treat indeed, though it is already sold out. It’s a safe bet that their fiercely loyal fans will get to hear all the hits: ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, ‘The Love Cats’, ‘Friday I’m In Love’, ‘Just Like Heaven’ and tons more. The band is also celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. Where: Hyde Park, Kensington When: Saturday 7th of July 2018 British Summer Time: Eric Clapton Mr Clapton returns to headline a night BST action with his blues-rock classics. He’s still got an army of fans who abide by the ‘Clapton is God’ slogan from back in the ’60s. He and his music just keep on going, and have in fact sold out the gig already (sorry to let you know). Where: Hyde Park, Kensington When: Sunday 8th of July 2018 Wireless Wireless returns to Finsbury Park for 2018 with a line-up that’s positively bulging with hip hop, R&B and grime talent – so good, it has unfortunately, sold out both weekend and day tickets. Three heavyweight names take the headline slots: J Cole on Friday, Stormzy on Saturday and DJ Khaled And Friends on Sunday. Where: Finsbury Park, London When: Friday July 6th - Sunday July 8th 2018 Lovebox Consistently one of the finest festivals in London, catering for cool kids and party monsters, Lovebox packs as much fun into two days as many festivals manage in three. After 13 years in east London’s Victoria Park, Lovebox is heading south for 2018, to Gunnersbury Park. It’s quite a change in location, but the music policy will no doubt remain the same eclectic, enticing mix of, well, everything really. Where: Gunnersbury Park, South Ealing When: Friday July 13th - Saturday July 14th 2018 Henley Festival The posh one: if you want to watch Grace Jones, Rita Ora or Nile Rodgers, you’ll need to don black tie. Yup, it’s a festival with a dress code – absolutely no wellies or sequined leotards here (presumably they make exceptions for Ms Jones). Taking place next to the river, Henley provides a self-consciously civilised setting for enjoying live pop, opera, comedy and lashings of Moet. There are proper sit-down restaurants on site too. A not-for-profit event, a proportion of the ticket price goes to charity: this year, the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust and the Teenage Wilderness Trust benefit. Where: Henley-on-Thames, London When: Wednesday July 11th - Sunday July 15th 2018 British Summer Time: Bruno Mars Bruno Mars’s silky sweet voice and mix of catchy tunes will get you going. There is no doubt that his BST headline spot should attract large crowds, most of whom will be swooning or singing along. Supporting so far is Khalid but more will be announced nearer the time. Where: Hyde Park, Kensington When: Saturday 14th of July 2018 Kaleidoscope Festival The mighty Alexandra Palace has a lot of strings to its cultural bow, and this year it’s adding another in the form of Kaleidoscope, a new one-day music and arts festival. We’re promised a ‘world where music, performance, theatre and comedy embrace in a collision of beautiful noise, brilliant ideas and brazen colour.’ Where: Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill When: Saturday July 21st 2018 51st State Festival This is one for the old school house party-goers. Returning for a fourth year in Trent Park – a country house estate in Cockfosters – this one-day festival honours all the wonderful varieties of house music across multiple stages hosted by top sound systems and club nights. The organisers have also said that they’re improving the site, going bigger on the production values and bringing in more street food traders. Where: Trent Park, Oakwood When: Saturday August 4th 2018 Eastern Electrics Premier dance festival Eastern Electrics returns to Morden Park in 2018 for some more southern-shaped electrics. The event moved there in 2017 after a few years in rural Hertfordshire, but managed to retain its multiple stages and world-class DJ roster. This year’s line-up should be just as enticing, judging by the stage partner announcements so far: Skream, Eats Everything, Ministry of Sound, Defected and Tropical Tea Party will all be hosting stages. Where: Morden Park, Lower Morden When: Saturday August 4th - Sunday August 5th 2018 South West Four The mighty SW4 – Clapham Common’s bank holiday dance music extravaganza – returns for another weekend of big drops, club anthems and arms in the air. If you’re longing for superstar DJs but can’t afford Ibiza and are loath to spend the last days of summer in a dark room, head to SW4 for your fix of big-room house, EDM, electro, techno and trance, as well as other genres creeping in from all angles. As ever, the line-up is teeming with globe-conquering names, the first few of which to be announced include Armin Van Buren, Dizzee Rascal, Marshmello, Chase & Status, Craig David, Andy C and more. Where: Clapham Common, London When: 24-26th of August 2018 .