CRESCENDO Magazine’s 2025 Festival Guide
To celebrate the start of 2025, CRESCENDO Magazine has rounded up the best festivals to tick off your list this year.
Great Escape Festival
Brighton’s four-day Great Escape Festival, which hosts 450 bands across 35 venues, will return in 2025 with a lineup that includes performances from CATTY, Luvcat, Chloe Qisha, Laundromat Chicks, and RUBII.
Renowned as a hotspot for new music discovery, the festival is not one to miss– keep a look out over the coming months for the full lineup announcement.
Date: 14 – 17 May
Location: Brighton
Tickets: Available now
FOOTSTEPS
FOOTSTEPS, a new London multivenue festival, will bring its first edition to a swathe of independent venues across London. Spread across five days in May, the festival will celebrate music, art and community with performances from both emerging and iconic artists including Prima Queen, Home Counties, Lunar Vacation, John Roseboro, Honeyglaze and more.
Aiming to highlight the vital role of independent venues in London’s cultural scene, the acts will take to a number of London’s most loved music venues including Moth Club, Paper Dress Vintage, Scala, Islington Assembly Hall, and EartH Theatre.
With more shows to be announced, keep your eyes peeled for further announcements in the new year.
Date: 19 - 23 May
Location: London
Tickets: Available now
Wide Awake Festival
Taking over Brixton’s Brockwell Park, Wide Awake Festival’s sixth edition will feature headline sets from Kneecap, CMAT and Mercury Prize winners English Teacher, along with appearances from Nadine Shah, Warmduscher, Gurriers and more.
The one-day event, which will be the festival’s sixth edition, will take place on Friday 23 May, with more acts still to be announced.
Date: 23 May
Location: London
Tickets: Available now
Dot To Dot Festival
This year’s edition of Dot To Dot will see performances from headliners The Horrors, Fat Dog and Sprints, along with Big Special, Honeyglaze, Kate Bollinger, Låpsley and Nimino.
The multi-venue festival will bring a strong selection of musical talent to Bristol and Nottingham on May 24 and 25 this year. Having hosted artists such as Dua Lipa and Sam Fender throughout its 20-year history, Dot To Dot Festival is not one to miss.
Date: 24 – 25 May
Location: Bristol & Nottingham
Tickets: Available now
Mighty Hoopla
Renowned as one of London’s biggest LGBTQ+ festivals, Mighty Hoopla is set to bring another year of expressionism and celebration to London’s Brockwell Park.
This year’s edition will take place on Saturday 31 May and Sunday 1 June and will feature acts including Kesha, Ciara, Kate Nash, Pixie Lott, Loreen, Vengaboys, Mutya and Jamelia.
Also on the bill are Jojo, Erika Jayne, Tom Rasmussen and Girls Don’t Sync.
Date: 31 May – 1 June
Location: London
Tickets: Available now
Glastonbury Festival
In 2025, the world-famous Glastonbury Festival will take over Worthy Farm in Somerset from 25 to 29 June before taking a year off in 2026.
While its lineup is yet to be revealed, this year’s edition of the festival, which sold out within 35 minutes, is bound to be a good one, and there is still an opportunity to purchase tickets in the resale of cancelled or returned tickets in Spring 2025.
Around 210,000 people attended the festival last June, which featured performances from big names including Coldplay, Dua Lipa, SZA, and Shania Twain.
Date: 25 – 29 June
Location: Somerset
Tickets: Sold out
Truck Festival
Set to take place in Oxfordshire’s Hill Farm from 24 to 27 July, Truck Festival will be headlined this year by Kasabian, Courteeners, Bloc Party and Nothing But Thieves.
Also featured on the lineup are a collection of renowned and emerging artists, including Blossoms, The Last Dinner Party and Franz Ferdinand, as well as CMAT, The Big Moon, Natasha Bedingfield, Scouting For Girls, Moonchild Sanelly and Luvcat.
Date: 24 – 27 July
Location: Oxfordshire
Tickets: Available now
Kendal Calling
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Kendal Calling will return to Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District for another year celebrating the best in new and old music. Held from July 31 to August 3, the festival will welcome acts including The Prodigy, Courteeners, Fatboy Slim, and Kaiser Chiefs.
Other acts at the festival include The Last Dinner Party, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Scouting for Girls, The Lottery Winners, Corinne Bailey Rae, The K’s, Nieve Ella and The Big Moon.
Date: 31 July - 3 August
Location: Lake District
Tickets: Sold out
Green Man Festival
This year’s edition of Green Man Festival will take place from 14th to 17th August 2025 and is sure to bring another top-notch year of music, science and art to the Brecon Beacons in Wales.
First held in 2003, the 25,000-capacity festival has hosted a wide range of celebrated acts over the years, with past headliners including Mumford and Sons, The Flaming Lips, Self Esteem, Sleaford Mods and Sampha.
With the lineup yet to be announced, keep your eye out for further news in 2025.
Date: 14 – 17 August
Location: Brecon Beacons, Wales
Tickets: Sold out
All Points East Festival
Held over two weekends in London, All Points East will take over the city’s Victoria Park for another year. The festival’s first reveal of the year saw the Maccabees announce their headline date on Sunday August 24, which includes support slots from Bombay Bicycle Club, Dry Cleaning, The Cribs, Nilüfer Yanya, The Murder Capital, Divorce and Prima Queen. Their appearance at the festival will mark their first performance since 2016.
Another date will be headlined by Edinburgh-born DJ-producer Barry Can’t Swim, while Raye has been announced as the latest headliner for the festival’s 2025 edition, performing alongside Tyla, Doechii and Jade with many more to be announced.
Date: 15-17 August and 22-24 August
Location: London
Tickets: Available now
End Of The Road Festival
Held in Dorset’s Larmer Tree Gardens, End Of The Road brings together a selection of some of the best names across independent rock and folk music. Now in its 19th year, the festival has been celebrated for its genre-spanning lineups, which have featured acts including Future Islands, contemporary Irish folk group Lankum, Bristol punk band Idles and shoegaze legends Slowdive.
To be headlined by Caribou, Father John Misty, Self Esteem and Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, this year’s edition is set to be one of the festival’s best yet, promising punters a thrillingly diverse range of sounds, with artists spanning folk, jazz, electronic, rap, indie, and many more.
Date: 28 — 31 August
Location: Dorset
Tickets: Available now