New festivals you should really consider checking out this summer

How’s festival season going? Have the people you know stopped going on and on and on and on about Glastonbury yet? If you went, have you stopped going on about Glastonbury (we forgive you!)? But what’s next? You know the big hitters, sure, All Points East, Reading and Leeds, Wireless – all are wonderful places to go. But just in case you fancy a wander, a bit of a stroll down a lesser worn track, why not consider some new festivals?

Discovering new artists, new vibes, and new like minded people who have also had the proactivity to look beyond their horizons (and perhaps even consult this same very page!!) as you, are all clear reasons to check out something different, but also newer, emerging festivals are often game-changing, innovative, and actually, relatively affordable.

Whether it’s something like Timber Festival which has paired up with the National Trust to make a green experience, or it’s Body Movements, an all-out good time for and by queer bodies in electronic music. You’ll leave the festival with (some post-festival blues maybe, but also) a new sense of the music you love, the communities you care about, and less of an overdraft. Winning.

Interested? You bet! Here’s a selection of the best new festivals to keep an eye out for in festival season 2023.

Rally

Presented by the people behind GALA and Bird On The Wire, this London-based festival has turned the heads of basically everyone in and around the electronic scene. Taking place on August 5 in Southwark Park, the festival is a "celebration of London’s music and arts communities." Artists include Princess Nokia, OK Williams, Erika de Casier, Kelly Lee Owens, Obongjayar, woo's very own former art director Kemarr doing a b2b with James Massiah, and more! Tickets are £40, and they’re running low, so act swiftly.

To become part of the rally, head to rallyrallyrally.co.uk

Body Movements

Queer bodies in electronic music. What more do you need to know? Body Movements is taking place on July 29 across no less than 16 venues in Hackney Wick, east London (accessible via overground and just a walkable stop away from Stratford). There’ll be over 100 artists from across the clubbing spectrum, so you’ll absolutely find something you never knew you needed in your life. Turn up for a fave and stay at the venue all day, bounce around everywhere, up to you! The current wave of tickets starts from £63.40 though there are also pay it forward tickets priced at £75.00 plus booking fees. These pay it forward tickets help to subsidise their low income community tickets, and all tickets include a £1 donation to London Trans Pride. Collectives and artists include woo astrologer (and incredible DJ) Manuka Honey, NSFW, Animistic Beliefs, Biianco, and soooo many more.

To move your body, head to bodymovements.co.uk

Connect

One of the best and freshest festies on the Edinburgh block is Connect, which takes place from August 25 - 27 at the Royal Highland Showgrounds. ideal for making a long weekend out of the already pretty long bank holiday weekend. Connect has four pillars to touch base with: music, comedy, art, wellbeing. On the music side of things, it’s giving indie (and Scottish!). Primal Scream and Franz Ferdinand are waving the flag for bangers and nation, other notables include Jockstrap, Confidence Man, and Future Islands. And as suggested, music is just the beginning! Single day tickets start from £74.25.

To feel that musical connection, head to connectmusicfestival.com

Forwards

A new but low-key massive addition to the festival scene down in Bristol, where people know how to have a good time when it comes to music. Taking place on Bristol Downs this September 1 and 2, there’ll be three stages, and honestly it’s very Field Day vibes (you could go to both, but if Field Day sounds amazing yet you can’t get into London, well here!) Headliners include Erykah Badu, Bonobo, and Aphex Twin. We really needn’t say more, but we can! There’s a lot of emerging music from Briz’ and beyond. There’s also great sustainability credentials too. Day tickets come in at £68.14 before booking fees.

To push your musical discovery forwards, head to forwardsbristol.co.uk .

Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope isn’t super super new, but it is newer than most London festivals and lesser-known. Kaleidoscope takes place in the grandiose Alexandra Palace Park on July 15 and leans indie with this year’s headliners being Hot Chip. There’s also has a fringe stage where Nina Conti takes the top spot. Alongside all this, there’s Victorian Basements which is a truly beautiful place to spend a day listening to tunes. Tickets are £67.95.

To feel like a toy containing mirrors and pieces of coloured glass which reflects constantly changing patterns or sequences of elements, head to kaleidoscope-festival.com

Cloud X

You’ll find Cloud X at south-east London’s Beckenham Park on August 20. The new festival aims to curate an inclusive space for the next generation of pioneering creatives, and the focus musically spans soul, R&B, and other alternative MOBO styles of music. So if you’re looking for the next big thing among these areas, you’ll want to descend upon Cloud X. Samm Henshaw, Col3trane, and Saint Levant are on the bill, just to give you a little vibe check. Tickets are £42.64.

To enter the clouds, head to cloudxfestival.com

Green Island

On July 29 and September 9, Hulme Community Garden Centre, Manchester blossoms into something quite special: a festival! Specifically, this is a community-based festival right in a beautiful paradise-feeling garden. There’s a wide range of artists across both days which you likely don’t know and will come to appreciate very much. Besides, the real selling point is this lovely low-key experience among nature. The sort of festival you’ll want to gatekeep a little, especially when tickets start from £12.50!

To escape to Green Island, head to greenislandfestival.co.uk.

Nowadaze

Another recent-ish very good, lesser-known festival is Timber. There’s four categories of things going on here: music, art, ideas, and forest! But this also includes wellness, theatre, film, workshops where you can learn new skills and more. This year everyone who arrives by bike, foot, or public transport can get a green wristband which allows you 10% off merch and select onsite offerings. That’s merely the beginning of the closeness you’ll feel to the environment here. The music is a varied affair from post-punk Welsh mythology band Sisters Wives to folk pop Keston Cobblers Club. Tickets for the whole weekend are £181.90.

To fall under nature’s spell, head to timberfestival.org.uk.

Maiden Voyage

To those who know, it’ll seem crazy that this festival organised by Camden’s Jazz Cafe is still less than five years old, but it is. Jazz, RnB, electronic, and all things between coalesce here for a day festival packed with artists you’ll appreciate having discovered. Maiden Voyage takes place from midday on Saturday August 27 - aka bank holiday weekend - in Lee Valley Park, which is in very very north-east London (like beyond Epping Forest), but it’s accessible by train and very worth your time. This year there’s a brand new stage called ‘Unfold’ all the acts playing the stage are currently a secret, unless the one confirmed act on the stage is genuinely called ‘???????????????’, that is. Tickets start from a super reasonable £45.00 (plus booking fees).

To join the ship, click through to maiden-voyage.co.uk.