Music Festivals in Europe

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Download Festival

So many great festivals await us this summer through out whole Europe, and the question is which one to go to? Well, it all depends on the kind of music you like to listen to, of course. Yet if you are a rock n roll, hard rock, metal, goth, electronic or indie fan you will certainly find the UK's Download Festival a great fun.

Download Festival takes place every year, usually on the second weekend of June. It is a festival of awesome proportions, with some of the biggest names in rock & metal world. Every year, 8o,000 tickets are sold for this event. It takes place at Donnington Castle on the ground of an infamous track.

There are usually several stages, allowing visitors to move from one stage to another, depending on which bands they want to see. The line-up is one of the best during the festival season, with a great variety of rock & metal, including many sub-genres.

The first Download Festival was held on the 31st of May and 1 June 2003. The headliners were Iron Maiden and Audioslave.

So many famous musicians and bands from all over the world can't wait to play for their loyal fans on this huge festival in the UK. If you like to be surrounded by thousands of people who share the same interest in music as you do, sing with them, drink the best beer and just give in to the beats of a good rock n roll gig, then Download is what you need! It's time to pack your stuff and flee to England. Donnington, here we come!

Provinssirock, Finland

If your plans are to visit Finland and some of many great festivals there, the Provinssirock festival is one of the best solutions, especially if you're a rock music fan! It is held every summer in the western part of Finland, in a town called Seinäjoki.It is a two days long pleasure filled with music in a beautiful forest.

Artist come from all over the world to play, but there are some local band, as well. This year's attractions are the worldwide famous bands System of a down and Pendulum. As the Finnish bands are concerned, you can see many more or less popular ones, with my personal favourite, Kotiteollisuus. As this festival is growing more heard of, every year more visitors arrive. So, if you want to enjoy some good music and relaxed in a beautiful nature of Finland, Provinssirock is the right place for you!

To get your tickets and find out some more, check the official website.
http://www.provinssirock.fi/etusivu_en

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Fête de la Musique, France

Held every June 21 nationwide, the Fête de la Musique, or Music Festival, is practically a national holiday. From morning to, well, the next morning, From Paris to Perpignan and everywhere in between, you can barely pass a street corner without hearing music, whether live or being spun by a DJ.

There are huge concerts by the leading names in rock. There are wrinkled old men playing accordions outside cafés. Cool jazz singers with a bass accompaniment. String quartets. Traditional French folk music. Enough reggae to shame Jamaica. And, of course, food and wine are available from bars, cafés and restaurants that have tables set outside their premises.

The big cities have more to do and see during Fête de la Musique, while the smaller towns have a stronger mix of traditional and modern music. If you have the chance to be in France on this day, you have to take part in this wonderful celebration of the start of summer, the joy of music, and the pride of a nation.

For more information, visit the official site:

http://www.fete-musique.net/

http://goparis.about.com/od/events/p/Fete_Musique.htm

Festival de Nîmes, France

The Nîmes Arena is the best preserved amphitheater of the Roman era. Throughout the centuries it has seen action as a Roman theater, a fortress, a chapel, a bullring, and since 1997, as the venue for an epic series of summer concerts.

Festival de Nimes takes place throught the entire month of July and attracts the likes of Metallica, Placebo, Noir Désir, Ben Harper, David Bowie, The Cure, Compay Segundo, Depeche Mode and Rammstein to its ancient stage. Musicians feel how special the venue is and it tends to shine through in the performance.

This year we’ll see everyone from Supertramp to Sting to Santana, and dozens more. The big shows are in the fantastic Arènes de Nîmes, a Roman-era coliseum that is still in use today; check out Metallica’s most recent concert DVD to get a load of what an evocative venue it is. Catching your favorite band echo off the Roman stone is a memory that will last a lifetime.

For more information, visit the official site:
http://www.festivaldenimes.com/

Related videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l8blaF1VyU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV2gcPFwLow

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Are you ready for celebration of Lá Fhéile Pádraig?

Or to be more precise, St. Patrick's Day, St. Paddy's Day or St.Patty's Day! You are right! This time all roads lead to Ireland! Each year on 17th March this holiday is celebrated and it represents an important part of Irish history. Thanks to St.Patrick, a significant music festival is held and it takes place in Limerick city. This internationally recognized festival has been going strong for over 30 years and plays host to marching bands, concert bands, drill & dance teams, and choirs from Ireland, Europe, and around the world. It's a wonderful opportunity to see the glory of historic Ireland and perform with bands, choirs and teams from around the world! Fun guaranteed!

The official site:
http://www.limerick.ie/stpatricksfestival/

Related video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqqehfbqFPs

Metaltown, Gothenburg

Metaltown is a two-day festival at the harbour pier of Gothenburg, Sweden. The metal capital of the world! The next festival will take place June 17-18, 2011.

Regarding the history, the Metaltown festival saw its first light in the summer of 2004 as one-day event with 5,000 visitors the opening year and 14 playing bands in total, including Alice Cooper, Turbonegro, Edguy and In Flames. Since then Metaltown has been growing constantly, hosting bands like Tool, Motörhead, Cradle Of Filth, Slayer, Machine Head, Rammstein, Mastodon and many more. In summer of 2009 Metaltown had 22 000 visitors (sold out) and 32 bands on stage.

This year you may listen to System of a down, Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Bring Me The Horizon, All That Remains, Parkway Drive, Cradle Of Filth, Arch enemy, The Black Dahlia Murder, Soilwork, All The Gates and a lot groups more... It surely can't be missed!

Official site: http://www.metaltown.se/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E45FU7Hv6Bk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cowcD3qxVAU

Øyafestivalen, Oslo

The Øyafestivalen in Oslo is a major music event in Norway that offers an amazing line-up of internationally known rock and indie bands, singers, and other performers! This annual event takes place in August and without any doubt this is one of the "can't-miss" events when you're flying to Oslo.

Øyafestivalen is an annual Norwegian music festival held in Middelalderparken (lit. the Medieval Park), Oslo. It has grown quickly since its modest start in 1999 with an audience of 1000 people in one day, and has now become one of Norway's biggest festivals.

The festival area in Middelalderparken consists of four main stages (Sjøsiden, Enga, Vika, Odden). More than 80 bands played in the park in 2009. Featuring musicians likeSonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, babyshambles and Franz Ferdinand, the festival currently draws an audience of approximately 60,000 people. The first two years, the festival was held on Kalvøya, near Sandvika just outside of Oslo. After the two initial years, Øyafestivalen was moved to Middelalderparken, downtown Oslo, making it more of a central festival. The festival lasts for four days in Middelalderparken. These days are preceded by a club night where the festival holds concerts in more or less all of Oslo's central clubs.