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NorthSide
Aarhus, Denmark —
June 13-15
Leaving western Europe behind, pack your bags for a trip up north to Denmark, where NorthSide music festival has taken place each summer since 2010. It’s grown as a competitor to another major Danish festival, Roskilde, which takes place on an island located between Denmark and Sweden. Last year, NorthSide sold 25,000 tickets. Organizers expanded the festival from two to three days this year to accommodate the abundance of artists and fans attending. The festival focuses on innovation and sustainability as well as art and music, and it’s the second largest music festival in Denmark.
Aarhus has more of a cultural draw than just NorthSide. While in the city on the eastern coast of Denmark, take advantage of the growng art scene. The biggest attraction right now? A colored walkway on top of the ARoS museum that gives visitors a 360-degree view of the city below. The museum itself was modeled after Dante’s Inferno, and major artists like James Turrell have contributed pieces to re-envision Dante’s nine circles of Inferno. Sculptures, installations and galleries dot the city, offering inspirational and controversial pieces to audiences. It’s a progressive art scene thanks to NorthSide’s diverse approach to music combined with all types of art pushing the boundaries in the city.
Glastonbury
Pilton, UK — June 25-29
The festivals you’ve seen so far are all fairly young, attempting to carve a space in various cities for music. But in Europe, there is an equivalent of America’s Woodstock, a festival that stands in history as a foundation for music festivals: Glastonbury. Often viewed as setting the template for major music festivals, the 5-day festival takes place on Worthy Farm in Pilton. The farm expands over 900 acres, and people speculate that King Arthur is buried somewhere on the grounds, grounds where festivalgoers camp during the festival. The festival started in 1970 after the death of Jimi Hendrix, with 1,500 people attending the first official Glastonbury festival. Only 1,500 people attended the original Glastonbury. 118,000 people attended the festival juslast year alone. The festival features a main stage — the Pyramind Stage — and another stage literally called “The Other Stage”. The third stage — the John Peel stage — stands under a tent. But don’t let only three stages fool you, the farm grounds contain much more than music, with 21 designated “areas” on the fairgrounds. These include the Acoustic Field, showcasing unplugged talent; the Strummerville campfire, honoring Joe Strummer of The Clash; and Shangri-la, the location of Glastonbury’s after-hours nightlife scene.
The long history of the festival means it draws the biggest acts. Headlining last year: The Rolling Stones, Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, Bastille, Arctic Monkeys, Of Monsters and Men — the list goes on and on, with historically famous bands mixing with the freshest artists of today. Glastonbury developed the “camping” atmosphere of a music festival found at American events like Bonnaroo. But why stick with attending the repeats when you can have a chance to go to the original? Maybe because you might not score tickets —the mothership of music festivals sells out fast, like, under 24-hours fast.
FEATURE