By Emily King
Spring is here and it's time to break out the camping gear, take a week off work, and enjoy some of the world's most unique Spring Music Festivals!
(1) Budapest Spring Festival, Hungary
The largest cultural event in Hungary features the best classical, opera, jazz, and folk music from around the country for this 10-day festival. Venues are spread out across Budapest, so this musical event is a great way to both enjoy the unique sounds of Hungary and see much of the city at the same time.
(2) Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, Pilton, England
Rock, dance, folk, and punk take the stage at this outdoor festival in Pilton, England. The event covers over 900 acres, 80 stages, and 700 performances and has won many “Best Festival” awards for past years. Attendance ranges from 100,000-250,000 concert-goers. Every four or five years the festival takes a year off--unfortunately travelers will have to wait until 2013 to enjoy this legendary event.
Past acts include Radiohead, David Bowie, and R.E.M. and the line-up for next year’s event is sure to be very impressive since the staff have had an extra summer to plan!
http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/
(3) Sónar, Barcelona, Spain; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Tokyo, Japan; Cape Town, South Africa
Three days and three nights of performances in advanced electronic music, DJ sessions, and multimedia art make up this touring festival. The event is held in four cities around the world and has featured cutting-edge experimental artists like Cornelius, Aphex Twin, and Animal Collective.
(4) New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Encapsulating the music styles of New Orleans is a large endeavor, and this festival does it. Performances range from blues, contemporary and traditional jazz, R&B, Cajun, gospel, Caribbean, folk, rap, country, and zydeco to every mish-mash in between. This year’s musical line-up includes Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles, the Foo Fighters, John Mayer, Florence and the Machine, Bon Iver, Bonnie Raitt, and Fiest in the massive list of artists. Visit New Orleans April 27th-May 6th to catch the music and see the sites!
(5) INmusic Festival, Zagreb, Croatia
Held on Youth Island in Lake Jarun, the INmusic festival has rapidly become Croatia’s largest open-air festival. The beautiful location and genre-specific stages (including indie rock, metal, and electronic) make this event worth the trip. With bands like Franz Ferdinand and The Cranberries headlining this year, be sure to check out one of Europe’s favorite festivals this June.
