Weekends like this are a beacon of light in darkening times. . . Supersonic is a gem, don’t take it for granted.

Roadburn’s real magic isn’t always the obvious picks — it’s the under-the-radar sets: strange, heavy, danceable, confrontational, and impossible to neatly label. Show up curious, roam freely, and let a random room change your weekend.

Ripcord Fest comes to an end on an undeniable high. As a celebration of the label and of British heavy music as a whole, it’s a triumph; but even beyond that, it’s been a joyful occasion. People have undoubtedly discovered new bands, plenty have made new friends, and it feels like an entire community has chipped in to make the day worth remembering.

What this festival has grown in terms of community and open-to-anything gig-goers is bigger than any line-up, subjective opinions on music and new-year fatigue. It is a music-lovers’ event in the truest sense of the word and needs commending for that – we need more festivals like it.

Do yourself a favour: make space for Cosmic Vibration in your own plans for 2026.

Bear Stone is a liminal zone where only the best values of the outside world still apply. When the sun’s out, it’s beach vibes all day; when it goes down, the trees seem to close in and create a fairy glade where real magic and pleasant madness can occur. 

More so than any other festival I’ve been to, ATG feels like a big old party. But one where everyone is lovely and on the same wavelength, and I’m not going to spend most of it riffling through the host’s bookshelf waiting for it to end. And a party where you can legit listen to weird prog one minute, ultra-dissonant hardcore the next, and still get away with “dancing”.  

My first-ever music festival was Download 2016, affectionately known as “#Drownload.” With memories of the apocalyptic weather of that event fresh in my mind, I was somewhat apprehensive about attending ArcTanGent (ATG) 2025. Fortunately, I need not have worried. . .

Supersonic is the most forward-thinking and open minded-festival in the UK by far, and long may this continue. With only good vibes, and an eclectic gathering of artists and musicians from all across the globe converging on Birmingham, there is something for everyone. . .

Friday starts later and Sunday is usually a little more mellow (until The Bug anyway), but Saturday is the overstuffed filling in the festival sandwich – a ridiculous but delicious feast.

Battling mounting odds, and the encroaching horde of dead-eyed money men, the Supersonic crew keep the torches burning for the experimental and the just plain weird. Despite continuing venue difficulties, 2025’s edition of the festival was as great as ever, a defiant celebration of musical exploration and the shared magic of performance.

David Bowes looks forward to the 3rd edition of Glasgow’s Core. Festival, 2025’s edition will be a treat for anyone who likes their music loud, in-your-face and socially conscious.

Friends! Comrades! Brothers and sisters! Supersonic Festival 2025 hastens towards us, a tasty samosa in one hand and an overloaded sackful of musical adventure in the other.

Echoes and Dust heavy music editor Sander van den Driesche was at this year’s Roadburn Festival, and he finally found some time to write about his experiences.

ArcTanGent Festival, famous for its eclectic, dazzling line-ups as much as its relaxed and fun atmosphere, kicks off its 2025 edition on Wednesday 13 August and Joe Norman and Nick Dunn will be there for every minute of it. (It’s a hard assignment, but someone had to do it!)

Welcome to Bear Stone Festival: a liminal zone where only the best values of the outside world still apply. When the sun’s out, it’s beach vibes all day; when it goes down, the trees seem to close in and create a fairy glade where real magic and pleasant madness can occur. It might well be the best festival I’ve attended.

Bear Stone Festival is a psych, stoner, desert rock festival set in the idyllic surrounds of Donje Primišlje, a village in Central Croatia. And it’s difficult to imagine a more perfect location to spend three days enjoying this kind of music.

Once again, twelve years down the line, Desertfest still delivers a wonderful weekend, balancing the safe, solid and predictable with plenty of surprises along the way. And it’s one of the few festivals to which I know I’ll be returning next year regardless of line-up: the atmosphere is that good.  

Has it been a good weekend? Hell, yes! Has it been ‘tenth anniversary special’ good? Yes, I believe it has. Lots of good new bands, and some quality returnees. It’s hard to see how it could have been better. Stewart and the team have, I think, outdone themselves this year.

You always come away from FOCUS Wales thinking how on earth can they top that yet every year the organisers find new ways to keep the festival growing. It’s quite simply one of the best festivals out there right now. Until next year!

Chaos Theory Music, the London-based promoters, are celebrating fifteen years of curating “new music for open minds” by bringing together a suitably eclectic selection of bands to fill the sacred subterranean chambers of the Camden Underworld on this unseasonably hot winter day. It’s the second day of their big annual bash, which kicked off last weekend at Signature Brew in Walthamstow.