London is magical in the summer, not only can you take advantage of some fantastic beer gardens in London but also there are a choice of stunning rooftop bars to enjoy al fresco drinking in the heart of London. As well as the buzzy outside drinking culture that takes the capital by storm, there are also a number of London summer events, from dance festivals, to jazz festivals, to indie festivals to festivals for kids...everything you could want.
I have hand-picked below (in chronological order) my top picks for summer festivals in London 2011. Whether you are looking for day festivals, weekend festivals or festivals sppread over several venues, I have them all here for you! So sit back, scroll down and let me help plan your summer in London.
London Summer Festivals 2011
Stag And Dagger
Thurs May 19th - Various Shoreditch bars and clubs
London night festival from 7pm
This is one of the newer London night festivals, spanning various different venues accross the Shoreditch bar scene. This really is the "trendy" festival if ever I've seen one! Their focus is on music and visual art. Confirmed artists are indie big hitters, New Young Pony Club; Brit punk originals, Wire; beautifully voiced Anita Blay (aka Cocknbullkid) and many others including Ghostpoet, Banjo or Freakout, D/R/U/G/S and Fiction.
Price: £12.50
Further Info: www.staganddager.com
Best bar close-by for pre/post-drinks: Zigfrid Von Underbelly
LED
Sat June 11th - Victoria Park, London E9 7BT
London day/night festival from 1pm
LED has fast become one of the best one day dance festivals in London and indeed the UK. I would term it as the one day Creamfields in London! There are no average DJs on the bill here and Victoria Park is turned into one huge dancefloor. This year you can expect: Deadmau5, Mark Ronson, Calvin Harris, Jaguar Skills, Netsky, Zane Low, DJ Hype and many more.
Price: £42 (£90 VIP)
Further Info: www.ledfestival.net
Best bar close-by for pre/post-drinks: Apples and Pears
Southern Sounds
Sat June 11th - Clapham Common, Windmill Drive, London SW4 9DE
London day festival
Sponsored by huge Australian magazine TNT, this festival has a very Australian / Southern Hemisphere flavour to it so expect plenty of Aussies, Kiwis and South Africans flooding the vast Clapham Common. Expect a mixture of rock and DJs over the three different arenas. Headlining are INXS, with their first London show for 4 years and Shihad who are New Zealand's biggest band, having supported AC/DC. Also enjoy, Just Jinger (South Africa's biggest rock band ever), DJ Yoda, Krafty Kuts, Adam Freeland, Goldfish and many more.
Price: £35-40
Further Info: www.southernsoundsfestival.com
Best bar close-by for pre/post-drinks: The Frog
Sunsets over revellers at Southern Sounds Festival
Get Loaded In The Park
Sun 12th June - Clapham Common, Windmill Drive, London SW4 9DE
London day festival
Get Loaded In The Park can be compared to a very mini Glatsonbury as it is one of the best indie day festivals with some big name acts. It has 3 arenas dotted around the Clapham Common site. Headliners are Razorlight, Noisettes, The Cribs and British Sea Power. Also look out for the enigmatic Patick Wolf and Los Campesinos! If you like a bit of Indie but don't want to brave Glastonbury or other weekend indie festivals then Get Loaded is definitely the best London has to offer.
Price: £37.50
Further Info: www.getloadedinthepark.com
Best bar close-by for pre/post-drinks: Venn St. Records
Razorlight to headline Get Loaded in The Park
London Feis
Sat 18th - Sun 19th June - Finsbury Park, London N4
London weekend festival
London will go Gaelic with some big name headliners in rock, folk & pop alongside the cream of Irish music talent today at London Feis (pronounced Fesh). The Irish music festival will be celebrating 21 years of the best Irish and International music over a summer weekend in North London. Two headliners are the iconic Bob Dylan and Van Morisson. As well as this you will hear Thin Lizzy, Jimmy Cliff, The Cranberries, Brian Kennedy and Chirsty Moore as well as many many more!
Price: £120 (weekend) / £70 (Saturday) / £60 (Sunday)
Further Info: www.londonfeis.com
Best bar close-by for pre/post-drinks: Barrio Norte
ITunes Festival London 2011
Fri 1st - Sun 31st July - The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8EH
London monthly festival
ITunes festival has 31 nights, 62 artists all in 1 venue every night at the iconic venue, The Roundhouse in London's Camden. The artists you can expect are Adele, Paul Simon, Linkin Park, Jessie J, White lies, The Wanted, Duran Duran, Noah & The Whale, Chase & Status and 53 more! The best thing about ITunes Festival is that tickets are free. All you have to do is visit their website and apply for tickets for your favourite artists.
Price: Free
Further Info: www.itunesfestival.com
Best bar close-by for pre/post-drinks: The Lock Tavern
Summer Season at Somerset House
Thurs 7th - Sun 17th July - Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
London monthly festival
Somerset House is the most beautiful outside venue in London; with a stage set up in the inner-courtyard and as the sun dips behind this iconic building and the lighst come on, the majesty and magic of this live music venue really hits home. If you haven't yet been to a gig at Someset House I would say it is a must this summer - one of my favourite sumemrtime activities in London. So who is playing? Eels, Stornoway, Professor Green, Blondie, Imelda May, Lamb, Ellie Goulding, My Morning Jacket and more...
Price: £25
Further Info: www.somersethouse.org.uk/music
Best bar close-by for pre/post-drinks: Wellington
The stunning Somerset House hosts brilliant live acts
1-2-3-4 Shoreditch Festival
Sat 9th July - Shoreditch Park, New North Road, London N1 6T
London day festival
Shoreditch is of course the trendiest part of London (in a lot of people's eyes!) and has some of the best London bars and clubs. The fourth 1-2-3-4 festival brings everything that is cool and trendy to Shoreditch park. The bands and acts may be unknown to most of us but not to those in the know! The stylish bands on the bill include psych-rock garage duo Black Lips, Kitsuné driven sounds from local duo Autokratz, punk trio Fair Ohs and garage rockers Sex Beet. Also playing are Lydia Lunch, The King Blues, Suzuki, Peepholes and more. The price is also one of the most affordable summer London festivals, this great city has to offer.
Price: £15
Further Info: www.1234shoreditch.com
Best bar close-by for pre/post-drinks: Marie Lloyd
Lovebox 2011
Fri 15th - Sun 17th July - Victoria Park, London E9 7BT
London weekend festival
Eight years old, Lovebox has become a must do event on the bristling London summer social calendar. Music has always been at the heart of Lovebox; with all the rock & roll chaos and glamour of supercharged sets, epic performances with dramatic backdrops, from bands and DJs spanning the genres. With 3 different music arenas and around 65'000 people expected, Lovebox is the biggest London has to offer. Topping the bill this year are The Wombats, 2manydjs, Scissor Sisters, Snoopdog, Blondie, The Drums and Hospitality are bringing all their star DJs down! A line-up not to be missed...
Price: £28.50 - £99
Further Info: www.lovebox.net
Best bar close-by for pre/post-drinks: Bar Music Hall
Lovebox 2011 flyer and incredible line-up
Underage Festival
Fri 5th August - Victoria Park, London E9 7BT
London day festival
Don't worry the wonderful youth of London, there is a festival for you too! Forget about your exam results, cleaning the house, arguing with your parents and run with your skinny jeans to Victoria Park. The Underage festival is for under-18s only and is in its fifth year. Who will be playing? Miles Kane, Bombay Bicycle Club, Brother, Cocknbullkid, Crystal Fighters, Devlin, Frankie And The Heartstrings and Ghost Eyes.
Price: £31.50
Further Info: www.lovebox.net
Under 18s so not recommending a best bar to go to
Field Day
Sat 6th August - Victoria Park, London E9 7BT
London day festival
Field Day is in fact the big brother to Underage Festival; broader in scope and attracting much bigger acts, you can see why it is the established sibling in this family. Field day is purely for indie lovers, from established bands to the hottest up and coming acts (catch them at Field Day before they inevitably head over to the bright lights of Galstonbury over the next few years). Set in East London's Victoria Park, where many of London's cool indie scene live, it is the perfect environment for this type of London festival. Topping the bill this year are Jamie XX, James Blake, The Coral, Anna Calvi and Willy Mason. With Bugged Out as one its partners, Erol Alkan will be DJing plus others.
Price: £39.50
Further Info: www.fielddayfestivals.com
Best bar close-by for pre/post-drinks: Dreams Bags Jaguar Shoes
Beautiful sunset over Victoria Park during Field Day
Rewind: The 80s Festival
Fri 19th - Sun 21st August - Henley-on-Thames, RG9 2LY
London weekend festival
Ok this isn't a London postocde but it's close enough to get a mention! But who doesn't like the 80s!? I don't think I need to explain this festival too much as it is exactly what the title suggests; a celebreation of all things pop, sparkly and 80s over one glorious weekend in the Oxfordshire countryside! The confirmed acts are big hitters here too...it's what the Glastonbury Pyramid stage would have hosted 20 years ago. They have The Human League, Village People, UB40, Billy Ocean, Earth Wind and Fire, Bananarama and Kim Wilde. Forget trying to be trendy, forget trying to be cool, forget up and coming bands and head to Rewind for a brilliant weekend.
Price: £105 (weekend camping) / £90 (weekend) / £47.50 (day)
Further Info: www.rewindfestival.com
South West Four
Sat 27th & Sun 28th August - Clapham Common, Windmill Drive, London SW4 9DE
London day/weekend festival from 12pm
South West Four has now become an established dance festival in London (and one I regularly go to for a day). If you like a reved up crowd, the best dance acts and can stand one full day of non-stop dancing then South West Four won't disappoint! With the main stage hosting some of the biggest DJs and the other tents/arenas hosting equally as banging sounds, there is something for everyone (if you like dance music!). This year's line-up looks like it will be just as impressive with the likes of Pendulum (live), Underworld (live), John Digweed, Laidback Luke, Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Sasha and Simian Mobile Disco as well as many many more.
Price: £85-95 (weekend camping) / £45-50 (day)
Further Info: www.southwestfour.com
Best bar close-by for pre/post-drinks: The Underdog Bar
Those are my top picks for London summer festivals 2011. There are of course more on offer and feel free to leave a comment below on which ones you are particularly looking forward too! Whichever one(s) you decide to go to, I've got a feeling that Summer 2011 in London is going to be a very very good one.
