16 Global Festivals Not to Miss in 2019

January is a very suitable month to make travel plans. Not only can you fight the post-holiday blues by anticipating your next trip but flights can be much cheaper too, so you might still be able to afford them despite the usual bankruptcy suffered after the festivities.

So, if your 2019 goal is to attend more live music events, rather than buy that gym membership you’ll never use, here’s a list that can help you decide on your next destination...

Terminal 1 (January 18-19 @ Mumbai, India) 

Mumbai music collective and events organiser Milkman have been bringing some of the world’s biggest DJs to the Indian west coast for the past year. To top this off they are now putting on their own festival, Terminal 1, which will showcase some of Mumbai’s best electronic artists while also giving some huge international acts their debut on the Indian subcontinent. British producers Mount Kimbie headline, with appearances from Auxx 88, Roi Perez and Alienata also locked in.

Forthwith Festival (February 1-3 @ Winnipeg, Canada) 

The experimental arts, music, technology and performance festival Forthwith returns for its 3rd edition this February. As much a visual as a sonic event, Forthwith has secured an eclectic lineup of performance, visual and underground electronic artists from Canada and beyond. They are also putting on various workshops on things such as DIY electronics for budding producers looking to enhance their sound. 

Festival NRMAL (March 1 @ Mexico City, Mexico)

Founded in Monterrey and now celebrated in Mexico City, Festival NRMAL has built a strong international community of multidisciplinary creatives while staying at the forefront of emerging music programming. 2019 will mark its tenth anniversary, with three acts already confirmed: Death Grips, Spiritualized and John Maus.

Java Jazz (March 1-3 @ Jakarta, Indonesia)

Java Jazz is the biggest jazz festival in the Southern Hemisphere, and has attracted some of the most important names in the genre since its inception 15 years ago. This year is no different, as Java Jazz welcomes groups of every flavour to the Indonesian capital, from up-and-coming fusion bands like GoGo Penguin to seasoned stadium-fillers such as Toto.

Beat Hotel Marrakech (March 28-April 1 @ Marrakech, Morocco)

The creators of the iconic Glastonbury Beat Hotel are moving residence from South West England to Morocco this March, for four days of live music, DJs, mind expanding talks and world class food. With DJ sets round the clock, live performances from the likes of Young Fathers, and talks from writers including Irvine Welsh, the Beat Hotel is a sanctuary in the shadow of the Atlas mountains, with parties on throughout the night.

Coachella (April 12-14 and April 19-21 @ California, USA)

Widely known for its star-studded audiences, passes for Coachella’s first weekend sold out 40 minutes after the line-up announcement. However, some tickets will be available for locals or at authorised third-party vendors. This year’s program has been notable for both its lack of rock music and for Kanye West reportedly pulling out because of staging requirements. There’ll be no shortage of pizzazz on this bill though...

Picture: Great Wall website

Great Wall Festival (May 18-19 @ China)

China’s biggest dance music festival returns in May this year, giving you another chance to rave on the world’s largest man-made structure. The festival consistently books artists on the cutting edge of electronic music to play in their majestic setting, creating a literal collision of ancient and modern. Following on from last year’s stellar line-up, Berghain residents Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann have already been announced for 2019, with many more still to come.

Primavera Sound (May 30- June 1 @ Barcelona, Spain)

Barcelona’s answer to California’s biggest festival, Primavera Sound will have very similar headliners to Coachella this year: from Spain’s biggest musical export of the past decade, Rosalía, to Australian psychedelic outfit Tame Impala. Both events have also been noted for increasingly booking hip-hop, pop and electronic acts over guitar bands and alternative rock legends in recent years, although there is still a healthy smattering of the latter too. Check MusicMap’s selection of nine up-and-comers who killed it at Primavera Sound 2018.

EXIT festival (July 12-15 @ Serbia)

Exit festival has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 2000 as a protest against Slobodan Milosevic’s regime in what was then Yugoslavia. Over the past couple of decades it has won various prestigious awards for its artistic excellence and has put Serbia firmly on the map as a destination for music fans. 2019 promises to continue in this vein, with an eclectic lineup including The Cure and Carl Cox already announced, and the activist spirit of using music as a force for change still going strong.

Dekmantel (July 31-August 9 @ Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Dekmantel already has a reputation as one of Europe’s top dance music festivals, and while this year’s lineup is yet to come out, it’s a pretty safe bet that they will smash it again in 2019. Last year’s event was a ‘who’s who’ of underground dance music, but also included some of the world’s most innovative experimental, jazz and fusion artists too. With beautifully designed stages around some of Amsterdam’s most iconic venues, five days at Dekmantel is definitely the best reason to visit the Dutch capital this summer.

Picture: Oklou by Leontien Allemeersch at Different Class

Different Class (August @ Ghent, Belgium)

If you’re more into gatherings en petit comité, underground magazine and promoter Subbacultcha Belgium has the perfect plan for you. Different Class is one day of music, Belgian beer and feel-good food where you can find yourself dancing alongside the artist who will be playing next and afterwards partying at the most unexpected locations with the festival’s organisers while dancing to Gigi D’Agostino.

Nyege Nyege Festival (September @ Jinja, Uganda)

Since its first edition in 2015, Uganda’s Nyege Nyege festival has positioned itself as one of the most influential music events in East Africa. Nyege Nyege, a Lugandan term for 'the feeling of a sudden uncontrollable urge to move, shake or dance', has already been partly censored by the Ugandan government despite the festival’s many projects supporting home-grown talent in Kampala via its record label and arts residency.

Picture: Nyege Nyege website

Unsound Festival (October 7-14 @ Krakow, Poland)

An experimental festival attended by artists, bookers and music agents around the globe, Unsound was founded in Krakow, Poland in 2003 by expats Stephen Berkley and Mat Schulz. Its carefully curated creative themes, which have included ‘horror’, ‘interference’ and ‘presence’, have inspired each year’s program since 2010, making each event genuinely one of a kind. 

Le Guess Who? (November @ Utrecht, The Netherlands)

Utrecht’s Le Guess Who? has also become a must-visit for all European music lovers over the past 12 years. MusicMap editor Kier Wiater Carnihan had so much to say about it he nearly wrote an epic novel about his weekend spent visiting the festival’s astonishing venues, unique atmosphere, and of course the music.

Wonderfruit (December 12-16 @ Thailand)

Many festivals make sure to emphasise their commitment to protecting the local environment, but few do so to the same extent as Thailand’s Wonderfruit festival; their ethos of sustainability sets a standard all festivals should strive for. With a ‘no plastic’ pledge and workshops on how individuals can affect human environmental impact worldwide, Wonderfuit’s ethics are second to none, and the same goes for the acts they put on. Everyone from Richie Hawtin to Roots Manuva have played there in the past, showing that while sustainability is a vital part of their approach, music remains Wonderfruit’s main pillar.

Rhythm & Vines (December 28-Jan 1 @ New Zealand)

Rhythm & Vines has got to be one of the world’s best places to bring in the first sunrise of the new year. Running over the three days preceding new year’s eve on New Zealand’s idyllic Waiohika Estate, the festival has won various international awards and has seriously innovative stages and events outside the music. As the festival has grown since its inception in 2003, so too have the calibre of artists they book, which now includes some of the biggest names in hip-hop and dance.

Words by Anna Baqués and Harry Stott. Picture from Nyege Nyege webiste