Thankfully Europe has a lot more to offer the music world than just Eurovision. If you're into music and want to travel into the continent for an international flavour to your festival, then you should check out some of these great venues. They're all a great excuse to head somewhere new.
Belgium has an ace range of venues to choose from, for whatever kind of mood you're in. Late June sees the arrival of Couleur Caf, which is a Brussels based affair where world music and the more obscure genres rub shoulders with big mainstream rap stars. Alternatively if you're a younger music lover you might prefer Punkkelpop. Here you get a great range of teen orientated bands as well as some of the finest soft rock that Europe has to offer. The great thing about Belgium is that a festival ticket usually means completely free travel on the trains too, so it's a easy fix to get to where the action is.
Europe does heavy metal and all-out rock music really well, and a good testament to this is Sonisphere. There are venues ranging across a whole host of countries, including Spain, Finland, Turkey and England, and a good range of rock too. Each event has different headliners, but the ones to watch in England are Gary Numan and Alice Cooper, for some legendary retro tracks.
Hungary is a place that's increasingly popular with tourists as a whole, thanks to its generally cheaper costs for amenities, and the great atmosphere of historical Budapest. Sziget festival makes full use of the grand nature of its venue, with classical music sitting alongside ultra-modern rap and rock. This is a massive event, with 55 stage, and tones of people flocking there each year. Apparently 75% of festivalgoers are from different countries too, so you're sure to meet plenty of interesting characters.
That's just some of the places on offer if you're thinking of hopping across to the continent. There's loads more great places to choose from, and every type of music you could want.
Belgium has an ace range of venues to choose from, for whatever kind of mood you're in. Late June sees the arrival of Couleur Caf, which is a Brussels based affair where world music and the more obscure genres rub shoulders with big mainstream rap stars. Alternatively if you're a younger music lover you might prefer Punkkelpop. Here you get a great range of teen orientated bands as well as some of the finest soft rock that Europe has to offer. The great thing about Belgium is that a festival ticket usually means completely free travel on the trains too, so it's a easy fix to get to where the action is.
Europe does heavy metal and all-out rock music really well, and a good testament to this is Sonisphere. There are venues ranging across a whole host of countries, including Spain, Finland, Turkey and England, and a good range of rock too. Each event has different headliners, but the ones to watch in England are Gary Numan and Alice Cooper, for some legendary retro tracks.
Hungary is a place that's increasingly popular with tourists as a whole, thanks to its generally cheaper costs for amenities, and the great atmosphere of historical Budapest. Sziget festival makes full use of the grand nature of its venue, with classical music sitting alongside ultra-modern rap and rock. This is a massive event, with 55 stage, and tones of people flocking there each year. Apparently 75% of festivalgoers are from different countries too, so you're sure to meet plenty of interesting characters.
That's just some of the places on offer if you're thinking of hopping across to the continent. There's loads more great places to choose from, and every type of music you could want.