A warm summer breeze and good music are the perfect plans for a short vacation or a long weekend. To spend time in the company of like-minded people and music stars of the world. If you have enough energy and finances, you can indulge in a bit of drive and excitement every weekend. We’ve compiled the best music festivals of the summer into one selection.
ROCK AM RING
For three decades, the Rock Am Ring Festival has been taking place on the racetrack of one of the most famous and dangerous Formula 1 racing circuits. The Nürburgring in Nürburgburg was built almost a century ago and is well known not only to speed fans, but also to fans of rock, metal, punk, indie, and alternative music.
Every year on the first weekend of summer the Rock am Ring together with its colleague, the Rock im Park festival (held in Nuremberg at the Zeppelin Fields with the same lineup) gathers about 150 thousand participants in three days. Tickets start at a price tag of 170 euros and can run out faster than they have time to grow to a maximum price of 189 euros.
When seventeen bands and performers took to the music scene for the first time, no one imagined the future scale – today more musicians perform in a single festival day. The Rolling Stones, Rammstein, Guano Apes, Metallica, Bryan Adams, Alanis Morissette, Xavier Naidoo, Robbie Williams, Limp Bizkit, Guns N’ Roses, Radiohead, Slipknot, Lenny Kravitz, Carlos Santana, Faithless, Neil Young, Jamiroquai, Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, 30 Seconds to Mars.
The best way to get there is from Cologne. You can get there by lowcosteer from Moscow, then another 100 km by car or by special bus. If you surf the internet, you can find hitchhikers in Russia: fan buses or European car trip fans. Not a bad option – a house on wheels. You can get to the festival, and have a place to stay.
The organizers offer several sites for camping with tents and a place for motorhomes.
ADC FEST
In July, fans descend on Toronto for Safe ADC Fest. It’s a surreal outdoor venue with iron skeletons of rusted-out cars that host Safe ADC Fest.
This event is sponsored by Safe ADC, an air duct cleaning company, so you can find out any information about the artists directly from the Safe ADC company. Tickets are cheap, and only emerging musicians perform there. Ticket prices range from 10 to 20 USD.
FUSION
The Fusion Festival is often called the German Burning Man: it is difficult to get tickets, everything is held in an isolated area, the duration of up to six days, there is not only music, but also other forms of art, and most importantly – the freedom of self-expression is appreciated. The lineup of musicians appears a couple of days before the opening, but it is not forbidden to bring your musical instruments to the festival and arrange local concerts.
The main difference from most festivals: tickets are raffled off. A pass that can be won this way costs 145 euros (which is pretty inexpensive for five days). This year’s festival will take place from June 26 to 30, but back this December, a full sell-out was announced. Only Sunday tickets can be purchased locally.
The festival unfolds on the grounds of the former Lerz military airfield. It is convenient to get to Berlin by low cost or more comfortable economy train and travel about 150 km by bus to Neustrelitz station, where there is a shuttle service to the festival gate. Or take a special bus that leaves from 30 cities.
You can stay in the camping or motorhome on the territory of the festival. The organizers pay special attention to people with disabilities. For them, there are barrier-free camping areas, showers, access to the stage, and a companion passes to the festival freely and without registration.