Following uncertainty coming out of the Covid-19 restrictions, UK audiences and performers have summer festivals to look forward to once more this year. While many of the early events have unfortunately been cancelled, the good news is many of the summer 2021 music festivals are planning to go ahead in alignment with the government guidance, which is due to lift all restrictions in June.
Which ones have been cancelled?
Glastonbury was cancelled early on in the year, and several others followed suit, pointing to insurance confusion as the reason and being unwilling to take the risk of going ahead. Boomtown festival, BST Hyde Park, and Lytham Festival are all unfortunately cancelled for 2021, and are hoping to come back bigger and better in 2022.
Which ones hope to be going ahead but in a different way?
Download Festival will indeed be going ahead on 18 – 20 June, but on a smaller scale than its usual capacity, and as part of the government’s experimental run of trial events with no distancing measures. You can read all the info on who is playing and how to attend in our previous article on the event here.
Latitude Festival have decided to go ahead on 22 – 25 July but on a smaller scale, and asking the 40,000 audience members to present a negative Covid test in order to be allowed in. With the Chemical Brothers, Wolf Alice, and Bombay Bicycle Club confirmed on the lineup where others have pulled out, it looks like this could be a successful event.
Cropredy, the folk festival run by Fairport Convention, have said they are “cautiously confident” that 12 – 14 August will bring the sound of acoustic guitars to folk fans. The lineup has been released as:
THURSDAY 12 AUGUST
- The Trevor Horn Band
- Clannad
- Edward II
- Thumping Tommys
- Fairport Convention Acoustic
FRIDAY 13 AUGUST
- Steve Hackett – Genesis Revisited
- Turin Brakes
- Sharon Shannon
- Slambovian Circus of Dreams
- Martyn Joseph
- Home Service
- Emily Barker
- Maddie Morris
SATURDAY 14 AUGUST
- Fairport Convention & Friends (inc Full House)
- Richard Thompson
- Matthews Southern Comfort
- Rosalie Cunningham
- The Bar Steward Sons Of Val Doonican
- Holy Moly & The Crackers
- Richard Digance
Going ahead with rescheduled dates
One of the most popular solutions to the ever-changing science and guidelines has been to reschedule the summer 2021 music festivals and push them back to later in the summer. Several events have successfully made plans to go ahead later than their usual dates.
All Points East
The bank holiday weekend 27 – 30 August seems like a perfect time to reschedule the All Points East festival, which is held at London’s Victoria Park. With headline acts London Grammar & Jorja Smith taking Friday night, Jamie XX & Kano performing on Saturday, Field Day headlining Sunday, Foals & Bombay Bicycle Club completing Sunday, this looks like it’s shaping up to be a great weekend.
Isle of Wight Festival
Usually one of the first events to signal the start of the British summer season, 2021 will see the Isle Of Wight Festival go ahead between 16 – 19 September this year. With a broad mix of acts old and new, this one looks like it will be one to remember.
TRNSMT
Glasgow’s TRNSMT Festival has been moved from July to 10 – 12 September, hosting Indie and dance music’s finest acts including The Chemical Brothers, Primal Scream, Ian Brown, Liam Gallagher, Sam Fender, Inhaler and KSI.
Wireless Festival
Fans of grime, hip-hop and more electronic dance vibes will be happy to know that Wireless Festival is going ahead later than planned from 10 – 12 September this year. Taking place at London’s Crystal Palace Park, the lineup is host to Future, Skepta, Migos, Jay1, AJ Tracey and many more artists who are hot right now.
Going ahead as usual
And finally, we are thrilled to report that several of the UK’s well-loved music festivals will be going ahead as planned on their scheduled dates:
June Festivals
Black Deer Festival – 25-27 June
July Festivals
Camp Bestival – 29 July-1 August
Kendal Calling – 29 July-1 August
Proms – 30 July – 11 September
August Festivals
Bloodstock – 11-15 August
Boardmasters – 11-15 August
Creamfields – 26-29 August
Big Feastival – 27-29 August
Reading & Leeds – 27- 29 August
September Festivals
End Of The Road – 2-5 September
Parklife – 11-12 September
Also by Michelle Sciarrotta:
Accessibility At The Smith Center Series: Part One
James “Fitz” FitzSimmons Interview: The Boys In The Band On Netflix