Festival season is nearly over – but with Festicket they are already looking forward to next year. Here Zack, the co-founder talks us through his highlights of the summer…
For information on 2013 check here – www.festicket.com
If I tried to write about every great festival from Summer 2012, it’d be 2013 already and I wouldn’t have finished! So here are a few of the best, to get those memories flowing….
The 10th edition of Primavera Sound in Barcelona confirmed its success as an underground, industrial alternative to more mainstream style festivals. Primaveral invades Barcelona for most of May, with the showpiece event at the Forum attracting 40,000 to its awesome avant-garde, industrial setting. Headliners The Cure were excellent – the test of time has left its mark on Smith’s voice, but they still have a formidable stage presence – and acts such as Scuba, M83, Beach House and Godflesh helped create Primavera’s unique atmosphere.
I know, I know – Kazantip Republic is not a festival, but there are not enough music republics around to do a top 5! 20 years on from its small-scale beginning – Kazantip started out as a windsurfing competition – this party nation has established itself on the world stage as a safe haven for tens of thousands of music-loving refugees from Europe and further afield. I cannot wait to see what it will become in the next 20 years!
Croatia continued to build on its growing reputation for jam-packed summers of music. One of a mass of summer festivals being held across the country, INmusic stands out as Croatia’s largest open-air event. The beautiful setting of an island on Lake Jarun has hosted 25,000 people each year since 2005, which, along with a 2012 line-up including The Cranberries and Franz Ferdinand, makes INmusic almost unbeatable for alternative, rock and pop lovers.
Hop Farm sells itself as a unique UK festival with ‘no sponsorship’ and ‘no branding.’ While I’m not sure about the second of these claims (‘Hop Farm’ is, in itself, a brand), I really agree that the festival as a whole feels unlike pretty much anything else around. It can attract big names like Bob Dylan (for his only UK show in 2012) but also gives great space for new acts. British performers in particular are well represented, and the Buskers’ Boulevard adds to the personal and intimate feel of the whole event.
Monegros Desert Festival – not much needs to be said about the biggest rave in Spain. Every year it promises so much, and every year it delivers. The Prodigy produced a stellar performance, and Richie Hawtin’s closing set is being hailed as his best of the Summer season – which maybe helps to make up for Bloc Festival being shut down shortly after his set! 
(Just kidding!)
