Guest post by Eva of Blue Oceans PR
From India to China and Lithuania - here’s a list of the most interesting music festivals around the world
April 5, 2019. Here are 10 of the best festivals around the world that most people have never hear about, collected by travel website Smart Lemur.
Magnetic Fields - Alsisar Mahal, Rajasthan, India
Set within the historical and mesmerising Alsisar Mahal in Rajasthan, India, Magnetic Fields is a three day cultural and music experience that has been absorbing visitors and captivating everyone involved for over four years. A veritable playground for the young at heart, visitors can laze on the lawns and soak in the atmosphere, hunt for buried treasure, or fly a kite at sunrise on the rooftop of this former Raj palace, as the sun bathes the surrounding desert scenery.
2. Yaga Gathering - Varena, Lithuania
Yaga Gathering is a transformational, lifestyle, and yoga festival hosted in a clearing in the Ežeraitis Forest at the edge of Spengla Lake in the Varėna District of southern Lithuania. The festival has no corporate sponsors and is financed solely by ticket sales in order to stay true to its original ethos of creating a very unique experience for visitors. DJs and bands from various countries perform across five stages showcasing a wide range of ambient and downtempo electronic sounds, which move towards a more party vibe after the sun goes down.
3. Træna Festival - Helgeland, Norway
The Helgeland region of Norway is one of the planet’s most spectacular and breathtaking locations. Long deserted coastlines and plentiful fjords surrounded by mystical mountains give visitors the impression they might have landed on another planet completely.Fans who travel here know that Træna isn’t just a musical festival. It’s a celebration where music is merely the bait to lure people towards a mostly unheard of corner of the world they would otherwise never see, and meet people they might never interact with, and whose lifestyle they might otherwise never acknowledge.Træna’s musical programme usually leans towards the Scandinavian artists.
4. Worldwide Festival - Sete, France
Musical tastemaker Gilles Peterson’s annual festival is held annually in the town of Sete in the South of France. It is a week-long celebration of the finest music from around the world. The iconic Theatre de la Mer open-air amphitheatre overlooking the Mediterranean Sea provides the perfect location for this veritable musical banquet and the festival also has daytime beach parties and events in smaller venues around this famous old fishing port. For those seeking a ‘cooler’ experience, the festival also hosts a sister event in March in the Swiss alps at Leysin, with daytime skiing followed by apres-piste and the same great music.
5. Meadows in the Mountains - Bulgaria
Deep in the Bulgarian mountains a small community of like-minded people conceived the idea of gathering once a year in a location so special it deserved to be shared with the world. Wellbeing is at the heart of this boutique festival and is just a small part of the abundant offerings. A diverse schedule, including several yoga classes each day, along with workshops on inspirational themes of all kinds including plant-based medicine, tarot, and Ayurveda medicine are also available for those wanting to try something new. The festival is relatively new but is growing quickly thanks to positive word of mouth.
6. Rainforest World Music Festival - Borneo
The Rainforest World Music Festival is a unique festival that brings together renowned and indigenous musicians from across the world to the mythical island of Borneo, which culminates in a musical and cultural extravaganza like no other. A combination of informative afternoon workshops, followed by evening performances on the main stage have proven to be a hit with audiences, and the festival continues to draw people from around the world.
7. Gottwood Festival, Llanfaethlu, Wales, UK
Deep in the Anglesey forest lies Gottwood Festival, a festival that has strived and succeeded to create a palpable sense of purpose throughout the guests. Gottwood Festival delivers where most festivals fail with a far more balanced musical, visual, and cultural offering that gives eager visitors the spontaneity missing from most events these days, a very safe environment, and, above all, a wonderful experience guests will want to remember for ever. Expect a genre bending, roller-coaster ride through varying styles of music. Overall, this festival provides a truly unique, almost house party-esqe alternative to many other festivals.
8. UVA Festival - Ronda, Spain
A sensory triple-threat merging music, visual arts, and architecture, UVA Festival is dedicated to contemporary culture through interaction with music, visual arts and architecture. The focus for organisers is on curating an intimate environment and unique atmosphere during this three-day festival taking place inside a converted vineyard, which was once a 15th-century monastery in the stunning town of Ronda in the South of Spain.
9. Great Wall Festival, China
Staged on one of the greatest feats of human engineering, the Great Wall Festival takes place on Great Wall of China and once again offers visitors the opportunity to party somewhere they previously considered unimaginable. The Great Wall Festival is a techno music festival truly unlike any other, with the two day event able to lay claim to having the most iconic setting of any festival worldwide. With Nina Kraviz making her Chinese festival debut, Chris Liebing stepping up for a four-hour closing set, and a full audio-visual live show from Recondite among the performances on offer in 2018, there’s no doubting that the organisers are serious about growing this festival to the same proportions as its epic location.
10. Woodford Folk Festival - Australia
The Woodford Folk Festival is held annually between December 27th to January 1st. The Woodford festival experience is deep, rich and colourful and is based on a vision of inclusive and creative community, culture and tradition passed through generations, expressed through story and ceremony. The festival features concerts, dances, street theatre, writers’ panels, film festival, comedy sessions, acoustic jams, social dialogue and debate, folk medicine, an entire children’s festival, an environmental programme featuring talks, debates and films, art and craft workshops, circus performances, workshops, late night cabarets, and parades.
For more information about these festivals, please visit Smart Lemur.
Smart Lemur is a website created by a group of travel enthusiasts who are passionate about smart travel and are employing digital technology to plan journeys. On the website, travelers can find advice on travel gear, planning, saving money and finding the best locations.