2016: The year in festivals

Music festivals. It's a love 'em or hate 'em scenario. You’re either swallowed up by the lack of sleep, nutrients and consumption of adult substances or you absolutely live for it.

Here at Mixmag, we can't think of anything better than losing yourself for a long weekend with our favourite DJs.

But they're a tricky beast to wrangle. Some are transcendent, with the crowd, music and facilities coming together to transport you far away from overdue bills and the 9 to 5 grind. On the other hand, some just suck. We won't be talking about those here.

Below are our favourite trips away, from sun-soaked Croatia to a freezing Bognor Regis.

Kicking off the year in style, the Bugged Out weekender laughed in the face of seriousness at a Butlins in Bognor Regis. The fact that thousands made the pilgrimage to a family-friendly holiday park on a freezing weekend in January really is a testament to how much fun the festival is. Joy Orbison back-to-back Gerd Janson, Paranoid London and a conga line during Artwork’s set were just some of the highlights of the festival’s fifth installment.

Read the full review here.

It was all going so well. Bloc had topped off its last ever event and our scribe Patrick Hinton was just about to hit publish on his glowing review of the weekend. Then co-founder and organiser George Hull decided to take a steaming shit on social progress. In an article for The Spectator published days after the festival wrapped, Hull took aim at “wimpy” hipsters who apparently can’t rave anymore, and more problematically, safe spaces. What a way to undo all the goodwill fostered by an excellent festival.

Read the full review here.

Banging techno in a picturesque Icelandic ice cave? Yes please. Possibly taking the cake for most stunning venue at a festival this year, Taktfakt’s inaugural event was one of 2016’s secret successes. Featuring a homegrown line-up, for 12 hours this isolated cave in a volcanic park was the place to be.

Read the full review here.

A lesser festival would have easily been derailed had they experienced the same things as Glastonbury this year. But when torrential rain and the decision to leave the EU hit Worthy Farm, people said “fuck it” and kept the party going in the mud. And with a line-up rivalling the world’s best electronic music festivals, how could you not? The NYC Downlow established itself as the best nightclub in the UK, Skepta ruled the Pyramid Stage and our scribes lost their collective shit at The Temple. Just another Glastonbury down then.

Read the full review here.

Love International had big boots to fill when it took over from Croatia’s beloved Garden Festival. But the team behind Bristol’s Love Saves The Day event and Futureboogie record label rose to the challenge to maintain Croatia’s reputation as one of the hottest summer destinations for dance music.

Read the full review here.

Partying with 30,000 under a mesmerising stripping hangar to the likes of Ben Klock, Nina Kraviz and Solomun is never going to be a bad thing right? With expectations at a high, Kappa Futur Festival still blew us away this year. “The roars after drops are deafening, the soundsystems are crisp and bellowing and the crowd resembles an endless sea of people, all having the times of their lives,” as our writer put it. Nuff said.

Read the full review here.

Deep in the heart of the Amsterdamse Bos forest, south of Dutch capital Amsterdam, is where you’ll find one of the best summer dance music festivals. Backed by our label of the year, Dekmantel is not just a festival; it’s become a way of life. With an incredible line-up, out of this world stages and a general vibe of positivity, Dekmantel is the standard-bearer for a new class of music festivals.

Read the full review here.

Another Croatia mainstay, Dimensions turned five this year in a blaze of sunshine and huge tunes. Massive Attack, Mr Fingers, Moodymann and Ben Klock were just some of the names on an enormous bill at Fort Punta Cristo, a spectacular location in close proximity to the beach.

Read the full review here.

The third Croatian festival on this list and the second at Tisno’s Garden venue, when Dekmantel said they were heading to the Adriatic Sea we couldn’t book tickets fast enough. And with only 1500 punters, the intimate setting was the perfect way to experience many of the Dekmantel regulars. We can’t wait until next year.

Read the full review here.

With boutique festivals popping up everywhere selling craft beers and gourmet food, there are many that pine for the ‘good old days’ of rave. Heading to a field, dropping a first press pill and dancing to an illegal sound system until the sun comes up. While those days may be harder and harder to come by, Field Maneuvers offers a nice respite from the conglomerate-fuelled outdoor festivals. With only 700 people milling about, it soon feels like a friend hosting a gig for his own benefit, and that ain’t a bad way to party.

Read the full review here.