Lollapalooza‘s 2025 lineup is out, with Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, the Creator, Sabrina Carpenter, Rüfüs Du Sol, Luke Combs, A$AP Rocky, Korn, Gracie Abrams and Doechii topping the bill for the flagship US edition.

Also confirmed are the likes of Dom Dolla, Martin Garrix, Cage the Elephant, Clairo, The Marias, Djo, Dominic Fike, Bleachers, Wallows, T-Pain, Foster the People, Finneas, Royel Otis, Barry Can’t Swim, JPEGMAFIA, Sammy Virji and Chase & Status. Grant Park, Chicago, will host the legendary festival from 31 July to 3 August.

In addition, Switzerland’s Paléo Festival has unveiled the lineup for its 48th edition, based around the theme of “mighty stars, flamboyant riffs and pounding beats”.

Set for 22-27 July, the eclectic bill includes Queens of the Stone Age, Sex Pistols ft. Frank Carter, Macklemore, Will Smith, David Guetta, Justice, Ninho & Niska, SDM, Clara Luciani and Zaho de Sagazan.

Other acts will include Lost Frequencies, Texas, Skunk Anansie, the Lambrini Girls, Simple Minds, Hamza, Rilès, Bamby, Moonchild Sanelly. Julien Doré, Philippe Katerine, Nemo, Charlie Tee, Anetha, Rosa Pistola, Ben Mazué, Jean-Louis Aubert, Pierre Garnier and Santa.

The Netherlands’ Best Kept Secret (13-15 June) has bolstered its programme with 30 new acts. The latest announcement includes Antal, Baby Berserk, Christian Lee Hutson, Cliffords, Daniela Pes, Danilo Plessow (MCDE), Daufødt, Frost Children, Glass Beams, Horsegirl, Iris Jean, Jacob Alon, Kae Tempest, L.A. Sagne, Lael Neale, Long Fling, Lucy Dacus, Maria Iskariot, Merce Lemon, Remy van Kesteren, Rocket, Snapped Ankles, Soulwax, SPELLLING, The Streets, The Vices, They Are Gutting A Body Of Water, Ugly, YĪN YĪN and Youth Lagoon.

Elsewhere, Charli XCX has revealed additional names for her LIDO Festival party girl show in Victoria Park, London, on 14 June. The five-time BRIT Award winner will curate headline the event, backed by hand-selected artists Gesaffelstein, Jodie Harsh, Magdalena May and Yseult. They will join previously announced special guests 070 Shake, A.G Cook, Kelly Lee Owens, The Dare and The Japanese House.

The other LIDO 2025 headliners are Massive Attack (6 June), Jamie xx (7 June) and London Grammar (15 June), as well as Outbreak Fest (13 June).

Scheduled for 8-10 August, Finland’s Flow Festival‘s second wave of acts includes FKA twigs, Little Simz, Air, Underworld, Yung Lean & Bladee, Lola Young, Amaarae, Sam Quealy and Snow Strippers. The Helsinki festival has also added domestic artists Turisti, Ege Zulu, Ruusut, Mirella, Litku Klemetti, Lyttä & Tohtori Getto, Uusi Fantasia, Jore & Zpoppa, Olga, Senya and Aaro630.

Germany’s Nature One (31 July-3 August), which is celebrating 30 years, will bring 350 DJs to Pydna Missile Base in Kastellaun including Charlotte de Witte, Chris Liebing, Eric Prydz, Felix Jaehn, I Hate Models, Paul Van Dyk and Sven Väth.

We are extremely grateful to those who have continuously supported the festival since its inception

Sam Fender, Raye, Fatboy Slim and Becky Hill will headline the 2025 Formula 1 British Grand Prix music lineup, taking place at Silverstone from 3-6 July.

Boomtown Chapter 4: Power of Now (6-10 August) at Hampshire’s Matterley Estate has unveiled its NEXUS stage bill, headed by Bashy, Casisdead, Blanco, MJ Cole Presents: Sincere, Lady Leshurr, Moonchild Sanelly, Rubii, Deyu Does MF Doom, Eva Lazarus, Window Kid and DRS Live.

Meanwhile, POD and Aiken Promotions’ All Together Now, headlined by Fontaines D.C., Nelly Furtado, Bicep Present Chroma AV DJ set and London Grammar has sold out for 2025. The event will be held at Curraghmore Estate, Co Waterford, Ireland, from 31 July to 3 August.

“We are extremely grateful to those who have continuously supported the festival since its inception – our wonderful audience, the thousands of artists, performers, poets and punks who have shared our stages, and all our partners who contribute to the festival’s magic and spirit,” say the ATN team. “We can’t wait to welcome everyone to our sixth chapter, with so much still to be announced, including special guests, new areas and other surprises.”

Curated by the teams behind ATN and Forbidden Fruit, one-day festival In The Meadows is also returning for a second year at the The Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dublin, on 7 June, topped by Iggy Pop. The lineup also comprises Slowdive, Billy Nomates, Dr John Cooper Clarke, The Scratch, Gilla Band, Sprints, Warmduscher, Lambrini Girls, Trupa Trupa, Muireann Bradley, Meryl Streek and Really Good Time.

In the US, J. Cole and Dreamville have announced the lineup for Dreamville Festival, which returns to Raleigh, North Carolina on 5-6 April for its fifth and final iteration. Billed as the world’s largest artist-led music festival, it will welcome Lil Wayne with Hot Boys and Big Tymers, as well as 21 Savage to each perform as Saturday headliners, while J. Cole and Erykah Badu will each close out their respective stages on the Sunday night.

It will also feature performances from PartyNextDoor, Chief Keef, Young Nudy, Ab-Soul, Ludacris, Keyshia Cole, Tems, GloRilla, Coco Jones, Wale and BigXthaPlug, among others.

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Massive Attack is set to deliver a 100% battery-powered festival headline set during the inaugural LIDO Festival in London this summer.

The British duo, comprised of Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja and Grant ‘Daddy G’ Marshall, will expand on their Act 1.5 show series during the AEG-backed event. Last year, the group pioneered decarbonised live music events with shows in their native Bristol and Liverpool.

In partnership with clean energy provider Ecotricity, the hip-hop group plans to deliver a historic day in the UK capital, their first London festival show in nearly a decade.

“To present London’s first ever 100% battery-powered festival day with a dynamic range of artists is an optimum outcome for us. History shows it’s often the combination of art and science that overcomes the greatest challenges we face, so it’s good to see LIDO take learnings from our ACT1.5 event last year and apply those technologies to where they see emissions coming from,” Del Naja says.

“Clean productions beginning this journey to normalisation is good news for everyone, but especially for music fans that come to festivals and the local communities that live around them.”

LIDO is part of AEG’s efforts toward “a broader adoption of industry-leading sustainability principles across AEG European Festivals”, says Jim King, AEG Presents’ CEO of European Festivals.

“Big changes require both courage and determination, and I cannot speak highly enough of Massive Attack and their team for embracing the challenge of launching this important initiative. AEG was fortunate to collaborate with Massive Attack on the ACT 1.5 event in Bristol last summer, which set the standard and inspired our team to continue the work they have started at LIDO,” he says.

“A new line has been drawn in the sand for what we expect of events of all sizes”

Following the initial Bristol performance, A Greener Future’s Claire O’Neill hailed the climate-action concert as a “new dawn” for sustainable events.

“A new line has been drawn in the sand for what we expect of events of all sizes, and what can be done when you really put your mind to it, and your money where your mouth is. I think that we’re going to see fewer and fewer diesel generators being used in the coming years, finally,” she said at the time.

O’Neill will deliver a session on Act 1.5 and the future of battery-power events during both the Green Events and Innovations Conference next Tuesday, 25 February and ILMC Futures Forum next Friday, 28 February.

Support for the day will come from French duo Air, Yasiin Bey, and The Alchemist are FORENSICS, with additional names to be announced. Massive Attack round out LIDO’s headliners, and join Jamie xx (Saturday 7 June), OUTBREAK Fest (Friday 13 June), Charli xcx’s own party girl festival (Saturday 14 June) and London Grammar (Sunday 15 June) for the inaugural event.

Sustainability is at the forefront of some UK events this year, with Boomtown launching a hydrogen-powered stage in partnership with Hydrologiq. Organisers claim they will be the first major UK festival to host a stage of this nature.

The effort adds to previous efforts between the partners, as Hydrologiq provided power to the public transport hub via a hydrogen-powered generator for the festival and the week preceding in 2022.

This year’s edition, set for 6-10 August, will feature Maribou State, the Sex Pistols ft. Frank Carter, Sean Paul, Overmono, Hybrid Minds, Nia Archives, and more.

Festivals in Norway, Germany, the US, the UK, and Brazil have added a variety of names

In additional festival news, lineups across the world have added a variety of names.

Norway’s Øyafestivalen has recently added Mk.gee, BICEP, Lola Young, Kelly Lee Owens, Anna of the North, and Yung Lean & Bladee to its impressive lineup. The 6-9 August event will be headlined by Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, and Queens of the Stone Age.

The UK’s Rock N Roll Circus will also boast Queens of the Stone Age, along with the Viagra Boys, Fat Dog, the Bug Club, and So Good in Sheffield on 27 August. They join Reverend and The Makers, headlining another day in Sheffield, along with McFly, Courteneers, Olly Murs, Sam Ryder, and more for the three-day Norwich edition of the festival.

Norway’s Bergenfest has finalised its lineup, adding names including Lucy Dacus, Anna of the North, Lambrini Girls, Confidence Man, 070 Shake, The Wombats, and Princess Nokia. The four-day festival, set on the grounds of a medieval castle and fortress in the Bergen city centre, returns from 11-14 June and will be led by Alanis Morissette, Roxette, The The, Kjartan Lauritzen, Benjamin Ingrosso, and Aurora.

Germany’s Parookaville, set for 18-20 July, has announced Alok, Artbat, Felix Jaehn, and Kshmr will join as headliners, adding to a programme led by Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Steve Aoki, and more.

Mariah Carey, Jessie J, and Camilla Cabello will head up Brazil’s The Town in September

Hamburg’s MS Dockville will be headed up by Raye, alongside The Last Dinner Party, Lola Young, Royel Otis, Sigrid, Peter Doherty, and Milleniumkid. The two-day festival will take place from 15-16 August.

The US’s Oceans Calling will see Green Day, Lenny Kravitz, Noah Kahan, Vampire Weekend, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer top the bill, along with co-organisers O.A.R. The C3 Presents-backed festival lands in Ocean City, Maryland from 26-28 September.

Across the country, FairWell Festival will return to Oregon from 18-19 July, led by Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson. Dwight Yoakam, Sierra Farrell, Cody Jinks, Koe Wetzel, Flatland Cavalry, Tanya Tucker, and Ludacris will also perform.

The UK’s End of The Road recently added nearly 100 names to its 28-31 August event, including Viagra Boys, The National frontman Matt Berninger, DIIV, Christopher Owens, Katy J Pearson, Mabe Fratti, and Sofia Kourtesis. Caribou, Father John Misty, Self Esteem, and Black Country, New Road will also feature.

Nottinghamshire’s Forbidden Forest has unveiled the second phase of its lineup, adding Marco Carola, Andy C, I Hate Models, Sam Divine, Sota, and Charlie Sparks to its 29 May-1 June event.

And Brazil’s The Town will return this September, with Mariah Carey, Jessie J, Camilla Cabello, and Ivete Sangalo revealed as the São Paulo festival’s first stars.

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AEG Presents UK CEO Steve Homer has talked the guitar revival, ticket pricing and the company’s latest London festival in a new interview with IQ.

The promoter’s 2024 highlights have included concerts with established superstars including Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Billy Joel and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, but Homer is also encouraged by the fresh talent moving up the ranks such as Doechii, Clairo, Ezra Collective and Paris Paloma.

“I think we’re in a fairly healthy situation,” he says. “It feels like the developing part of the market is quite solid. There are some exciting acts coming through and also the genres are broadening back out again.”

Moreover, after years in the doldrums, Homer suggests that guitar music is returning to the fore, buoyed by the progress of acts such as Last Dinner Party, Fontaines DC, Wet Leg and Vistas.

“Guitars are coming back,” he observes. “It’s not just about solo acts and sitting in your bedroom producing music on your own, there are more bands emerging – which is encouraging for the industry because that was the mainstay of what it was in decades gone by.”

AEG partnered with Yungblud on the first instalment of the singer-songwriter’s one-day festival BludFest at Milton Keynes Bowl in August, which is set to return next year, and hooked up with entertainment brand Recess to stage Recessland – a celebration of Black British culture – at Dreamland Margate in May. Other notable tours included Blue Man Group and Blade Runner Live.

“It’s a competitive landscape – there are a lot of things vying for audience money”

“It’s been varied and it’s been really positive on the whole,” adds Homer. “We haven’t had as many arena tours this year; we’ve had a lot more success in theatres than in the past, but there are far more arenas and stadium tours again next year.

“It’s a competitive landscape – there are a lot of things vying for audience money – so you have to be cognisant of what you’re booking and putting out in the market. I think next year has already set itself out with the Oasis and Coldplay tours, and there are still more top tier stadiums to be announced. If the level of pencils at stadiums come to fruition – which is looking quite likely – that automatically has an impact on money available.”

Homer also shares his thoughts on the current discourse around whether concert tickets are becoming too expensive.

“The way it’s always worked with us in terms of ticket pricing is that the artist, manager and agent are very aware of what they class as their peer group,” he explains. “You’re asked to check what the other artists playing in that arena or stadium are charging so you get a gauge of where to go. And often, because some artists don’t tour for a long period of time, the ticket price that was relevant for them on their last tour has moved on.

“As we all know, the cost of touring has gone through the roof and keeps increasing. Whether it’s labour, whether it’s equipment, or whether it’s transport, it all has a price and that’s not going anywhere other than up.”

“You’re trying to find a ticket price that works for the customer, so it’s a real balancing act”

He adds that the phase of US acts being deterred from coming to Europe due to the cost of touring has not yet fully subsided.

“We saw a period of time not so long ago, and it still happens a bit, where American artists couldn’t afford to come over because the price they need to charge for the ticket would put fans off, so you’re trying to avoid that,” says Homer. “You’re trying to find a price that works for the customer, so it’s a real balancing act to try and not overprice things and be aware of market forces. It’s tough, though. To try and pitch it right is hard.”

Earlier this week, AEG, which already runs BST Hyde Park, All Points East and Bristol’s Forwards in the UK, as well as Rock en Seine in France, announced the newest addition to its portfolio in Lido Festival, which debuts over two weekends next June in London’s Victoria Park.

Jamie xx is the first headliner to be unveiled and will be be joined on 7 June by a specially curated line-up starring In Waves collaborators Romy, Panda Bear, and John Glacier, alongside Arca, Sampha, DJ Gigola, Shy One, Wookie and livwutang. He will also bring his club residency ‘The Floor’ to Victoria Park for a one-off festival showcase, featuring a three-hour set from DJ Harvey.

Saluting the efforts of AEG’s European festivals CEO Jim King and promoter Oscar Tuttiett, Homer suggests the event is aimed primarily at a Gen-Z audience.

“The acts that are being announced are very much a new breed of artists,” he says. “I’m looking forward to seeing how that develops. To find points of difference in a very congested marketplace is quite an achievement, and looking at the lineup I think they’ve achieved all they set out to do. It’s going to be an exciting addition to the London festival landscape.”

The second part of IQ‘s interview with Homer will be published in the coming days.

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AEG has announced plans to launch a new festival called Lido next summer in east London’s Victoria Park.

The event, named after the park’s historic Lido Fields, will take place across two weekends in June 2025.

Acts are yet to be revealed but AEG says the festival will showcase the “most current headliners and work closely with them to curate the line ups, reflecting their own musical passions, with a strong focus on emerging artists”.

The promoter says the festival will also have a “strong emphasis” on sustainability and will offer “community-driven” activities during the week, taking note from its flagship Victoria Park festival All Points East.

“Lido Festival represents the next stage of AEG’s festival journey,” says Jim King, CEO of European Festivals at AEG Presents.

“Taking place at Victoria Park, one of our favourite locations in the heart of London’s creative districts, Lido Festival allows us to push our ambitions further in working with young people within the industry and those who aspire to be. Most excitingly, this centres a new generation of artists, whether they’re headlining or performing for the first time.

“Most excitingly, this centres a new generation of artists, whether they’re headlining or performing for the first time”

“The vision of supporting the artists’ journey further develops as we programme each day directly with the headliner. This delivers a show that fans know has the artists’ musical soul embedded throughout. This is one of the most exciting aspects of Lido Festival, knowing that everyone on the bill means something to the headliner closing out the show.”

Beyond the music, the festival will focus on sustainable policies and processes ranging from how the festival is powered to waste disposal management, through to partnerships with local food vendors.

Lido will also expand on AEG’s ongoing partnership with East London Arts and Music (ELAM), providing students with hands-on experience such as performing or working in festival production, technology, and the wider music industry.

“This new festival, coming to our multi-award-winning Victoria Park, has the potential to provide more opportunities for residents to benefit from cultural events; increase expenditure in and boost our local economy through visits to the borough; and generate more income to support council services including the upkeep of our parks and open spaces,” says Councillor Kamrul Hussain, Cabinet Member for Culture and Recreation.

“We look forward to working with AEG, to ensure that community benefits are at the heart of the new Lido Festival.”

News of the new Victoria Park festival comes shortly after Field Day announced its departure from the east London location.

Since 2021, the Superstruct-owned event has taken place as part of AEG’s All Points East but will now move to south London’s Brockwell Park.

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