European Summer Festival Guide 2007

author PP date 03/06/07

If you are feeling blue because Roskilde Festival has sold out early and you are sitting without a ticket, and can't afford the 3000 DKK or so it will cost you to buy it from touts, this article will surely return a smile on your face again. Despite the common perception in Denmark, the continent of Europe is full of amazing festivals from the extreme metal festivals to the more mainstream, even electronic music oriented festivals, and the good news is that most of them are cheaper than Roskilde, and almost all tend to have a lineup to drool over in comparison to this year's Roskilde lineup. They might not all share the same atmosphere, but heck, a couple of them will surely come close, and at the very least you'll be able to choose one that suits your music taste perfectly. So whether it's death metal or indie rock you are looking for, you only need to scroll down and read through whats hot and whats not when it comes to festivals around the continent. We've included all the essential information you need, starting from the location and ticket availability to prices and the biggest bands on the bill, and on top of that have included our (well, mine, as the head editor of the site) opinion on the pro's and con's of the festival in question. Enjoy the read, and feedback is appreciated as always in the comments section. Note that Rock Am Ring/Rock Im Park festivals are not included as they have already taken place - blame me for being too lazy in my research and writing!

June

Sweden Rock Festival @ Sölvesborg, SWE 6-9. June 2007

Ticket information: 4 day tickets sold out, very few 3-day tickets left.

Ticket price: 1690 SEK for 3 day tickets

URL: Sweden Rock Festival official website

Lineup - 76 bands: Aerosmith, Heaven & Hell, Motörhead, Iced Earth, Kreator, The Answer, Dark Tranquillity, Amon Amarth, After Forever, Marduk, Symphony X, Dimmu Borgir

Sweden Rock Festival is conveniently located in Southern Sweden with easy access from the Malmö international airport, making it perfect for people travelling from the UK with low-cost airlines as well as for those Danes located around Sjaelland. It is a metal oriented festival with the Gothenburg-metal scene as the main attractions, but there are plenty of international and more mainstream names on the bill as well like Aerosmith. Considering this is one of the main three metal festivals of the summer, you can expect to meet countless black-clothed men with longer hair than your sister and spiked accessories scattered across their pierced bodies. But all stereotyping aside, if you're into the more underground metal scene with specific focus on Scandinavia, this is the ideal festival to go to for some serious headbanging, and you get to see legends like Kreator and Dark Tranquillity in the process!

Download Festival @ Donington, UK 8-10. June 2007

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available, but most likely will sell out

Ticket price: £145 for a weekend ticket with camping

URL: Download Festival

Lineup - 98 bands: My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park, Iron Maiden, Velvet Revolver, Wolfmother, Megadeth, Dragonforce, Marilyn Manson, Slayer, Machine Head, Bowling For Soup, 30 Seconds To Mars, Aiden, Shadows Fall, Evanescence, Killswitch Engage, Stone Sour, Lamb Of God, Mastodon, Papa Roach, Chimaira, koRn, Enter Shikari, Paramore, Saosin, From Autumn To Ashes, Ill Nino, Mötley Crue, Biffy Clyro, Gallows, As I Lay Dying, Bring Me The Horizon, Billy Talent, Dream Theater, Within Temptation, Cancer Bats, Unearth, Job For A Cowboy, Head Automatica, Silverstein, Reel Big Fish, Kids In Glass Houses, The Ghost Of A Thousand

Download Festival has, without contest, the best overall lineup out of all European (maybe even worldwide) festivals this season. There's something for everyone, whether you are into experimental metal like Cult Of Luna, classic power metal like Iron Maiden, or into the more scenester stuff like Bring Me To Horizon or Gallows, without forgetting some more mainstream acts like Evanescene or Velvet Revolver. Even pop punk is well represented in Bowling For Soup and Lights! Action, although the overall focus is the more hardcore/metal oriented bands. But at the same time, the atmospheres at Download and at a festival like Roskilde are like day and night - completely from other dimensions. The reason Download is able to book such an amazing lineup year after year, and why the atmosphere will never be as 'hippie' as Glastonbury is because of the whole corporate-culture omnipresent at the festival. You'll be damned to take a few steps without crashing into another advertisement of a company sponsoring the massive cash-for-booking reserves that the festival has. It's up to the individual to weigh how much this matters, but as for the bands, it doesn't get any better than this folks.

Heineken Jammin' Festival @ Venice, ITA 14-17. June

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available, not likely to sell out

Ticket price: €140 for a weekend ticket, but no camping available

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 51 bands: Mastodon, Stone Sour, Slayer, Iron Maiden, My Chemical Romance, The Killers, Linkin Park, Pearl Jam, Juliette & The Licks, Incubus, Smashing Pumpkins, Aerosmith

In the truest Italian spirit, there is no camping available at Heineken Jammin' Festival, and thus you can expect people not to be out-of-control drunken during the festival. It goes without saying that Heineken has sponsored a massive amount of money for this festival, which can be seen in the lineup as well, which focuses mostly on the most massive bands you can find on this planet. To have Pearl Jam, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Slayer, Smashing Pumpkins and Aerosmith on the same bill means we are not talking about pennies. The speciality of this festival (other than its incredible line up) is its sports area with eight basketball courts, two volleyball courts and five small areas to play football, as well as the large 'relaxation areas' where you can sunbathe on lounge chairs and sofas. In my personal opinion though, the absence of camping makes this otherwise well organized festival appeal less to the regular Roskilde visitor, but it also suffers from the absence of the medium-sized 'scene' bands, and there is a vast empty space between the headliners and the local acts on the second stage.

Hultsfred Festival @ Hultsfred, SWE 14-16. June 2007

Ticket information: Tickets still available but festival will sell out

Ticket price: 1695 SEK for a weekend ticket with camping

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 156 bands: Ozzy Osbourne, 50 Cent, koRn, Velvet Revolver, Turbonegro, Evanescence, Wolfmother, Flogging Molly, Billy Talent, Hatebreed, Chimaira, Aiden, Lamb Of God, Converge, Dark Tranquillity, Strike Anywhere, As I Lay Dying

Sweden's other main festival attraction Hultsfred Festival is, alongside Norway's Quart Festival, probably the one festival that will remind you most of Roskilde Festival, not just because it is located nearby, but because the camping atmosphere of the event should show many similar qualities to the great Danish festival - people will be friendly, everyone is drunk out of their minds and the 156 bands on the bill this year guarantee that no matter what genre you are into, you will find it well represented, be it hip hop with 50 cent, Irish drunken punk rock with Flogging Molly, chaotic hardcore with Converge or more mainstream rock with Velvet Revolver and Evanescence. There are plenty of weird artists as well (reggae, electronic etc), which attracts a wide variety of people to the festival, guaranteeing a great atmosphere. In fact, if there was one festival I would feel comfortable recommending to match Roskilde, it would be Hultsfred. But one caution is necessary though - the Swedish weather isn't at its best in mid June yet (despite Global Warming), so the chance of it all getting muddy is close to 50%!

Nova Rock Festival @ Nickelsdorf, AUT 15-17. June 2007

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available

Ticket price: €102 for a weekend ticket with camping

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 56 bands: The Smashing Pumpkins, Incubus, The Hives, Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, Billy Talent, Machine Head, Mastodon, Papa Roach, Pearl Jam, Linkin Park, 30 Seconds To Mars, Marilyn Manson, In Flames, Stone Sour, Isis, The Killers, Flogging Molly, Less Than Jake, Modest Mouse, Slayer, Within Temptation, Children Of Bodom, Drowning Pool, Dragonforce, Aiden, Chimaira

Austria's Nova Rock isn't widely known yet outside of Central Europe, but this is likely to change in the next couple of years from now. It has grown massive in size, and with sponsors like Coca Cola, Nokia and One behind their back they are able to book some of the biggests artists out there to suit their rock-oriented crowd. Their lineup is interesting, as you will find an alternative band like Incubus grouped with a ska-punk band Less Than Jake and melodic death metallers Children Of Bodom. Needless to say, this is a festival focussing on the biggest names of each genre, and hence there are very few 'scene' and medium-big bands to be found on the bill. Austria is a lager-country, so you'll most likely find more than enough beer at cheap prices being consumed as if it was about to go scarce in the world, and contrary to the English crowds, the central Europeans tend to be non-aggressive so much fun is to be had at this central European festival. It is also one of the other main recommendations from us, as it combines a cheap ticket price with an incredible lineup and a reasonable location.

Fields Of Rock @ Biddinghuizen, NL 16-17. June 2007

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available

Ticket price: €119 for a weekend ticket + €17.50 for camping

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 37 bands: Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, koRn, Velvet Revolver, Heaven & Hell, Dream Theater, Motörhead, Megadeth, Type O Negative, Machine Head, Hatebreed, Life Of Agony, Papa Roach, Mastodon, Dragonforce, Devildriver, Aiden, Kamelot, Walls Of Jericho

Fields Of Rock is divided into three stages, and fields about 37 bands. That might not sound many to you, but pretty much every band on the bill will ring a bell in some part of your head. It is mostly a metal-oriented festival as you can see from the names I've pulled out, and you'll find cult acts like Type O Negative as well as the more 'scenester' bands like Kamelot on the bill as well. If Wacken seems to extreme to you, and Sweden Rock too expensive, Fields Of Rock might be the perfect festival for the metal head looking for the more mainstream metal experience this season.

Glastonbury Festival @ Glastonbury, UK 22-24. June 2007

Ticket information: Sold out in 20 minutes

Ticket price: N/A

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 242 bands: Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Gogol Bordello, The Killers, Lily Allen, The Who, Kaiser Chiefs, Manic Street Preachers, Björk, The Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, Rufus Wainwright, The Automatic, Modest Mouse, Iggy & The Stooges, Klaxons, Biffy Clyro, Chemical Brothers, Mika, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, Disco Ensemble, Amy Winehouse, Fatboy Slim

Well, if you haven't heard of Glastonbury during one part of your life, you have been living under a rock. It is considered as the 'mother of all festivals' for many reasons - it has the most mud, the most indie rock bands and the most campers of any festivals on the continent. It was founded on similar hippie-principles as Roskilde, such as love everyone as you would like yourself to be loved, and thus the atmosphere at this festival is bound to be amazing. The only problem with such fame, though, is that the tickets literally sell out in less than 20 minutes each year. It is legendary for its bad weather, but also legendary for people not giving a rats ass about it. While I personally say you haven't lived your life properly if you haven't been to Roskilde yet, the worldwide consensus seems to be the same about Glastonbury.

Hellfest @ Clisson, FRA 22-24. June 2007

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available, will not sell out

Ticket price: €111 for a weekend ticket with camping

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 88 bands: koRn, Slayer, Dream Theater, Megadeth, Machine Head, Type O Negative, Within Temptation, Emperor, Neurosis, Children of Bodom, Hatebreed, Kreator, Mastodon, Cannibal Corpse, Converge, Chimaira, Lamb Of God, Moonspell, Napalm Death, Cynic, Dark Tranquillity, Vader, Unearth, Misery Index

French Hellfest is located in the picturesque area of Clisson, with a medieval fortress nearby adding to the all-metal atmosphere at this festival. In many ways, it can be considered the little brother of Wacken, as many of the bands they feature are those obscure metal bands you occasionally see reviewed on this site as well. If you're not friends with black leather and long-haired wacko's, I would recommend skipping Hellfest, because as its name already implies, all hell is let loose on this festival by bands like Vader, Misery Index, Coldworker and Dew Scented among the more mainstream metal acts Slayer and Dream Theater. Any emokids are strongly advised to avoid this event, because metalheads are known for their closed-mindedness against emos.

Pressure Fest @ Herne, GER 22-24. June 2007

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available, will not sell out

Ticket price: €45 for a weekend ticket, no camping as the festival is indoors

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 32 bands: Sick Of It All, Earth Crisis, Unearth, Converge, As I Lay Dying, All Out War, Evergreen Terrace, Walls Of Jericho, Bring Me The Horizon, Bury Your Dead, Job For A Cowboy, Parkway Drive, Casey Jones

If Hellfest was for the metalheads, then Pressure Fest is for the metalcore and hardcore heroes. As the picture for the event implies, you can expect a lot of stage dives, fists in the air and music with plenty of message at this indoor event. At €45, the ticket price is impressively cheap, especially because it warrants you to see As I Lay Dying, Converge, Sick of It All and Bring Me To Horizon all in the same weekend, in the same venue. While the lack of camping certainly makes this more of a Give It A Name-style festival, the bandlist should melt the heart of any hardcore/metalcore fan out there, and with as great transport links as Germany has, it shouldn't be a problem for anyone to reach this event should they be interested. On another positive note, the indoor venue makes for a much more intimate and intense feeling than the large outdoor stages, so some life-changing concerts will no doubt take place during this weekend in Herne, Germany.

Rock Werchter @ Werchter, BEL 28. June - 1. July 2007

Ticket information: Camping+Days1-4 sold out, Very few Day 1 and Day 3 tickets remaining and camping spots

Ticket price:

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 59 bands: Arctic Monkeys, Enter Shikari, Incubus, Interpol, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Mastodon, Muse, My Chemical Romance, Pearl Jam, QOTSA, Razorlight, Beastie Boys, Klaxons, Billy Talent among others

Alongside Glastonbury, Rock Werchter is another award-winning European festival, having won the "best festival in the world" award three times in the new millenium alone. It is characterized by its second stage built in the shape of a pyramid, an attraction that can be seen from miles away given good weather. Metallica is one of the bands that has played here many times throughout their career, and in 2007 are also one of the main attractions and possibly the biggest band on the bill this year. Rock Werchter has never been known for fielding hundreds of bands, but rather have delighted the crowds by booking quality acts only with very few exceptions. And looking at this year's list with everything from Enter Shikari to Pearl Jam to Billy Talent, they've hit it spot on once again. One of the 'recommended' festivals from our side, also given its relative cheapness.

With Full Force @ Roitzschjora, GER 29. June - 1. July 2007

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available, unlikely to sell out

Ticket price: €69.50 for a weekend ticket with camping

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 69 bands: koRn, Children Of Bodom, Slayer, Hatebreed, Sick of It All, Ill Niño, Dropkick Murphys, Cannibal Corpse, Amon Amarth, As I Lay Dying, Barcode, Caliban, Chimaira, Earth Crisis, Enter Shikari, Lamb Of God, Strung Out, Unearth, Volbeat, Walls Of Jericho, Bury Your Dead

With Full Force is the third main metal festival on European grounds alongside Hellfest and the grandfather of all metal festivals Wacken. It has grown year-on-year in an impressive speed and this year's lineup is one of the strongest ever. With Full Force has never been known for booking some of the most extreme metal names, which can also be seen in this year's lineup which features a lot of bands that will surely be common to almost every reader of this article. The hardcore bands are represented by Hatebreed and Sick Of It All among others, while metalcore fans will rejoice over As I Lay Dying and Unearth and death metallers will surely not miss Cannibal Corpse and Children Of Bodom. Once again, this festival needs an emo-warning stamp as any emo daring to step onto the grounds of this festival is not likely to get out alive. Highly recommended for the metalheads.

July

Quart Festival @ Kristiansand, NOR 2-6. July 2007

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available, might sell out

Ticket price: 1700 NOK for a weekend ticket with camping

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 51 bands: (many are still TBA) Chris Cornell, CKY, Machine Head, The Who, Scissor Sisters, 50 Cent, Beastie Boys, The Good The Bad And The Queen, Mew, Dropkick Murphys, Enter Shikari, Meshuggah, The Roots

Just like Hultsfred, Quart festival is one of the brother/sister festivals of Roskilde in terms of atmosphere and its wide variety of different kind of people and artists performing over the weekend. Many bands are still to be announced at the time of writing, so it is difficult to give an overall impression of the lineup, but when you have Enter Shikari, Beastie Boys, Mew, Machine Head and 50 Cent on the same bill, it says something about the objectives of this festival too. However, the festival is relatively expensive compared to Roskilde and other festivals out there, and offers little extra incentive to justify the price fully. After all, there are only just over 50 bands on the bill right now, and with the range of different acts currently signed up, many people will find themselves confused over what to do when there is a six hour break between the bands they actually want to see. However, atmosphere wise, Quart is more than recommended, as I have only heard positive experiences from the festival.

T In The Park @ Kinross, UK 6-8. July 2007

Ticket information: Sold out.

Ticket price: N/A

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 98 bands: (some still TBA) Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, Bloc Party, The Killers, Razorlight, Arcade Fire, Snow Patrol, Scissor Sisters, Kings Of Leon, Goo Goo Dolls, Avril Lavigne, My Chemical Romance, Gogol Bordello, Interpol, Biffy Clyro, Klaxons, Queens Of The Stone Age, Editors, Rufus Wainwright, Cold War Kids, Wu Tang Clan, The Sounds

Out of all the festivals we have listed in this article so far, T In The Park must be the most mainstream one of them all. After all, they are fielding Avril Lavigne alongside Goo Goo Dolls, Lily Allen, Rufus Wainwright and Arctic Monkeys this year. In one way, it demonstrates the extensive growth of the indie rock movement as there are simply so many names high up on the bill that on other festivals would play on the tiniest of stages. Personally, I've rarely found any indie act to be too entertaining in a live setting no matter how good they might be on the record, so I can't endorse this festival musically, even if My Chemical Romance, QOTSA and Biffy Clyro are all on the bill. Atmosphere wise, expect a lot of Scottish flags and retardedly drunken Scottish men with kilts (well, I am exaggerating but still!) - loads of space to camp and no aggressive behaviour in general.

Dour Festival @ Dour, BEL 12-15. July 2007

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available, unlikely to sell out

Ticket price: €75 for a four day pass + €15 for camping

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 220 bands: 108, An Albatross, Bright Eyes, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Converge, Dropkick Murphys, Gym Class Heroes, Sick Of It All, Terror, Walls Of Jericho, Wu Tang Clan

Dour Festival in Belgium is perhaps the least rock-oriented festival out of all the ones we have listed so far. It shares many similarities to Roskilde in that it is known to be a platform for many unknown bands to significantly boost their popularity, and before you know you'll see some of these bands all over MTV and the radio. Even so, the fact that the people in charge of booking have enlisted as legendary bands as 108 and Converge on the bill says something about their knowledge to the heavier scenes, and at the same time one of the most legendary hip hop/rap groups Wu Tang Clan has also been added to the bill, underlining their similarity with the Roskilde bookers. However, as the head editor of a rock oriented site I can't really recommend any of our readers to specifically choose the Dour Festival unless they are feeling particularly experimental, given the small number of rock/metal/punk bands on the bill. But what the heck, for Converge, Sick Of It All and Terror you might be willing to sacrifice a few dozen electronic acts as well.

August

Fredericia Hardcore Festival @ Fredericia, DEN 2-4. August 2007

Ticket information: Not on sale yet

Ticket price: N/A

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 16 bands: (more to be added soon) The Haunted, Madball, All That Remains, Set Your Goals, Cephalic Carnage, The Casualties, The First Step, Municipal Waste, Modern Life Is War, No Trigger

Now if there is one hardcore-oriented festival in Europe, it is Fredericia Hardcore Festival, which takes place in Fredericia the first weekend of August. With bands like All That Remains and Set Your Goals, their booking department has hit spot on when booking bands that are relevant and up and coming in 2007. Expect a lot of graffiti around the area, and a lot of fists in the air, stage dives and an intense atmosphere reminding you why hardcore bands are usually the ones with the most meaningful messages. And even if you are a metalhead, you would be retarded to miss a chance seeing The Haunted, Municipal Waste and Cephalic Carnage playing almost directly after each other. One of the absolutely most recommended festivals from our side.

Wacken Open Air @ Wacken, GER 2-4. August 2007

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available, will sell out

Ticket price: €99 for a weekend ticket with camping

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 72 bands: (far from finalized yet) All That Remains, The Answer, Amorphis, Black Dahlia Murder, Blind Guardian, Cannibal Corpse, Communic, Dimmu Borgir, Enslaved, Heaven Shall Burn, Hatesphere, In Flames, Lacuna Coil, Moonspell, Municipal Waste, Napalm Death, Type O Negative, Vader, Volbeat, Vital Remains

What is there to say about Wacken that hasn't already been said countless times before. Well, at the risk of boring you, let me just repeat it once again: Wacken is the metal festival in the world, the one place you want to be if you have long hair, a love for black leather and spiky accessories as well as brutal mosh pits. The lineup is comprised of almost exclusively obscure (to us non-extreme metalheads) extreme metal bands, with the occasional addition of a more well known band such as Heaven Shall Burn, In Flames or Type O Negative. So in many ways this festival can be considered as the 'mecca of metalheads', the one place where everyone who is somebody in the metal world will gather in appreciation of what might the the world's most hated genre out there (in the eyes of the mainstream public that is). The legend tells us that bands are known to reform just to get a chance to play at Wacken, and heck, with the reputation it carries, I am not surprised. Just think about it as the Glastonbury for metalheads.

Frequency Festival @ Salzburg, AUT 15-17. August 2007

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available, unlikely to sell out

Ticket price: €93 for a weekend ticket with camping

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 40 bands: Tool, Nine Inch Nails, Kaiser Chiefs, Beatsteaks, Interpol, Billy Talent, The Good The Bad & The Queen, Manic Street Preachers, Jimmy Eat World, The Used, Juliette & The Licks, +44, Millencolin, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Silverchair, Klaxons, The Sounds, Brand New, Hellogoodbye

Frequency Festival bears many similarities to Nova Rock festival, also located in Austria, in that it doesn't have many bands in total (only just over 40) but almost each and everyone of those bands is of the kind of quality we are only imagining at Roskilde this year. Whereas Nova Rock is more focused on catering something for everyone, a large part of Frequency Festival is dedicated to the punkier side of music, as evident with the addition of Beatsteaks, Billy Talent, JEW, +44, Millencolin and Hellogoodbye. It's one of the newcomers in the European festival scene, having only ran for six times before this year's event, and is thus more unknown to the public outside of Austria.

Bloodstock Open Air @ Derby, UK 16-18. August 2007

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available, but rumours say this year will be the first one to sell out

Ticket price: £61 for a weekend ticket with camping

URL: Official website

Lineup - 35 bands: (not finalized yet) In Flames, Finntroll, Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquillity, Nevermore, Lacuna Coil, Testament, Benediction, Rise To Addiction

Tired of the whole corporate-thing almost every single festival other than Roskilde spits at you at every possible occasion? Turn your eyes towards Bloodstock Open Air, one of the fastest growing independent music festivals in Europe. In many ways it tries to follow in the footsteps of Wacken, booking many obscure metal names to support a couple of massive ones like Nevermore, In Flames and Arch Enemy, and from what I hear, this is what makes this festival so special. It is probalby the most 'metal' gathering in the UK, meaning hundreds of bruises all over your body before the end of the festival. It is, however, relatively expensive for the amount of bands and its rather inconvenient location for foreigners.

Reading & Leeds Festivals @ Reading/Leeds, UK 24-26. August 2007

Ticket information: Plenty of tickets available, but will definitely sell out

Ticket price: £145 for a weekend ticket with camping

URL: Official Website

Lineup - 138 bands: (far from finalized yet)

Razorlight, Kings Of Leon, Interpol, Jimmy Eat World, Gogol Bordello, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire, Panic! At The Disco, Angels & Airwaves, The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Lostprophets, Fall Out Boy, Funeral For A Friend, +44, The Used, Hellogoodbye, Brand New, Enter Shikari, Sparta, Biffy Clyro, Klaxons, Hot Hot Heat, The Academy Is...

Alongside Download, Reading and Leeds festivals will probably have the best lineups this summer. Pretty much every band they book is either massive, hugely popular or 'scene' enough to gather quite a large number of fans around the stages. Sounds great so far, doesn't it? But yet we in RF.net do not endorse these two festivals at all, simply because the atmosphere in these overly commercial events is just non-existent. It is not uncommon to see people throw bottles pilled with piss/other liquids at some of your favorite bands - we all remember how the Panic! At The Disco frontman collapsed for almost ten minutes on stage after being hit in the head with one of those projectiles. I think we can all agree there's no fun in that, and on top of that you have to notice the amount of fights that occur at this festival, something which is completely unknown to Roskilde. So unless you are absolutely dying to see +44 or Brand New, I would recommend waiting for them to play at a festival where you can actually enjoy yourself, where people care about each other instead of wanting to purposefully hurt each other.

So there it is, your best-ever guide for European summer festivals in 2007. In retrospect, this article probably should have been submitted at least a month earlier (if not two) for you to get the most out of it, but on a positive note, you can start planning your 2008 summer based on this article, since most of the festivals tend to book similar bands year after year. For those of you who have a Roskilde Festival ticket - I hope to see all of you come by the Rockfreaks.net camp in east side at some point - keep an eye on the front page and forum for instructions on when and where to meet us for a beer or five.

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