If sitting under the Christmas tree and chilling while reading or knitting doesn’t really suit your winter plans, we have good news for you: there’s a bunch of European festivals out there, that are ready to take you on snowboard or skiing trips, offer you the finest music gigs and make you move like crazy on the dance floors.
All you need to do is jump in your winter suit, stay warm and head towards the mountains, where the festival organizers, the artists and hopefully the snow await you.
So here’s five most interesting European Winter Festivals to attend in the company of friends, before and in the aftermath of family Holydays:
1. RISE Festival ( Les Deux Alpes, FRANCE)
Located in the amazing landscape of the French Alps, RISE is the type of festival that offers more than one week of snow, music and mountains. Held from the 10th to 17th of December this year, the annual festival is an active celebration of winter dedicated to many party and amateur winter sports people like you. Plenty of good music and and enthusiastic crowds are the characteristics of the RISE Festival week that’s about come.
Ibiza Rocks the Snow has hitched a ride for this snow and dance music festival in The Two Alps, whose premise is to change the idea that Alpine après-ski has to involve boring events drowned in alcohol at the local pubs.
The Line-up is well balanced and announces different artists and various music genres. You will be able to see live performing Seth Troxler, the house and techno American DJ based in London, KANO the British rapper, DUB PHIZIX with their crazy dubstep beats coming straight from Manchester or the house-pop duo Tony & Robin, amongst others.
The tickets can be purchased via RISE Festival website and include accommodation features, so you don’t have to worry about anything while partying on the top of the world.
As a special event for the 2016 edition, special alpine Yoga sessions with instructors will be available. Isn’t that amazing? Check it out on World of Rise webpage.
2. Fridge Festival (Hochkönig, AUSTRIA)
Held between 14th - 15th of January 2017, FRIDGE is one of a kind Austrian festival, worth of attending if you like winter sports, energetic times and letting the rhythm move you. Good dancing music, good crowd vibes and skiing after hours are included.
The incredible landscape will literally make you high, and if you add up the DJ gigs that are ready to heat the atmosphere on the highest mountain of the Austrian Alps, it looks like the perfect good times winter combo.
Prepare to meet the snow on dubstep rhythms: Borgore, the Israeli DJ, is coming to shake the dance floor and to get your dancing moves going wild. The Line-up also includes local artists MÖWE and DAME, amongst many others.
Tickets are available on the festival’s webpage and cost between 29€ to 109€.
3. PARADISE FESTIVAL (Vienna, AUSTRIA)
Held in the capital city of Austria, in Hallman Dome arena between 27th - 28th of January, this short festival truly respects it’s name and creates each year a magical party space.
With mind blowing decorations, two dance floors and a massive Funktion-One soundsystem, PARADISE is ready to offer a psychedelic electronic experience and plenty of beats per minute for you to dance like a modern fairytale character.
There will be 9 international DJ’s acts and the full line-up is to be announced on the 20th of November, so stay tuned! Check out this video from the previous edition, and catch the vibe of the place for the 2017 coming edition:
4. Eurosonic Noordeslag (Groningen, the NETHERLANDS)
Located in the university town of Groningen, one of the most captivating Dutch cities, Eurosonic Noordeslag is taking place between 10th to 14th of January in the beginning of the new year 2017. Something special about this festival? The massive numbers of new acts of (mostly) European musicians coming every year.
By night, during two showcase festivals (Eurosonic and Noorderslag), musical talent has the chance to present itself to an international audience of music lovers and professionals.You will definitely enjoy many concerts, but dancing and self-expression are also a big part of this Festival’s scene. Check out the full line-up and get the tickets via Festival’s webpage.
5. Trans Musicales (Rennes, FRANCE)
Shortly known by the name ‘Le Trans’ , this festival has a long history, dating from the good old seventies. That doesn’t make it retro or less ‘modern’, on the contrary: the Line-up has an impressive number of young and creative musicians.
You have to be fast in buying tickets for this Festival, as it will happen quite soon, just at the end of the month, from 30th of November - 4th of December 2016.
Trans Musicales festival is very much rooted in the experimental music and audience's fine reactions to it. There probably won't be crazy crowds joining the gigs, nor enormous dance floors filled with hundreds of BPM’s, but you will definitely find a sense of trance in listening and sharing this type of music. The incredibly vibrant Breton capital city of Rennes will definitely have its contribution to this kind of musical experience, so if you already planned to visit France this winter, go see Le Trans.
Booked your favorite winter festival yet? Hurry up, cause ‘winter’s coming’, you know what they say... Here are just five options for late December 2016 and January 2017. Follow our blog to find out more about coming winter festivals in the next months of 2017.
Don't forget to download the FestivALL app for iOS and Android to keep track of your favorite music festivals, performong bands and lineups. Keep in mind that, as lazy as it sounds, winter times can be awesome if you attend the festivals that suit your style!
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