Music Festivals in Denmark

Denmark loves their music festivals and there is one in nearly every part of the country during the 3 months of summer. Does not matter if you like rock, folk or jazz, Denmark has a music festival to suit your taste. Most of the festivals are 2-3 days and are family events where you can camp and "hygge" with 1000s of other Danes enjoying the summer weather.

Many of the festivals are located near beaches, so it is easy to cool off in the surf. There is lots of camping, except in the the festivals in Copenhagen, where you will need hotel accomodations, so plan early.

It is rare that you are allowed to bring your own drink and food, so read up carefully on the rules before heading out. Also get your tickets early since most of the festivals do sell out and usually pretty quickly.

People have their favorites and often buy tickets for next year as soon as they go on sale.

Below is a list of the largest and most popular festivals each year. This does not mean that there are not other music festivals, there are many smaller and local events throughout the year, but these are some of the best or most popular.

Enjoy your summer.

Festivals

1. Jelling Musik Festival 2010, May29 – May 31, located on the west side of Jelling near Jelling Camping. Jelling is about 8 km west of Vejle, there is bus and train service available. Concert dates are May 27 through May 30. Tickets can be obtained via their website www.jellingmusikfestival.dk

2. Skive Beach Party 2010, June 2 – June 5, located near the harbour in Skive, which is about 1.5 hours northwest of Arhus. More information at www.beachparty.dk .

3. Start Festival 2010 , June 10 to June 12, is located in the heart of Copenhagen at Halmtorvet in Vesterbro. Just west of the main train station. More information at www.startfestival.dk

4. Kløften Festival 2010, June 24th to June 26th, is located in Haderslev (which is halfway between Aabenraa and Kolding in Jutland. There are bus connections, closest train is in Vojens (about 12 km east of Haderslev). More information at www.kloften.dk

5. Nibe Festival 2010, June 30 to July 3, located in Nibe, which is about 20 km west of Aalborg and the concert is located right on the coast. Lovely location. Head liners are Nephew, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, MEW, Kashmir and TechN9ne. More information at www.nibefestival.dk

6. Roskilde Festival 2010 , July 1 to July 4, located in Roskilde is the largest music festival in Denmark. More information at www.roskilde-festival.dk

7. Skagen Festival 2010, July 1 to July 4, located as far north in Denmark as you can get. If you can not make Roskilde Festival than Skagen is a good alternative if you are in Jutland. More information at www.skagenfestival.dk

8. Copenhagen Jazz Festival 2010 , July 2 to July 11, in Copenhagen. (my personal favorite music festival). For 10 days there are jazz performers performing in various venues around Copenhagen. More information at www.jazzfestival.dk

9. Vig Festival 2010, July 8 to July 10, 2010 , located in Vig which is south of Nykobing S in northern Sjaelland. Bus and train connections from Copenhagen. More information at www.vigfestival.dk

10. Samsø Festival 2010, July 21 to July 24, located on the island of Samsø, which is just southeast of Arhus. You will need to take a ferry over to the island from either Hov in Jutland or from Kalundborg in Sjaelland. This is a small festival with mostly Danish Artists. More information at www.samfest.dk. 11. Langland Festival 20, July 24th to July 31st, 2010, located in Rudkobing, Langeland. More information at www.langelandsfestival.dk

12. Skanderborg Festival 2009 , August 4 to August 8, 2010, located in Skanderborg in Jutland. More information at www.smukfest.dk

13. Beatday 2010, August 14 and 15 in Copenhagen in Valbyparken, which is a short distance south west of the Copenhagen central. Easy bus transport. More information at www.beatday.dk

14. Tonder Festival 2009, August 27 to August 30th, located in Tonder, which is southern Denmark near the German border. Train and bus transport is available. This is folk festival. More info at www.tf.dk.