The three-time Rugby World Cup-winning nation is one of the premier forces on the sport’s international stage, and that’s proven no different as of late, as the national team has the look of a side that could win a historic fourth title, officially putting it a step above all of its other world rivals.
Cool and calculated in their rugby, the Springboks now enter the final full year of competition before they have to put their World Cup title back on the line. The moves the team makes from now until then will be critical in their hope of ensuring that South Africa stays on the top of the table.
What’s ahead for the Boks as they prepare for a trio of matches at home against Wales?
Here’s a look at what’s to come for the world’s top-ranked side with those tests ahead and streamed live on FloRugby:
A Happy Homecoming
It has been almost three years since South Africa won its most recent Rugby World Cup in 2019 in Japan, but thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent restrictions, the Springboks haven’t had a return match to celebrate in front of a capacity crowd since then.
Because the South African government lifted all limitations on public gatherings and events last week, the Boks could be greeted by nearly 52,000 rugby-mad attendees July 2 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria for the first match in a three-test series against Wales.
It’s a shame South Africa hasn’t been able to be in front of full stadiums for so long because the Springboks have been the class of the rugby world for almost all of that time.
Having been the world’s No. 1-ranked side for all but two weeks since winning the World Cup final in Yokohama, South Africa had a strong end to 2021, with consecutive wins over New Zealand, Wales and Scotland, before a narrow one-point loss to close out the year against England. All matches listed were played away from home.
Coach Jacques Nienaber didn’t exactly have the easiest of jobs to do following his appointment in January 2020 (pandemic, no prior head coaching experience, pressure following a World Cup win, etc.), but the longtime national team assistant has aced most tests put before him thus far, putting the Boks in prime position next year to potentially be just the second team – after New Zealand – to win consecutive Rugby World Cups.
Wales Won’t Be Easy
Records can be a bit deceiving, and there’s a great example of that being true when looking at the prior rugby history between South Africa and Wales.
The Springboks are 30-1-6 all-time against the Welsh, a run that included 15 straight Boks wins from 2000-2014, the last two tests of which came when Wales last toured South Africa.
However, coach Wayne Pivac’s Wales has won five of the past eight meetings and lost by a combined 12 points across the other three meetings, quickly making Wales-South Africa in recent times one of the most consistently exciting fixtures in world rugby.
Because of that recent history, it would be unfair to simply write off the Welsh as underdogs next month, especially considering that some of the most decorated names in the sport – such as lock and captain Alun Wyn Jones, the most-capped player (150) in the history of the game – still are going strong for the national side.
Still, the Springboks undoubtedly will come into the series with the expectation of three wins in three matches, especially with the talent the squad has and in having full home stadiums behind it once again.
Just don’t be fooled into thinking that despite the difference in world ranking (No. 1 vs. No. 9) that all the games will be uncompetitive snooze fests. However, the recent tests have indeed been defensive-heavy as neither nation has scored more than 24 points in any of the past five matches.
Squad Size Gives Boks Options
With South Africa featuring one of the richest talent pools in world rugby, squad selection can get difficult at points for Nienaber.
The solution? Bring a massive 43-man roster along for the ride.
Only 23 players will make the matchday squads, but the numbers brought along for development camp signal that Nienaber is evaluating his options both for The Rugby Championship later this year and, for further along, defending his team’s Rugby World Cup crown from the touchline next year.
Full crowds finally will get to see the heroes from Japan three years ago with no pandemic-related restrictions.
World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi, elite fly-half Handre Pollard and center Damian de Allende are some of the more well-known names on the list, but the overall strength and power possessed by the Springboks’ scrum – a critical part of their most recent World Cup triumph – makes for a unit that has few or no equals internationally.
However, the uncapped names on the roster could make for intriguing pieces against Wales, too.
Loose forward Evan Roos was the player of the year in the recently-finished United Rugby Championship, with the 22-year-old Stormers star hoping to break through into the national side as a young talent to watch.
Roos’ teammate, Deon Fourie, also is uncapped and coming off a Man of the Match performance in the URC final over the Bulls, but at 35 years old, is hoping to get a maiden Springboks appearance as the prime of his career wears thin.
UK vehicle-makers face a 50% increase in energy costs this year, an industry body has warned.
Analysis by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) stated that the sectorâs annual energy bill â which is already ÂŁ50 million more than its European Union rivals â will rise by ÂŁ90 million in 2022.
UK electricity prices are the most expensive of any European automotive manufacturing country and 59% above the EU average, according to the SMMT.
That means UK firms could have saved nearly ÂŁ50 million if they were buying energy in the EU.
The additional cost of producing vehicles and components in the UK is putting manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage, the SMMT warned.
Speaking at the organisationâs annual summit in central London, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic, parts shortages and trade uncertainty are âimmenseâ, but addressing the UKâs high energy costs is âthe industryâs number one askâ.
He went on: âHelp with energy costs now will help keep us competitive and be a windfall for the sector, stimulating investment in innovation, R&D (research and development), training â all reinvested in the UK economy.
âWith the right backing this sector can drive the transition to net zero, supporting jobs and growth across the UK and exports across the globe.â
INDUSTRY EVENT â The Economic Power of the Worlds First Compound Semiconductor Cluster in South Wales
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Director of CSconnected, Chris Meadows spoke to Business News Wales about the importance of the compound semiconductor industry in Wales, in the build up to a Cardiff University webinar on the 7th July.
The Compound Semiconductor event â Informing Policy with Cardiff University, will see experts presenting directly to a wide range of policy-makers, providing research expertise and insights covering an industry that has a strategic national importance to the wider UK economy.
The online webinar will look at CSconnected, the worldâs first compound semiconductor cluster located in South Wales, that aims to give the UK a global advantage in technology across sectors such as Net Zero, 5G communications and autonomous vehicles. CSconnected represents organisations who are directly involved in the research, development, design and manufacturing of Compound Semiconductor technologies.
This webinar will highlight the role of the Institute for Compound Semiconductors (ICS) at Cardiff University in the development of the CSconnected cluster. The ICS focuses on translational research on Compound Semiconductor technologies. With state-of-the-art equipment, cutting-edge facilities and highly-skilled people, the ICS, located in the new TRH facility, will enable researchers and industry to work together to meet consumer demand by progressing academic research to a point where it can be introduced reliably and quickly into the production environment.
Sydney’s Star Casino complex is seen illuminated at night, February 15, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo
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June 29 (Reuters) – Australia’s Star Entertainment (SGR.AX) appointed Tyro Payments (TYR.AX) head Robert Cooke as its chief executive on Wednesday, saying his experience in the financial services industry would help steer it through a period of intense regulatory scrutiny.
Shares of Star Entertainment, the country’s No.2 casino operator, climbed 2.4% to hit their highest in nearly three weeks after having fallen 28% so far this year, while Tyro plunged more than 20% to touch a record low of A$0.620.
Cooke’s appointment comes three months after Matt Bekier stepped down as Star Entertainment’s CEO in the wake of multiple inquiries over possible breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws at the company’s casinos. read more
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“There are challenges for The Star that have been well documented. They will be my priority and focus,” Cooke said.
In a separate statement, Tyro said Cooke had served a six-month notice period, stating that he would step down as the payments terminal provider’s CEO.
Earlier this month, Queensland launched an investigation to review Star Entertainment’s suitability for a licence after an inquiry in neighbouring state New South Wales accused the casino operator of allowing breaches of anti-money laundering protocols at its Sydney resort. read more
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Reporting by Tejaswi Marthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Subhranshu Sahu
Festivals have transformed the live-music business and become a vital revenue stream for the music industry, reshaping live entertainment into an economic engine for growth and commerce while challenging humanity to live by its own best principles, celebrating both the individual and the power of the masses.
Like other great art forms, festivals evolve by building upon the past â beginning with the idealism of the anti-war and counterculture movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s through events like Woodstock and Glastonbury, to the changing cultural landscape of the 1990s, where events like Lollapalooza, Warped Tour and the Free Tibet concert series served as a bridge for todayâs biggest festival names and brands.
Ranking the festivals that have come to dominate todayâs festival landscape is a difficult task that will undoubtedly generate strong emotions, disagreements and debate. Ten people could attend the same festival one year and have 10 totally different experiences. Much of what makes a festival great is totally subjective, but most fans who enjoy and attend festivals have had some part of their life affected by the experience. With that in mind, Billboard has ranked its inaugural Top 50 Festivals chart based on influence both within the live-music ecosystem and as part of the larger music and cultural community. We want to hear your feedback on how we did and your ideas for future charts. Emaildave.brooks@billboard.comwith your feedback, and have a great festival season.
Launched by String Cheese Incident in 2013, this Halloween-themed, cross-genre arts and camping festival takes place among the swamps and Spanish moss-covered forests of North Florida at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. Mixing contemporary touring bands with avant-garde artists and sounds, Hulaween has evolved into one of the countryâs most coveted cross-genre festivals. Curating dynamic lineups that range from electronic, jam and indie to bluegrass, funk, soul and hip-hop, Suwannee Hulaweenâs ability to subvert the confines of genre boundaries is evident year after year.
Launched by Glow CEO PeteKalamoutsos, Moonrise is Baltimoreâslongest-running electronic dance music festival and the Mid-Atlantic regionâs most consequential dance fest. The festival takes place on a 150-year-old horse racing track and is now owned by Pasquale Rotella and his team at Insomniac, who plan to expand the event with the launch of Project Glow, a first-of-its-kind electronic music festival at the RFK Festival Grounds in Washington, D.C.
The III Points festival is a music, art and technology festival in the heart of Miamiâs arts district. Established in 2013, the festival has since been pushing boundaries in terms of the way audiences experience art and music. The two-day event takes place with over 90 performances across six stages, as well as immersive art installations, food vendors and cutting-edge stage designs.
Float Fest has apretty simpleconcept: Arrive, jump into an inner tube and float several miles down the San Marcos River in Texas to a festival site featuring such musical tastes as indie-pop, electro, hip-hop and progressive rock. The event also attracts a large college audience fromthe nearbyTexas State and University of Texas. Taking a break from the stages, attendees can bring their own floats to splash around in the summer sun.
Hand in front of Rock in Rio entrance during day four of the Rock in Rio Music Festival at Cidade do Rock on Oct. 3, 2019, in Rio de Janeiro. Mauricio Santana/GI
Pharrell Williams launched Something in the Water in 2019 to celebrate his hometown ofVirginia Beach, Va., butdecided to move the festival after local police shot and killed his cousin in 2021. Now the festival is taking place in Washington, D.C., and fans will not find out who is performing until a few days before the showstarts. For fans of Pharrell,Somethingin the Water is both performance art and political activism and they are more than happy to put their faith in his creative genius.
Produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, Bourbon and Beyond has developed an impressive following in the live-music business with many agents, promoters and managers talking up the event as Kentuckyâs version of Californiaâs BottleRock in Napa â a mix of impressive headliners, like this yearâs Kings of Leon, Jack White, Alanis Morissette and Pearl Jam, and up-and-coming Americana artists, as well as a focus on food and drink. This hard-rock and alternative festival is shaping up to be the insider fest of 2022.
44.
NĂźrburgring racetrack and Zeppelin Field, Nuremberg, Germany
These two festivals share a lineup much like Readingand Leeds, but instead of being located miles apart, they take place in the same town â Nuremberg, Germany, in the state of Bavaria. Rock am Ring happens at the NĂźrburgringracetrack, while RockimPark occurs at the historical Zeppelin Field. Both festivals focus on hard rock and metal and serve as an important launch pad for German and European acts, including Berlinâs own Rammstein.
43. Welcome to Rockville
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Welcome to Rockville â promoted by Danny Wimmer Presents â is considered Americaâs largest rock festival and moved to Daytona after several years in Jacksonville, Fla. With a focus on being a massive platform for hardcore, metal and hard rock bands and livestreamed by over 1 million fans annually, Welcome to Rockville has performances on four stages along with award-winning spirits, craft beer and the best food and year-round sunshine Daytona Beach has to offer.
Launched by Mexican entertainment firm CIE, Corona Capital is the hometown festival for Mexicoâs second-largest city and is known for bringing English-speaking bands to the country to show how many fans live south of the border. From its roaming beer vendors to its wild afterparties, the festivalâs âanything goesâ attitude hasnât let up, even as the festival scene becomes more corporatized.
There are few outdoor experiences more magical than camping in the Rocky Mountains during the summer. It is an enlightening experience especially when surrounded by one of the seasonâs jewels â the annual Telluride Bluegrass festival. The Town Park campground is the Valhalla of camping with permanent bathrooms, waterfalls and stages so close that you can listen to the music from your tent. The showâs lineup includes Americana, jam bands, alt country and, of course, bluegrass.
Attendees ride a super swing at the 2019 Electric Daisy Carnival at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on May 18, 2019, in Las Vegas. Steven Lawton/GI
Festival Iberoamericano de Cultura Musical Vive Latino is an annual music festival held in Mexico City that celebrates every Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking country in the Western Hemisphere. For many, itâs the most important rock show in all of Mexico but also highlights other genres through the Carpa Doritos Gozadero, a space dedicated to other music genres such as techno, deep house, hip-hop, trap and dancehall. Launched by concert promoter OCESA in 1998, Vive Latino has been many artistsâ first introduction to the country as well as Mexico City, the hemisphereâs largest live-music market.
The annual three-day music festival isheldalong the public beaches of Gulf Shores and at famed restaurant/venue The Hangout. With an emphasis on Southern hospitality and legendary performers, Hangout Fest has taken over the Gulf Coast city since 2010 with a huge lineup featuring just about every genre and providing a sneak peek of whatâs coming this summer in the United States. As far as we know, this is the only festival in the world where you can watch the main stage from a hot tub.
Curated by and named after Philadelphiaâs own critically acclaimed band The Roots, this summer tradition is a celebration of Phillyâs famed music scene. While the gravity of its Grammy Award-winning hosts and their many musical collaborations and connections may be what attracts the masses to the festival (you never know who will take the stage), most of the dayâs music rings out with vibrant discovery of new sounds coming from each of the Picnicâs three stages. From burgeoning local rappers on the Cricket Stage to breakout experimental artists on the main stage, the festival boldly faces forward, embracing its historical ties to the Black community.
This surfing-centric festival founded by Pearl Jamâs Eddie Vedder has launched its first Encore Weekend this year, featuring Vedder, Alanis Morissette, The Black Keys and HAIM. Created to honor and protect the California coastline, half of Ohanaâs proceeds each year benefit a local nonprofit that aims to preserve and maintain Californiaâs state parks. Keeping in tune with Ohanaâs premise, the lineup showcases the best of indie, surfer rock and alternative music.
Developed as an alternative to the increasingly commercialized EDM scene in 2007, Gary Richardsâ HARD Summer was dedicated to highlighting the next generation of breakthrough artists â often hand-picked by Richards, a performance artist in his own right when he takes the stage as DJ Destructo. Each summer, HARDâs diverse, technicolor-clad fans come together to celebrate the intersection of electronic and hip-hop music culture. Boasting names throughout the years such as Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Future, Skrillex, Major Lazer, and countless other big acts, itâs no wonder HARD Summer has had such a lasting impact on the North American festival circuit.
Named after James Spoonerâs pivotal 2003 documentary on New Yorkâs Black punk-rock scene, Afropunk was launched by Santigold manager Matthew Morgan in Brooklyn in 2005 and developed the moniker into a festival highlighting âthe other Black experienceâ in music. Today, Afropunk is both an event series (that changes its location every year) and a platform for non-mainstream Black music in all forms. This year, Afropunk heads to Minneapolis for the first Afropunk Midwest. The festival hopes to celebrate the bustling community of Black creators and activists living in the Twin Cities while opening space for a conversation around the struggles facing the community at large.
34. Rocking the Daisies
Cloof Wine Estate, Darling and SuperSport Park; Centurion, South Africa
Rocking the Daisies, like the Reeding and Leeds festivals, spreads its musical lineup over two very different sites: a posh family winery and an urban sports and music park in one of South Africaâs largest cities. Programmed by Steyn Entertainment, the three-day festival is also known for its musical collaborations, multisensory experiences and production techniques, along with its commitment to environmental sustainability efforts like its continued support of the World Wildlife Fund.
Exit Festival is a two-time winner of the best European major festival award at the EU Festival Awards and takes place in a historic 18th-century fortress, melding the scenic location with a genre-blending mix of dance music styles and artists spread out over 30 different stages and zones. The main performance space, the legendary Dance Arena, is considered one of the leading open-air electronic music stages in the world, while host city Novi Sad is often regarded as one of the top European capitals of culture due to its museums, galleries, restaurants, cafes and bars combining Soviet architecture and modernized Hungarian-Austrian design.
Estereo Picnic is Bogotaâs Lollapalooza â a mix of local artists and international touring acts who take over a golf course and country club on the outskirts of the capital city with a thriving fan community and âHippie Marketâ that attracts fans to this mountainous festival. Bring plenty of rain gear because it will inevitably get very wet during the torrential downpours that temporarily soak the festival each day.
This long-running camping festival in Californiaâs Moreno Valley is a cosmic ode to the metaphysical, dubbing itself the most trusted name in inter-dimensional exploration since 2012. Known for booking psychedelic bands, stoner rock and all things way left of center, Desert Daze takes a serious yet approachable view of topics like mysticism in the music industry and the occult, outfitting itself with illuminated art and custom immersive sound installations. There are film screenings, lectures, sound baths and parties that go deep into the night. Itâs hard not to have a good time at Desert Daze â just keep an open mind and bring enough clothes to comfortably travel between galaxies.
General view of the grounds during day one of Rolling Loud Miami at Hard Rock Stadium on July 23, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla.
One of the first festivals to face cancellation due to COVID-19, Ultra came back in 2022 with strong attendance more than 23 years after it was launched by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes in 1999. Ultra, which primarily takes place downtown at Bayfront Park â has divided the residents of Miami: The festival has an economic impact of $170 million but also brings drugs and violence to the city. Held alongside the Winter Music Conference and Miami Music Week, Ultra is an important franchise for the electronic music scene and the first event on the calendar each year for hundreds of artists preparing to tour the EDM festival circuit.
Tired of his hometown being the only major U.S. city without its own trademark festival, Aaron Dessner of The National launched Boston Calling in 2013 with the help of Boston-based Crash Line Productions. In 2016, the rock and contemporary music festival was purchased by Madison Square Garden Co. and is now run by co-founder Brian Appel. Boston Calling has a hard-rock appeal and is a showcase for the festival production talents and capabilities in the New England region along with the importance of Boston as one of the Northeastâs best concert markets.
One of the great punk-rock festivals of North America, Chicagoâs Riot Fest has expanded in the last decade to include alternative, metal and hip-hop but will always be best known for its high-profile headliner sets including The Misfitsâ first major reunion in 2016. Today, the event has added a circus atmosphere with lucha libre, carnival rides and sideshow performers who push the boundaries of good taste.
Fuji Rock is Japanâs biggest music festival, organized by promoter Smash Japan and held at a popular ski resort about a 90-minute train ride from Tokyo. International travelers often attend to access the hot springs and lengthy hiking trails that lead to secret gigs around the resort. Fans camp, stay in their cars or book a room at one of the many surrounding ski lodges that can provide visitors with a more traditional Japanese culinary experience.
Spread over 18 city blocks in downtown Las Vegas with a backdrop of old-school casinos and the Fremont East bar district, Life Is Beautiful is a celebration for Sin City locals co-created by Zappos founder Tony Hsieh and Rehan Choudhry in 2013. Besides music booked by Another Planet Entertainment, attendees enjoy a culinary village with food from some of the countryâs top chefs, an Alchemy Garden with wine and beer, and inspirational speakers and educational panels for attendees. (Billboard parent company PMC purchased a majority stake in Life Is Beautiful in 2022.)
Launched in 2018 at bohemian paradise Papas and Beer, Baja Beach in Rosarito (about an hour south of the Tijuana border crossing) has grown rapidly year over year as a popular weekend getaway from Los Angeles and San Diego. With headliners primarily in the fast-growing Latin trap and reggaetĂłn music scenes, the three-day festival (which takes place over two weekends) quickly sells out every year thanks to founders Chris Den Uijl and Aaron Ampudia and their passionate fans willing to make the trek through Baja California.
The Pitchfork Music Festival is the ultimate tastemaker conference booked by Mike Reed of Constellation Arts, a longtime Chicago talent buyer and event producer. The festival takes place every July in Union Park â a green gateway near downtown known for its stunning cityscape backdrops. Like its namesake media company, Pitchfork is booked beyond the mainstream and features artists that are culturally acclaimed but not necessarily as commercially successful as the artists playing the neighboring Lollapalooza. While some of the acts booked can be more challenging for the audience, many casual fans say they prefer the laid-back vibe at Pitchfork and its celebration of the city to larger events.
Since launching in 2001, promoter and festival creator Pablo Soler has expanded the Primavera Sound brand into South America and the United States, including a new Los Angeles festival in 2022. Primavera Sound is a celebration of Barcelona and a showcase of big-name headliners from the Spanish indie-rock scene with songs sung in Spanish, Catalan, English and Portuguese. Each night features smaller club shows across the city through the Primavera als Clubs, and parents who want to party with their kids should check out minimusica â an interactive, kid-friendly programming area. Thereâs even a daytime conference component, PrimaveraPro, geared toward industry professionals, producers, thought leaders and musicians who work in the music industry.
Quebecâs famed annual concert has a distinctively French Canadian identity â itâs named after French explorer Jacques Cartierâs first contact with an aboriginal Mohawk tribe in 1535. But Canadaâs largest and longest-running indie festivalâs bookings tend to have a broader appeal with mostly English-speaking artists. (Those looking for a French-language festival should consider Montreal Pop.) Launched by Nick Farkas of indie concert promotion company Evenko in 2006, the festival has attracted artists from around the world interested in its serene location on Saint Helenâs Island inside the Parc Jean-Drapeauâs Espace 67 â a historic complex that includes a natural amphitheater, an Alexander Calder sculpture and the iconic Montreal Biosphere that houses the Montreal Environmental Museum. Canât make it Osheaga? Evenko now operates a year-round minifest and event series that works with everyoneâs schedule.
Few events evoke the emotions and beauty of Electric Forest, where a ranch in Rothbury, Mich., is transformed into a mystical celebration of light and sound. Now owned by Insomniac, Electric Forest was one of the first festivals to combine the electronic music and jam band genres. The true headliner is the Sherwood Forest, the festivalâs backdrop known for bringing energy and unprecedented participatory spirit to the siteâs incomparable features and amenities. By day, fans gather through a web of hundreds of hammocks draped along the clustered trees of the forestâs maze of installations and gathering spaces. At night, Sherwood Forest comes alive, lit up with state-of-the-art lighting displays, impromptu âsecretâ parties and costumed characters.
Lizzo performs on the Lands End Stage at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival at Golden Gate Park on Aug. 11, 2018, in San Francisco. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Fans have long sworn that Denmarkâs Roskilde Festival is one of the worldâs most underappreciated and unique fests for all genres of rock and pop music, including acts such as Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Nirvana, David Bowie, Taylor Swift and Cardi B. Organizers always provide a space for up-and-coming Nordic artists as well, and all revenue after expenses is donated to Scandinavian charities. Each year the fest is given a theme â in 2019, the theme was Solidarity, which called on fans to support one another in fighting âhopelessness and despairâ in the face of climate change, inequality and political division around the world.
The original flagship of the Rock in Rio brand, the Brazilian fest is set in Rio de Janeiroâs Cidade do Rock and showcases some of rock, pop and hip-hopâs biggest artists. Launched near the end of a decadeslong military coup supported by the U.S. government, Rock in Rio is both a symbol of musicâs transformative power and one of the biggest media moments in the country, watched by millions in and outside of Brazil. For much of the 1980s and â90s, Rock in Rio was many artistsâ introduction to the country, drawing hundreds of thousands of people every year to hear live music and enjoy art on their own terms.
Australiaâs 20-year-old festival, held in North Byron Parklands in New South Wales since 2013, is known for its carefully curated lineup and quirky experiences like the dance-centric Tipi Forest, eccentric craft tents (with names like âSmash Those Bad Dream Catchersâ and âCool As F#%k Charm Braceletsâ) and a music-filled kids area known as Little Splendour. Few festivals indulge their fansâ creative instincts like Splendour by finding as many ingenious ways to reinvent itself each year, including plans for a 2022 science tent with lectures and adult-friendly hands-on experiments.
Launched in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island, this festival has maintained its relevance within the folk music community by pushing the boundaries of the genre: In the 1960s the fest invited both Johnny Cash and blues artist Howlinâ Wolf to perform. The festival closed for 15 years between 1970 and 1985, but today is a premiere showcase for folk, blues, country, bluegrass and other genres including alt country, indie folk and folk punk with a lineup that changes often (many artists simply show up and perform without any advance notice). âWe are probably the only festival that doesnât know its full roster until the day after itâs over,â promoter Jay Street says.
16. Reading and Leeds Festivals
Bramham Park, Leeds; Little Johnâs Farm, Reading, England
Located about three hours apart in England, the Reading and Leeds festivals are linked by a shared lineup that plays both festivals â Reading in the south near London and Leeds in the north near Manchester â traveling between the two cities each August. Managed by Festival Republic, the rock-centric shows are known for their legendary sets and rowdy crowds, along with heaps of mud, excessive drinking and massive mosh pits. For fans who still want rockânâroll to be dangerous, it doesnât get much better than Readingâs Little Johnâs Farm and Leedsâ Branham Park.
Launched by Made Events, Electric Zoo is New Yorkâs hometown rave on Randallâs Island â a herculean musical celebration that was briefly the U.S. anchor of SFX, the worldâs first and last publicly traded EDM company. Previously owned by a hedge fund, the annual electronic music festival â with past international editions in Mexico City, Tokyo, Shanghai and SĂŁo Paulo â was bought by New Yorkâs Avant Gardner in June. Its location in one of North Americaâs best nightclub markets makes it an instant powerhouse in the dance community and, while the festival has been slow to react to an uptick in overdose deaths and safety issues, its fans have remained loyal and willing to come back year after year.
This Goldenvoice festival has only been on the scene for a few years, but organizers let fans know they were ready to throw down top dollar when they booked J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott to headline the inaugural 2019 edition at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip. Like other festivals in the genre such as Rolling Loud, Day N Vegas can feel a little disorganized and chaotic, but when one compares the cost of a ticket with the eventâs ROR (return on rappers), there are few better options for fans looking to max out their music dollars than this deeply booked music experience.
Launched during the festival worldâs second wave in the early 2000s by C3 Presents â also co-founders of Lollapalooza â the annual event gets its name from the long-running PBS show Austin City Limits and is one of the few contemporary music festivals to take place over two weekends and feature more than 100 acts. ACL happens inside Austinâs âmost beloved park,â the famed 350-acre Zilker Park where Barton Creek meets Lady Bird Lake. Longtime fans say the festivalâs carefully curated lineup, October dates and embrace of Austinâs food and arts culture make it one of the best large-scale festivals in the country.
Started as a long-shot rap and hip-hop festival in Miami in 2015, Rolling Loud has become a global live-music brand with events held in Europe, Mexico and Asia. Its mainstay event in Florida is now one of the most important music festivals in hip-hop. Built from scratch by lifelong music fans Matt Zingler and Tariq Cherif, Rolling Loudâs early strengths were its daring curation and booking, elevating a new generation of artists with exciting live shows and captivating energy. Today, the biggest performers headline the raucous Miami festival, coming from all over the world, often driven solely by their love and trust of Zingler and Cherif.
View of the crowd and boats during day two of the Newport Folk Festival from the roof of Fort Adams in Fort Adams State Park on July 23, 2021, in Newport, Rhode Island. Douglas Mason/GI
Located at a horse racing track just outside of the cityâs 7th Ward, Jazzfest is an open-air museum, street festival and pilgrimage dedicated to the musical legacy of The Big Easy. Fans walk between two sprawling main stages to access a maze of creole and Cajun culinary options, smaller stages featuring on-the-rise touring artists and about a dozen massive tents highlighting the best in gospel, African music, jazz, R&B, swing and big band sounds. Each day the festival ends around 7 p.m. and the cityâs many venues and performance spaces reverberate with afterparties for New Orleansâ living legends like Dumpstaphunk, Trombone Shorty, the Neville Brothers, The Meters and dozens of other acts.
Dave Graham and his partners at Latitude 38 have completely changed how the world looks at the festival-going experience with this Napa, Calif., festival built around food, wine and the true rock stars of the culinary world: award-winning chefs. With a general admission experience that rivals most festivalsâ VIP sections and a lineup of contemporary and classic artists that provides the festivalâs signature soundscape, BottleRock is an easygoing event with plenty of specially crafted food and beverage options, no long lines and options for every price point.
This annual Palm Springs festival happens the week after Coachella on the same site and is widely considered the largest celebration of country music on the planet (âI canât think of anything biggerâ fans often say when discussing the size of Stagecoach). With major Nashville acts headlining the main stage and alt country, Americana, bluegrass and roots music groups performing on the smaller stages, Stagecoach has something for all fans of Western life, including bountiful barbecue pits, âhillbilly chicâ fashion boutiques and a full-scale replica of the old Palomino bar in North Hollywood.
What began as a jam band festival on a 700-acre farm in an effort to entice and emulate the fan communities that came out for shows by Phish and the Grateful Dead, Bonnaroo has become one of the largest camping-based contemporary music festivals in the world with visitors packing in truckloads of gear for the long weekend. While jam-centric acts Widespread Panic and String Cheese Incident typically get top billing, the festival has become more mainstream since Live Nation bought out Superflyâs ownership of Bonnaroo in 2020. For many, the Roo is both a rite of passage and an annual tradition for attendees looking for a festival that places positivity and kindness as its highest values. Bonnaroo is a great option for adventurous types not afraid to get a little dirty. Even during the most difficult moments on the Farm, attendees are always expected to have a good attitude and be willing to help one another.
Few cities do summer quite like Chicago, where every neighborhood, block and brownstone comes alive in June and July in celebration of the Windy Cityâs music, food and city park system. The crown gem is Grant Park in downtown Chicago that sits alongside the Chicago skyline and the shores of Lake Michigan and is home to the Lollapalooza festival featuring 170 top touring acts in rock, pop, dance and EDM spread over nine stages. At night, the city buzzes with afterparties and unofficial underground shows throughout Chicagoâs iconic venues. If youâre looking to fully immerse yourself in all forms of music in one of the countryâs best concert markets, this is the festival for you.
This long-running Belgium festival is often celebrated as the worldâs largest dance music party on one the festival worldâs largest sites â a space known as the Tomorrowland Holy Grounds, which is steeped in mythical imagery with water ways, sprawling greens and destinations like the Rave Cave, the Garden of Madness and the famed Mouse Bar. Attendees say Tomorrowland is the most mystical and imagination-defying experience one can have without leaving planet Earth. Like its cousin and rival Electronic Daisy Carnival, Tomorrowland is one of the few events that truly has it all, including the worldâs biggest superstars across EDM, house, techno, drumânâbass and trance spread over 10 intricately designed stages that push live production beyond anything most people will ever experience. Built around the idea of imagination and storytelling, Tomorrowland is its own universe waiting to be discovered and a bucket list experience for dance music fans.
Even when it launched in 1987 with only 700 attendees, South by Southwest was already too crowded for the 15 venues that played host in its first year (only 150 were initially expected to attend). Today, SXSW is a global platform for film/TV projects, music artists and tech companies wanting to be discovered by the eventâs 80,000 registered attendees and 150,000 fans who flock to Austin for its barbecues, parties and free shows. Itâs a festival where buzzy young bands still get discovered in dive bars and major artists play secret shows in tiny sauce-stained honky-tonks. While music discovery has largely gone the way of the algorithm, SXSW is still the best feet-on-the-ground festival for discovering new bands and sounds. (Billboard parent company PMC purchased a minority stake in SXSW in 2021.)
The annual San Francisco festival might be one of the youngest fests in the top 10, but its foundersâ credentials â festival gurus Superfly Entertainment and the independent Bay Area concert company Another Planet Entertainment â and its location inside Golden Gate Park, just blocks from the Pacific Ocean, give Outside Lands a level of instant credibility within the live-music space. Known for its consistently well-curated lineup, a long-standing commitment to high-end food and wine from Bay Area restaurants and chefs, and a willingness to take risks on everything from comedy to cannabis, Outside Lands is discovered each year by thousands of new fans looking for a one-of-a-kind experience thatâs both credible and authentic.
Pasquale Rotellaâs annual dance festival â held each summer âbeneath the Electric Skyâ â has gone from quasi-legal Los Angeles rave to major Las Vegas economic engine, with tens of thousands of hotel rooms booked and nightclubs bristling with activity each year. The dance music world takes over the Las Vegas Strip every May for North Americaâs ultimate spectacle of sound and light featuring the biggest names in house, techno, drumânâbass and other genres. Every Ferris wheel, performance stage and art exhibit at the expansive festival site on the outskirts of town was either commissioned by Rotella or created by one of his senior staff members who spent years with the promoter trying to capture his vision. Each night of the festival is packed with global superstars spread out across EDCâs seven stages, but itâs the community EDC has created â where fans are deemed âheadlinersâ by Rotella and productions grow bigger and bigger each year â that speaks to the eventâs power and longevity.
No other festival or event has done more to nurture, develop and celebrate the idealist peculiarities and cultural eccentricities of modern festival culture quite like the merry men and women of Glastonbury. Launched by dairy farmer Michael Eavis as the Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival just 13 months after the original Woodstock festival, Glastonbury would serve as ground zero for nearly all of the counter-cultural movements of the 1970s and 1980s and is one of the few festivals to take a âfallowâ year every five years to give the land and locals a break. Today, Glastonbury is more relevant than ever, from its iconic Pyramid stage to Eavisâ dedication to raising awareness about the dangers of global warming. The festival has been through many different incarnations over the years, but it has always served as a force for good in the music world.
Harry Styles performs onstage at the Coachella Stage during the 2022 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival on April 15 in Indio, Calif. Kevin Mazur/GI
The granddaddy of them all, Coachella is the best attended, most relevant and highest grossing music festival in the world. Livestreamed each year to millions of fans worldwide, no other festival transcends culture or has as much influence on the music industry and music fans as this annual rite of passage in the desert. Spread out over a sun-soaked grassy polo complex outside of Palm Springs amid foothills that paint the sunset sky in hues of purple and blue, Coachella is both a celebration of Southern California culture and a platform for artists of all backgrounds to share a moment with the festivalâs massive audience. While influencers and celebrities draw the most attention, most attendees are young, working music fans who are passionate about the live experience and will continue supporting concerts over the long haul. More than half of the attendees at Coachella buy their $524 ticket before the lineup has been released through Goldenvoiceâs payment plan system which splits the cost of a ticket into four or nine installments. In exchange, Goldenvoice provides a live music experience produced, staged, and delivered at the highest level possible. Sure, money can buy attendees greater creature comforts, but attendees who invest their time dancing, singing along and taking in the festivalâs artistry are the ones who always stand to gain the most from the Coachella experience.
In Australia and a lawyer assisting the New South Wales government inquiry into The Star Entertainment Group Limited has reportedly recommended that the firm be barred from holding a local casino license until it has decisively rectified a number of risk management failures.
According to a report from The Age newspaper, this advice from state counsel Naomi Sharp (pictured) came on the final day of the probe into the Brisbane-headquartered companyâs suitability to hold a gambling license for its 351-room The Star Sydney property. The lawyer purportedly also advised the examination that the operator still has a dysfunctional internal culture and only belatedly offered limited admissions of wrongdoing with very little insights into how and why things went south.
Equivalence aim:
This inquiry into The Star Entertainment Group Limited is being chaired by prominent local attorney Adam Bell and kicked off approximately eight months after rival operator Crown Resorts Limitedwas refused permission to open a casino within its new Crown Sydney facility owing to a slew of money laundering allegations tied to that companyâs past use of foreign junket firms. Sharp reportedly told this latest New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority-backed investigation that both operators should be held to the same standards and be obliged to treat their gambling licenses as a privilege that confers the ability to earn âvery substantial revenues.â
Sharp reportedly statedâŚ
âTo date, very little has been said about why these problems have happened and why the misconduct occurred. Very little has been said about why the culture was dysfunctional to the extent that it was and why the second line of defence under the risk management framework failed so fundamentally. We submit, there is still the need for a further period of reflection and investigation to understand how this could have gone so wrong.â
Embarrassing episode:
The Star Entertainment Group Limited is also responsible for The Star Gold Coast and Treasury Brisbane venues in Queensland and is reportedly hoping to premiere that stateâs $2.3 billionQueens Wharf Brisbane development by the summer of next year. However, investigators in New South Wales purportedly earlier heard how the company had flouted rules on the use of Chinese debit cards to process at least $647 million in illicit transactions, lied to banks about such dealings and failed to properly engage with local regulators.
Extra exasperation:
Moreover the subject of an analogous examination by officials in Queensland, Sydney-listed The Star Entertainment Group Limited is furthermore alleged to have continued to run an illegal high-roller operation within its The Star Sydney venue in partnership with sullied junket enterprise Suncity Group despite an earlier assertion that such a relationship did not exist. This was all purportedly topped off by contentions that the company may have failed to contribute sufficient New South Wales gaming duties while covertly working to stop the opening of the inquiry.
Sharp reportedly declaredâŚ
âThe reality remains that this company was not running a flower shop, it was running casinos and in casinos there are well-known risks of criminal infiltration and of money laundering.â
Consideration call:
The Age reported that Bell is expected to present his inquiry findings to the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority by the end of August while Sharp additionally sought to invalidate a claim from The Star Entertainment Group Limited that it was now suitable to hold a casino license in the wake of the recent resignations of its Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. She purportedly finished by citing the beleaguered firmâs failure to disclose Project Congo, which was an internal assessment conducted last summer to determine the âgood reputeâ of its junket partners, as a further sign of ongoing issues.
Sharp reportedly proclaimedâŚ
âIt underscores the point that the process of reflection in which The Star Entertainment Group Limited is engaging is far from complete.â
