Outlook Festival UK

Cheshire, United Kingdom
June 30 - July 3

Sound system culture, arguably one of the UK's most beloved exports (by way of Jamaica), stays on home turf for Outlook's 14th year. For the first time in its history, along with island hopping on Croatia's Dalmatian Coast (see Outlook Origins), the festival invites bass heads to camp on the grounds of Cholmondeley Castle, a 19th-century venue surrounded by verdant, manicured gardens in Cheshire, England. Flock to this offshoot to catch a line up of UK legends stepping up to represent the legacy of their sounds: drum & bass godfathers Fabio & Grooverider, jungle pioneer Goldie, and post-dubstep Hyperdub founder Kode9—not to mention celebrating 15 years of Hessle Audio, 15 years of Ilian Tape and 15 years of Rupture. Bountiful riddims and gun fingers guaranteed.

RA Pick: MC Chickaboo, the first female jungle and drum & bass MC repping since 1992.

Terraforma

Milan, Italy
July 1 - July 3

Nestled in the woods of Villa Arconati just outside Milan, Terraforma is a utopia for mindful partygoers. Unlike most festivals, the programming is designed to avoid overlapping acts, enabling audiences to flow from one show to another, communally. The forest setting, which includes a performance area in a hedge maze, places equal emphasis on nature as much as music. This year's edition, the first in two years, skips out on its usual schedule of talks and workshops for, instead, a focus on collaborative live performance.

RA Pick: Dub techno veteran Mark Ernestus joins forces with sabar musicians from Senegal, known for their wild drumming, to form a new project called Ndagga Rhythm Force.

Freerotation

Wales, United Kingdom
July 8 - July 11

With its roots in the free party scene, Freerotation has become a venerated event for underground house and techno heads to connect with each other while being exposed to hair-raising sets and sounds. The not-for-profit festival requires attendees to be members before purchasing a ticket. As a result, the crowd inside Baskerville Hall, the storied brick-lined mansion where artists Jus-Ed, Tama Sumo, DjRUM and ADAB are set to play, remains cosy and personal.

RA Pick: Morphine Records-affiliate Marylou's careful layering of emotionally resonant and disparate electronic music sounds—with a tinge of psychedelia.

Bass Coast Festival

British Columbia, Canada
July 8 - July 10

One of Canada's most cherished festivals finally returns for its first time since the pandemic, packed with the cutting-edge post-dubstep, post-house, or post-(insert genre here) music we've come to expect, along with a host of local British Columbia DJs, both new and old. Among them is The Librarian, one of the co-founders of the festival and part of its all-women team, who've cultivated a haven for dance music set in the rolling grasslands of Nicola Valley. Anticipate mind-melting stage design, interactive installations and an eclectic mix of generous, yoga-enthusiast attendees who wear outlandish costumes. With headliners like Kampire, Jacques Greene, Moxie and Nikki Nair, this is one of the most musically diverse editions of an already assertively open-minded festival.

RA Pick: Max Ulis, a decades-long veteran and cherished member of the Vancouver underground.

Tresor 31: Techno, Berlin und die große Freiheit

Berlin, Germany
July 9 - August 28

The iconic venue and label celebrates its 31st year with club nights, live performances and an exhibition. The multi-month birthday festivities reveres techno from its boom in the '90s to present-day, meanwhile looking to the genre's future. Over 80 artists will take part, including pioneers like Underground Resistance and Moritz von Oswald, an exhibition featuring work from Arthur Jafa, Jenn Nkiru and more, as well as showcases from emerging acts curated by local collectives. The festivities will be centralised on Köpenicker Strasse, held in the sprawling, industrial Kraftwerk building, as well as Tresor, Globus and local favourite OHM.

RA Pick: A live set from Detroit techno duo Ectomorph—for fans of all-analogue performances with an improvisational ethos.

Love International

Tisno, Croatia
July 13 - July 19

Few festivals offer as idyllic an atmosphere as Love International. Unfolding over a week on the shores of the Croatian Adriatic, this marathon electronic exhibition takes summer fun to its logical conclusion. Secret island dance floors, boat parties, sunrise sets, beach stages, and late-night discos make for an eye-popping week of music and coastal leisure. But beyond the locale itself, Love International's world-class lineup of DJs defines it as one of Europe's go-to destination festivals. Expect sets from Ben UFO back-to-back Craig Richards, Mad Miran and HAAi.

RA Pick: The effervescent trio of Moxie, Peach and Shanti Celeste taking the wheel for an eight-hour sunrise session.

Polifonic

Puglia, Italy
July 28 - July 31

Since 2017, Polifonic has become known as a multisensory feast set in Valle d'Itria, Puglia, replete with some of electronic music's most notable names. Forty acts play across four stages, including Donato Dozzy, Octo Octa, Yu Su and Gerd Jansen, marking the rural Italian festivals' most ambitious edition yet, which spans everything from veterans of Berlin's techno scene to rising disco stars. Through four days of art, DJ and live sets, and offerings of local and Apulian delicacies, Polifonic seeks to embody its ideals of environmental sustainability and gender equity.

RA Pick: Hear one of Detroit's shining stars and founder of Underground & Black, Ash Lauryn, bring her signature Motor City sound to Puglia.

The Great Beyond

Minnesota, United States
July 29 - July 31

Nestled in the heart of the Minnesota River Valley Sanctuary in Franklin, Minnesota, Great Beyond Festival connects North American punters with some of the top names in techno. Experience a carefully curated lineup of hard-hitting selectors across three days and three stages. DVS1, DJ Nobu, D.Dan, Wata Igarashi, Juana and Overland are among the names gracing the lineup for this two-year-old camping festival. .

RA Pick: Sharlese Metcalf takes the Communion Stage Sunday at 3 PM. Expect full-body workouts, EBM and classically deranged techno cuts from one of Seattle's finest.

Escape to Olganitz

Saxony, Germany
July 29 - July 25

Nachtdigital fanatics and summer camp nostalgists rejoice. For the first time since 2019, Bungalowdorf Olganitz opens its doors to club kids and a host of can't-miss artists like Sedef Adasi, Roza Terenzi, THC and Roman Flügel playing live as Tracks on Delivery. An intimate affair capped at 2,000 attendees, this inaugural event is set to deliver three days of city-free dancing, dips in the lake and sun-speckled ambient sets from the likes of Eva Porating and Philipp Rmke.

RA Pick: Gabrielle Kwarteng, a DJ with "a taste for house music that feels perfectly pitched between the classic and the new."

Body Movements

London, United Kingdom
July 30

East London's first queer and trans dance music festival is back for another round. Taking place across a web of venues in Hackney Wick, Body Movements unites a wide range of LBGTQIA+ talent. There's a heavy emphasis on UK acts, such as He.She.They and Daytimers, but also dance showcases from Let's Have a Kiki or Jay Jay Revlon's Vogue Workshop, to emphasize the event's main thrust: liberating queer bodies. Last year, attendees gallivanted around in mesh and harnesses, corsets and leotards. Here, radical and rebellious self-expression are very welcome.

RA Pick: London's very own cult-revered party and label Adonis, where tunes range from slinky Top 40 edits all the way to acid house.

See our full festival listings for July right here