By Blame Glastonbury for convincing us all that sheer size alone is the measure of a great festival. True, there's something about entering that miniature city and marvelling at its scale that makes you feel like you've entered another world, but that scale can also become a little exhausting.
Smaller festivals have all the same magic and abandon without the headache. No crush of queues to get anywhere, no fear of separating from your friends and no anxiety of trying to see to everything on offer.
Bigger isn't necessarily better and downsizing doesn't have to mean you're getting boring. Here's six festivals that prove it.
and& (Belgium)
This year sees the first instalment of this four day festival which promises to mix hard partying with hard thinking as it also hosts summits on health, tech and creativity. With only around 8,000 attendees, it's a good one to get to before the inevitable expansion. The music offering includes a live show from Bicep, performance from Joy Orbison and much more.
2-5 May, Leuven, Belgium, andleuven.com
Lente Kabinet (Amsterdam)
Billed as 'Dekmantel's little sister' this festival - set in a nature reserve in northern Amsterdam - is expanding in this year, its sixth, from one to two days. Expect beautiful surroundings, an intimate crowd and euphoric house, disco and techno on the small but excellently curated line-up which includes Motor City Drum Ensemble, Peggy Gou and Hunee.
26-28 May, Het Twiske, Amsterdam, hetkabinetfestival.nl
Meadows In The Mountains (Bulgaria)
Set in the heart of the unspoiled Rhodope Mountains and overlooking miles of green splendour, this festival does back to basics in the best way possible. Meadows in the Mountain encompasses music and arts with a uniquely friendly atmosphere and guarantees the most incredible sunrise views each day. The line-up isn't announced and never the focus - instead, the star of the show is the setting.
7 -10 June, Rhodope Mountains Bulgaria. Meadowsinthemountain.com
Brainchild (Sussex)
Billed as a 'DIY spirit, art, music and ideas' festival, Brainchild was the ...brainchild of students who wanted to create a place for young people to share ideas. Now in its seventh year, the collaborative festival features talks and workshops on issues from the UK’s housing crisis to political activism and a great range of music. Brainchild's founding spirit is still very much intact, too: the 2,000 capacity event has a strict no VIP policy.
13-15 July, Sussex, United Kingdom, brainchildfestival.co.uk
Nachtdigital (Germany)
The beloved techno and house festival set in rural Leipzig (the new Berlin, ja?) will rebrand itself as Nachtdigital flex for its 21st birthday with performances divided into three different areas, an organisational move that will further improve this friendly and cool 3,000 capacity event. The line-ups are more avant-garde than your average festival offering but you're likely to see the artists there that everyone will be booking in a few years time.
3-5 August, Leipzig, Germany, nachtdigital.de
Houghton (Norfolk)
With only one year under it's belt the Craig Richards-run festival has already proved wildly popular. Situated in the idyllic site which used to hold Glade festival, Houghton is a dance music mecca with a licence to play music from dusk till dawn and a jaw-dropping line-up to fill those hours. Capped at less than 10,000 people you'll feel truly special dancing the weekend away in the woods.
9-12 August, Norfolk, United Kingdom, houghtonfestival.co.uk
Kala (Albania)
Beach festivals don’t traditionally tend to be intimate affairs and instead conjure images of a sea of sweaty bodies and a fight at the bar for a Piña colada. Enter brand new festival Kala set on the coast of Albania where you can paddleboard and snorkel by day and party to Roy Ayers, Moodyman and Peggy Gou by night. Kala’s capacity is just 2,000 and with the range of wellness activities on offer it’s a festival that will also feel like a holiday. There’s a novel idea.
20-27th June, Kala, Albania, kala.al
Gottwood
Dance festivals tend to get overlooked in favour of their stadium rock / pop cousins, but those who really know about EDM will be at Gottwood in Wales this year, the critically acclaimed four day-er that brings together the coolest names in independent and underground beats. There's plenty of art on offer too, when you get tired of dancing (never!).
7-10 June, Wales, gottwood.co.uk
Boomtown (Hampshire)
This hippyish festival has outgrown its alt tag, but it's also managed to retain its freewheeling sensibilities as it's grown. This year's line-up is typically esoteric - Gorillaz are the big draw, along with Die Antwoord, Limp Bizkit and Sleaford Mods - and away from the spectacular stage sets there's an undercurrent of radical politicking here too: catch talks on toxic masculinity, drug policy, political activism and #MeToo.
9-12 August, Hampshire, United Kingdom, boomtownfair.co.uk
