This is the final update for what was another insanely busy year in music, with festivals across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East every week and weekend of 2026. Now, festivals in Europe move indoors, while the biggest global acts move on to events in California and Texas.
The music biz is now the concert biz since Spotify, Youtube and the streaming services have cut album sales to the point where artists get pennies. Bad news for musicians, but great news for people who love concerts. It’s gotten to the point where superstar EDM DJs such as Calvin Harris and David Guetta are performing somewhere in the world every night, zipping between cities in their Gulfstreams and Bombardier Globals.
Pop stars such as Sabrina Carpenter and rockers such as the Foo Fighters don’t spend as much time on the road, but they all played various festivals in Europe this year because there’s not another Glastonbury Festival until 2027. And should you choose an event, please monitor the website because several this year including Defcon.1 in the Netherlands and Decibel Open Aire in Florence have been cancelled due to extreme temperatures or contract disputes.
So, let’s get to the party..
Reeperbahn Festival
16 thru 19 September at various locations across Hamburg
Music Festival Wizard calls Reeperbahn “one of the three most important meeting places for the music and digital industries in Europe.” The festival has about 600 events in more than 70 venues on and around Hamburg’s Reeperbahn.
Okay, the EDM thing has blown up into a multi-billion dollar/euro biz where the top DJs all fly around in Gulfstreams. But there is still a less commercial corner of the music world where you can see new artists and and more authentic acts leaning toward the avant garde.
Reeperbahn Festival is an actual contemporary Indie music and pop culture festival – a celebration of new acts and industry trends … and a chance to explore different clubs in Hamburg. Acts this year include English Teacher, James Emmanuel and Dea Matrona. This is really two festivals – one music festival and one industry gathering conference.
Festival tickets start at 59 euros for one day and you can get yours here. Conference tickets start at 69 euros and you can get them here.
Moga Festival Essaouira 2026
30 September thru 4 October in Essaouira, Morocco.
Moga Festival on the sea in the beach resort of Essaouira promises a few days of sun late in year. It also has the exotic feel of Morocco’s casbahs, yet is only a couple of hours by air from most of the major European cities. And this 10th anniversary festival is a cultural event in an exotic location, with local performers and more.
Names for this year include Yamagucci, an Israeli/Japanese DJ from Tel Aviv, Richy Ahmed and the Martinez Brothers. Not bad considering this is a very intimate festival, with fewer thant 10,000 people expected (tiny, by European standards.)
The best way (only way) to get there is to fly into Marrakesh, then take a four-hour bus ride to the coast.
Tickets start at 800 dirham (73 euros) for the day. You can get yours here.
Omana Festival
30 September to 6 October, Kalamitsi Bay on mainland Greece near Thessaloniki
Sometimes you go to festivals to see amazing acts such as Chain Smokers or Sienna Spiro. And sometimes you go to just chill. The new Omana festival is more on the chill side, not so unlike the more introspective yoga and music retreats that sprung up on Croatian islands back before COVID.
The Omana website touts a week of House, Techno, Minimal, Disco, Downtempo and Ambient as well as an extensive program of workshops, art, activities and experiences” including yoga, breathwork and movement workshops on the sea. Instead of hungover, you will leave on such an elevated plane that you’ll achieve Nirvana, or at least become a Foo Fighter.
Tickets start at 199 euros for a weekend ticket, and you can get yours here.
Defected Malta ’26
1 thru 4 October in Attard, Malta
So, October is the beginning of the cold and rain in mainbland Europe. But there are places that are not cold and rainy, and where the party continues. Take for instance the island paradise of Malta. Defected will bring mostly contemporary EDM acts to Attard, Malta, though there are Names such as Eats Everything on the 50-act bill. This five-year-old House event is kinda a minor festival, but it still has four stages of acts.
General admission tickets are about 400 euros for all four days and you can get yours here.
AMF Festival
24 October in Amsterdam
By October, the EDM scene in Europe is slowing down, with the bigger events in the US and other sunny places. But there is one festival where you can see some of the biggest Names all in one place, all on one day. In late October.
AMF Festical 2026 has Artbat, David Guetta, Afro Jack. Armin van Buuren and four other acts on the bill at Johan Cruijff Arena on the edge of Amsterdam. This being the Netherlands, expect a high-tech light show and otherworldly sound system. Also expect tickets to be on the pricy side, and they are starting at 120 euros. You can get yours here.
Amsterdam Dance Event
21 thru 25 October at various venues across Amsterdam
A festival/industry conference and networking event rolled into one, the Amsterdam Dance Event is one of the biggest get-togethers of the year. One thousand events at more than 200 venues. For 2026, it runs from 21 to 25 October across the city. This year is the 30th anniversary, so might be smart to get tix early. You can get them here.
Into the Woods ADE
23 & 24 October at NSDM Wharf in Amsterdam Noord
This is part of the Amsterdam Dance Event, but also it’s own thing … a daytime, outdoor festival during ADE. Of course, there are also covered spaces because, well, it rains here. This year, Into the Woods touts 70 national and international artists across seven covered stages.
The location at NSDM Wharf in Amsterdam Noord is worth the trip. This is an old shipyard turned creative space and performance venue. We just got back from Amsterdam Noord and so much of the 19th century industrial space has been repurposed for creatives. But hey, this is the Netherlands.
A warning: The Into the Woods website is so cool that it’s useless. You can get tickets on the ADE website here starting at 77 euros.
Bónusz Festival 2026
13 & 14 November in Budapest
Orbán is gone and the international crowds are back in Hungary. Bónusz Festival might be one of the last times this year to see Names in Europe including 999999999, Dubfire, Tomorrowland regular Kevin de Vries, Len Faki and others. German company LiveFRAME Design will be there with their 50-meter-wide LED wall and laser show.
Tickets start at about 19,000 Hunngarian florints, or about 50 euros and you can get yours here.
International festivals
UNITED STATES – 26 September
CBGB Festival 2026 is about as far from EDM as you can get … guys (mostly) banging out three chords at top volume on their guitars. But CBGB, a dingy club in New York’s Bowery, and the punk scene revolutionized rock music when the Sex Pistols and the Clash came from London.
This is a chance to relive that moment with the biggest names including Morrissey, Patti Smith, the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks and others. Maybe your last chance because punks don’t live forever.
Tickets start at $179 and you can get yours here.
EGYPT – 8 to 11 October outside Cairo.
Starlight Festival is part of the newly global Exit Festival, which started in Serbia.
Here’s the blurb from the website: Set on the desert sands beside Great Pyramids of Giza, one of the world’s most significant symbols of ancient civilization, the festival will unite the global electronic music and festival community within a setting shaped by thousands of years of history.
Tickets start at about 6,300 Egyptian pounds, or about 110 euros. You can get yours here.
MEXICO – 7 & 8 November in Mexico City
The Ultra festival mafia heads to Mexico this fall. If you wonder where Afro Jack, Armin van Buuren and Boris Brejcha go after the European festival season, it’s here. Ultra Mexico 2026 has them all, with tickets starting at 3,500 pesos, or 178 euros.
INDIA – 13 to 19 December in Mumbai
Sunburn Festival is one of the biggest global EDM events, and Asia’s largest festival. Yes, India a bit of journey from Europe, but this year, it might be worth it. On the bill are Chainsmokers and the theme is “Awaken the Core.” No idea what that means …. This year, Sunburn Festival has moved to historic Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai. We’ll have more on the lineup as it’s released.
It looks like you can only get tickets here on bookmyshow.
SOUTH AFRICA
Wolfkop Weekender returns from 14–18 January 2027. Marketed as “South Africa’s leading boutique music festival,” Wolfkop is set amid a World Heritage setting of rugged mountains, orchards and open grassland.
This is a showcase for African talent and international DJs, and genres including disco, house and “feel-good electronic energy,” according to the release we got. And this is kind of cool: Wolfkop is home to the largest glamping village in South Africa. So you won’t be roughing it.
This is one of those Instagramable beautiful people gatherings, with music, wellness, art and food. You can see the ticket options here.
