It's never too early to start planning your summer calendar; in fact, some would argue that it’s imperative to have something to look forward to at this time of year.
Festival-goers will be familiar with the big guns - Electric Picnic, All Together Now, Longitude et al - but if you’re looking for something a little different, there are plenty of options, too.
Here are ten of the best smaller music festivals taking place this summer.
1. Forest Fest - July 24th - 26th | Emo, Co. Laois
Sometimes, you just wanna sing along to the hits. Nostalgia is the name of the game at Forest Fest, the festival aimed at those who aren’t necessarily interested in discovering the Next Big Thing. This utterly charming festival, which feels big enough to offer plenty of choice, yet not too mammoth to navigate, has pulled in stellar international names since its 2021 inception. This year will be headlined by Echo and the Bunnymen, James and Madness, with acts like The Understones, Lloyd Cole, The Wedding Present, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and scores of Irish stalwarts including Paul Brady, The Boomtown Rats and The Sultans of Ping also joining the fray.
2. When Next We Meet - May 29th - 31st | Raheen House Hotel, Clonmel
This boutique festival, set in the beautiful grounds of Raheen House Hotel in Clonmel, claims its mission statement is "to celebrate the rich tapestry of alternative and independent Irish music". In previous years, they’ve done just that - offering a platform to both established and emerging acts from the island of Ireland amid 'snug settings’. The line-up for the year’s event includes rock stalwarts The Waterboys, alongside Mick Flannery & Susan O’Neill and alternative folk bands The Wran and Moxie.
3. Another Love Story - August 21st - 23rd | Killyon Manor, Co. Meath
The line-up for this year’s edition of Another Love Story has yet to be revealed, but tickets are already on sale for its 2026 edition, which has been running at Killyon Manor in Co. Meath since 2014. Over the years, crowds have been wooed by its intimate nature and its beautiful setting, which has attracted some very fine names from the Irish independent music scene in the past. It has even spawned a ‘travelling sister event series’ called Love is a Stranger in recent years - but no doubt the main event in Co. Meath will be as stellar as ever.
4. Night & Day - May 29th - 31st | Boyle, Co. Roscommon
This relative newcomer to the Irish festival scene has made quite an impression in recent years. Night & Day celebrates the mainstays of the Irish rock scene, which this year includes The Boomtown Rats, Hothouse Flowers and The Saw Doctors; it’s fair to assume that there’ll be more than a few mass singalongs at Lough Key Forest Park this June Bank Holiday weekend. Also in the mix are some exciting younger acts, including Cardinals, Soda Blonde, Thumper and George Houston, as well as British folk-rock legend Richard Thompson.
5. Beyond the Pale - June 12th - 14th
The lead-up to last year’s edition of Beyond the Pale was especially nailbiting for ticket-holders, as it seemed that the festival may be cancelled at the 11th hour. Happily, a solution was found and it proceeded as planned - and if this year’s line-up is anything to go by, it’s returning bigger and better than ever. The festival has quickly established itself as one of the best in the summer calendar. Caribou, Primal Scream, Father John Misty, Soulwax and Sister Sledge will all make a pilgrimage to the beautiful Glendalough Estate in June, while the Irish flag will be flown by the likes of Kojaque, Bricknasty and Róis.
6. AVA - May 29th - 30th | Belfast
If dance and electronica music is your bag, there’s only one place to be this June Bank Holiday weekend. Belfast’s AVA began as a one-day event in the city’s Titanic Quarter in 2015, but over the past decade has grown into a weekend-long bash and Northern Ireland’s biggest electronic music and visual arts event. On the bill this year are hometown heroes Kneecap, as well as Galway DJ/producer Kettama, Derry’s Or:la, DJ and tastemaker Annie Mac, Japanese DJ Yousuke Yukimatsu, Chicago house DJ Honey Dijon and some impressive names from the UK scene including Blawan and Interplanetary Criminal amongst many others.
7. Rory Gallagher International Festival - May 28th - 31st | Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal
Air guitars at the ready: ‘Ireland’s biggest blues rock festival’ returns for its 22nd edition, commemorating one of our most iconic musicians and his enduring legacy in the town of his birth. This year, some of the names rolling into Ballyshannon to celebrate the G-Man including ZZ Top legend Billy F. Gibbons and his BFG Band; local hero Johnny Gallagher & Boxty; English blues-rock trio The Zac Schulze Gang, and London blues stalwarts Nine Below Zero.
8. Éalu Le Grá - May 29th - June 1st - Kilconnell, Co. Galway
The Irish phrase ‘éalu le grá’ (escape with love) sums up the ethos of this intimate music and arts festival held within the grounds of the historic Georgian estate Ballinderry Park in Galway. According to the festival’s organisers, their goal is to 'create a space where people feel truly free to be themselves - surrounded by breathtaking art installation, captivating stage designs, world-class music, performance art and so much more.’ What’s not to like? Certainly not the dance-leaning line-up, which includes Swedish DJ Axel Boman performing a B2B (back to back) set with Ireland’s Mano Le Tough, as well as sets by DJs Anna Wall and Aphrodite, alongside folk artists Zoe Basha, Josh O’Keeffe and Ronan Ó Snódaigh.
9. Kaleidoscope - July 3rd - 5th | Russborough House, Co. Wicklow
A music festival that not only allows kids of all ages, but embraces them? Kaleidoscope offers the best of both words: there’s music for the whole family (this year, that includes Natasha Bedingfield, The Saw Doctors and Pete Tong’s Ibiza Classics, with more to be announced) and an array of activities to keep the younger members of the clan happy. That includes everything from science experiments to circus workshops, dance-offs, storytelling, magic shows, arts and crafts and writing workshops. By the time Sunday night rolls around, you (and more to the point, they) will be exhausted-yet-happy campers.
10. Greenfields - May 2nd & 3rd | Ballykilcavan Estate, Co. Laois
Is this the most eclectic/bonkers line-up of a music festival this summer? The organisers of Greenfields (which ran in Athy from 2022 but is moving to the Ballykilcavan Estate this year, a stone’s throw from Stradbally - home of Electric Picnic) are throwing everything into the mix for their 2026 edition. Dec Pierce’s Block Rockin’ Beats leads the charge alongside 1980s icons The Human League; you also have Dutch eurodance group Vengaboys, jazz-funkers Level 42, Irish rockers Aslan and Cry Before Dawn, and trad-folk bands The Fureys and Derek Warfield & the Young Wolfe Tones on the bill. There’ll be plenty of dancing, in any case.
