As the days get longer and the sun gets warmer there is only one thing on the mind of many a UK music lover - music festivals. These days there are so many to choose from it's often difficult to choose which to attend, especially if you can only afford to splash the cash for one event.
Glastonbury is the grand-daddy of all UK such festivals and every year it sells out within just a few hours of the tickets going on sale; often without people knowing the full line-up and sometimes the headliners. It takes place in Somerset during the middle of summer and lasts for five days; for many people it is the most important event of the year.
In the wake of Glastonbury there are a few other large music festivals that are spread over a weekend or slightly more. Here are a few of them.
Reading and Leeds Festival
The Reading and Leeds festival takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend, starting on Friday and ending Sunday. Typically the bands play each venue over the course of the three days. The kind of music you'll hear ranges from indie, to pop, to rock. The headliners for 2011 are My Chemical Romance, Muse, Pulp and The Strokes.
Download Festival
The Download Festival started life as Monsters of Rock. It takes place at the start of June at the Donington Park motor racing track in Derbyshire. If you're not a rock fan then Download isn't for you. Headliners this year include Def Leppard, System of a Down and Linkin Park.
T in the Park
T in the Park is a large music festival held in Scotland in early July. The type of music you'll find here is similar to that of most music festivals; a nice crossover mix of indie, pop and dance. Something for everyone. Headliners over the many stages for 2011 include Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Blink 182 and Pulp.
V Festival
The last music festival I would like to mention in this list is the V Festival. This, like the Leeds/Reading festival, takes place across two venues, but this time it's over the course of two days. Headliners for 2011 include Eminem, Rihanna, Arctic Monkeys and Plan B.
The music festivals listed here are the "big boys"; tickets for these festivals often sell-out within a few hours of the events going on sale. However, there are music festivals of all shapes and sizes and catering to all tastes happening across the UK during the summer months.