TunetrailThe best rock and metal festivals in Europe 2027
Europe's largest rock and metal festivals are Wacken Open Air in Germany, Hellfest in France, Download in England and Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium. The main season is June to August, but the calendar runs from January to September, and tickets to the biggest often sell out before a single band is announced.
Last updated October 12, 2026 · 118 festivals in this guide
Europe has more rock and metal festivals than any other continent, and they are far from alike. Germany alone has more than twenty, from Wacken Open Air and Summer Breeze to Rock am Ring, Rockharz, Full Force and Party.San. The Netherlands has Roadburn, Dynamo Metalfest and Into The Grave, Belgium has Graspop and Alcatraz, the UK has Download and Bloodstock, France has Hellfest and Motocultor, Spain has Resurrection Fest and Leyendas del Rock, Czechia has Brutal Assault, and the Nordics have Copenhell, Tons of Rock, Sweden Rock, Tuska and Inferno.
The subgenre decides which one you want. Death metal, black metal, doom, thrash, stoner, hardcore, power metal and gothic rock each have their own festivals, and about half of those in this guide are genre-pure — the whole bill pulls in one direction. The rest are broader rock festivals that also book heavy. The genre tags are listed on each festival's own page.
Tickets go before the line-up. Wacken has sold out by waiting list for years, Summer Breeze 2027 sold out the September before, and Rockharz 2027 was gone within hours of presale opening. If you're going to one of the big ones, the question is when the ticket drops, not who's playing. Most festivals fall in June, July and August, but a third of the confirmed dates fall outside that — at indoor festivals running from January to April.
Over 100,000 attendees
11 festivals
Over 100,000 attendees: Hellfest, Graspop Metal Meeting, Copenhell, Resurrection Fest, Nova Rock, Reading and Leeds, Tons of Rock and Pol'and'Rock. Four or five days that fill an entire town. Hellfest in Clisson has built a permanent park with six stages, and Copenhell raises its own district on Refshaleøen every June. Tickets go before the line-up, camping is part of it, and you should expect queues and a long walk between stages.
Villarrobledo, Spain ·
Nickelsdorf, Austria ·
Line-up includes: Die Toten Hosen, The Smashing Pumpkins, Faith No More, Die Ärzte +40
Dessel, Belgium ·
Played in 2026: Accept, A Day to Remember, Ankor, Anthrax +142
Clisson, France ·
Line-up includes: Turbonegro, queens of the stoneage, The dogs
Copenhagen, Denmark ·
Line-up includes: Faith No More, Judas Priest, D-A-D, Pierce The Veil +36
Oslo, Norway ·
Line-up includes: Mötley Crüe, Judas Priest, Turnstile, Lynyrd Skynyrd +13
Viveiro, Spain ·
Played in 2026: Sabaton, A Day To Remember, Thrown, President +87
Reading / Leeds, United Kingdom ·
Played in 2026: Charli XCX, Fontaines D.C., Skepta, Declan McKenna +96
Charleville-Mézières, France ·
Line-up includes: Deftones, Turnstile, Body Count ft. Ice-T, Ultra Vomit +80
Czaplinek, Poland ·
Line-up includes: The Lottery Winners, Vended, L.U.C. & Rebel Babel Orchestra, Orbit Culture +37
Lichtenvoorde, Netherlands ·
Line-up includes: Jannes & Band, Eli “Paperboy” Reed, HENGE, Victor Mids +5
50,000 – 100,000 attendees
20 festivals
50,000 to 100,000 attendees: Wacken Open Air, Download, Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Alcatraz, Motocultor, Leyendas del Rock, Rock Imperium and Tuska. Wacken turns a village of 1,800 into Germany's third-largest settlement for one week a year, and has sold out by waiting list for years. Otherwise big enough for six stages and international headliners, but you can usually still buy a ticket once the poster drops.
Hradec Králové, Czechia ·
Played in 2026: Iron Maiden
Nürburgring, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Beartooth, Donots, Poppy, Simple Plan +13
Nuremberg, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Bad Religion, Bullet For My Valentine, I Prevail, Nothing But Thieves +13
Switzerland ·
Played in 2026: ALPHORNBLÄSER, ZEBRAHEAD, Ice Nine Kills, Alter Bridge +34
circuito di Donington Park, United Kingdom ·
Played in 2026: Limp Bizkit, Cypress Hill, Electric Callboy, Pendulum +103
Scheeßel, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Muse, mgk, Phoebe Bridgers, Ikkimel +13
Saalburg-Ebersdorf, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Muse, MGK, Phoebe Bridgers, Ikkimel +13
Törnävä, Finland ·
Line-up includes: Children of Bodom
Helsinki, Finland ·
Line-up includes: Judas Priest, Avralize, Danko Jones, Gaerea +11
Cartagena, Spain ·
Line-up includes: Helloween, Children Of Bodom, Mayhem, Venom +1
Laulurinne, Finland ·
Played in 2026: Auri, Beast In Black, emma & matilda, HOKKA +47
Germany ·
Played in 2026: HBz, Drunken Masters, Tiefbasskommando, JET +93
Wacken, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Avatar, Beast In Black, Belphegor, Between Two Worlds +46
Kortrijk, Belgium ·
Played in 2026: Alestorm, Channel Zero, Soulfly, Imminence +120
Carhaix-Plouguer, France ·
Played in 2026: 200 Stab Wounds, Amenra, Battlesnake, Bloodbath +107
Romano d'Ezzelino, Italy ·
Line-up includes: Alan Walker, Asco, Albi, Subsonica +13
Vilar de Mouros, Portugal ·
Line-up includes: Yungblud, President, Lambrini Girls, Cabaret Voltaire +17
Plovdiv, Bulgaria ·
Line-up includes: Avatar, Black Label Society, Deafheaven, Electric Callboy +19
Villena, Spain ·
Line-up includes: Slaughter to Prevail, Savatage, Sepultura, Black Label Society +55
Staffordshire, United Kingdom ·
Line-up includes: Trentham Summer Concerts
10,000 – 50,000 attendees
35 festivals
10,000 to 50,000 attendees: Summer Breeze, Bloodstock, Brutal Assault, Sweden Rock, Rockharz, Full Force, Dynamo Metalfest, Vagos Metal Fest, Sylak, Rockstadt Extreme Fest, M'era Luna and Wave-Gotik-Treffen. This is where most of the genre-pure metal festivals sit — big enough to book heavy all the way down the bill, small enough not to have to book broad to fill the space. Five minutes between stages, not half an hour.
Rotterdam, Netherlands ·
Line-up includes: Beige, Doom Fever, Ebby, Fellatio +9
Sölvesborg, Sweden ·
Played in 2026: Dundertåget Med Vänner, Down, The Offspring, Volbeat +91
Italy ·
Line-up includes: Alestorm, Kärbholz, Kastelruther Spatzen
Tromsø, Norway ·
Played in 2026: Sex Pistols feat. Frank Carter, Dumdum Boys, Gluecifer, Honningbarna +18
Köln, Germany ·
Line-up includes: A Life Divided, Blackbook, Bragolin, Combichrist +33
Koskikeskus, Finland ·
Played in 2026: Qstock Festivaali, Jenni Vartiainen, Averagekidluke, Ege Zulu +46
Germany ·
Jaroměř, Czechia ·
Line-up includes: A Tribute to Quorthon and Bathory, Agnostic Front, Arcturus, Azarath +59
Catton Park, United Kingdom ·
Line-up includes: Madball, Calva Louise, Cryptic Shift, Steak +41
Eindhoven, Netherlands ·
Line-up includes: Mercyful Fate, I Am Morbid, Corrosion Of Conformity, Elegy +7
Dinkelsbühl, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Electric Callboy, Edguy, Saltatio Mortis, Children Of Bodom +58
Miranda de Ebro, Spain ·
Played in 2026: Juventude, RATA, La 126, Carlos Ares +20
Montmartin-sur-Mer, France ·
Line-up includes: Sleaford Mods, Lila Iké, Marlon Magnée, Nathalie Froehlich +7
Großmarkt Hamburg, Germany ·
Line-up includes: DJ Lina, DJ Bijan, Avalanche Effect, Signs Of The Swarm +9
Hannover, Germany ·
Line-up includes: H-Blockx, Lagwagon, Good Riddance, Akne Kid Joe +8
Lärz, Germany ·
Göteborg, Sweden ·
Line-up includes: In Flames, Avatar, Dark Tranquillity, Raised Fist +4
Crickhowell, United Kingdom ·
Line-up includes: Mogwai, Lime Garden, Charlotte Church's Pop Dungeon, Friko +31
Helsinki, Finland ·
Line-up includes: Unleashed, Carcass, Bloodbath, Black Label Society +28
Großpösna, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Drunken Masters, Bierbabes, The Ironix, Miami Lenz +37
Jarocin, Poland ·
Ysselsteyn, Netherlands ·
Line-up includes: A Day To Remember, Alexisonfire, All Time Low, Architects +27
St Malo, France ·
Line-up includes: Just Mustard, Gurriers, Elias Rønnenfelt, Darkside +29
Leffinge / Middelkerke, Belgium ·
Line-up includes: Squid, The Moonlandingz, Doodseskader, Sistema De Entretenimiento +32
Hildesheim, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Within Temptation, IN EXTREMO, White Lies, THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE +36
Kauhajoki, Finland ·
Line-up includes: Nummirock Ensemble, Suotana, Riasa, Ruoska +48
Eschwege, Germany ·
Line-up includes: TZK, Blade & Smith, SALÓ, Anda Morts +117
Sulingen, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Heartless Human Harvest, Dramatist, Wrestlemaniacs, Vulvarine +51
Ballenstedt, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Helloween, Black Label Society, Paradise Lost, Ensiferum +12
Ghimbav, Romania ·
Line-up includes: The Prodigy, Sabaton, Marilyn Manson, Lamb of God +5
Vila Praia de Âncora, Portugal ·
Line-up includes: Bongzilla, Wizard Master, Capela Mortuária, Spin The Skull +34
Saint-Maurice-de-Gourdans, France ·
Line-up includes: Black Label Society
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Festival Cantina Band, Fäaschtbänkler, Giant Rooks, Feine Sahne Fischfilet +41
Vagos, Portugal ·
Line-up includes: Lamb of God, Ill Niño, Cro-Mags, Jeremy Harry Harris +45
Leipzig, Germany ·
2,000 – 10,000 attendees
28 festivals
2,000 to 10,000 attendees: Roadburn, Inferno Metal Festival, Party.San, Into The Grave, Keep It True, Midgardsblot, Obscene Extreme, Damnation, Desertfest and Beyond The Gates. Genre festivals with a clear identity — doom, black metal, stoner, hardcore, death metal. The crowd knows the material, and the booking takes chances the big ones can't.
Liège, Belgium ·
Line-up includes: Sólstafir, Krallice, Earth Tongue, Wyatt E. +39
Manchester, United Kingdom ·
Line-up includes: Benediction, The Berzerker, Black Sheep Wall, Cabal +42
France ·
Line-up includes: GIRLS IN HAWAII, CHATON LAVEUR, LOL TOLHURST, TRAMHAUS +13
Bognor Regis, United Kingdom ·
Line-up includes: The Charlatans, Getdown Services, SPRINTS, The Twilight Sad +30
Oslo, Norway ·
Line-up includes: Kampfar, Mgła, Trelldom, Ellende +26
Tilburg, Netherlands ·
Line-up includes: Emma Ruth Rundle, Sadness, Neurosis, Trhä +3
Denmark ·
Line-up includes: Hugorm, TV-2, Saveus, Queen Machine +4
Leeuwarden, Netherlands ·
Line-up includes: Venom, Gaerea, God Dethroned, Gutalax +12
Bad Doberan, Germany ·
Germany ·
Tolmin, Slovenia ·
Played in 2026: Dummy Toys, In Flames, Heaven Shall Burn, Satyricon +4
Obermehler/Schlotheim airfield, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Vader, Blood Fire Death, Mgła, Nile +10
Germany ·
Played in 2026: Xaja, Plaiins, Grell, Frittenbude +28
Rotterdam, Netherlands ·
Line-up includes: Vannstein, Buzzcocks, IST IST, Leif de Leeuw Band +33
Bergen, Norway ·
Line-up includes: Warning
Beselare, Belgium ·
Line-up includes: DJ HERRE, JUNNE, DREZZ, POTATO +12
Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, France ·
Line-up includes: Chabifönk Expérience, Edensong, Liberation Orchestra, Harkus +6
Vuisternens-en-Ogoz, Switzerland ·
Line-up includes: L, Deluxe Lynx, Léa Martínez, Exorbitant Prices Must Diminish +29
Brabrand / Aarhus, Denmark ·
Line-up includes: Anne Linnet, Karoline Mousing, Anton Westerlin, ØNDI +23
Vana-Vigala, Estonia ·
Line-up includes: PANTOKRAATOR – A, ERROR OF PRINCIPLE – B, SKYFORGER (lat) – A, SWARN – B +18
Königshofen, Germany ·
Borre, Norway ·
Line-up includes: Sólstafir, Taake, Nemuer, Mawiza +41
Teramo, Italy ·
Line-up includes: Osanna, Soft Machine, Gary Husband, Gong +3
Trutnov, Czechia ·
Line-up includes: Converge
Municipality of Tolmin, Slovenia ·
Line-up includes: PRH FAM DJS, The Suicide Machines, Terror, Pulley +56
Fuengirola, Spain ·
Line-up includes: Eivør, Harakiri for the Sky, Débler Eternia, Siddharta +14
Czechia ·
Line-up includes: PRAŽSKÝ VÝBĚR, JASNÁ PÁKA s Dádou Albrechtem a Davidem Kollerem, VISACÍ ZÁMEK, KRÁSNÉ NOVÉ STROJE +41
Waffenrod, Germany ·
Line-up includes: Varang Nord, Darkkirchensteuer, Boötes Void, Heathen Foray +20
200 – 2,000 attendees
24 festivals
200 to 2,000 attendees: Grauzone, Northern Winter Beat, Orgivm Satanicvm, Legend Metalfest, Rocknytt Indoor, Epic Fest, Light The Dark, Malmö Massacre, Euroblast and Metal Ride Fest. Club festivals, usually indoors and often in winter, from January to April. One or two rooms, no camping, and a bill that's curated rather than assembled.
Kortrijk, Belgium ·
Oslo, Norway ·
Line-up includes: Ulvesanger, Nordjevel, Fen, Askeregn +4
Göteborg, Sweden ·
Line-up includes: Bullet, Civil War, Crystal Ball, Geoff Tate +2
Aalborg, Denmark ·
Line-up includes: Moon Mother, Trustfundbabes, Full Earth, Earth Tongue +13
Den Haag, Netherlands ·
Line-up includes: Free opening night, She Past Away, Curses (live), Night In Athens +20
Stockholm, Sweden ·
Line-up includes: Toxaemia, Chaos In Control, Fleshless, Gutalax +1
Norrköping, Sweden ·
Line-up includes: Altira, Bride, Charizma, Crimson Moonlight +4
Sint-Annazaal, Belgium ·
Line-up includes: Het Lood, Inhuman Nature, Colère, Toxic Shock +12
Antwerpen, Belgium ·
Line-up includes: Fluisteraars, Ultha, Spirit Possession, Miserere Luminis +2
Roskilde, Denmark ·
Line-up includes: HammerFall, Korpiklaani, Warkings, Edu Falaschi +18
Göteborg, Sweden ·
Line-up includes: Care of Night, Chez Kane, Dalton, Emotional Fire +9
Köln, Germany ·
Played in 2026: Textures, Swallow the Sun, Panzerballett feat. Virgil Donati, Allegaeon +23
Norway ·
Line-up includes: Sunset Queen, Nine Below Zero, Dead Flowers
Drammen, Norway ·
Line-up includes: Halcyon Days, Dwaal, ROSA FAENSKAP, Melting Brain Club
Uster, Switzerland ·
Line-up includes: Mud Slick, Detritus, Narnia, Nefesh Core +8
Hum na Sutli, Croatia ·
Line-up includes: P!ZDOPER, IDU HOBITI, ŠARENA POJAVA, KAWASAKI 3P +2
Germany ·
Netherlands ·
Trondheim, Norway ·
Line-up includes: Jordsjuk, Koldbrann, Kampfar, Witchhammer +12
Malmö, Sweden ·
Nancy, France ·
Croatia ·
Finland ·
London, United Kingdom ·
Line-up includes: Stoned Jesus, Black Willows, Slomatics, Khan +16
Frequently asked questions
Which is Europe's biggest metal festival?
Hellfest in Clisson, France is the largest by attendance, drawing around 180,000 across four days. Wacken Open Air in Germany is the best known, draws about 85,000, and usually sells out before the line-up is announced.
Which are pure metal festivals, and which are broad rock festivals?
About half the festivals in this guide carry only one or two genre tags. Those are the pure ones — Wacken Open Air, Brutal Assault, Party.San, Bloodstock and Inferno — where the whole bill is metal. The rest are broader: Rock am Ring, Reading and Leeds, Nova Rock and Copenhell book heavy, but also pop, hip-hop and electronic. The genre tags are listed on each festival's own page.
Which rock and metal festivals are there in Germany?
Germany has more than any other country in Europe, over twenty in this guide. The largest are Wacken Open Air in Schleswig-Holstein, Summer Breeze in Dinkelsbühl, Rock am Ring at the Nürburgring and Rock im Park in Nuremberg. Among the more genre-focused are Rockharz in Ballenstedt, Full Force at Ferropolis, Party.San near Schlotheim and Keep It True in Lauda-Königshofen, and on the goth side Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig, M'era Luna in Hildesheim and Amphi in Cologne.
Which rock and metal festivals take place in winter?
Most European rock and metal festivals are summer events, but a winter season exists and is almost entirely indoors. Rockaway Beach in England and Orgivm Satanicvm in Oslo in January, Northern Winter Beat in Aalborg and Grauzone in The Hague in February, Inferno Metal Festival in Oslo at Easter and Roadburn in Tilburg in April. All are club-scale, from a few hundred to a few thousand people.
Where do I find small rock and metal festivals in Europe?
The smallest festivals rarely appear in editorial top lists, because those lists mostly cover the same ten or twenty big names. This guide is sorted by audience size for exactly that reason: the “200 – 2,000 attendees” band collects the club festivals, which are often indoors, run one or two days, and book more narrowly than the big ones can afford to.
When are rock and metal festivals held in Europe?
The main season is June to August. Rock am Ring and Download fall in early June, Hellfest and Graspop in mid-June, while Wacken, Bloodstock, Alcatraz, Brutal Assault and Summer Breeze run from late July through August. The winter festivals run from January to April and are mostly indoors.
When do tickets for 2027 go on sale?
Most big festivals open ticket sales right after the previous edition ends, up to a year ahead. Wacken typically sells out before the line-up is announced, so buying blind pays off there. Smaller festivals usually release tickets alongside their first names, through the winter.
Which festival is best for a first-timer?
Graspop and Download have good infrastructure, are easy to reach by public transport, and have broad bills covering both classic rock and heavier metal. If you'd rather skip camping, one of the club festivals in the “200 – 2,000” band is an easier place to start.
Are the 2027 line-ups complete yet?
Rarely. The biggest names are announced the autumn before, and the rest fills in over winter and spring. Where the 2027 line-up hasn't been released, this guide shows the previous edition's artists, clearly marked with the year they played.
Can I fit several festivals into one trip?
Yes. Hellfest and Graspop often fall in the same week and are only a few hours apart by train or car. Rock am Ring and Rock im Park share a line-up and run simultaneously in Germany. Brutal Assault, Alcatraz and Bloodstock cluster in early August.
This guide covers every rock and metal festival in Europe we know of, sorted by how many people turn up – from the big summer fields down to club festivals with a few hundred in the room. The smallest are usually the hardest to find anything about, and that is where this list differs from the others.
Dates and line-ups come straight from the festivals' own announcements and are updated as they land, so it is worth coming back as programmes fill out over the winter and spring. If a festival is missing, you can add it yourself.