Top ten open air pop & alternative music festivals London 2014

A carefully curated collection of the best outdoor popular & alternative music events in London this summer.

From R&B and hip-hop to blues, swing and even instrumental comedy, the London music scene is putting on quite a show this summer and – weather permitting –  the range of outdoor options is rather exciting. Here Flora Hughes-Onslow presents the best of what's on offer.

WIRELESS FESTIVAL, Finsbury Park, 4th - 6th July, £71.50

For any hip-hop or R&B enthusiasts, this year’s Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park is pretty much unparalleled in terms of line-up; Kanye, Pharrell and Outkast are just the beginning of an amazingly big bill. Though two out of three dates are already sold out, there are still tickets available for the Sunday. 

THE SCOOP, More London, Tower Bridge, 9th - 25th July, free

At The Scoop as part of the More London summer festival, Londoners can enjoy a broad spectrum of musical genres for free, all in the glorious setting of an open-air amphitheatre on the river overlooking Tower Bridge. From the 9th to the 25th July, there’ll be performances from blues, jazz, swing, reggae, and a capella musicians, not to mention Scotland’s ‘best known female piper’; so something to suit everyone’s tastes. But make sure you get there early as seats are allocated on a first come first serve basis on the day.

SUMMER SERIES /UNPLUGGED SERIES , Somerset House, 10th - 20th July, £28.50/free

For this year’s Summer Series, Bastille, Clean Bandit, Little Dragon and Franz Ferdinand will all be taking to the spectacular Somerset House stage (plus tickets still selling for Kelis and The Cat Empire),while a new ‘Unplugged Summer Series’ for 2014 will feature free lunchtime acoustic sets by emerging new talent. So even if you don’t get tickets for the evening gigs, take your packed lunch and head to the pop-up stage in the scenic Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court, where three new artists will perform daily between 1pm – 2pm.

KEW THE MUSIC, Kew Gardens, 16th - 20th July, from £33.50

Amongst other live sets - including the classic Elvis Costello - at Kew The Music’s summer Festival from 16 th – 20 th July, Bill Bailey’s multi-instrumentalist, stand-up comedy show is guaranteed to be a corker, if past performances are anything to go by. Expect hilarious musical mash ups as the immensely talented Bailey takes the audience on a fantastically unpredictable instrumental journey.

LOVEBOX, Victoria Park, 18th - 19th July, from £60.95

Compacted into two days instead of three for 2014, Lovebox is still one of London’s biggest music festivals, with a real outdoor hedonistic party feel and a diverse line-up – essentially anything you can dance to. This year look forward to London’s own MIA, New York rap genius Nas, and the legendary electronic producer Bonobo.

CAMDEN CRAWL, various venues throughout Camden, 20th - 21st June, from £30.11

Re branded this year from ‘Camden Crawl’ to ‘CC14’, this carefully curated selection of musical talent offers more than you might expect from a stereotypical Camden line-up, all in an unusual but winning multi-venue format. Meaning you can flit between north London’s numerous music venues and enjoy various connected night time and fringe events, plus a real Carnival atmosphere – all thanks to your trusty festival wristband.

BARCLAYCARD BRITISH SUMMER TIME, Hyde Park, 3rd July - 13th July, from £59.50

Given that it boasts probably the biggest line-up of any London festival this year, the fact that there are still tickets on sale to Barclaycard’s British Summer Time Hyde Park 11-day extravaganza is quite astonishing. Head liners from the 3rd July to the 13th July include Arcade Fire (famously brilliant live), Black Sabbath, The Libertines,Tom Jones, Neil Young, and Tim Minchin (returning to stand-up for the first time after writing award-winning musical Matilda). And film, cafés, bistros, independent food stalls,themed pubs and cocktail bars for extra entertainment.

SERPENTINE PARK NIGHTS, The Serpentine Pavilion, 27th June - 3rd October, £5

As part of the Serpentine’s esteemed summer programme, a cohort of artists have been invited for a series of stimulating events in this year’s pavilion – aka Park Nights 2014. Don’t miss Ed Atkins’s Synonyms: Five or six noise-making rifts (an evening of talks, readings, music, screenings and performance based on the original Greek Symposium).

MR B THE GENTLEMAN RHYMER, Devonshire Square, 24th June, free

Carving a niche for himself as a ‘Chap-Hop’ pioneer as he sets off on a ‘one-man mission to introduce Hip-Hop to the Queen’s English’, Mr. B’s quirky musical and lyrical stylings will no doubt impress and amuse you as he regales his audience with tales of Cricket, high society and sexual misadventure. Having performed at Glastonbury Festival, club NME in Paris and the Edinburgh Fringe, this summer he will grace the stage with a live set in Devonshire Square on the 26 th June from 12.30pm to 2pm.

CALLING FESTIVAL, Clapham Common, 28th - 29th June, from £69.50

Another re branded number, ‘Calling Festival’(having lost the ‘Hard Rock’ prefix) has collated an impressive roster of performers for this three day summer music celebration south of the river. Fora chance to see stalwarts of the rock ‘n’ roll scene Aerosmith, soul and funk king (though need we introduce him?) Stevie Wonder, and eccentric retro pop icon Paloma Faith – among others – we suggest you book now.

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