Top 10 Multi-Venue City Festivals in the UK 2022

Every summer the UK becomes one of Europe's most sought-after destinations for festival goers given the illustrious list of festivals that our fair isles accommodate.

Immersing yourself in a muddy field for four days, however, has its ups and downs given the oft-unreliable British weather.

So what if you prefer a pub lunch to a warm can of cider lodged in the corner of your sweaty tent? Or dabbling in a spot of culture before heading face-first into a mosh-pit? We shan't judge.

For anyone who loves festivals but loathes camping, now's your chance to escape the rain, mist, and mud with our comprehensive list of favourite multi-venue inner-city music festivals in the UK.

Dot To Dot

Festival Lineup (2022): Squid, Ghetts, Frankie Stew & Harvey Gunn, Baby Queen, Jane Weaver, Alfie Templeman

The award-winning festival Dot To Dot is a day-long festival across three cities, starting in Manchester and then taking the full lineup on tour to Nottingham, and finally Bristol. The metropolitan festival started in 2005 and takes advantage of the best venues in each city each year. 

Dot To Dot offers a range of established artists as well as unearthing the best newcomers, winning Best Festival for Emerging Talent in 2017 along with Best Multi Venue Festival.

When & where: Dates for 2023 TBA; Nottingham, Bristol

Dot To Dot Festival Guide

The Great Escape

Festival Lineup (2022): Tems, ENNY, Yard Act, Blu DeTiger, MUNA, Porches, The Amazons

Held over three days in Brighton, The Great Escape is renowned for being the UK's top festival for newcomers with over 500 emerging artists from home and abroad.

Taking place in over 30 venues in Brighton, TGE is one of the best festival to discover new music with a heavy focus on the next generation of superstars, seeing Adele, Paolo Nutini, Foals, Laura Marling, The xx, alt-J, Disclosure, The 1975, Grimes, and more having all performed over the years.

Since 2018 Brighton beach has been added to the family of venues making The Great Escape Festival unique amongst its peers, while there will also be a huge programme of industry events alongside the gigs, including insightful panels, topical debates, keynote speeches and networking opportunities.

In addition, there's The Alternative Escape, with spotlight shows, secret gigs, club nights and more added to the other festivities during the weekend. 

When & where: 10-13 May 2023; Brighton

The Great Escape Festival Guide

Stag & Dagger

Festival Lineup (2022): Let's Eat Grandma, Protomartyr, Gwenno, Low Island, Death By Unga Bunga

Stag & Dagger is Scotland's original multi-venue new music festival, taking place across Glasgow's gig venues over the course of a day.

With all venues within walking distance, you can trot to and fro between lesser known and more established artists, with a supremely good chance you may be watching a soon-to-be stadium filler: previous lineups have included Ed Sheeran, Royal Blood, Warpaint and Mac DeMarco.

When & where: Dates for 2023 TBA; Glasgow 

Live At Leeds

Festival Lineup (2022): Pale Waves, Palace, Thomas Headon, Working Men's Club, Sea Power

As the name suggests, Live At Leeds is based in right in the heart of Leeds' city centre. Taking place over a Saturday in October, the one-day festival's ethos has always been to celebrate over 200 of the best local upcoming bands alongside more established names.

The festival began in 2007 to mark the city's 800th birthday and has since won the UK festival award for Best Metropolitan Festival, and Best Festival For Emerging Talent.  

When & Where: 15th October; Leeds  

Live At Leeds Guide 

Wild Paths

Festival Lineup (2022): Pongo, Honeyglaze, Prima Queen, SPRINTS, Langkamer

Wild Paths, based in Norwich over six days in October, is an entirely new breed of music festival.

With an emphasis almost entirely on the next generation of music talent - both domestically and from further afield with over 75% women and gender minority acts featured - Wild Paths enables festival-goers to create their own unique experience by picking and choosing the shows that pique a certain interest, whether it be an incendiary jazz troupe lighting up a historic church or an anthemic alt-pop band starting a mosh-pit in a sweaty independent gig venue.

For added kudos Wild Paths have incorporated numerous sustainability initiatives such as promoting upcycled merch, recycled wristbands, free reusable waters bottles, and are working with Too Good To Go across all our food vendors to eliminate food waste.

When & where: 10-15th October 2022; Norwich

Wild Paths Series 2022 Guide / Book Wild Paths Series 2022 Tickets Here 

Ara Deg

Festival Lineup (2022): Gruff Rhys, This Is The Kit, Ryler Walker, Snapped Ankles

Founded by Super Furry Animals' frontman Gruff Rhys in 2019, Ara Deg ensures weird and wonderful talent spanning indie, folk, and experimental rock nestles in nicely within the independent venues surrounding North Wales' Eryri Mountains.

Expect a left-field offering of innovators heading to Bethesda over four days, having welcomed the likes of Aldous Harding, Gwenno, Jane Weaver and audiobooks since its inaugural edition.

When & where: 25th August; Bethesda, North Wales

Visions Festival  

Festival Lineup (2022): Black Country, New Road, Giant Swan, Mdou Moctar, Yumi Zouma

Visions Festival is a one-day celebration of music, arts, food, and culture conceived by lauded promoter's Bird On The Wire and FORM. Taking place in peak summer at the beginning of August, Visions plays out across warehouse spaces, independent gig venues, local chapels, and various other nooks and crannies around Hackney.

Alongside its hotly-curated lineup - which has seen IDLES, Perfume Genius, Japanese Breakfast, SOPHIE and more trailblazers perform over the years - there are also a variety of non-music events, such as The Visions Themed Dog Show, karaoke, craft beer markets, record fairs and more.

When & Where: 22nd July 2023; London

Visions Festival Guide

Simple Things

Festival Lineup (2022): Animal Collective, Mykki Blanco, Tirzah, William Basinski, Viagra Boys

Simple Things Festival has changed tack in 2022, opting for a series of events spread across several months in conjunction with Bristol New Music rather than its typical one-day festival. 

What remains the same however, is the multi-genre celebration welcoming an impressive array of boundary-pushing artists to take over the cities most popular music venues Colston Hall, Lakota, The Island and The O2 Academy.

When & where: Multiple Dates; Bristol

Simple Things Guide

Brixton Disco Festival

Festival Lineup (2022): The Shapeshifters, Mr. Scruff, Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy, Greg Wilson, Norman Jay, Cerrone

Set in the heart of Brixton across venues surrounding around the iconic Windrush Square, Brixton Disco Festival is a multi-venue extravaganza. Celebrating over 40 years of disco music the festival is presented by Mi-Soul Radio. 

Some of disco's best-loved artists will be playing in venues such as Electric Brixton, Prince of Wales Rooftop & Club, The Ritzy Picturehouse and The Black Cultural Archives, while festival-goers will also be treated to a selection of film screenings, talks, art exhibitions, a record fair, and even a roller disco in the middle of Windrush Square. 

When & where: 30th April; Brixton

Brixton Disco Festival Guide

Baltic Weekender 

Festival Lineup (2022): Helena Hauff, Ben UFO, Hunee, Ross From Friends, Nightmares On Wax, DJ Seinfeld

Liverpool's Baltic Triangle comes alive between when Baltic Weekender takes over and runs riot in the iconic city.

After their debut festival in 2017 the festival has continued to showcase an impressive underground music lineup for five years now, seeing selectors spanning techno, house, and all the beats in-between take over the city's creative district.

When & where: 2-3rd June 2023; Liverpool  

Baltic Weekender Guide