10 of the best European festivals to go to in 2024

When: September 21

One for: Experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime festival location.

If we had our way, all stately homes would be taken over and redistributed to be party locations for the people. But in lieu of a full-scale raveolution, there’s a few festivals out there that offer the opportunity to have a right old knees-up in the grounds of a castle, such as Ireland’s District X. Taking place at Palmerstown House in County Kildare, a 900-acre estate not far from Dublin that boasts everything from a walled garden to amphitheatre acoustic values, the debut edition is billing itself as Ireland’s biggest one-day dance event and they’ve certainly pulled no punches with the line-up. Azyr and blk. will be slamming out techno for the hard and fast fanatics; house heads look set to be uplifted by Kerri Chandler, Chris Stussy and Ewan McVicar; with Vintage Culture, Hannah Laing and PAWSA representing the more groove-based side of the spectrum. Full party mode will no doubt be engaged with the likes of DJ Heartstring, Partiboi69, KETTAMA, Girls Don’t Sync, Marlon Hoffstadt and Malugi; there’s UKG and dubstep supplied by Sammy Virji and local hero EMA; SHERELLE’s on board with her typically rapid selections; there’s even a set from Skepta in his Más Tiempo DJ guise; and more besides. Not much has been revealed about the staging just yet, other than a promise of “world-class stage production”, but the location looks premium for it, and it’s a line-up that speaks for itself. Tickets sold out instantly back in April, suggesting an up-for-it crowd of 20,000 who’ll be going hammer and tongs for the full 12 hours on September 21.

Tickets & Info: here | Photo: Brian Lenehan / Carlton House Hotel.