Iconic artist Sting is set to headline the first edition of a new festival in the Mexican Caribbean this May.

The free event, aptly titled Mexican Caribbean Music Festival, will take place on 17 May at the Zamna jungle resort in Tulum.

Sting will bring his STING 3.0 Tour to the new event, alongside guitarist and longtime collaborator Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas (Mumford & Sons, Maggie Rogers).

“This event represents a new era for the Mexican Caribbean,” said Andrés Martínez, CEO of the Mexican Caribbean Tourism Board. “In addition to offering world-class music, we also seek to contribute to the growth and promotion of tourism in the region.”

With less than 100 days to go until Roskilde Festival, the Danish institution has announced the 42 emerging artists from Denmark and the Nordics who will make up the First Days lineup.

Annika will open Roskilde’s Orange Stage in 2025—an honour reserved for artists on the verge of a major breakthrough

Molina, Tonser, g2g, Mumle, Aphaca, Biji, Fakethias and Hillari are among the rising acts on the bill. It has also been announced that Annika, one of Scandinavia’s most talked-about new pop stars, will open the festival’s Orange Stage in 2025—an honour reserved for artists on the verge of a major breakthrough.

Previously announced acts for the 29 June to 5 July event include Olivia Rodrigo, Doechii, Stormzy, Arca, Beabadoobee, Deftones, Nine Inch Nails and Jamie xx.

Hungary’s Sziget festival has also added more than 40 acts to its 2025 lineup, including Empire of The Sun, FKA Twigs, The Last Dinner Party, Little Simz, Michael Kiwanuka and Portugal. The Man. The Budapest-based event, set for 6–11 August, is headlined by Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, Post Malone, Shawn Mendes, A$AP Rocky and Anyma.

Summer Sonic Bangkok will return to Thailand for a second edition between 23–24 August at IMPACT Challenger Hall.

Among the first confirmed artists are Black Eyed Peas, who will perform in the country for the first time in 12 years, and Cambilla Cambello who will deliver her first-ever performance in Thailand. Japanese kawaii metal band Babymetal have also been announced.

The Streets, Lola Young, Ghetts, Jon Batiste and more will perform at Little Simz’s Meltdown Festival

In the UK, Little Simz has announced the first wave of artists for her edition of Southbank Centre’s Meltdown Festival.

The rapper is curating this year’s 30th edition, which takes place between Thursday 12 June to Sunday 22 June in London.

Set to perform alongside Simz are The Streets, Lola Young, Ghetts, Jon Batiste, Sasha Keable with Flames Collective and Yukimi.

Elsewhere, Greece’s AthensRocks has announced that Kings of Leon have cancelled their headline performance at the festival due to unforeseen circumstances.

The Nashville rockers were due to make their Greece debut at the festival on 5 July at the Athens Olympic Complex.

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Following research released yesterday showing independent festivals added over £1 billion to the UK economy from 2014 to 2017, the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has revealed the winners of its Independent Festival Awards 2018.

Hosted by Glastonbury Festival’s general counsel, Ben Challis, the awards ceremony took place at 92 Burton Road last night (6 November) following the first day of AIF’s Festival Congress. Winners included Black Deer Festival (new festival on the block), Henge (live act of the year), the Data Mine at Shambala (unique festival arena) and Truck Festival (smart marketing campaign).

In addition, the late director of Sheffield’s Tramlines, Sarah Nulty, was posthumously honoured with the outstanding contribution award. Nulty passed away after a short illness earlier this year, aged 36. Donations were collected on the evening for Weston Park Cancer Charity and Cavendish Cancer Care, which provided care and support for Nulty during her illness.

The act of independence award was handed to Southbank Centre’s Meltdown Festival for replacing Frightened Rabbit’s set at the event with a panel on mental health awareness following the death of singer Scott Hutchison earlier this year.

“The Independent Festival Awards was an outstanding celebration and an emotional evening”

Nominations were put forward to AIF’s 65 member festivals and then determined by a Festival Congress steering group vote.

AIF CEO Paul Reed says: “The Independent Festival Awards was an outstanding celebration and an emotional evening. Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees, who help reaffirm that the independent festival sector is in an incredibly strong place.

“I’m especially grateful to the Tramlines team and the family of Sarah Nulty for working with us to honour her incredible achievements and convey the admiration for Sarah that runs throughout the festival community.”

A full list of winners is available from the Festival Congress website.

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