Paste's Guide to International Summer Music Festivals

Sure, U.S. citizens can pretty well fill their summer calendars with music festivals here in the States, but there are plenty of great fests happening across the globe in the upcoming months. Whether you can actually facilitate a trip abroad or just want to daydream about hearing Vampire Weekend live in Japan, here’s a list of some Paste-approved summer music fests:

What: The Great Escape
Where: Brighton, England
When: May 13-15
Musical Highlights: Broken Social Scene, Marina & The Diamonds, These New Puritans, Lissie, Chew Lips
Website: EscapeGreat.com
Fun Fact: Brighton, England, was home to the world’s first aquarium, called Sealife, and it’s also American Idol judge Simon Cowell’s hometown.

What: Primavera Sound Festival
Where: Barcelona, Spain
When: May 27-29
Musical Highlights: Beach House, Dr. Dog, Dum Dum Girls, Spoon, Grizzly Bear, Sleigh Bells
Website: PrimaveraSound.com
Fun Fact: Drivers in Barcelona are considered among the worst in the world, with accidents occurring in the city every 19 seconds. Stay alert, folks!

What: Pinkpop
Where: Landgraaf, Netherlands
When: May 28-30
Musical Highlights: Pixies, The Temper Trap, Green Day, Kate Nash, Yeasayer
Website: Pinkpop.nl
Fun Fact: The Dutch are statistically the tallest people in the world.

What: Roskilde Festival
Where: Roskilde, Denmark
When: July 1-4
Musical Highlights: LCD Soundsystem, Vampire Weekend, The National, Local Natives, Titus Andronicus
Website: Roskilde-Festival.dk
Fun Fact: The national flag of Denmark, known as the Dannebrog, claims to be the oldest country flag in the world that’s is still in use.

What: Oxyegen Festival
Where: Dublin, Ireland
When: July 9-11
Musical Highlights: Jay-Z, Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Hot Chip, Goldfrapp
Website: Oxegen.ie
Fun Fact: Arthur Guinness leased the land for his brewery in 1759 for 45 pounds a year, and the lease is good for 9,000 years.

What: Valley Rock Festival
Where: Seoul, South Korea
When: July 30-August 1
Musical Highlights: Belle and Sebastian, Vampire Weekend, Corinne Bailey Rae,
Website: ValleyRockFestival.com
Fun Fact: Snuppy, the world’s first cloned dog, was created at Seoul National University in South Korea. Unofficial Valley Rock mascot? Yes, please.

What: Fuji Rock Festival
Where: Niigata Prefecture, Japan
When: July 30-August 1
Musical Highlights: Roxy Music, Thom Yorke, Broken Social Scene, LCD Soundsystem, MGMT, Mutemath
Website: Smash-UK.com
Fun Fact: Japan’s literacy rate is almost 100 percent.

What: Oyafestival
Where: Oslo, Norway
When: August 10-14
Musical Highlights: Big Boi, Pavement, Iggy and the Stooges, M.I.A. Jonsi, Sleigh Bells
Website: OyaFestivalen.com
Fun Fact: The prestigious Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually on Dec. 10 in Oslo City Hall.

What: Pukkelpop
Where: Hasselt, Belgium
When: August 19-21
Musical Highlights: Jonsi, Band of Horses, The xx, These New Puritans, The Soft Pack, Eels
Website: Pukkelpop.be
Fun Fact: Belgium is the world’s biggest producer of comics per capita, and the first printed newspapers were also published there.