Music festivals 2018: The best dance music events in London

London’s festival scene is an eclectic one, with pretty much every musical inclination catered for by one event or another. But if you’re into dance music, where should you go?

Here are our suggestions, ranging from those that draw in some of the best known DJs in the game to one festival that actually grew out of a living room rave.

Due to London’s licensing laws, most of these festivals wrap up at around 10pm. However there plenty of affiliated afterparties in nightclubs around the city, so you’re more than welcome to keep on dancing into the wee hours.

Lovebox

2018 sees Lovebox swap east for west, moving from Victoria Park all the way across the Gunnersbury Park, but the line-up carries on where it picked off. There’s the expected heavy dose of pop music at the top of the bill with Childish Gambino, Skepta and N.E.R.D among the headliners, but look further down and you’ll find a impressive of some of today’s best DJs - staying true to the festival’s dance-focused roots. Jon Hopkins, Bicep, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Peggy Gou and Floorplan are among the acts we’re excited to see.

Gunnersbury Park, July 13-14. Buy tickets here

Eastern Electrics

The latest iteration of this south London stomper is split into two distinct days: Saturday focuses on bringing some of the biggest names in house and techno, while Sunday is chock-full of bass music, D’n’B, reggae and garage. Jamie Jones, Eats Everything and Skream are the first set of headliners, while the legendary David Rodigan heads up the second tranche - and there are plenty of emerging acts filling up the rest of the lineup. Spread across seven stages and fuelled by some pounding soundsystems, the only problem will be choosing who to see.

Morden Park, August 4-5. Buy tickets here

51st State

Returning for its fourth edition, north London’s 51st State bills itself as “a celebration of real house music” and an exploration of “the threads of this hugely influential sound”, with a lineup that takes us from tech house to dancehall. Seeing two of the festival’s biggest headliners, Carl Cox and Derrick May, behind the decks may well be worth the entry free alone but there is plenty more to choose from across the seven stages.

Trent Country Park, August 4. Buy tickets here

Art’s House

This is a festival with one of the more interesting backstories: a few years back, Artwork decided to put on a rave in someone’s living room. It went pretty well and since then it’s grown and grown with the Rinse FM DJ taking his parties around London, up and down the UK and even for a brief excursion in Ibiza. It’s all culminated in this: Art’s House, A Lovely London Festival. It will see Artwork performing in the open-air Three Mills Island in east London, with DJ Harvey joining him as the sole guest for an all-day party. There will be plenty of street food and drink stalls dotted around the keep you refreshed and dancing ‘til sundown.

Three Mills Island, August 11. Buy tickets here

Elrow Town London

Perennial party-thrower Elrow is behind some of the best-loved raves in Ibiza and has organised events all across Europe. This is the London leg of its summer schedule and it looks set to be a colourful affair: Saturday’s theme offers a slice of carnival spirit with “Sambodromo do Brasil” while Sunday takes things back to the 60s for “Pyschedelic Trip”. Once you’ve made sure your festival outfit adheres, there is plenty of music to get stuck into. Saturday’s headliners, Paul Kalkbrenner and Paco Osuna, are two of the most intriguing electronic artists on the circuit, while Sunday welcomes the legendary Fatboy Slim and a DJ set from none other than Idris Elba.

London Way, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, E15 2EE, August 18-19. Buy tickets here

South West Four

Possibly London’s best known dance festival is approaching its 15th birthday and, true to form, has lured some dance music titans down to Clapham Common: Armin van Buuren, Fedde le Grand and Chase and Status are some of the most eye-catching names on the lineup, which is spread across five stages. There’s also plenty to keep grime fans entertained too, with Dizzee Rascal, Bugzy Malone, Stefflon Don and Lethal Bizzle all set to feature. The best part of all? The festival takes place on Bank Holiday weekend, meaning you’ve got an entire Monday to recover from the madness.

Clapham Common, August 25-26. Buy tickets here

Abode In The Park

This is another house music feast, this time coming courtesy of Abode, who have thrown parties everywhere from Printworks to the legendary Amnesia club in Ibiza. With two stages in Finsbury Park, the festival will feature mix of Abode residents including Artikal and Ellie Cocks, alongside dance music heroes Groove Armada. Cuartero, East End Dubz, Sante, Sidney Charles and Hector Couto complete a stellar line-up.

Finsbury Park, September 23. Buy tickets here