Gnaoua Music Festival
Essaouira, Morocco
25-27 June 2026
An impossibly picturesque fishing town on the Atlantic coast, Essaouira transforms into a bustling cultural and spiritual hub each June, as musicians and music lovers from all corners of the world pour in for Morocco’s most intriguing summer festival.
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At the centre of the commotion are the Gnaoua Maâlem mystics, a brotherhood of healers and musicians whose ancestors were mercenaries and slaves in sub-Saharan West Africa, and whose songs featuring Arabic chants can create a hypnotic atmosphere for hours on end. A key component of the festival are the collaborations, called fusions, between the Maâlems and contemporary artists from across the globe, giving rise to unique sounds and compositions that can only be experienced here. Watch as the Maâlems open the festivities with an intense spiritual procession followed by a cross-cultural concert featuring Gnaoua music and Intore dance from Rwanda, as well as voices from Morocco, India and France. Over the three days, keep an eye out for the Maâlem’s healing, trance-like lila performances, which take place in narrow alleyways and sometimes continue from sunset to sunrise.
Oerol Festival
Terschelling, Netherlands
12-21 June 2026
Museums are all good and well, but Oerol Festival is a boundary-defying art experience that refuses to be contained by four walls.
Every summer since 1982, the small Dutch island of Terschelling in the Wadden Sea has become a destination for culture vultures make the trek for the dizzying array of immersive, avant-garde art installations, theatre productions, musical acts, dance performances – you name it – that pop up in every nook and cranny of the isle, from seaside stages to impromptu street performances and interactive installations in the forest. Many of the acts are site-specific, dreamed up just for the occasion and made to fit the place – meaning you can only catch them here and now. At Oerol, there’s something happening every minute, and your affordable ticket gets you access to much of it (with the exception of certain individually ticketed shows), so plan well: we recommend renting a bicycle and doing transport the Dutch way.
Truffle Kerfuffle
Manjimup, WA, Australia
26-27 June 2026
It’s time to cleanse your palate and sharpen your olfactory faculties: it’s high season in Australian truffle country, and the annual Truffle Kerfuffle is afoot.
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More black truffles are found in the Manjimup area than anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere, making this tiny Western Australian town the epicentre of truffle tasting in the lower half of the world – and the perfect place to savour these little umami marvels. Start by joining truffle dogs Molly, Gidgee and Max on the hunt for fungi, and experience the thrill of unearthing your very own black Périgord truffles beneath hazelnut and oak trees. Then, sit down under the stars for a gourmet long-table dinner in which three of the region’s leading chefs bring out the best in the local truffles, as well as other seasonal produce, across five inventive courses. New for this year, Manjimup truffles will star in a series of dinners held in top Perth restaurants, including Fallow and 6HEAD, so aficionados in the capital can get a taste of the festivities, too.
Rainforest World Music Festival
Kuching, Borneo, Malaysia
26-28 June 2026
In an inspired twist on the ubiquitous cultural fair concept, world and folk music echoes throughout the mystical jungles of Sarawak during this three-day jam fest featuring performers of every stripe from all across the globe.
Borneo isn’t exactly right around the corner for most festival-goers, but those who make the journey are richly rewarded with a one-of-a-kind experience: talented musicians giving passionate performances on an open-air stage against the backdrop of an actual rainforest. The vocals are stirring, the movements soulful, and the instruments – from Sarawakian lutes to Andean flutes, Syrian ouds, West African koras and Australian didgeridoos – are as old and enduring as music itself. Should you make it to this year’s proceedings, you might hear Mongolian throat singers, Sardinian cantu a tenore choirs and mystical Sufi devotionals along with the more modern musical stylings of US-based soul group the Commodores and British jazz and funk band Incognito – it’s a truly inclusive celebration of humanity’s collective musical roots. In between sets, be prepared to feast on kolo mee (sautéed wild fern), join workshops and jam sessions to get face time with the musicians, and browse the craft market full of items handmade by locals. Whatever you do, be sure to catch the big blowout concert on the festival’s final evening.
Sanno Matsuri
7-17 June 2026
Tokyo, Japan
One of the three largest and most famous Shinto festivals in Japan, Sanno Matsuri honours the kami (Shinto gods) that protect the capital city – by parading them in their portable shrines through the streets of Tokyo.
Celebrated for centuries, this cultural fête takes place every other year and sees hundreds of participants dressed in Edo-era courtly costumes parade through central Tokyo carrying ornate mikoshi shrines, drums and traditional instruments. Elaborate floats, imperial carriages, riders on horseback and people dressed as Tengu goblins (believed to possess supernatural powers) add to the spectacle of the procession, which leaves from Hie-jinja Shrine at 8am and doesn’t return until early evening. Throughout the week of the festival, ikebana flower arrangements add a floral touch, while the chance to savour Japanese tea in the shrine garden provides a taste of tradition. Don’t forget to do as the locals do, and walk through the giant rings made of thatch – a ritual thought to cleanse away any sins unconsciously committed in the past half year.
