Crack Magazine’s Festival Guide 2025

With over 50 programmes and events taking place over ten days in January, the London Short Film Festival spotlights the best of this year’s independent cinema, emerging filmmakers and new short films, alongside a curated events schedule focused on both the history of film and the industry today. Discussions will be anchored by this year’s theme, ‘Spaces’, exploring dedicated third spaces for creativity and culture – and what we lose when they close.

Three days of good music in Mexico is a compelling prospect at any time of the year, but in February? Boutique festival Carnaval de Bahidorá is an underrated no-brainer for those looking to escape the last days of Winter. Held at Las Estacas park in Morelos, just a two-hour drive from Mexico City, the site sits right by the bright turquoise Yautepec River in a secluded location surrounded by nature. It all sounds blissful, but the line-up makes clear this is a festival that parties hard – think heavyweights like Ben UFO, Pearson Sound, Pangaea, Joy Orbison and Jeff Mills, alongside the likes of Logic1000, ISAbella, SoFTT and Octo Octa b2b Eris Drew.

AVA London’s three-day programme pairs all the gloss of an industry conference with great taste and a true understanding of how to put on a good party. Catch live shows and sets from Erika de Casier and Mechatok at Hackney’s EartH on Thursday, Ryoji Ikeda, Marcel Dettmann and EMA on Friday at HERE, and LSDXOXO on Saturday at The Cause. The daytime schedule also features live a conversation with FKA twigs, a mixing masterclass with Tom Elmhirst and much more.

Every spring since 2011, a carefully considered yet creatively bananas line-up has convened in this seaside city for a weekend of cultural expansion – and that tradition continues in 2025. Among the cutting-edge highlights at this year’s Rewire are Arooj Aftab; Colin Stetson and Self, with their singular approaches to emotional catharsis; spectral post-rockers Moin; ambient jazz explorers Nala Sinephro and SML; drone queen Kali Malone with Stephen O’Malley; and a club-friendly thread that includes Two Shell, De Schurmann and DJ Plead b2b with Roxymore. We could go on…

Not just named after Trish Keenan’s retro-futurists, this Brussels event also channels that group’s spirit of experimentation. Its eighth edition brims with intrigue, as guest curators Anna von Hausswolff, Backxwash and Colin Stetson cast a brooding influence over a bill that features Tim Hecker, industrial art-punks Dame Area, Cairo producer El Kontessa, bubbling producer De Schuurman and avant-rockers Kassie Krut. International Anthem will also celebrate 11 years with shows from Ben LaMar Gay, SML and Jeremiah Chiu. What more do you need?

Sónar Lisboa is once again setting the tone for festival season this spring with an adventurous, expansive programme that brings together forward-thinking electronic music from across the globe. Split across the more laid-back Sónar by Day (Saturday 12 April and Sunday 13), and the immersive Sónar by Night (Friday 11 and Saturday 12), shows will be held at Pavilhão Carlos Lopes (Parque Eduardo VII), with two additional open-air stages for the daytime. Highlights include Jeff Mills, Underworld, Josh Caffé, Modeselektor, ISAbella and Héctor Oaks, as well as stage takeovers from Dengo Club and Lisbon’s Enchufada, and a Principe x TraTraTrax link-up featuring Bitter Babe, DJ Lomalinda, DJ Firmeza b2b Nick León and more.

The crew behind Wild Wood Festival do exactly what they promise to do: put on a good party. Nestled into the Cambridgshire woodland with less than 2000 guests in attendance, this independent festival has a truly intimate feel, powered by a close-knit community that keep the energy high year-on-year. But don’t confuse its smaller size for a compromise on the line-up – this year’s programme features the likes of Midland and Lukas Wigflex, and will take place across four stages (some of which are built from the forest floor itself). With secret venues and surprises planned for the weekend, this is one to turn off your phone for, dance under the trees, and embrace the unexpected.