Music tips

If you're the sort of music fan who is happier watching the Coachella livestream on your couch than navigating the crowds, then you may be wondering how to enjoy the magic of live music without quite so many people.

Preparing for a festival this year? Don’t panic – from festival practicalities to planet-friendly tips, we’ve got you covered.

When a northern, sea-bound island goes by the nickname “The Rock,” you already have a good idea of what to expect. Newfoundland is a place of elemental beauty where the Earth’s mantle is one of the attractions. Stiff breezes can build to roaring winds off the cold Atlantic, pushing around icebergs and tossing fishing boats, even in coves protected by jagged cliffs where clouds of seabirds nest.

Sometimes you want to go to a hotel to rest and relax. Sometimes a hotel is just where you end up after a long day of traveling or for some conference for work. And then sometimes you go to a hotel for the nightlife — or, at least, you a pick a hotel wherever you're going because there is some nightlife you can enjoy without ever having to leave the property.

Belfast did not have the best of starts to 2024. Never mind the mass public sector strikes, the not-unrelated fact of Northern Ireland being without a functioning government (the government returned, the strikes were settled, or suspended … for now), at the end of January, one of the city’s most respected – revered – publicans, Pedro Donald, who over the years had brought us the John Hewitt, La Boca, the Sunflower and the American Bar, announced that he was leaving for Amsterdam. There may not be bombs and bullets any more, he said, but Belfast was “a dump and derelict”. Indeed, apart from a few good years between the Good Friday agreement and the financial crash, the city was in many ways no further on than when he started in the trade in 1984.

Inexpensive lodging and affordable street food mean Oaxaca delivers plenty of bang for your buck – add a plethora of free attractions to the mix and the colorful city is about as budget-friendly as they come.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will officially open on June 28 at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World, the company announced Sunday night.

If you ask someone to rattle off Austria’s unmissable attractions, they’ll probably rave about Vienna and its lavish feast of palaces, coffee houses, concert halls and galleries, and the heart-racing trails and slopes traversing the Alps that ripple across half the country.

Strip off your sweaters; the official start of summer is coming in hot. Gear up for a long weekend where the smell of bonfires, the taste of freshly grilled hamburgers and the feel of the ocean wash all the winter blues away. Memorial Day Weekend — when millions of Americans take off for vitamin D-drenched destinations from sea to shining sea — is just around the corner.

While there aren’t many bargains in Munich, there are a surprising number of one-of-a-kind activities and sights that are completely free.

This summer, the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project will add another chapter to its journey with the installation of five new markers at key locations in the Catskills.

To some, Atlanta is the urban music center of the world. To others, it’s the Hollywood of the South. To chef Marcus Samuelsson, the Dixie metropolis is a vibrant culinary hotbed that was missing his personal stamp.

Summer on the coast or winter on the slopes? Anna Richards, one of the authors of the new Lonely Planet France guidebook, shares her tips for planning the best time to visit France for your perfect vacation.

Rows of purple, fragrant flowers are a treat to see and smell. But when lavender is in full bloom, destinations around the world celebrate their flowers with everything from lavender-flavored ice cream to yoga sessions amid the fields.

Summer is for music festivals and the best way to celebrate tunes and sunshine is at a new resort in the Riviera Maya. Located along Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya opened last June and is the place to be for an adults-only vacation with endless island vibes. The resort, inspired by the lyrics and lifestyle of singer, songwriter, and bestselling author Jimmy Buffett, is beautifully decorated with quotes, photos, and artwork. There are murals of colorful parrots around the property and cheerful and laid-back Buffett fans are fondly known as “parrot heads”.

On the first Sunday of May every year, Chapel Street, where central Manchester and Salford meet, comes alive with DIY art, music and spectacle at the Sounds from the Other City festival. It is a vibrant public celebration of the “community spirit and collaborative working” which co-director Emma Thompson says sustains much alternative culture in the region.

Strands of chartreuse, gold and sapphire lights reflect off of the dark, rolling currents of the Mississippi River as Lauryn Hill takes the stage. Trading bar for bar with fellow Fugee Wyclef Jean at the forefront of a 10-piece band, the reunited hip-hop act electrifies a swarm of smartphone lights and the occasional cigarette lighter burning into the swampy, southern air.

It would be easy to read Evil Does Not Exist as being anti-travel—or, at the very least, anti-glamping. The new film from Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi is set in the tranquil (and fictional) village of Mizubiki some two hours outside of Tokyo. Locals live in deference to the nature that surrounds them, collecting water from the forest’s crystal-clear spring with quiet care. But, when COVID-era economic incentives drive a Tokyo consulting firm to erect a glamping site upstream of the village, without considering the environmental consequences on the community, a high-drama town meeting ensues, wherein villagers poke hole after hole in the hastily-drawn plan. Over the course of the film's two hours, it continues to meditate on topics of man and nature, framing stunning countryside scenery for so long, and with such focus, that you emerge refreshed as though from a cold plunge.

Summer is the perfect time to combine a road trip through Ontario with a jamming live music festival. Whether your passion is rock, jazz, blues, or trending pop, these five summer music festivals have something for everyone. It’s also an opportunity to discover up and coming local musicians and bands that will be performing against the backdrop of Ontario’s rugged natural beauty. This diverse east-central Canadian province borders the United States and the Great Lakes and is home to rich varied landscapes, vibrant multiculturalism, and fun events happening all summer long. So grab your dancing shoes and sense of adventure to experience the best music in Ontario for summer 2024.

Rap careers, much like in any other musical genre, are fleeting. You can have a viral hit today and be the subject of a “What ever happened to…” podcast tomorrow. All of which makes what L.A. native O’Shea Jackson Sr. (that’s Ice Cube to me and you) has accomplished over his career so amazing. A member of the seminal gangsta rap group N.W.A in the ’80s and an influential solo artist in the ’90s, Cube had a wall of platinum plaques up by the time Drake was in kindergarten. N.W.A was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. He’s still selling out arenas today.

It’s finally spring and we’re removing our coats and sweaters to show off some skimpier looks both at home and on upcoming trips. After being cocooned and indoors, we all want a spring refresh especially before beach season hits. That’s why it’s time to book some beauty and wellness treatments to look refreshed; here are six NYC salons and workouts that will have your body spring trip-ready: