Three festivals in South Zealand you must check out!

The festival season has started, and it can be difficult to get an overview of the summer's many musical opportunities and offers. We focus on three South Zealand festivals that are worth your time.

Midsummer Festival

Seven years ago, a new festival was created in the villa gardens behind Adelgade 126 in Præstø. The festival is called Midsommer Festival and in a few years has moved from being a garden party for the city's locals to being a professional festival with a large and ambitious line-up from both at home and abroad.

As many as 20 bands and artists are set to visit the festival in Præstø this year. Including Danish Katinka, who in 2015 shot out of the musical growth layer when they won DR's talent program "Karrierekanonen". Katinka has since been very active and released albums in both 2017 and 2018. You can expect high energy, intensity and world-class lyrics when Katinka takes over the backyards in Præstø.

Of the program's other artists , Lowly is a name not to be missed. The band delivers dreamy, electrified noise pop that you can dream away in. The quintet broke through in 2015, when they were offered a record deal just minutes after playing at the SPOT festival. Bring a blanket and make yourself comfortable in the green backyard and dream away to the crisp tones of Lowly.

Finally, Faela, the festival's big international name, must of course not be forgotten. The very international band, consisting of artists from Brazil, England, Spain, Argentina and Sweden, is characterized by their great songwriting and highly explosive live shows. Join us and swing your hips as Faela transforms the garden party into a dance party.

In addition to the many concerts in the backyard, Midsommer Festival also organizes concerts and events outside the garden hedge. Among other things, there will also be a concert at Præstø's Old Town Hall and in Præstø Church.

There are plenty of good reasons to stop by Præstø and visit the Midsummer Festival, when the gardens are transformed into a festival site from 21 to 23 June. We recommend that you take a look at the line-up yourself, as it is only the tip of the iceberg that we have mentioned here.

• Address: Adelgade 126, 4720 Præstø
• Date: 21 - 23 June, 2019
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midsommerfestival.dk/
• Website: https://midsommerfestival.dk/

Neverland

After Næverland's debut in August 2013, the volunteer-run festival has grown steadily, and has gone from a small local event with small bands and groups from the surrounding area to a festival that fills the project house JB10 to the brim with people, drawing artists from near and far to the heart of Næstved at Jernbanegade 10.

Næverland got its real breakthrough with a huge success in 2017, where it seems that the festival found its identity with fertile ground in Næstved's unofficial title as Denmark's street art capital. It was about underground culture, hip-hop and graffiti.

The festival is non-profit, and is therefore primarily run by young volunteers from the local area and supported by Mærk Næstved, the Youth School, the Project Laboratory and the Youth Pool, which means that Næverland, like all other events in the project house JB10, is free for everyone.

In addition, the organizers of the festival have been particularly good at utilizing their network, and can boast of having promoted both recognized international and Danish artists, such as American graffiti icon Skeme, nationally known Raske Penge, Den Sorte Skole, who played at Orange Stage at Roskilde Festival the same year, and the highly festive Marvelous Mosell to name a few.

But Næverland also offers much more than crisp concerts and graffiti. The festival is also known for talks, which give the opportunity to ask questions and get close to the story behind recognized profiles who have visited the festival, and in 2018 there were even live freestyle rap battles on the program.

The artists for Næverland 19' have not been announced yet, but you can be sure that Næverland will offer a huge party with lots of urban culture, and there are simply no excuses not to attend, as the festival is completely free! This year the focus is on the railway and the train station, which was one of the decisive platforms for Næstved's great street art culture.

• Address: Jernbanegade 10, 4700 Næstved
• Date: 9 - 10 August, 2019
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naeverland/
• Website: https://naeverland.dk/

Autumn Mon

Høst Møn opens its doors for the second time for the mini-festival at Hårbølle Camping on Møn, with direct access to the water. The scenic festival focuses on unity and sustainability. This is expressed, among other things, in the regular daily communal eating. Here, the menu is composed of local seasonal ingredients and served with degradable cutlery, so you can enjoy your meal with a clear conscience.

In addition to unity and sustainability, the festival of course also has another focal point - the music. Here you can look forward to at least 10 top-drawer concerts. However, the festival has only announced half of the program yet, but among these are some really exciting names.

Of the names announced, we have The Entrepreneures, who close and extinguish the festival with "(...) storm surge and mudslides and burning cars", as the organizer himself writes on his website. We don't think that the organizer is promising too much, as The Entrepreneurs are known for their energetic sound explosions that can make the emotions go all out. Whether the cars actually catch fire, we'll leave it to the unknown, but we definitely recommend that you go out and find out for yourself!

• Address: Hårbølle Strand, Hårbøllevej 87, 4792 Askeby
• Date: 30 - 31 August, 2019
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hoestmoen/
• Website: http://hoestmoen.dk/