If you’re getting music festival withdrawal, don’t worry – there are plenty of awesome winter music festivals to get your fix.
The ski resort music festival scene has really become a thing in recent years, with the huge popularity of these hedonistic and action packed musical mash ups being an mainstay of many people’s calendar.
And with the chance to hit the slopes and see some of the biggest names in electronica, whats not to love? Most ski resort music festivals bundle in accommodation and ski passes as part of the package, but check before you check out.
If you’re looking for a party on the slopes, these are the best options, with listings correct as of February 2019.
Snowboxx
- Avoriaz, France
- 23rd-30th March 2019
Set amongst the fantastic Portes du Soleil ski area, just down the road from Morzine, Snowboxx has risen to become one of the biggest festivals on the winter music calendar. The original iteration was based in Andorra, which is a ski and party hotspot in itself – but the Avoriaz location makes it easier to access. Beyond the main stage, you’ll find comedy nights, igloo parties, snowball fights and bottomless brunches. And the music’s not too shabby either…
2019 sees electronica superstars Rudimental and Craig David headlining, alongside Jax Jones, Mike Skinner, Becky Saif, The Menendez Brothers and Danny Howard – among a whole host of established and rising stars. (check this Snowboxx review for more info about that)
Packages start at £125. Head to Snowboxx.com to check the deets and book.
Snowbombing
- Mayrhofen, Austria
- 8-13th April
Now in it’s 20th year, Snowbombing in Mayrhofen is the giant of the ski resort music festival scene. The pretty town in the Zillertal valley is already a party hot spot, but with the addition of this raucous celebration of bass music things get turned up several notches. In keeping with Mayrhofen’s already pretty lively scene, you’ll find chairlift speed dating, Mr Motivator’s daily warm down (bring your dayglo lycra) and the Snowlympics – among many other fun events.
Oh and the music? A pretty stellar lineup for 2019 includes Stormzy, Fatboy Slim, Andy C, Hannah Wants, Subfocus and DJ Yoda.
Tickets can be picked up over at Snowbombing.com and start from £269.
Tomorrowland Winter
- Alpe d’Huez, France
- 9-16th March
A new addition to the winter sports music festivals, Tomorrowland Winter festival is the winter edition of the popular summer festival, held in Belgium. Alpe d’Huez welcomes the inaugural event with top notch acts including Armin van Buuren, Paul Kalkbrenner, Steve Aoki, Netsky and Martin Solveig.
With a lineup like that it can only be a pretty epic session. The tickets include ski passes and accommodation, starting from €685 and can be picked up at Tomorrowland.com.
Chamonix Unlimited
- Chamonix, France
- April 2-7th
In the shadow of Mont Blanc, get down to techno and house from some of the biggest names in the game. Jeff Mills, Laurent Garnier, The Shapeshifters, Denis Horvat and Anja Schneider front the bill for 2019 – with plenty to keep techno heads rocking from the slopes to the wee small hours. Venues range from slope side stages to pool parties, and tickets can be picked up from €70 at Chamonix-Unlimited.com.
Groove Cairngorm
- Aviemore, Scotland
- 23rd-24th Feb
Although Scotland’s winter sports scene is a little inconsistent, and certainly not up there with the Alps (sorry Scotland), they definitely know how to put on a party. If you’re lucky you could spend a day on the slopes at the nearby Cairngorm mountain. By night rock out to Example, 2 Many DJs and Norman Jay. Tickets start from £40 and can be picked up over at GrooveCairngorm.co.uk.
Rock the Pistes
- Portes du Soleil, France/Switzerland
- 17-23rd March
If all this electronic music is giving you a headache, then this will be a welcome change. Although it’s mostly French and European rock and pop acts, you’ll be able to enjoy a wide range of music all for the price of your lift pass. Yup. There’s no actual charge for most of the festival so you just need to find a stage, grab a drink and enjoy…
Acts for 2019 include Gatean Rousel, Form, Sunday Morning Drunkards, Hyphen Hyphen and Charlie Winston.
Zermatt Unplugged
- Zermatt, Switzerland
- 9-13th April
This beautiful chocolate box ski resort welcomes offers the more family friendly vibes of Zermatt Unplugged. Less booming bass and more singalong pop music, this is definitely a festival for those looking for an easy going apres ski vibe. Acts for 2019 include Jessie J, Boy George, James Bay, Passenger and Tom Odell. All in the shadow of the imposing Matterhorn.
Tickets start from CHF60 (around £46) and to add to the famil friendly vibe, under 16s don’t need a ticket to get into the venues (so long as they’re with a paying adult). Head to Zermatt-Unplugged.com for tickets.
The BRITS Ski Festival
- Laax, Switzerland
- 31st March- 7th April
With the backdrop of fabulous Laax, The Brits ski festival is more focused on the snow sports side of things. But the music is often top notch too… Currently there is no information about the music acts who will be playing, but if watching sick tricks from the big names is more your thing and the music is a bonus then this is your fest. Keep an eye on BritsSnow.com for details and tickets.
Caprices
- Crans-Montana, Switzerland
- 11-14th April
Back to the electronica, and Caprices has established itself as one of the most popular techno festivals on the ski resort circuit. Acts like Bedouin, Seth Troxler, Sven Vath and Jamie Jones are all on the bill for 2019.
Tickets start at £55, with options including accommodation available. Check details at Caprices.ch.
Sun & Snow Festival
- Sierra Nevada, Spain
- 18-20th April
2019 marks the second installation of this festival high in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Spain. The most southerly ski resort in Europe offers the opportunity to soak up Spanish culture and a view of the sea with some great skiing and snowboarding. In fact the slopes hosted the Ski and Snowboard freestyle world championships in 2017, so it clearly meets the grade.
The festival lineup in 2019 sees the likes of DJ Tennis, TVS1, Jennifer Cardini and Matrixman – so expect world class techno and electronica alongside the great snow. Tickets start from £50, get yours over at SunandSnowFest.es.
Are you heading to any ski resort music festivals this year? Let us know which one, or if you recommend any others let us know in the comments below.
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