Those not involved in Druidical rites this solstice should certainly consider heading over to the Netherlands, to attend the second Best Kept Secret festival. A three-day event running from June 20-22, BKS is located in the Beekse Bergen Safari Park in Hilvarenbeek, just south of the city of Tilburg in Brabant. It’s a spectacular location; replete with camping and chalets, lakes, a beach, woods and meadows and – should you feel the need of more civilised company – wild animals.
As if wandering through Arcady in midsummer wasn’t enough, the line-up looks pretty damned tasty. Friday’s big hitters are Pixies and Interpol, though we’d recommend you also catch Afterpartees, young, brash Dutch rockers who have something of the Doctor Feelgoods about them. Saturday boasts gigs from Mogwai, Slowdive, September Girls, Franz Ferdinand and Wild Beasts. On the Sunday, Fat White Family, The Horrors, Young Fathers and Forest Swords disport themselves for your pleasure under the sylvan glades, while Nils Frahm, Fucked Up, Pins and The Haxan Cloak, as well as some very fine Dutch acts such as I Am Oak and Daryll-Ann are elsewhere on the bill. For full details and tickets, head to the festival website here, and have a listen to BKS’ Spotify playlist below: