Evolution Festival 2023 events occur at several different venues over the three-day English Bank Holiday in May (banks are closed on the Monday). The festival is often called the "Weekender" because it's held over that weekend. There are other performances held during the week leading up to the main weekend. Look for acts as diverse as Iggy and the Stooges (punk rock artists from the United States), Bellowhead (English contemporary folk), and Spank Rock (hip hop). Much of the music is on outdoor stages,

Evolution Festival History

The Evolution Music Festival in England was first begun in 2002; the first festival included a dance event sponsored by a local nightclub. It had originally been called the Orange Evolution because it was sponsored by the Orange mobile phone company. For a while, it had the name Freevolution and then 3volution. Originally, most of the performances were free, and today several still are. It has been Evolution since 2008 when a small fee for admission was instituted.

UK Map

Evolution Festival Location

The Evolution Music Festival England occurs in the towns of Newcastle Upon Tyne (usually just called Newcastle) and Gateshead located in the far northeast of England in Yorkshire. The towns are located about halfway between Edinburgh in Scotland and the cities of Leeds and York. Within the town of Gateshead is Quayside, which lines the banks of the River Tyne across from Newcastle. Quayside's Spillers Wharf and Baltic Square provide important venues. Once a run-down industrial area, the area has been revitalized and provides a respected cultural arts venue in the region. This part of Quayside is linked to Newcastle by the lovely Gateshead Millennium pedestrian bridge.

Getting to Evolution Festival

Getting to Newcastle for the Evolution Festival 2023 can be done by air as the city boasts an international airport with flights coming in from all over the UK, as well as Paris, the United Arab Emirates, Malta, and many other places in Europe. If you come by car, the roads are excellent. There is also regular train service from around England, including London. There are even daily ferries from Amsterdam. Once you are in the city, getting around is convenient on public buses, the metro, bicycles, and even on foot.

Evolution Festival Tickets

Originally, the Evolution Festival performances were free. After small fees were charged in 2008, they continued to rise almost every year. However, they remain very reasonably priced when compared to similar music festivals. Some of the profits are donated to the official charity, Wateraid.

Evolution Festival Lodging

You have quite a choice in accommodation for your Evolution Music Festival England weekend. If you have a vehicle, you could choose to stay at Langley Castle Hotel, a real fourteenth-century castle located in the countryside about a 30-minute drive from Newcastle (Langley-on-Tyne Hexham). From the Hilton Gateshead at Bottle Bank Quaside, you can walk to festival venues as well as to the city center. If you have something more modest in mind, try the Albatross Backpackers Hostel at 51 Grainger Street right in the Newcastle city center.