Positive Education

Saint-Étienne, France
October 31 - November 5

Saint-Étienne's Positive Education returns for its seventh edition, with a new daytime format and more than 90 DJs and live acts spread across five days and three nights. During the day, the events will unfold at a TBA location, while the nighttime festivities will take place at the Cité du Design. This year's lineup boasts a number of intriguing back-to-backs and collaborative performances, including Jennifer Cardini and Pablo Bozzi, Objekt and Skee Mask and a rare live performance from Scotch Rolex and Shackleton.

RA Pick: When Tatyana Jane and Amor Satyr go back-to-back, expect deep, sub-heavy selections exploring the realms of 140 and beyond.

C2C

Turin, Italy
November 2 - November 5

C2C is a digger's delight, traversing hip-hop, dance music, pop and experimental. Its lineup combines festival favourites and new-wave Italian acts, with the goal of closing the gaps between seemingly disparate genres. Taking place in Turin's exhibition centre in the heart of the city, this year's event happens during Contemporary Art Week and is themed around "The World." Based on that, it's safe to expect representation from independent music scenes across the globe.

RA Pick: Caroline Polachek's vocal acrobatics are mesmerising live.

Mucho Flow

Guimarães, Portugal
November 2 - November 5

What it lacks in size, Guimarães festival Mucho Flow makes up for in musical innovation. To mark its ten-year anniversary, the three-day event will bring some of the most exciting names from electronic music's experimental fringes to northern Portugal, including Aïsha Devi, Amnesia Scanner, Emma DJ, Evita Manji and Lucinda Chua. All of these performances will be complemented by state-of-the-art production, with Mucho Flow taking over the best music venues the city has to offer.

RA Pick: Don't miss Lankum, a band that blurs the lines between traditional Irish folk music, drone and heavy metal.

Le Guess Who?

Utrecht, Netherlands
November 9 - November 12

Le Guess Who? is all about daring programming. Whether it's breaking new acts or commissioning unique live collaborations, the Utrecht event continues to challenge its audience and expand the parameters of what a festival can be. This year's guest curators, whose acts will perform across a handful of churches, galleries and music venues, include avant-pop heroes Stereolab, Warp Records signee Slauson Malone, jazz experimentalist Nala Sinephro and mastering engineer extraordinaire Heba Kadry.

RA Pick: It feels like Valentina Magaletti is having a breakthrough year. The revered percussionist will perform twice at Le Guess Who?, with fellow Italian artist Marta Salogni and as part of post-rock trio Moin.

MIRA

Barcelona, Spain
November 10 - November 12

This year, Barcelona's MIRA is back at the expansive Fira Montjuïc for its 12th edition. Known for exploring the connection between music, art and technology, the festival celebrates dance music's experimental corners, and 2023's programme centres live and audiovisual performances. There are slots for Special Interest, a band melding punk and electronic music, as well as Tirzah's clubby R&B and Mura Masa's adventurous, plastic pop. These performances will be accompanied by various premieres of immersive installations.

RA Pick: If you're looking to let loose, Hudson Mohawke back-to-back Nikki Nair should hit the spot.

En Masse

Bristol, United Kingdom
November 15 - November 19

Run by Timedance boss Batu, En Masse will span five events across four venues in Bristol: Strange Brew, Loco Klub, Cube Microplex and Mickey Zoggs. With a lineup curated with help from local promoters, the festival, which aims to turn familiar venues into places of discovery, is all about dimly lit spaces, booming sound and strange, in-your-face DJ sets and live performances. This year, these will range from Iceboy Violet's captivating show to Batu and Donato Dozzy taking the helm for the night at Strange Brew.

RA Pick: Batu won't play many more highly anticipated sets this year.

Strawberry Fields

Tocumwal, Australia
November 17 - November 20

Strawberry Fields 2023 will be the first edition since 2019, after the New South Wales festival suffered multiple cancellations due to Covid-19 and last year's flooding, which meant several Australian events couldn't go ahead. This year, 81 artists will travel to the riverside site outside the rural town of Tocumwal, including Dee Diggs, Kia, Moodymann and Roza Terenzi, who will go back-to-back with D. Tiffany. Though its history is rooted in psytrance (just take a close look at the stage design), today Strawberry Fields embraces a wider range of club sounds. The festival is also focused on becoming more sustainable and doing positive work for the local area. In 2023, the team has pledged $35,000 (AUD) to local community groups and causes, while on-site there'll be compost toilets and the use of solar energy.

RA Pick: Local duo Sleep D's live set is all driving rhythms and shimmering pads.

Voices from the Lake

Panajachel, Guatemala
November 18 - November 19

Held in a nature reserve by the magnificent Lake Atitlán and its majestic volcanoes, this eco-friendly festival strives to create connections between partygoers and the local ecosystem. As well as hosting two stages for 35-plus artists, an art gallery and a market of local artisanal crafts, the festival follows a zero-plastic policy and implements recycling and other initiatives for the lowest carbon footprint possible. It also partners with nonprofits Amigos del Lago, Starfish and Vivamos Mejor to support biodiversity efforts, indigenous communities and rural residents.

RA Pick: A radio host and DJ since 1988, Rui Vargas has absorbed the best of club culture over the years.

Fajara Dance Festival

Fajara, The Gambia
November 21 - November 28

Born in the heart of The Gambia, Fajara Dance Festival celebrates its debut edition with a lineup pushing the sounds of Afro house, deep house, soulful house and amapiano. In addition to its three arenas and main beach stage, the festival has partnered with local businesses to ensure that all beverages, produce and merchandise originate from the surrounding area. With performances from international acts like Manoo, Culoe De Song and Jimpster, all conveniently situated within a walkable, self-contained site, this is a haven for dance music enthusiasts.

RA Pick: Boddhi Satva's ancestral soul.

Herfstdrift Festival

Nijmegen, Netherlands
November 25

Open-air festival season doesn't end with autumn. Running over the course of one evening, Herfstdrift brings the festivities outside across six areas, inviting headline acts such as Josey Rebelle, Héctor Oaks and Octave One, who will perform live. The night will also see a smattering of back-to-backs, such as CEM and Yazzus, JASSS and Jensen Interceptor, and Mirella Kroes and Van Anh.

RA Pick: If you love old-school techno, Akua is a must-see.

Find our full festival listings for November here