RADAR FESTIVAL

• When: Late July / early August

• Where: Magna Science Adventure Centre, Rotherham, near Sheffield

• Founded: 2019

• Type: Indoor progressive rock and metal festival

• Camping: No

• Known for: Boundary-pushing line-ups, discovering new artists, masterclasses and the Music & Gaming Market

• Next festival: 30 July–1 August 2027

• Tickets are available from the RADAR Festival website.

RADAR is a festival for people who like finding out what happens when musicians get ideas.

Some of those ideas involve eight-string guitars and improbable time signatures. Others involve electronics, pop, hardcore, jazz or something considerably harder to put a label on. That’s rather the point.

RADAR calls itself a progressive music festival, but “progressive” is more of an attitude than a genre. It’s about interesting music, musicians trying interesting things, and an audience willing to come along for the ride.

The festival began in Guildford in 2019 before moving to Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse in 2023. That gave RADAR room to grow, but it’s now preparing for another big move. From 2027, Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham, near Sheffield, becomes its new home.

For RADAR, that isn’t just a change of venue. As an independent festival, the move gives its organisers more control and more freedom to experiment. They’ve described it as an opportunity not to change RADAR, but to become more RADAR.

Discovery remains a huge part of the appeal. Established names sit alongside artists you might previously have encountered considerably further down a Spotify rabbit hole, and there’s an assumption that the audience is curious enough to give something unfamiliar a go. Masterclasses and the Music & Gaming Market add to a weekend that feels like more than simply moving between bands.

There’s no camping village or enormous field, either. RADAR is an indoor festival where musicians and fans regularly mix, you can actually see everything on the two main stages thanks to a no-clash schedule and, when it’s finally over, you get to sleep in an actual bed.

For us, that’s what makes RADAR interesting. It’s young enough to keep changing, small enough to retain its personality and ambitious enough that you never quite know what it’ll try next.

Whether you can identify a polyrhythm by ear or have absolutely no idea what one is, this is where you’ll find all of Festpod’s RADAR coverage.

Welcome to RADAR.