The Best R&B Music Festivals

R&B is a genre where you can as easily lose yourself in its vocal harmonies as groove and grind to its deepest basslines, and when the R&B festivals bring such heat - the type that unleashes those forces within you - there are few places better to pop and roll. 

From huge outdoor throwback parties and city-hopping R&B takeovers to festivals blending soul, hip-hop, jazz, funk, afrobeat and dancehall, there are loads of events keeping the genre thriving on stages across the UK and beyond.

So if you’re ready to hear the smoothest sounds in the sun, check out some of the best R&B festivals and festival-style events below.

 

 

R&B Mania

When: Various dates throughout 2026

Where: Various venues in the UK

R&B Mania is taking the all-eras R&B festival experience across the UK, bringing huge outdoor and festival-style parties to cities including Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol, Lincoln, Derby, Leeds, Newcastle, Hertford, Southampton and Sunderland.

Expect nothing but R&B energy, with throwback anthems, 90s and 00s classics, modern favourites, and all the songs that had you posting lyrics as Facebook statuses back in the day. All this alongside live performers, hosts, glitter stations, wicked production and a packed-out crowd. 

 

Find tickets to R&B Mania in Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Hertford, Leeds, Lincoln, Newcastle, Sheffield, Southampton and Sunderland.

  

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R&B Lovers

When: Various dates in 2026

Where: Various venues in the UK and Amsterdam

R&B Lovers is yet another travelling celebration built for those who want their festival day stacked with 90s and 00s R&B anthems, glitter, glam, confetti, and pure VIBES.

Taking over venues from Freight Island in Manchester to Junkyard in Norwich, Aruba in Bournemouth, Wheelers Farm in Chelmsford and even a mega special event at Panama Club in Amsterdam. This is one of the best spots to hear your favourite R&B tunes, and better yet, it comes to you! Grab tickets to your preffered date below.

 

Find tickets to R&B Lovers in Amsterdam, Bournemouth, Chelmsford, Manchester and Norwich.

 

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Diaspora Calling! Festival

When: Friday 7th August 2026

Where: The National Bowl in Milton Keynes

Diaspora Calling! Festival makes its UK debut at Milton Keynes National Bowl, bringing a huge open-air celebration of hip-hop, R&B, reggae and soul to one of the country’s biggest outdoor music spaces.

Originally conceived by Ms. Lauryn Hill as a music and art initiative celebrating the culture, creativity and shared histories of the African diaspora, the festival is about far more than just a big stage. Expect a day rooted in legacy, identity, culture, community, and genre-blending sounds that pull from across R&B, soul, reggae, hip-hop and beyond.

 

Find tickets and more information on Diaspora Calling! - HERE

 

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KOMPND Carnival

When: Sunday 30th August 2026

Where: Untitled Studio in Salford

From streaming a wicked range of R&B rhythms from a shipping container in Manchester during lockdown, to throwing full-scale festivals of their own, KOMPND are bringing back their Carnival for its second year, supplying sound system culture, movement, and serious energy to Untitled Studio in Salford.

Here R&B sits alongside dancehall, hip-hop, afrobeat and amapiano, making this a multi-genre experience rooted in community, heavy sound, carnival flavours and full-wall energy. With indoor and outdoor spaces, immersive stages, food, flags, horns and fans, this is a proper Bank Holiday blowout of the highest order. 

Read our interview with KOMPND founder Stxylo - HERE

 

Find tickets and more information on KOMPND Carnival - HERE

 

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Soultasia London

When: Friday 7th August 2026

Where: Morden Park in London

Soultasia London returns to Morden Park with a star-studded line-up of some of the best Soul, Disco and RnB artists to do it alongside some of the genre's cult heroes. 

The festival is all about nostalgia, big voices, old-school grooves and sun-soaked singalongs, with a dedicated Old Skool RnB Arena adding even more reason for R&B fans to get involved. For a London festival that knows exactly how to tap into the golden era, Soultasia is well worth a spot on the list.

 

Find tickets and more information on Soultasia London - HERE

   

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Cross The Tracks

When: Sunday 24th May 2026

Where: Brockwell Park in London

Cross The Tracks is one of the capital's coolest festivals, bringing together some of the smoothest genres around, with R&B, neo-soul, jazz, funk, hip-hop, and electronic music all sitting comfortably together throughout the day.

The programming is always top-notch, and this Brixton foray never fails to make you feel cool by association as soon as you step through its gates. Not one to miss out on. 

 

Find tickets and more information on Cross The Tracks - HERE

 

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Love Supreme Jazz Festival

When: Friday 3rd - Sunday 5th July 2026

Where: Glynde Place in East Sussex

While Love Supreme may have Jazz at its forefront, it also supplies some sumptuous lashings of R&B for all you fans who also like to drift into soul, funk, jazz and those richer, live-band sounds. Set at Glynde Place, it brings a seriously scenic backdrop to one of the UK’s smoothest festival weekends.

The festival first took place in 2013 and has since grown into a key date for fans who like their music soulful, expressive and packed with musicianship. By day, you can settle into some gorgeous live sets; by night, the dancing keeps going with DJs and late-night energy.

 

Find more information on Love Supreme Jazz Festival - HERE

 

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We Out Here

When: Thursday 20th - Sunday 23rd August 2026

Where: Wimborne St Giles in Dorset

We Out Here is truly one of the best R&B-adjacent festivals the UK has to offer, especially if your tastes stretch into jazz, soul, hip-hop, funk, house, electronic music and sounds from around the world.

Named after the 2018 Brownswood Recordings compilation, and the brainchild of British music icon Giles Peterson, the festival brings a colourful, community-minded scene to Dorset every summer. With everything from large open-air dancefloors to more intimate sound system moments, We Out Here is the sort of festival where you can wander into something brilliant at almost any hour.

 

Find more information on We Out Here - HERE

 

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Cincinnati Music Festival

When: Thursday 23rd - Saturday 25th July 2026

Where: Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio

If you’re happy to venture across the pond, Cincinnati Music Festival is easily one of the best R&B music festivals you could ever attend.

First held in 1962 under the name Ohio Valley Jazz Festival, CMF has grown into a huge three-day celebration of R&B, jazz, soul and hip-hop. Over the years, it has welcomed countless legends, and it still brings major R&B energy to Cincinnati for fans willing to make the pilgrimage.

 

Find more information on Cincinnati Music Festival - HERE

 

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Music at the Intersection

When: Friday 17th - Sunday 19th July 2026

Where: Grand Centre Arts District in St. Louis

Where music meets heritage, Music at the Intersection is held annually in St. Louis, celebrating the city’s deep musical history and its ongoing contribution to American culture.

R&B sits alongside soul, funk, hip-hop, jazz and more, with the festival using the Grand Centre Arts District as a walkable playground of stages, venues, food, drink and cultural moments. For anyone who wants an R&B festival experience with real roots, history and a strong sense of place, MATI is a beauty.

 

Find more information on Music at the Intersection - HERE

 

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If you’ve got your R&B fix sorted and you’re already looking ahead to what’s next, find tickets for the best festivals across the UK, or switch up the soundtrack with our guides to the best dance and EDM festivals, house and techno festivals, trance festivals, indie and alternative festivals, Ibiza festivals and events, and hip-hop festivals. 

 

Think festivals think Skiddle.

 

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Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.

 

 

  

 

 

Header: R&B Mania / Facebook.com