Rio Hostel presents: Bonanza

Magdalena, Colombia
February 29 - March 3

This year's Bonanza Festival begins on 2024's extra day, February 29th. For the rest of the weekend, music will run around the clock at the beautiful riverside Rio Hostel Buritaca. Expect perreo, house, minimal, techno and more ringing out from the boutique hotel nestled in the jungle along Colombia's Caribbean coast. Local artists tapped to play include Leeon, Charlie Florez and Merino, while on an international tip, Willow, GIDEÖN, Vera and more will perform. If that's not convincing enough, Rio Hostel Buritaca is just a 20-minute trip from some of Colombia's finest beaches, and the hotel also runs a foundation that facilitates several community-focused projects throughout the year.

RA Pick: Brussels-based, Colombian DJ Adi finds the fine balance between retro funk and dance music's softer contours.

AVA London

London, United Kingdom
February 29 - March 2

AVA Festival has come a long way in a short space of time. Building on the success of its flagship Belfast event, AVA London launched in 2020, boasting an insightful programme of keynote speeches, panel discussions and live performances. After last year's takeover of Printworks, 2024 sees AVA London spread across a handful of iconic venues–including the British Library, KOKO and The Standard. This year's highlights span a live Resident Advisor Exchange with Charli XCX and a conversation with Laurent Garnier, alongside sets from DJ BORING, Or:la back-to-back Spray, Marlon Hoffstadt and more.

RA Pick: Brian Eno's keynote speech on how the scene can be more sustainable is essential viewing.

Pitch Music & Arts

Victoria, Australia
March 8 - March 12

Year after year, Australian institution Pitch Music & Arts pools together the most in-demand names on the club circuit. It's one of those gatherings that reminds fans and industry players of their fundamental attraction to dance music: energetic crowds, dynamic DJ sets and an unequivocal, across-the-board sense of joie de vivre. Taking place in the foothills of the Grampian plains, the four-day festival does what it can to maintain a sustainable relationship with its environment—a percentage of ticket sales are donated to an indigenous youth climate group, there's a site-wide ban on single-use plastic bottles and you can rent reused and refurbished camping gear. When you're not sweating it out at one of the three stages, take a hike into the neighbouring bushlands and waterways, or check out the region's vast collection of rock art paintings.

RA Pick: Glass Beams' brand of psychedelic jazz is informed by Indian classical music and '70s disco.

Shapes Festival

Leysin, Switzerland
March 18 - March 24

Leysin is an alpine village in Switzerland, just under a two-hour drive from Geneva. A popular skiing destination due to its mild climate and high chance of sunshine, Leysin is also home to the latest edition of Shapes Festival. The week-long affair takes place across six venues dotted around the resort, from the high altitude of Kuklos to The Underbelly, a cosy chill-out area below the Alpine Classic Hotel. The programming is as varied as the venue offering, with big international names like Soichi Terada (who will perform live), Karen Nyame KG and Kode9, alongside Swiss talent such as Kalabrese and Perlair.

RA Pick: Don't miss Terada's radiant deep house.

Tremor

São Miguel, Azores
March 19 - March 23

The Azores are a largely unspoilt group of Portuguese islands that often draw comparisons to Hawaii thanks to their volcanic scenery, lush flora and rich marine life. For the last decade, the island of São Miguel has also been home to Tremor, a festival that encourages performers to recontextualise Azorean heritage through the scope of music and art. This year's edition boasts a diverse programme that includes idiosyncratic synth talents like Colleen and Kate NV, Porto nightlife tastemaker DJ Lynce and Oakland composer Cole Pulice.

RA Pick: Industrial noise-punk outfit Deli Girls' live show is an uncompromising tour de force.

Sónar Lisboa

Lisbon, Portugal
March 22 - March 24

The manicured gardens of Parque Eduardo VII will play host to Sónar Lisboa, the Portuguese iteration of the revered Barcelona festival that turned 30 in 2023. By day, the action will include live performances from the likes of Shygirl, Oneohtrix Point Never, Paul Kalkbrenner and TOMMY CASH, while the night programme hosts an all-new DJ set by 2ManyDJs with guests Éclair Fifi and Erol Alkan, as well as Helena Hauff back-to-back IMOGEN. There's a focus on local talent, too, so don't miss sets from Enchufada's DJ Branko, batida artist Vanyfox and the inimitable Yen Sung.

RA Pick: Wata Igarashi's deep, hypnotic techno.

Ceremonia

Mexico City, Mexico
March 23 - March 25

Since 2013, Mexican festival Ceremonia has curated lineups that speak to global pop culture. From hip-hop to house, each year's edition is centred around disruptors and innovators in their respective fields. "The Ceremonia [lineup] is like a snapshot of the year in question, not just in terms of music, but of what's happening in the world," creative director Montse Castera told Remezcla in 2022. This year's edition is especially action-packed, with the likes of FKA twigs, Arca, Floating Points, James Blake and Sampha gracing the stage, plus Mexico City acts Paurro and Aries Hand Model. The festival prides itself on a safer spaces philosophy, with sites for HIV testing and drug verification to reduce the risk of fatal overdoses—a big step forward for club culture in Mexico's capital city.

RA Pick: NAAFI cofounder Mexican Jihad has an arsenal of mind-melting experimental club music gems.

Listen Festival

Brussels, Belgium
March 26 - March 31

A five-day celebration of music from Belgium and beyond, Listen Festival has grown exponentially since launching in 2016. The city-wide event–which takes place at more than a dozen Brussels venues including C12, Fuse, Brussels Central Station, BUDA BXL, the Church of Our Lady of Laeken and a tunnel complex underneath Louiza Square–focuses on uplifting local talent, inviting prolific Belgian artists alongside emerging labels and collectives to curate takeovers throughout the festival. Highlights for 2024 include Marina Herlop in a church, Marie Montexier in a modernist train station and Nosedrip and CJ Bolland going back-to-back in the underground tunnels.

RA Pick: George Riley's show at Botanique will fuse breezy R&B vocals with dance floor-leaning production.

DGTL

Amsterdam, Netherlands
March 29 - March 31

Established in 2013, DGTL is one of Europe's premiere festivals for no-nonsense dance music. This year, across two days, you can catch heavyweights like Avalon Emerson, Blawan & Freddy K, Boys Noize and amapiano royalty Major League Djz alongside rising stars such as Ahadadream, Amaliah and Bibi Seck. Beyond the music, art and design are integral to the experience. Immersive installations are dotted across the NDSM Docklands site, such as last year's DATA GATE, a light cube that visualised the representation of women, the rise of young talent and the gender pay gap in music and arts. DGTL is also a leader in the sustainability field, having been fully circular since 2022.

RA Pick: Off-kilter minimal techno at Mary Lake's live set.

Sonder Music & Arts

Victoria, Australia
March 29 - April 1

Sonder Music & Arts is a new festival taking place in the Victorian bushland north of Melbourne. Named after a realisation that strangers' lives are as complex as your own, Sonder is a small-capacity festival that intends to bring people together in the surprising yet comforting feeling of "sonder." The three-day event invites punters to camp in a verdant setting while experiencing a toothsome selection of artists such as Tama Sumo, Lakuti, Brown Suga Princess and Chloé Robinson. There will also be a handful of live performances from the likes of No News, One Spirit Africa, Vessa and Milkbar.

RA Pick: C. FRIM and MIRASIA should impress with their blistering, invigorating rhythms.