10 Amazing Music Festivals in Colombia You Can't Miss

Often billed as the first festival of the year in Bogota, Festival Centro takes place every January in several different venues in the centre of the city. It’s less like a traditional festival and more like a series of different shows. This festival is notable for its excellent line-ups of traditional Latin American bands and singers, alongside more contemporary Colombian artists. There are free shows earlier in the day, followed by ticketed events for the more high-profile performers. Recent performers include Ondatropica, Juaneco Y Su Combo, Magin Diaz, Afrosound, and Abelardo Carbono.

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Sónar Festival was born in Barcelona in 1994 and, since 2015, has put on a festival in Bogota. Taking place over three days in December, Sónar, much like its contemporary festival rival Estereo Picnic, attracts a mixture of big international artists and local Colombian bands, but with a stronger focus on DJs and electronic artists than the more rock-based bookings at Estereo Picnic. This year’s big-name booking are Icelandic band Sigur Rós, alongside Dubfire and Pantha Du Prince.

Another contemporary festival designed to capture the attentions of Bogota’s millennial crowd, SOMA is a popular one-day festival that has been running in the capital since 2010. Over the years, attendees have witnessed performances by the likes of Hot Chip, The xx, Tame Impala, Interpol, and Foals, and this year’s edition is set to the be the biggest and best yet, with headline performances by Neon Indian and Phoenix already confirmed. SOMA takes place in November this year.