Now that we’re entering the final stretch of our summer, the Northern Hemisphere line-ups have begun flooding in. If you’re planning an overseas jaunt as soon as the weather here turns grizzly, there are naturally plenty of esteemed festivals to build an adventure around. In the last couple of weeks a few of the key events have started teasing out their line-ups – big ones have included Exit Festival and Tomorrowland – and there’s predictably plenty of gold.

Melt Festival

Taking place in an open-air museum of industrial machinery a couple of hours out of Berlin, Melt! Festival has a knack for nailing line-ups. You can read our review from 2010 for an idea of the experience. The 2012 edition stretches across the weekend of 13 to 15 July, and the first round of names has been announced. Richie Hawtin, Ellen Allien and Modeselektor will curate their own stages across the weekend, while the live contigent already includes M83, Caribou, Justice and Gesaffelstein. The completed line-up is sure to be a knockout, and we highly recommend going. OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

Sónar

If the sunny climes of Barcelona in June entice you (and how could they not?), the 2012 Sonar line-up is taking shape. The festival offers the much-lauded ISAM live experience from Amon Tobin alongside crowd-pleasing headliners Fatboy Slim, Deadmau5 and Hot Chip. In a rare venture outside the US, hip hop greats The Roots are also on the programme, while niche tastes will be well served by Nicolas Jaar, Squarepusher, Julio Bashmore, a Hyperdub showcase and plenty more. Then of course there’s the Off Sonar festivities, which see the city’s beaches, rooftops, hillsides and intimate clubs taken over by some of the best in the biz. OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

Movement

For techno heads, it’s hard to go past the Movement festival in Detroit, which will once again light up the Motor City in late May. Detroit’s rich heritage will be represented by the likes of Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins and Mike Huckaby, while young believers Jay Daniel and Kyle Hall go back-to-back. Chicago house original Lil’ Louis shares top billing with Jeff Mills, and there’s a worthy curveball in the form of Public Enemy. The line-up so far also boasts a strong European contingent, and you can marvel at it on the festival’s official website. OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

Hideout Festival

Given the natural beauty of the place, it’s hardly surprising that Croatia has fast become a European festival hotspot. Scheduled for 29 June to 1 July 2012 on the Island Of Pag, the Hideout Festival is set to make the most of its pristine beachside setting with an equally glittering line-up. A small sample of the names includes Scuba, SBTRKT, Rustie, Skream & Benga, Four Tet & Caribou back-to-back, Ricardo Villalobos, Maceo Plex, Erol Alkan, Jamie Jones and Sub Focus. OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

There’ll be plenty more where these came from, so stay tuned. Are you planning an overseas trip in 2012?