Christmas has passed, and the cold darkness of winter is closing in all around us, but look forward a few months and you'll find the county's calendar chock full of warm, energetic summer festivals.

Situated in beautiful, flat, countryside with almost no rain throughout summer, events in Suffolk are a breeze to attend, unlike mudfests in the north and west of England.

In addition, our ever-growing local music scene gets a fantastic opportunity to show off in its own back garden, and with all the talent blossoming in the county, that is not something to miss.

Here are seven festivals taking place in Suffolk this summer.

1. Maverick

Easton Farm Park's annual Americana affair attracts artists and fans from across the world to a quiet corner of east Suffolk, drawn to the twangs and thuds of alternative country.

Unless you're particularly into this type of music, a lot of the lineup will be foreign to you, but rest assured that if you have any interest in Americana you'll find something that will sweep you away.

This year's lineup will include Baskery, the queens of banjo punk, American folk rocker Steve Forbert, the Texas based Vandoliers, alt country singer Karen Jonas and the bluegrass ambassadors of the Henhouse Prowlers.

Where: Easton Farm Park, Easton, Woodbridge IP13 0EQ

When: 1-3 July, 2022

Price: A weekend adult camping ticket costs £120

2. Latitude

By far the highest profile event to take place in Suffolk, Latitude festival has been going since 2007 and has seen headlining acts from such august performers as New Order, The 1975 and Damon Albarn.

While the lineup for 2022 is yet to be published, scottish singer Lewis Capaldi has confirmed he will be playing after missing the 2021 event.

While the festival is dominated by big name headliners, if you look away from the main stage you'll find a decent variety of music as well as theatre, poetry, comedy and dance.

Where: Henham Park, Suffolk, NR34 8AQ

When: 21-24 July 2022

Price: A standard weekend camping ticket costs £226.80

3. The Nearly Festival

With an edition planned to take place in Ipswich Lowestoft, and Bury St Edmunds, the Nearly festival, has, if you squint while you're watching, the biggest lineups around.

While the full line ups for 2022's events are not out yet, we know the Bury St Edmunds event will feature The Black Eyed Peaz, Tony Lewis as Robbie Williams, Godfrey Gayle as Stevie Wonder and the Marley Experience playing all the hits you know.

The Marley Experience and The Black Eyed Peaz are also confirmed to be playing the Oulton Broad Event.

Where: Nicholas Everitt Park, Bridge Road, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft NR33 OR Abbey Gardens 22 Mustow St, Bury Saint Edmunds IP33 1XL OR Trinity Park, Ipswich, IP3 8UH

When: The Bury St Edmunds event will be on the 11-12 June 2022, the Oulton Broad event on the 25-26 June, 2022 and Ipswich will be hosting the Nearly Festival on 29 July, 2022

Price: Tickets are yet to go on sale, although organisers promise it is "the affordable alternative" to a bigger festivals

4. Maui Waui Pirates Ball

The pirates ball is a pre-festival event put on by Maui Waui that compresses all the fun of the four-day festival into a single night in May.

Featuring music and dancing from 5pm to 2am, this little rave will give you a boost of festival energy right at the start of the summer.

Costumes aren't mandatory, but if you don't go dressed as a pirate, you will feel left out.

Where: Holtsfield Woods, Ramsholt, IP12 3AA

When: 7 May, 2022

Price: £45 with camping

5. Lets Rock Ipswich

A collection of the 80s biggest stars will be coming to town later this year, including New Romantic legend Adam Ant, master of British soul Heather Small and electronic pioneers Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.

Let's Rock is looking like it will be the biggest party in town.

Where: Trinity Park, Ipswich, IP3 8UH

When: 10 September 2022

Price: Adult tickets are £40.50

6. Forest Live

Not so much a festival as a collection of gigs with a festival feel, Forest Live is set in the beautiful Thetford Forest in the north of the county and put on by Forestry England.

This year, Forest live will feature enormous acts, including Rag'n'Bone Man on June 16, Keane on June 17, Madness on June 18 and Jess Glynne on June 19.

Where: High Lodge, Thetford Forest, High Lodge, Brandon IP27 0AF

When: 16-19 June

Price: Tickets range from £43.35-£52.70

7. Maui Waui

So this one is slightly cheating as the festival moved a short hop across the border into Norfolk last year, but for almost a decade prior to that Maui Waui has been held in Theberton, Suffolk.

With more performance variety than most festivals three times its size, last year there the music included psychedelic rock from Spacehopper, reggae from the Dub Pistols, extremely alternative folk from the Peatbog Fairies and much much more.

Maui Waui has been at the centre of the alternative music scene in Suffolk for years, and you should expect some of the counties stalwart regular performers to be joined by interesting artists from around the world.

Where: Hill Farm, Gressenhall, Norfolk. NR19 2NR

When: 25-28 August 2022

Price: Early Bird Weekend tickets are available from £98