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Wychwood
Music Festival
June 1, 2, 3- Cheltenham Racecourse
“Wychwood wasted no time in establishing itself as one of the
coolest weekends of the summer”, said the Oxford Mail, and they
weren’t wrong. This great independent festival offers a combination
of eclectic sounds, comedy, workshops and eco-friendly activities to
chill-out to. The whole thing gives you an enormous sense of well-being.
The Real Ale’s pretty damn nice too!
Festival perennials The Levellers won’t disappoint, Rory McLeod,
the Ralfe Band and the brilliant Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 jostle
with a range of indie newcomers and some worldly and leftfield curiosities
at a festival that prides itself on getting acts from each corner of
the music globe - keep an eye-out for developments as it can, and will,
only get better. The festival also supports local talent with 30% of
the line-up being made up of acts from the midlands and south-west England.
Wychwood offers great music with a conscience - they have just re-branded
the Big Top stage as the Friends of the Earth Big Ask stage to raise
awareness on the climate change issue. Good on em’.
wychwoodfestival.com
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All
Tomorrows Parties
- Weekend 2
ATP vs, the Fans
May 18, 19, 21 - Butlins, Minehead
The
second weekend of 2007’s All Tomorrow’s Parties is special
- giving the fans the chance to shape the line-up and the ATP-goers
appear to be bastions of good-taste, voting for a line-up of Mogwai,
Modest Mouse, Explosions In The Sky, Les Savy Fav, Yo La Tengo, The
Go! Team and Clinic amongst others.
Joining the fan-chosen acts are Echo and the Bunnymen, Built to Spill,
Youthmovies, Sparklehorse, Patti Smith, Cornelius and post-rock trailblazers
Slint completing possibly the most mind-shatteringly brilliant musical
weekend on British soil this summer.
For serious music-buffs only!
atpfestival.com
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Evolution
Music Festival
May 20 - 28 - Newcastle
Evolution is one of the biggest free
music events in the UK and is back for a second year. The festival is
staged indoor and outdoor at venues across the city, culminating in
a dance event, Shindig on May 27 and a free concert, Freevolution on
May 28.
Headlining Shindig is Pete Tong whilst Freevolution boast Maximo Park,
Echo and the Bunnymen, Larrikin Love, Kano, Simian Mobile Disco, Bondo
Do Role and others across two stages - for free! Our favourite price.
evolutionfestival.co.uk
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Dot
to Dot Festival
May 26- Bristol
May 27- Nottingham, Rock City/Rescue Rooms/Stealth/The Social
Bristol - The spawn of Dot to Dot! Bristol has a new
event and it looks bangin! One day and all this little lot: New Young
Pony Club, Architecture in Helsinki, Kate Nash, Help She Can't Swim,
Annuals, Victorian English Gentlemen's Club, Sky Larkin and a load more.
Dot to Dot is spreading and this is a reason to rejoice!
Nottingham - Awesome inner-city shindig, boasting a new venue
and another wonderfully eclectic mix of acts for its third year. Taking
a trip to Nottingham on that Sunday in May will allow you to witness
The Cribs, Erol Alkan, New Young Pony Club, Gallows, Blonde Redhead,
Broken Family Band, I Was A Cub Scout, Foals, Kano, Para One amongst
many others - sounds good dun’t it!
dottodotfestival.co.uk
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Download
Festival
June 8, 9, 10 - Donington Park, Leicestershire
In terms of heavy rock festivals Download is the undisputed heavy-weight
champion, and returns with another heavy as lead line-up to rock out
to!
Despite the fact that compared with previous years 2007’s headliners
don’t really come up to scratch, being Linkin Park, My Chemical
Romance and Iron Maiden, representing the old metal-guard, the festival
still offers a great line-up.
Elsewhere ‘god of fuck’ Marilyn Manson, reformed sleaze-rockers
Motley Crue, Machine Head, Korn, Lamb of God, Megadeath, Slayer and
hotly-tipped punks Gallows are sure not to let the rocker-regulars down.
downloadfestival.co.uk
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Venn
Festival
May 31 and June 1, 2, 3 - Bristol
Eclectic and left-field
event, that's not going to be for everyone but fans of experimental,
out-there sounds are in for a treat. Legendary kraut-rockers Faust,
local experimental types SJ Esau, Luke Vibert, grindcore heavyweights
Extreme Noise Terror, and Maher Shala Hash Baz are some of the mixed
bag of acts taking to the stage.
vennfestival.com
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Workhouse
Festival
June 29, 30 and July 1 - Llanfyllin,
Powys, Wales
Small festival big range
of music, with that old school festival/gathering feel - all happy thoughts,
peace, love and harmony. It offers eight stages of entertainment to
keep you happy featuring the likes of Transglobal Underground, Baka
Beyond, electro-punk act Sicknote, plus an electronic music stage, cabaret
acts and a stage for acoustic acts. It will be a festival for discovering
great, eclectic new acts you’ve never heard of before - and that’s
what it is all about.
workhousefestival.co.uk
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Wireless
Festival - London
June 14, 15, 16, 17 - Hyde Park, London
Big names in the big city! Four days
and some massive names. White Stripes, Faithless, Daft Punk and Kaiser
Chiefs take headliner duties. The likes of Editors, CSS, Queens of the
Stoneage, The Twang and LCD Soundsystem fill the gaps.
wirelessfestival.co.uk
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Wireless
Festival - Leeds
June 15, 16, 17- Harewood House, Leeds
Same
as the London leg, but selling the north short a little with one less
day and without Faithless.
www.wirelessfestival.co.uk
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Latitude
Festival
July 12, 13, 14, 15 - Henham Park
Estate
Not a music festival, but
an all round festival of the arts - a musical line-up containing CSS, Arcade
Fire, The Good, The Bad & The Queen, Jarvis Cocker, Clap Your Hands
Say Yeah, The Rapture and Explosions in the Sky slides nicely into an array
of arts covering Comedy (Alan Carr, Russell Howard, Dylan Moran, Stewart
Lee, Mark Steel, Lee Mack), Cabaret, film, literature, poetry and theatre.
latitudefestival.co.uk
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Supersonic
Festival
July 13, 14 - Custard Factory, Birmingham
One for fans of avant-garde
rock sounds, offering an exceptional array of mind-blowing off-the-wall
noise. This year post-rock stalwarts Mogwai are the main attraction, with
the likes of Wolf Eyes, Tunng, Kling Klang, Kid 606, Sunn 0))), Monarch
and the Modified Toy Orchestra filling the gaps of the two days. A must
for music-fans who love to be challenged.
capsule.org.uk/Supersonic/ |
Glade
Festival
July 20, 21 ,22- probably near Newbury, Berkshire
Glade is a mysterious festival which concentrates on all things electronic.
If last year’s event is anything to go by 2007’s gathering should
be a must for lovers of electronica, house, anything beat-driven - it now
has 12 stages so plenty of digital-debauchery to go round.
Acts providing the blips and beats include Atomic Hooligan, Dreadzone, UNKLE,
Venetian Snares, Clark, Luke Vibert & Ragga Twins, Eat Static, Krafty
Kuts and the Scotch Egg Band amongst others.
gladefestival.com |
Wickerman
Festival
July
20, 21 - Solway Coas, Scotland
Not as scary as it sounds, Wickerman festival
dubs itself as ‘Scotland’s Alternative Music Festival’
which aside from cult music offers the spectacular highlight of the burning
of a 25-foot Wickerman (better than the burning of chemical toilets at
Leeds Festival). There are two main stages plus a World Music tent, acoustic
village and a reggae soundsystem amongst other attractions. The line-up
features Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Hayseed Dixie, The Orb, Eat Static,
I am Kloot, The Beat, The Yardbirds, the Funk Orchestra and more.
thewickermanfestival.co.uk |
Larmer
Tree Festival
July 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 - Larmer
Tree Gardens, Salisbury
Quaint, boutique festival set in some
nice gardens with award-winning facilities (that means decent toilets).
The line-up covers all corners of the musical globe offering, Jools
Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, SixNationState, Circulus,
Kid Carpet, Dreadzone, the Trojan Sound System, Seasick Steve, Billy
Bragg and Transglobal Underground across five days. A party in relaxed
surroundings - sounds good to us.
larmertreefestival.co.uk
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Guilfest
July 13, 14, 15– Stoke Park, Guilford,
Surrey
Excellent, family-orientated,
middle-of-the-road yet widely eclectic festival that has been establishing
itself in recent years. Very little information available at the moment
other than taking the headline slots over the three days are chirpy-indie-chappies
Supergrass, two-tone legends Madness and reformed new-wave popsters
Squeeze. Support on the Madness day comes in the shape of the Magic
Numbers.
Elsewhere a bevy of genre-spanning delights to keep you entertained
will feature trip-hoppers Morcheeba, acoustic instru-metallers Rodrigo
Y Gabriella, mod-revialists The Hold Steady and ska legends Toots and
the Maytals.
guilfest.co.uk
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Global
Gathering
July 28, 29– Long Marston, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Calling itself the
‘undisputed heavyweight champion of dance festivals’ may
be a little grandiose considering the line-up muscle of some other such
events - but Global Gathering certainly packs a punch.
Dropin’ beats at this year’s shindig are Faithless and Basement
Jaxx offering their big-band dance shows, plus a bevy of renowned talent
behind the decks including Paul Van Dyk, Carl Cox, Arman Van Helden,
John Digweeb, Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, Annie Mac, Scratch Perverts and
a Klaxons DJ set which forms just the tip of the line-up iceberg.
globalgathering.co.uk
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Truck
Festival
July - Hill Farm, Steventon, Oxfordshire
We love Truck and this year it’s Ten! One farm in Oxfordshire,
4000 music lovers, a laid-back, intimate atmosphere and a wide selection
of music from some of the best bands around make Truck a totally under-rated
musical event. Truck is a true music-lovers festival.
No line-up has been announced for this year as yet, but we can 100%
guarantee it will be worth a visit as they celebrate their tenth birthday
in style. Last year’s event saw Regina Spektor, Forward Russia,
Biffy Clyro, Brakes, The Futureheads, Battles, The Young Knives, Mystery
Jets, Foals, Buck 65, Seafood and many more perform.
thisistruck.com
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Secret
Garden Party
July 26, 27, 28, 29 - Cambridgeshire
Held
in 10 acre landscaped garden in Cambridgeshire bordering a river and lake,
The Secret Garden is a garden-party-gone-crazy. Along with diverse music
from acts old and new (over eight stages: Noisettes, Of Montreal, Hot Puppies,
Drive By Argument, Prince Buster, New Young Pony Club, Headland and Herman
Dune), there’s tree houses and giant hammocks, mahogany bars and marooned
sailors, space-hopper races and lost vicars, several elvises and even snail
racing!
secretgardenparty.com |
Summer
Sundae
August 10, 11, 12- De Montfort Hall, Leicester
The little, friendly festival with a big heart! Its line-ups certainly have
ambition. This years bash in the heart of Leicester boasts a magnificent
musical menu featuring The Magic Numbers, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Pipettes,
The Rumble Strips, Gruff Rhys, Cud, Kitty Daisy and Lewis and Findlay Brown
to name a few. It finishes early on an evening but gives you the chance
to hit Leicester’s bars and confuse the locals with your coloured
wellies!
summersundae.com |
Field
Day
August 11 - Victoria Park, London
A brand new event for
2007, put together by the cream of the capital’s alternative and
leftfield promoters (Eat Your Own Ears, Adventures In The Beetroot Field,
Bugged Out! and Homefires) and bringing a fine array of aural delights.
This small, intimate event is plugged as a psychedelic village fete
and offers amongst others the mind-blowing Battles, and Foals, Four
Tet, Adem, indie-boys 1990’s, Archie Bronson Outfit, Bats for
Lashes, Justice and the psychedelic-pop wonders of The Aliens.
fielddayfestivals.com
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Metro
Weekender - South West Four
August 25- Clapham Common, London
August 26 - Cooper’s Field, Cardiff
This dance event sure is popular! All the London tickets went in 1 hour
and, if you’re a dance fan, you can see why – they boast
sets from Paul Van Dyk, Sasha, Roger Sanchez, Pete Tong and Layo &
Buswacka. Cardiff gets it own treat by way of the Drum n Bass Arena
featuring LTJ Buken, Goldie, Fabio and Grooverider and Andy C.
southwestfour.com
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Metro
Weekender - Cardiff
Calling
August 25 - Coopers Field, Cardiff
Get
Loaded in the Park’s Welsh sister festival which brings a mish-mash
of indie and dance to Cardiff for a second year. Little has been announced
to date, but so far Welsh psychedelic indie legends the Super Furry
Animals, current indie, favourites The Automatic and Mercury Award winning
rapper Dizzle Rascal are all pegged to play, along with many other acts
to be announced over two stages.
cardiffcalling.com
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Metro
Weekender - Get Loaded in the Park
August 26- Clapham Common, London
Get Loaded swaggers back onto Clapham Common for a fourth year of live
bands and DJs after creating a name for its diverse line-ups.
As with Cardiff Calling very little has been announced at this stage,
but what they have on offer acts as the foundation to another great
event. Where Babyshambles headlined last years event, it is other ex-Libertine
Carl Barat’s time to show what he is made of whilst headlining
with Dirty Pretty Things. Also, playing are The Streets (a UK festival
exclusive), rapper Dizzee Rascal and 2 Many DJs.
getloadedinthepark.com
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STUDENT
ONLY FESTIVAL
Beach Break Live
June 11, 12, 13, 14 - Polzeath, North Cornwall
A
festival just for students, by the beach! Beach Break Live has the desire
to bring together the UK’s finest bands, DJ’s and mixologists
including Mr Scruff, DJ Format (DJ set) and the likes of Babyhead, The Wombats,
Zero 7 and The Tarka Groove Experiment.
The sexy line-up spans ska, funk, reggae, break beats, electro, drum &
bass, hip hop, indie rock and folk….100’s of hours of quality
action across multiple stages, marquees and teepees, with a chill-out session
carrying on till 5am with acoustic sets and film screenings of cult classics
and indie art house. Revellers will also find themselves enjoying free work
shops, outdoor adrenalin pursuits, theatre performance and all things festivally
fun. The organisers are also pushing the eco-friendly vibe, sourcing everything
from their burgers to their beer locally, providing enough coaches for everyone
- by doing so cutting over 100 tonnes of carbon emissions - and giving people
some food for thought at the event.
beachbreaklive.co.uk
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Carling
Weekend
August 24, 25, 26 - Reading, Leeds
This mammoth festival may be sold out but those going are
in for a musical treat, no doubt about it! What Razorlight lack as headliners,
reformed grunge/rock legends Smashing Pumpkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers
will make up for big time. The rest of the line-up offers some truly special
moments – catch industrial-rock big-boys Nine Inch Nails, Arcade Fire,
Bloc Party, CSS, Ash, Klaxons, Maximo Park, Gogel Bordello, Gossip, The
View, The Shins and Funeral for a Friend for your mullah (and they still
have more to announce). Jealousy all-round for those without tickets then!
leedsfestival.com
readingfestival.com |
V
Festival
August 19, 20 - Weston Park, Staffordshire
and Hylands Park, Chelmsford
Corporate, twin-legged, musical knees-up popular for its mass-appeal line-ups
and big name headliners. This year expect more of the same, with all the
names you’d expect to see at V Festival: The Killers, Foo Fighters,
Primal Scream, The Kooks and Basement Jaxx take the predictable top-slots.
Elsewhere reformed indie-legends James and Happy Mondays, Jarvis Cocker,
Editors, The Cribs, Amy Winehouse offer some depth to a pretty run-of-the-mill
festival line-up.
vfestival.com |
Bestival
September 7, 8, 9- Robin Hill, Isle of
Wight
Tagged on to the end of festival season
is Bestival - a genuine mix of the musical and the bizarre. This year’s
event once again offers an eclectic blend of aural delights over eight
stages.
Headlining the event are hip-hop legends the Beastie Boys and dance
favourites the Chemical Brothers.
Adding to the musical melting-pot are buzz-band The Gossip, reggae legends
Horace Andy and Gregory Issacs, Levellers, Jah Wobble, The Orb, Noisettes,
Electrelane, Dub Pistols, Mr Hudson and the Library, Billy Bragg, Soul
II Soul Soundsystem, Simian Mobile Disco, Seasick Steve, underground
favs Dan Le Sac & Scroobious Pip, The Rumble Strips, Foals, Bonde
De Role, Kate Nash, Calvin Harris, Bats For Lashes, Fionn Reagan and
many, many more.
Aside from the live music the event offers its unique blend of top DJs,
cabaret and super strange happenings.
Fancy dress anyone?
bestival.net
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