Month: August 2011

Reading and Leeds 2012 Pre-sale Ticket at 2011 Prices

by
A limited number of weekend tickets for the world famous Reading & Leeds Festival will go on sale at this year’s prices on Thursday 1st September at 9am.
 
The all-important line-up and general sale tickets will be released in the Spring.
 
For further details and tickets visit:
  
 
Vodafone customers can buy tickets now before the general pre-sale. 

Register for your tickets at Vodafone.co.uk/vip

Global Gathering 2012 Earlybird Tickets

by

As an exclusive offer to our festival goers, all tickets purchased between Thursday 25th August until Monday 3rd October will NOT incur ANY booking fees. That’s a 10% saving on your ticket!

Earlybird tickets are priced at £99 for Weekend General Admission and £175 for Weekend VIP Admission.

Don’t miss out! FREE Booking Fee Offer ends at 9am on Monday 3rd October.

To purchase Earlybird tickets for GlobalGathering 2012 click here

Lake of Stars Festival Update

by
Vampire Weekend DJ’s, BBC 1Xtra DJ and Presenter Gemma Cairney, BBC Radio 1 DJ Goldierocks will join FOALS and Freshlyground to headline this year’s Lake of Stars Festival.
 
Will Jameson, Lake of Stars festival director says: “It’s one of the only events offering 70 live acts from Africa and Europe playing everything from indie to kwaito to reggae and dubstep in a location that Wanderlust travel magazine hails as one of the Top Ten emerging travel destinations in the world.”
 
Known for it’s incredible DJ line up, the Lake of Stars Festival has featured Annie Mac, Andy Cato, Felix B, Ross Allen, Mary Ann Hobbs, Goldierocks, Eddy Temple Morris, MistaJam and DJ Yoda.
 
Bass player of New York band Vampire Weekend, Baio’s DJ sets have rocked clubs from across the globe from Ibiza to Paris to Sydney to Seoul. Before joining Vampire Weekend, he ran a radio station, threw sick basement shows and DJ’d parties at Columbia University in New York. This will be his DJ debut in Africa, brought to Malawi courtesy of the US Embassy in Lilongwe.
 
DJ and Presenter Gemma Cairney began her radio career at Channel 4 Radio and now hosts a regular slot on BBC 1Xtra as well being a roving reporter on the BBC’s coverage of Glastonbury Festival in 2011 and 2009.
 
Goldierocks. That’s Sam Hall; blonde-haired vixen and rock n roll talent-spotter de jour and British Council Selector Radio show host. Now most renowned for her energised ‘punk rock’ DJ appearances, invading parties and aftershows all over the world – at some point in time, Sam’s probably hijacked your fave indie/electro haunt. She’ll be coming to Malawi thanks to the British Council.
 
For more information about the festival, visit www.lakeofstars.org


Event: Lake of Stars Festival 2011
Location:  Sunbird Nkopola Lodge, Mangochi, Malawi
Dates: 30th September  2nd October 2011

V Festival 2012 Earlybird Tickets

by

V Festival 2012 will take place across the weekend of August 18th – 19th, with a limited allocation of tickets going on sale on Wednesday 24rd August from 9am. Fans are urged to be quick, early bird tickets are likely to go within a week. Festivalgoers can also book festival tickets and coach packages through See Tickets and Big Green Coach at 2011 prices.

V Festival Director, Simon Moran comments:
 
“Once again there was an incredible demand for tickets this year and as ever we’d like to give music lovers the chance to get their hands on next year’s early, and save some money in the process. With Glastonbury off the festival circuit next year, there is evenmore reason for music fans to take advantage of this great opportunity. Thisyear’s line up was one of the most exciting and eclectic yet so next year’s festival has a lot to live up to, but I’m sure it won’t disappoint.”
 
Following the success of this year’s sold out V Style packages, the new luxurious range of stylish accommodation will once again be available for those in search of some pampering. Festival fans can sleep in decadent surroundings by choosing between a lux pad, pop up hotel room, yurt or perhaps even a gypsy caravan to chill out at the end of each night. V Style packages include* weekend passes and all your accommodation needs including a warm shower and premium toilets. You’ll never go back to basic camping again!
 
Organisers are urging fans of the festival to ensure that they only use official ticket channels when buying tickets and not to purchase tickets from unofficial or secondary outlets.  

Visit www.vfestival.com for details of all official ticket outlets or contact See Tickets.
www.seetickets.com / 0844 871 8816

V Festival 2011 Chelmsford Saturday Review

by

Today saw the 16th edition of V Festival hit Hylands Park in Chelmsford.  V Festival is known for providing a diverse lineup to suit everyone and thats exactly what we had this Saturday.

Arctic Monkeys

From the headlining Arctic Monkeys, through to to Jessie J, Chase & Status, Aloe Blac, Ziggy Marley and even a comedy tent, it was not hard to be pleased.

Sheffield rockers Arctic Monkeys brought Saturday to an almight close as they trailed through hits from their latest album 'Suck It and See' as well as hits from their previous albums.  Notable tracks like 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' went down a treat with the crowd in the main arena that streched right to the back.

Aloe Blacc's soulful and cool presense on stage was the perfect fit for a sun drenched crowd who were lapping up his energy.  The crowd got into full swing when Aloe performed his hit 'I Need A Dollar'.

Over on the V Stage, Bruno Mars came out to a wet welcome as the rain started to come down at Hylands Park.  Opening with his hit 'The Lazy Song' the crowd, unfazed by the change in weather, continued to sing song after song with Bruno.

With the rain subsiding, the welcoming sun shone over Hylands Park.  We headed to The Arena where hip hop star Wiz Khalifa was performing.  Wiz has a laidback style about him and he came out performing with a mic on a stand!  Fresh off his Rolling Papers album Wiz Khalifa banged out tune after tune with 'Black & Yellow' the biggest song of his set.

Back on the 4 Music Stage, Example had the majority of the crowd bouncing to his army of tracks which included his latest single 'Natural Disaster'.

Bruno Mars

Still with a cast on her leg, Jessie J arrived to a packed out arena on the 4 Music Stage to perform whilst sitting on her throne.  Even though she was confined to sitting down, her performance is still amazing and energetic, you can see how much she just wants to get up and dance! She stated 'It's my first time performing in Essex, this time last year I was in the crowd!'

Back over to the V Stage, Plan B had taken to the stage.  One of the biggest UK artist's of the moment, Plan B has featured on a number of festival lineup's this year.  His performance is bar none one of the better of the day.  Moving through tracks from his 'The Defamation of Strickland Banks' the enjoyment of the crowd can be heard throughout the park as they applause and join in to sing along with him.  His tracks 'The Recluse', 'Prayin', 'She Said' were some of the biggest of his set.

V Festival is one of the must go to festivals on the summer calendar!  Its diverse lineup and dual location makes it an easy choice for festival goers from around the UK.

V Festival on Sunday will host Rihanna and Eminem as headliners.  Its a sure fire thing that they will bring down the curtains to an almighty applause as we witness yet another great year at V Festival!

Photos courtesy of Cake PR

Bestival 2011 Sold Out!

by
With a glint in his eye and a spring in his step Rob da Bank said: “We’re mega proud to have sold out Bestival for the seventh year running. Selling 50,000 tickets for a 100% independent festival in the current climate is no mean feat but its all thanks to our wicked crowd of regulars and new Bestivalites and music lovers who have chosen to join us on the Isle of Wight in 3 weeks… Thanks for the support and see you in the magic meadows of Bestival!”
 
Featuring a colossal 18 stages of live music and DJs, creative mayhem, magical experiences, our Rock Stars, Pop Stars and Divas fancy dress parade, loads of crazy fresh stuff including the Swamp Shack, Roller Disco, Wall of Death, Freesports Park, Crazy Golf, Campsite Hubs, Ambient Forest, Herbert’s Dream and much more, we’re pretty sure it’s going to be our best Bestival yet and we can’t wait!
 
After its success at this year’s Camp Bestival we’re bringing Kerstin Rodgers’ The Underground Restaurant to the Isle of Wight to give Bestival-goers the chance to enjoy an extravagant three-course sit down meal in the heart of the festival. An experience not to be missed! ??

There will be a wonderful set menu, gorgeous waitresses in vintage French pinnies, vintage mismatched crockery, table linen and a chance to sit down for lunch, dinner or a late supper… always welcome at a festival. Plus on Saturday night only there will be a Pyjama Party themed Midnight Feast! Wear jim-jams, nighties, bring teddies, hot water bottles, dressing gowns, comfy slippers, hair rollers, your pet blanket and have a secret feast under the cover of a supper club. Places are limited though so we highly recommend you book yourself and you friends in now. click here to book (NB: sittings do not clash with the main stage headliners).

 
As the countdown gets well and truly under way we’ve joined forces with Rapanui Clothing, a brilliant Isle of Wight based eco-fashion company, to create a limited edition pre-event T-shirt for this year’s Bestival. This Organic Cotton T-shirt is made in a wind-powered, Fair Wear Foundation audited factory and is printed on 100% organic cotton. They were transported by ship, not air, are printed with phthalate-free inks and were hand-finished in the UK. A strictly limited edition run, these T-shirts will ONLY be available to order up until 26th August. They will not be on sale at Bestival itself. You can order yours here
Finally, if you were lucky enough to get yourself a Bestival ticket but your circumstances have changed and you can’t make it down to the Isle of Wight now the ONLY place we recommend to re-sell your ticket is www.thetickettrust.com
 
Likewise, if you would like to purchase a Bestival ticket, the ONLY place we recommend that you go to is www.thetickettrust.com
 
The Ticket Trust has been created by the Association of Independent Festivals and Sandbag to offer a safe and secure ticket exchange to help correct the secondary ticketing problem. Comprising a group of promoters, artists and music industry professionals embarrassed by what they see happening to tickets to their events – the exploitation of fans’ pockets! The Ticket Trust has created a place where music lovers can exchange unwanted tickets at face value, providing a platform for safe, secure and legitimate ticket exchange – without the over inflated mark-ups. This is the promoters’ and artists’ answer to the secondary ticketing market which seeks to make big profits – taking hard earned cash away from the fans, the musicians and the live events we all love.
Remember to keep on checking www.bestival.net for full line up details and all the up to the minute news.

Pukkelpop Festival cancelled as stage collapses

by

High winds and heavy rain hit the Pukkelpop Festival near the town of Hasselt in the north of Belgium yesterday.  Some giant screens toppled, trees were uprooted, and stages collapsed killing 5 people and injuring dozens more.

Pukkelpop Festival has now been cancelled.

See more news on the Sky website: http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16052613

 

Bloodstock Open Air 2011 Review by Anna Hyams

by
Bloodstock is renowned for it’s no-nonsense approach to the scene, entwining bands from all areas of rock and metal into a bill like no other. There’s no pop-punk to be found here, no wet-eared emo kids and definitely no over-sized sunglasses wearing, prissy ‘my-hunters-will-get-dirty’ Moss-alikes. Bloodstock is a haven for real lovers of metal.
 The Defiled
Friday’s starter for ten The Defiled playing to their biggest BOA crowd yet, exploded onto the stage with a distinctly arrogant air about them, growling and grimacing into the microphones for catchy new track ‘Call To Arms’ and earning the respect of the morning main stage crowd with an energetic show, while the distinctly more rock n roll style of Bloodstock veterans Wolf, brought out the animal in us with ‘Skullcrusher’ dedicated to a techie who’d earlier sustained a head injury in an accident. Notable but not entirely special performances from Triptykon and Kreator seemed to gather fair sized but not huge crowds, whilst Lawnmower Deth’s brand of ear-bleeding thrash on the Sophie stage sticks it to the man in style. Props to Primitai on the New Blood stage for a great set, they deserved a bigger crowd.
 
Despite retro rockers W.A.S.P’s steely eyed stare and (albeit tamed) list of hits, they weren’t the epic performance we wanted them to be, particularly with the culling of ‘Animal’ and Blackie Lawless’ pvc under-suit is frankly a
little bit creepy at his age. The shout out of “If you want your country back, you’ve got to take it” referring to the recent rioting, was also met with apathy around site – most obviously from the man next to us who shouted back “Shut up you American arse!”. Stand out performance of the day goes to the Devin Townsend Project, returning to BOA after 2010’s comedy of technical errors, Devin and the gang absolutely smash it up with a whimsical tour through his deranged mind and facial expressions often reserved for Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura.
 
Saturday’s offering of Finntroll saw a topless Mathias "Vreth" Lillmåns belting out the folksy vocals with hair windmilling, and former Emperor frontman Ihsahn gave a relatively demure performance, preferring to head-down shred rather than move about the stage.
 
WintersunDespite another batch of technical difficulties, metal dream-team Wintersun were seen to regain their honour after pulling out of BOA 2009 with their harmonic vocals, and the vast member-count of Therion provided much mirth as they swirled about the vortex of the stage each taking a turn to grace the front with their symphonic metal and odd collection of fancy dress. Aside the amusement, even the toughest members of the crowd were seen to be staring open mouthed in the direction of the fine ladies of Therion, and singing along with more than a few songs. Straight from the jaws of Wacken, Italy’s power metal powerhouse Rhapsody of Fire put on a musically flawless set with huge crowd pleasers ‘Holy Thunderforce’ and ‘Emerald Sword’ to a dedicated audience (hundreds of Rhapsody tshirts on show) brandishing blow up swords.
 
Badger-faced black metal headliners Immortal spent most of their set looking disparagingly at the crowd in an effort to seem cool, which is hard to do when you’re wearing black leather pants covered in what looks like talcum-powder, but hey-ho.
Though they’re not every metalhead’s keg of ale, they did put on a good show and end BOA Saturday with a flaming bang.
 
Napalm DeathWith a glimmer of sunshine, Brummie grindcore gods Napalm Death began their audio assault on Bloodstock Sunday, with all the fire and fury they could muster, stopping only to breathe and calmly say “We’re Napalm Death from Birmingham, and this song is about Peace…” before launching into another incomprehensible scream. Hammerfall provided light relief with a good old sing along (it’s easy, apart from Craig David, they probably weave their own name into more songs than any other band) with the likes of ‘Let The Hammer Fall’, ‘Hammerfall’ and the incredibly funny ‘Hearts On Fire’ which sounds quite a lot like ‘Arse On Fire’ from across the arena.
 
At The Gates’ brutal death metal reunion was welcomed onto the main stage with a huge crowd as they rolled through a selection of their vast catalogue for a good old headbang, and venerated death metallers Morbid Angel threw down with everything they had. Hailing from sunny Florida, you’ve got to wonder how they fit in with the Disney crowd there…
 
Home grown rockers Motörhead are certainly deserving of a headline slot at BOA, especially as they closed Wacken only a week ago, but something was definitely amiss. Gritty voiced Lemmy looked bored as sin and apart from the obvious hype for ‘Ace of Spades’ the people of BOA were largely unresponsive. After a day of hard, fast and heavy thrash – were Motörhead the musical equivalent of a 50mph zone on the motörway?
 
Motorhead
 
Anyway, the epic performance of the day, nay the weekend goes to the raw talent of San Francisco’s Exodus with an absolutely scorching set of drum-pounding, ear-drum-busting old-school thrash. So many people came out blinking into the sunlight saying “I never really liked them before, but… wow.” and we were utterly converted by the sheer power rolling off them into the crowd. Tattooed frontman Rob Dukes grimaced and swore his way through a stunningly heavy set, inciting the scariest circle pit you can imagine, all fist-meets-face. If you get a chance to see them – take it, you won’t be disappointed.
 
Exodus
 
All in all, Bloodstock Open Air 2011, with its eclectic mix of new and old metal from many different genres and backgrounds has claimed another victory. In a lineup which is arguably weaker than previous years it would be easy to say that it just didn’t work, but the spirit was there, the community was there and everyone was having a great time experiencing bands that you might see once in a blue moon otherwise, thanks to the Cowell’s of the world. Roll on BOA 2012…
 
See Anna's photos from Bloodstock 2011 here:

 

Lay Lines Festival launches in Oxford

by

This in-door music festival extravaganza offers an unmissable end of season alternative with ticket prices starting at £10, bringing the UK’s top bands, emerging talent and festival vibe to venues near you!

Ley Lines will be taking over both floors at the O2 Academy Oxford, the Backroom at The Bullingdon and newly renovated arts venue ‘The Old Boot Factory’ – which will offer something more homegrown for the DIY enthusiasts – with more off the beaten track locations to be announced.
 
With the line up currently under wraps, music lovers should expect a fresh selection of top touring acts with an eclectic mix of local and new bands to pick and choose from. Don’t just watch – get involved with interactive workshops, music classes and sessions, talks, stalls and exhibitions.

DHP promoter and festival organiser Isla Miskelly is the driving force behind Ley Lines. She comments – 

“We’re really excited to be bringing a new festival to the city, and we hope that even in the current economical climate, people can still experience the atmosphere of a festival and discover new acts as well as seeing some great bands at an affordable price, all on their doorstep in OX4.  We’ll be bringing a whole host of exciting national acts into the mix with the best of Oxfords new emerging talent, there really will be something for everyone!“
 
As a resident of Oxford for eight years, Isla has promoted for over three years and with DHP she continues to offer a platform for locals to share the stage with some of the hottest bands in the UK. A growing fixture of the local vibrant music scene, DHP bring the latest national touring artists to many of Oxford’s venues, promoting in excess of 100 shows each year across the city.

Tickets – Tickets go onsale Monday 15th August 2011 at 9am. Limited Early Bird tickets are available at £10, grab yours now as these will fly out – so don’t delay! The ticket price will then go up to £15 advance.
 
The event is open to ages 14+ with limited acts 18+  - these will be made apparent on all listings
 
Tickets will be available from the following outlets
 
www.alt-tickets.co.uk //  www.ticketweb.co.uk // The O2 Academy Box Office

Amsterdam Dance Event reveals first festival acts

by
The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) has just released the first selection of confirmed artists that are scheduled for the upcoming edition. The sixteenth edition of the ADE, which takes place from 19 to 22 October, promises to be the biggest to date with a varied and extensive international programming in a record breaking 52 venues around Amsterdam. In the past sixteen years the ADE has become the most important showcase festival and conference for electronic music in the world. For the upcoming edition the organization expects more than 130,000 visitors, of which 25,000 are from all across Europe.
 
Programming
AfrojackHeadlines for the next edition include Grammy Award winner Afrojack (NL), who scored a number one hit in America recently, the world tour of Richie Hawtin’s (CA) new Plastikman 1.5 show superstar David Guetta (FR), techno legend Carl Cox (US) and the current number one DJ in the world Armin van Buuren (NL).
 
Other confirmed acts:
2000 and One (NL), Aeroplane (BE), Afrojack (NL), Alex Flatner (DE), Ambush (US), Âme (DE), Andrew Weatherall (GB), Annie Mac (GB), Anton Pieete (NL), Apparat (DE), Applescal (NL), Armin van Buuren (NL), Bart Skils (NL), Ben Klock (DE), Boemklatsch (NL), Boris Werner & William Kouam Djoko (NL), Brodinski (FR), Caribou (CA), Carl Cox (GB), Carl Craig (US), Chocolate Puma (NL), Chris Liebing (DE), Christian Varela (ES), Crookers (IT), Culoe De Song (SA), Daniel Miller (GB), Dave Clarke (GB), David Guetta (FR), David Morales (US), Dennis Ferrer (US), Derrick May (US), Detroit Grand Pubahs (US), Dimitri Kneppers (NL), Dixon (Innervisions, DE), DJ Judge Jules (GB), DJ Kypski (NL), DJ Simon Patterson (GB), Dubfire (IR), Ellen Allien (DE), Eskmo (US), Fake Blood (GB), Fedde le Grand (NL), Ferry Corsten (NL), Flowing (DE), Frankie Knuckles (US), Funkerman (NL), Goldfish (SA), Goldie (GB), Gregor Tresher (DE), Groove Armada presents ‘Red Light’ (GB), Guy J (IL), Heiko Laux (DE), Henrik Schwarz (DE), Hudson Mohawke (GB), Industrialyzer LIVE (PT), James Holden (GB), Jaxx da Fishworks (JP), John Dahlback (SE), John Digweed (GB), Jon Rundell (GB), Joost van Bellen (NL), Joris Voorn (NL), Kaiserdisco (DE), Karotte (DE), Kate Wax (CH), Kenny Dope (US), Kenny Larkin (US), Kettel (NL), Kyle Hall (US), Lone live (GB), M.A.N.D.Y. (DE), Makam (NL), Marcel Dettmann (DE), Martyn (US) live, Mason (NL), Matthias Tanzmann (DE), Mauro Picotto (IT), Melon (NL), Michael Mayer (DE), Michel Cleis (CH) , Modeselektor live (DE), Monika Kruse (DE), Mousse T. (DE), Nick Fiurucci (CA), Özgur Can (SE), Palmbomen (NL), Pional (live) (ES), Radioslave (GB), Real el Canario (ES), Richie Hawtin (CA), Rimer London & Cata.Pirata (NL), RipTide (NL), Riva Starr (GB), Robert Owens (US), Ron Carroll (US), Sander Kleinenberg (NL), Sander van Doorn (NL), SebastiAn (FR), Shinedoe (NL), Soul Clap (US), Stephan Bodzin (DE), Steve Bug (DE), Steve Mac (GB), Steve Rachmad (NL), Stonebridge (SE), Sven Väth (DE), The Advent LIVE (GB), The Glitch Mob (US), The Martinez Brothers (US), The Partysquad (NL), The Shapeshifters (GB), Theo Parrish (US), Tom Novy (DE), Tommie Sunshine (US), Tommy Four Seven (GB), Umek vs Beltek (SI), WhoMadeWho live (DK) and many more. In total over 700 acts are scheduled to play the ADE.
 
Record number of stages
In 2011 the ADE works with a record number of 52 venues around Amsterdam, including Paradiso, Melkweg, Escape, Panama, Air, Chicago Social Club, Heineken Music Hall, Jimmy Woo, Ocean Diva, Studio 80, Passenger Terminal Amsterdam, Supperclub, Trouw and Westerunie. Amongst the locations there are also many first-time locations as Bloc23, bus Museum, Gazz, Havana, House of Rising muzyQ, Minibar, Pand 14, Rust and The Sun.