Summer Festival Guide

Monster plans for Deer Shed Festival

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Following on from Deer Shed Festival 2’s Sky At Night theme, in 2012 Deer Shed Festival is all about going BIG for scary, mythological, fairy tale, imaginary (or are they?), cuddly, extraordinary MONSTERS.

Theatre comes to Baldersby Park for the first time. The Flanagan Collective will basically mess with festival goers minds with a real/unreal narrative that runs throughout the whole weekend. Spoken word also stops at Deer Shed Festival for its debut – authorsDave Simpson ('The Last Champions: Leeds United & The Year Football Changed Forever') and Anthony Clavane ('Promised Land') chat football and whether it has lost its soul while Dorian Lynskey ('33 Revolutions Per Minute: a History Of Protest Music) andBoff Whalley (Chumbawamba) talk pop and whether it still has a political voice.  James Priestman leads the festival’s first foray into poetry running family workshops including Monster themed pieces and Twitter poems.

Partnering up with the National Media Museum, there’s some seriously scary cinema lined up. The silent classic Nosferatu will be accompanied by Darius Battiwalla on piano in the finest tradition of the silent film era. Guerrilla film making at its best, Monsters was filmed on location in South America with a crew of four or five, just two actors and a bunch of locals. A family classic, Monsters Inc will be followed by a workshop from Deer Shed Festival’s pals at Teeside University showing how Pixar make the critters. Lecturers and students from the uni will be running lots of lovely workshops and demonstrations throughout the weekend including stop frame animation, green screen video production and 3D modelling. All involving monsters. Obviously.

Also returning to Topcliffe in 2012 are the following Deer Shed Festival regulars – Best Joined Up graffiti artists mixing classic street styles with fine art, Matt Pattinson's Doodle Walls with four towering sentinels of festival-goer scribbles along with his own distinctive take on the monsters theme, Jon Reed’s Comedy Workshop, artist blacksmith David Stephenson creating bespoke jewellery in front of festival goers eyes for just a couple of quid and Spike & Sponge’s Sunday Market in the Big Top full of arts, crafts and vintage wares all from local Yorkshire artists. The Greentop Circus Cabaret will also be back to host the Friday night family show in the Big Top. Some kick-ass aerial acrobatics plus comedy, circus, cabaret, variety and dance from one of the UK's leading circus venues and training centres.

Monsters – done. Arts – done. Kids stuff – next…

Only two years in and the Deer Shed Festival is already known for the lengths it reaches to keep family members of all ages occupied. In 2010 they face painted half the audience and then last year there was the entire field full of swing balls. In 2012 the festival team are taking the monster theme quite literally and are super sizing what’s on offer. Customised swing balls made out of heavy-duty steel, giant sea monster creations which will be built by kids and then floated on the lake, BIG paintball art guns and over 40 exotic animals to meet on the Sunday (snakes, spiders, lizards, massive toads and some furry things). The festival team will also be scouting for human guinea pigs to take part in Dr Frankenstein’s DIY Monster Project from Eureka! The National Children's Museum. All in addition to the regulars of organised sports, arts sessions, modelling workshops and play areas. Taking place at the beginning of the school holidays, Deer Shed Festival is the perfect break from everyday life for all the family and all for less than £200 for a family of four.

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Deer Shed Festival = the vibe of a lazy Sunday afternoon in the perfect pub beer garden, sound-tracked by a bill that resembles the 6 Music playlist. Shortlisted for the Best Family-Festival at the UK Festival Awards 2011, this is an independent festival run by a family for the family. The Deer Shed Festival team book bands they love, work with like-minded people, keep it chilled, don’t squeeze a thousand tents into a field the size of a postage stamp and don’t charge a fortune. Good old-fashioned hospitality and great bands.

*** MUSIC BILL ***

Saint Etienne, Villagers, Cherry Ghost, Los Campesinos!, Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves of Destiny, Dutch Uncles, Human Don’t Be Angry, Cashier No 9, Janice Graham Band, Treetop Flyers, Club Smith, Moody Gowns, The Staves, Paul Thomas Saunders, Washington Irving, The Glendale Family, Tupelo, Rachel Sermanni, We Were Evergreen, Ellen and the Escapades, The Lost Brothers, Rae Morris, Pale Seas and Pip Mountjoy

Tickets are available now through http://www.deershedfestival.com/tickets/ or Ticketline on 0844 888 9991.

Adult Saturday & Sunday only ticket (16+)                                            £59

Adult weekend ticket (16+)                                                                         £69

Child weekend ticket (6+)                                                                            £20

Child weekend ticket (5 and under)                                                         FREE*
Weekend campervan/caravan/trailer pass                                           £15

Nitin Sawhney, The Proclaimers and more for Greenbelt Festival

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Greenbelt is also proud to announce this year's festival programme will feature talks from prolific campaigner Peter Tatchell and Israeli journalist Gideon Levy, BBC Radio 4's hit show Any Questions to broadcast live plus much, much more. Greenbelt Festival takes place from 24th-27th August at Cheltenham Racecourse. Tickets are on sale now and available from the festival website.

MUSIC
Greenbelt is thrilled to announce Nitin Sawhney will join revelers to perform his distinctive, versatile and spectacular sounds that have solidified his reputation as one of the most talented practitioners of his generation. Firmly established as a world-class producer, songwriter, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, orchestral composer and cultural pioneer and having collaborated and written for the likes of Sting, Sir Paul McCartney, Sinead O'Connor, Ellie Goulding, Cirque Du Soleil, Sawhney will be an unmissable festival experience for 2012.
 
Legendary Scottish rockers The Proclaimers will be bringing a mixture of classic hits including iconic tracks "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" and "I'm On My Way" and brand new material from their next studio album Like Comedy, due for release on Cooking Vinyl this May. 
 
The Leisure Society will tantalise crowds with their bouncing bass, flurries of flute and jazz drums that have earned them considerable critical acclaim, including an Ivor Novello nomination. Other confirmed acts include new British female artist Jose Vanders who has been dubbed as the new Regina Spektor; American soloist Abigail Washburn; alternative rock band In Case of Fire, "Nu'folk" duo Megson; effortless folk sensation and recent supporting act for Mumford & Sons, Rachel Sermanni; talented pianist Luke Leighfield plus Brighton-based band Tom & Olly. 
 
COMEDY
Greenbelt welcomes back Robin Ince with his razor-sharp analysis of human endeavor, scientific discovery and dreadful literature. James Acaster brings his anecdotal, interactive and brilliantly funny stand-up. Having recently appeared on Russell Howard's Good News and a tour with Milton Jones, Greenbelt festival-goers are in for a comedic treat this year.

 
LITERATURE

Greenbelt presents a diverse offering of literary figures speaking at this year's festival includingJenn Ashworth who lept into the spotlight as one of the BBC Culture Show's Best New Novelists; bona fide rocket scientist and prolific writer Dr. Simon Morden and distinctly-British-in-style-but-US-born writer Kate Charles. Poetic performances will be brought to Greenbelt by the likes of Harry Baker who won a Poetry Slam at the Edinburgh Fringe festival and TS Elliot Prize winner, Philip Gross. 

 
TALKS

Greenbelt is thrilled to announce a plethora of the most remarkable speakers from the UK and beyond creating what is fast becoming the most exciting and rich programme to be found under the folds of a festival tent. Cultural thinker and faculty member of The School of Life, Roman Krznaric will offer instruction and inspiration on the important questions of everyday life. Campaigns Director of 38 Degrees, Hannah Lansborough will also be sharing her perspective on campaigning (particularly online) in a democracy. As part of the festival's focus on criminal justice Guardian columnist and writer Erwin James, will speak about his experiences of serving a life sentence and his tireless work on prison reform. 

For the first time, BBC Radio 4's hugely popular panelist programme Any Questions will be hosted at this year's Greenbelt festival featuring personalities from the worlds of politics, media and elsewhere, to be aired live on Friday 24th August.
Prolific campaigner for human rights, democracy, LGBT freedom and global justice Peter Tatchell, will be appearing at this year's festival. Tatchell is a member of the queer human rights group OutRage!, the Green Party’s spokesperson on human rights plus campaigns for human rights in Britain and beyond through his own Peter Tatchell Foundation. 
 
Further additions include Israeli journalist Gideon Levy, contributing editor at Q-News Abdul-Rehman Malik and former bishop of Durham Tom Wright.
 
FILM
Today Greenbelt announces a number of carefully selected films, both new and classic to be screened at the festival. Confirmed titles include Terrence Malick's cult American independent film The Tree of Life starring Sean Penn and Brad Pitt; 1972 environmentally themed science film classic Silent Running; and Gore Verbinski's 2011 American animated feature Rango, which won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars last year and stars Johnny Depp as the voice of Rango. Greenbelt will also host its very own Greenbelt Oscars with further announcements soon to come plus Tipping Point Film Productions will present challenging, truth-telling cinema documentaries that combine the popular appeal of film with ambitious international campaigns.
 
Tickets are now available from the Greenbelt festival websiteor via 020 7374 2760. Prices are fixed until 30th April 2012 and adult weekend tickets are £99.00; adult concession weekend tickets are £68.00; under 18 weekend tickets (5 to 17 years) are £55.00; family weekend tickets (2 Adults, 2 Under 18s) are £259.00; single parent family weekend tickets (1 Adult, 2 Under 18s) are £165.00 and infants (0-4 years) go for free.

The Temper Trap, Kids In Glass Houses and more added to Liverpool Sound City lineup

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Australian guitar band The Temper Trap have recently expanded to a five piece, ensuring a much bigger and more rounded sound for their second album ‘The Temper Trap’, which is released in May.  The release of their first album propelled them to international acclaim and their much anticipated return will see celebrated frontman Dougy Mandagi back in the north west for a must see show.

Temper Trap
Kids In Glass House’s infectious, hook laden rock has ensured a wildly devoted and rapturous young following and their huge riffs and choruses has led to widespread mainstream success.  This hot and sweaty show will be a Sound Cityhighlight.  Of a more gentle leaning is Irish singer songwriter, James Vincent McMorrow whose captivating songs sound both fresh and as if they’ve been in your head forever.  His live shows are simply spellbinding and James will be playing tracks from his debut album ‘Extracts From A Conversation’ as well as premiering new material.
 
One of the most talked about artists of the past 12 months, Django Django’s recently released debut album has more than justified the hype.  Their ultra modern strain of psychadelia has marked them out as a very special band indeed and attendance at this show is a must!  Canadian Tim Hecker plays a rare UK show at Sound City.  A favourite of Pitchfork and Wired magazine,
Tim’s cathedral electronic music explores the intersection of noise, dissonance and melody, mixing sub bass and static to mesmerizing effect.
 
One of Liverpool’s favourite acts, Space, have reformed and will be reminding everyone why they spent the mid nineties singing along to such distinctive anthems as ‘Female Of The Species’, ‘Neighbourhood’, ‘Avenging Angels’ and ‘The Ballad Of Tom Jones’.  Another act that have always refused to conform are The Wedding Present who have spent the last 25 years making bittersweet, breathtakingly honest, love songs that are immersed in whirlwind guitars.  Something of a national treasure, David Gedge will be performing tracks with the band from classic albums such as ‘George Best’, ‘Seahorses’, ‘Bizarro’ alongside more recent material.
 
Lower Than Atlantis have graduated from their early post melodic, hardcore to embrace a much grungier sound and have developed in one of the countries best live rock acts whilst Domino Records singer songwriter Eugene McGuinness will perform his angsty, carefree, hormone fuelled tracks that captivate audiences. 
 
Other acts confirmed to play at Liverpool Sound City include The Big Sleep, Willis Earl Beal, Thunderbird Gerard, Still Corners, Mugstar, Stealing Sheep, Stephen Langstaff, Sissy & The Blisters, The Kill Van Kulls, Electric Guest, White Arrows, The Night, Lulu James, EJ, Said The Whale, Don Broco, Futures, Dan Croll, Capac and Ex Easter Island Head.
 
Liverpool Sound City is much acclaimed for working with partner countries to identify the best of their emerging talent and provide a platform for exposure in the UK and 2012 sees some fantastic acts landing at John Lennon airport to perform in this historic music city.  New Zealand bring Pikachunes, Princess Chelsea and Midnight Youth to Merseyside whilst Australia are represented by Step Panther, Millions, Inland Sea, Ben Salter, Bonfire Nights, Oliver Tank, Wim, Jackson Firebird, The Bowers and Sietta.  Canadian acts are Jordan Cook, Kestrels, Ben Caplan and Slow Down Moasses whilst Denmark and Italy complete the international flavour with Strangers On A Train and The Second Grace respectively.
 
Further announcements will be made shortly about the Sound City convention, Expo and UK Music Student Awards, all parts of this multi faceted 3 day international music, media and technology event.  Liverpool Sound City continues to focus on the future, intent on bringing the best new music, film, art and more from all over the world to Liverpool. 
 
Last week’s inaugural New York Sound City was a resounding success, marking a significant move forward in Sound City’s international events calendar.  Established as a pre curser to SXSW, New York Sound City sold out a week in advance and was attended by a number of exceptional music industry talents – many of whom made rare appearances. 
 
The night time gig at Webster Hall featured a guest appearance from Jetlag, the new band of Andy Rourke from The Smiths, as well as performances from Paula I Karol, Tyburn Saints and the surely soon to be huge Dutch Uncles, whose irresistible shimmery songs captivated the audience. 
 
The date of New York Sound City 2013 will be Monday, March 11th, 2013.
 
Liverpool Sound City tickets are on sale at the following prices.
 
Sound City Live Festival Wristband – £30 – Price rise Monday April 2nd at midday
Sound City Delegate Pass – £120 – Price rise Monday April 2nd at midday

Happy Days Festival details

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Families, friends and local businesses are all welcome to this two day open air festival, which will whisk you back in time with an eclectic blend of three decades of amazing music. Performances by Level 42, Billy Ocean, Soul II Soul, Jocelyn Brown, Joyce Sims, Maxi Priest, Gwen McCrae, D-Train, Colonel Abrams, Modern Romance,

Light Of The World and Heatwave will be combined with other entertainments including themed bars and eateries, pyrotechnics, children’s disco, games area, family fun activities and exclusive After Parties.

Matthew Podd, one of the founder members of the Happy Days Festival team and successful, professional sound and lighting businessman, said “we want our festival goers to have a weekend of fun, as well as a chance to enjoy live music by a variety of established artists, with each set being over an hour long! We want to provide the best entertainment at a price that is affordable and represents true value for money. Let our festival take you back in time to celebrate and remember those Happy Days!”

The Happy Days Festival team are able to provide a large variety of bespoke 'hospitality packages', including exclusive areas with private bars, private catering, hotel accommodation and executive travel, suitable for both private and corporate entertaining.

The event takes place on Saturday 2nd and 3rd June 2012 from 14:00 – 22:00. Children under 12 are free with a full paying adult. The After Party (over 18s) on each evening commences at 22:00 through to 02:00.

General Sale Prices:

One Day £35.00

VIP One Day £55.00*

Two Day £68.00

VIP Two Day £100.00*

After Party £15.00

*(The VIP area includes entry into the Gold Circle located in from of the stage with exclusive access to the VIP bars, eateries & facilities)

David Guetta returns to Heineken Balaton Sound 2012

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Meet the line-up:

David GuettaThere’s no other festival in the world where David Guetta feels more at home like at Heineken Balaton Sound. No wonder, he already played stunning shows at the event for the last 4 years and is more than happy to return.

Berlin Calling star Paul Kalkbrenner is never short of creative energies – unlike the character he plays in the famous movie). He has been already headlining the biggest parties of Germany and Europe, so it’s high time for him to come and play at the lakeside event.

Sander van Doorn has always dealt with a wide range of electronic styles and already earned many awards with his powerful trance productions – clearly regarded as anthems of the scene.

You love family reunions? Not really? Just check out how the Kalkbrenners do it at this year’s Heineken Balaton Sound. You have the chance to listen to the live version of the biggest techno hit of the last few months, Sky & Sand, thanks to Paul Kalkbrenner and his younger brother. Fritz Kalkbrenner has always been involved in the German e-music scene and created his own sound, a style that’s close to his brother’s productions, but mixed with hip-hop, house and even soul elements.

Another great performer of the Balaton event will be Gareth Emery, a world famous trance DJ and producer and a regular at the biggest international e-music parties. Also in the line-up Maceo Plex, the American musician and producer, who nowadays lives in Spain and is mainly experimenting with deep house elements. You might know his earlier works as well, as he produced tech house and techno tracks under the names Meatrik and Mariel Ito.

Besides Björk we are happy to host another Icelandic super production at this year’s Sound, namely Gus Gus, playing a sophisticated and welcoming style of electronic music. And let’s not forget about Feed Me, a truly entertaining, fresh and eye-catching side project of Jon Gooch, aka Spor, representing the British drum’n’bass, dubstep and electro house scene.

Nina Kraviz is a remixer, singer-songwriter and a resident DJ of Moscow’s most popular club, the Propaganda. She is surely used to play for full houses and most probably experience the same this summer in Zamárdi. Crazy P is another great asset in the line-up, an electronic production, also using live instruments (drums, guitars) as a key part of the show. They will arrive to Lake Balaton, presenting their new album, When We On.

Tensnake, aka Marco Niemerski is a true messenger of disco’s rebirth. The Hamburg-based DJ-producer is very popular in the German underground electronic scene, inspired by house, the disco era and the 80’s electro-funk craze. Last but surely not least, we are pleased to announce Dapayk Solo, aka Niklas Worgt, representing the Berlin club scene and experimenting with many styles (like drum’n’bass, house) before arriving to the world of minimal techno in the mid-2000’s. And rightly so, as Groove magazine awarded his debut album with ‘the best of the year’ title, while Niklas became the producer of the year.

If you like what you’ve just read, please don’t forget that early bird tickets are only available until 15 April. Of course you can also buy your ticket afterwards, but it surely makes sense the think ahead.

More information and tickets: www.balatonsound.com

Twisted Sound System set for Glade Festival

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Headlining the Friday night on the Origin Stage Twisted Sound System are, between them, responsible for ground-breaking music including Shpongle, Hallucinogen, Younger Brother, Prometheus and many other musically defining projects. We’re pleased to announce that they are currently locked in the studio preparing this special one off set featuring synths, laptops, drum machines and much more for a psychedelic journey as never seen or heard before.

Simon Posford is one of the most influential artists in the psychedelic scene. Under the name Hallucinogen, he defined the Goa trance sound with the track LSD, taken from the 1995 album Twisted. In 1996, Simon launched Twisted Records, which is one of the most important trance imprints in the world. After releasing his second album The Lone Deranger in 1997 Simon began collaborating with Raja on Shpongle and went on to produce a trilogy of genre defining downtempo albums. Simon also performed in live outfit Younger Brother with the third member of the Twisted Records Sound System, Benji Vaughan.

From blazing the hippie trail in the sixties through Goa and beyond, founding psychedelic rock band Quintessence and performing at the first two Glastonbury Festivals, Australian-born Raja Ram is known as one of the founding fathers of the psychedelic trance movement. After a brief hiatus, he returned to the music scene at the birth of acid house and alongside Graham Wood and Ian St Paul,  launched TIP Records which later became TIP World, one of the most well-known psy-trance labels in the world. Raja Ram is one half of Shpongle alongside Simon Posford. He is also part of 1200 Mics alongside Ibiza-trance legends Riktam & Bansi AKA Growling Mad Scientists.

Benji Vaughan is most well known for his solo project Prometheus which is signed to Twisted Records. As Prometheus he has released three killer albums: Robot O Chan, Corridor Of Mirrors and Spike

A word from Shpongle ringmaster Raja Ram:

The set will be like three madmen sailing off in the middle of the night in a small boat without a compass, semi dangerous, not for the faint hearted or incontinent, a bare knuckle flight to unreality and back, super turbo charged, size thirteen shoes and an attitude to match

The Secret Garden Party production team have given the digital arts on site at the festival a new lease of life, with artists such as Polyphant (http://www.polyphant.tv/) commissioned to design a bespoke immersive environment where he will be blurring the boundaries between architecture, light and space. More bespoke installations will be announced soon.

The original independent dance music festival, The Glade, is a totally immersive experience the beautiful countryside meets beautiful beats, where you can party until dawn without disturbance and without a care. Houghton Hall in Norfolk is one of the few places in the UK where such an experience can be had. No matter which community or tribe, all are invited to come together and participate in this never-to-be-forgotten four-day celebration. It is your very own electric Eden. So what are you waiting for…

With an incredible rural site, burning stages, woodland parties 3D Funktion-one sound system, and pioneering collectives & labels representing every electronic genre over 14 stages showcasing hundreds of DJs and live acts from around the globe, Glade 2012 is set to become the must-go-to festival for all lovers of underground electronic music.

With our incredible 24hr venues, you can party hard until 8am and then chill out in the Inspiral lounge 24hrs a day.

The Charlatans to headline Whitehaven Festival

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Not only have they secured The Charlatans as headline act, but they have also secured The Enemy on the bill.

Festival CEO Gerard Richardson MBE said:

The CharlatansI can’t quite believe it! We now have three incredible gigs to look forward to over the Diamond Jubilee weekend. With the dazzling Katherine Jenkins opening the Festival on Friday 01 June, our incredible *“Best of the ‘70’s” line up for Saturday night and both The Charlatans and The Enemy for Sunday, it’s going to be a cracking festival! As well as all these world-class acts several hundred thousand people will be able to enjoy all the other amazing spectacles over the weekend including cookery theatres with the likes of Jean-Christophe Novelli, Ainsley Harriot and Sean Wilson (Artisan cheese maker and ex Corrie actor “Martin Platt”), a Red Arrows air show, tall ship racing, continental and Cumbrian markets, street theatre, a cake baking competition, a huge fun fair and many more attractions and sideshows!

The Temper Trap, British Sea Power and more announced for Truck Festival 2012

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THE TEMPER TRAP, BRITISH SEA POWER, THE LOW ANTHEM, GUILLEMOTS, KING CHARLES, THREE TRAPPED TIGERS, LITTLE COMETS and more will join the already-announced MYSTERY JETS, VILLAGERS, 65 DAYS OF STATIC and GET CAPE. WEAR CAPE. FLY! amongst many more on the bill for this year's Truck Festival! 
 
Here's new Truck organiser Ralph Broadbent: "I think this line-up captures the spirit of Truck over the last 15 years – everything that's great about music all in one place, with some of the most creative and independent acts out there, and at £69 for the weekend, it's really affordable!" 
 
We hope you'll agree, this is as good a selection as you'll see anywhere trooping in for Truck's 15th Anniversary on July 20th & 21st at Hill Farm, Steventon. Early Bird tickets have sold out but Weekend tickets are indeed still only £69; they are available now at www.truckfestival.com.
 
THE TEMPER TRAP
Closing the main stage on the Saturday will be The Temper Trap; these Australians sport an international Top 10 hit single, Sweet Disposition, and a 2011 BRIT Award nomination for 'Best International Breakthrough Artist'; this year they're following up that breakthrough with a much-anticipated new album, ‘The Temper Trap’. The new album was recorded at the famed Sound Factory in Los Angeles, with producer Tony Hoffer (Beck, M83,Phoenix) and we look forward to seeing their ambitious live show on the back of a truck…
 
British Sea PowerBRITISH SEA POWER
It's an amazingly long time since BSP graced Hill Farm, which is surprising because they are almost the perfect band for the festival. In an unrelated comment, frontman Yan recently claimed: “I was a big fan of World’s Toughest Trucker on UK Channel 5, which finished a couple weeks ago – especially old dog Rookie who came third. You can probably still see it via the Watch It Again M8! function?” Perhaps he's cryptically expressing his excitement to be back playing at Truck Festival. We'd better do a risk assessment for use of twigs and branches on the stage…
 
Oh my God, THE LOW ANTHEM!
We are delighted to add this talented and creative band; they embody the DIY spirit of Truck Festival, self-releasing their break-out 3rd album "Oh, My God, Charlie Darwin", screen-printing the covers themselves and heading out on the road to promote it. Last year, as well as following up with "Smart Flesh", produced by Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes, they dished out a free album for fans under the alter-ego "Snake Wagon". The epic sweep and rustic roots of their music will sound great on the back of a truck at Hill Farm, that is for sure!
 
GUILLEMOTS
Fyfe Dangerfield & co recently played instore at Truck Store and mentioned that they had somehow never played Truck Festival, and the new organisers instantly moved to correct that! As well as having mass appeal and hit albums, the band are constantly evolving and putting out interesting music, which makes them a perfect band for Truck too. Drummer Greig Stewart has close links with the Oxford area so we're glad to welcome him along to Truck to play – finally!
And that’s not all:
 
KING CHARLES has toured with Mumford & Sons, Noah & the Whale and Laura Marling, but has a style and bohemian panache all of his own, "part of that tradition of uniquely English, psych-inflected pastoral whimsy", and our scouts saw it for themselves at a recent Oxford show. His debut album comes out in May. We also welcome VADOINMESSICO, an elusive collective from London with accordions, harmonies, and even a remix by Crystal Fighters. Mysterious! and FEDERATION OF THE DISCO PIMP: Maybe you've listened to ex-Red Dwarf man Craig Charles' funk show on 6 Music, in which case you'll have heard these guys: Scotland’s premier exponents of modern funk, alright! and this just in: LITTLE COMETS will be bringing their hard-touring guerilla-gigging bandwagon all the way from Tyneside, for one night in July!
 
The much-requested London noise-rockers THREE TRAPPED TIGERS will be closing the Barn on Saturday which will doubtless be a very special occasion. Before them, just in case you missed it, we have announced the line up for the Alcopop Records and Big Scary Monsters takeover (4-9pm Saturday, The Barn). They will be bringing with them: JOHNNY FOREIGNER, TALL SHIPS, BRONTIDE, TALONS, GUNNING FOR TAMAR & MY FIRST TOOTH. Sweeeeet! These labels, and bands, represent what the Barn stage is all about and no doubt the famous cowshed will be heaving throughout!
 
Of course, there are many more artists still to be added, including many local acts; we are accepting BAND SUBMISSIONS until 1st April 2012. After this date, no further submissions will be considered. To apply, bands can send an email with links to 2-3 recordings on Soundcloud or Youtube to: [email protected]. We ask them not to send MP3s or other audio files or large photos as attachments (these clog the inbox), and please don’t try to send us physical packages- we haven’t got anywhere to put them!
 
We've also launched a new website with all kinds of information about the festival at  www.truckfestival.com.  Tickets can be purchased there for this year's 15th Anniversary back-to-basics truckstravaganza! Tickets are also on sale at Truck Store, Oxford and will soon also be available at Remade Guitars, Abingdon.

Roots Manuva, Scroobius Pip and more added to Play Fest 2012

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Joining Ash, Pigeon Detectives and some amazing unsigned talent on the Main Stage, is the leading light and unmistakable face of the UK’s spoken word scene, Scroobius Pip. Taking a side step from his duo collaboration with Dan Le Sac, his Play Fest appearance will focus on his recent solo album, Distraction Piece. Be prepared for some clever and crafty prose, with insightful, thought provoking political observations and a killer bassline! Joining Pip on the Main Stage for Sunday evening is UK sunshine reggae maestro, Natty. Pulling from a variety of influences from South Africa, Italy and the UK, his style moves effortlessly from Reggae to West African Horns mixing in a fresh take on popular songs such as Armand Van Helden’s “You Don't Know Me”. Having reached both critical and popular success Play Fest are jumping for joy at the thought of seeing in the Sunday evening with Natty’s feel good summertime vibes! Another addition to the main stage bill for the Saturday evening will be North East four-piece Little Comets, their blend of tricky percussive rhythms and Afro-beat-tinged guitars has seen them labelled as the British Vampire Weekend and perfect to ease you into Play Fest’s Saturday evening!

Saturday on the Big Top Stage welcomes a very special guest, a man who needs no introduction; UK Hip-Hop supremeo, Roots Manuva who brings his mix of dub, ragga and trip-hop style to the Play Fest fields, a MOBO award winner and Mercury prize nominee, Roots Manuva has effortless charm and delivers an engaging stage show. Other acts newly confirmed for the Big Top include, Federation of the Disco Pimp, Rory McVicar and Boat to Row. These are all set to snuggle up on the Big Top bill next to the likes of the awesome electro-swing gods The Correspondents , local troubadours Killamonjambo and many more…

Roots Manua

Play Fest can also reveal some acts for the main Dance Stage, curated by Norwich's leading electronic club night, POW! Where the best in up front electronic music can be found from some of the biggest names in the industry, alongside some world-famous party starters! The bill so far is looking pretty meaty, with; Toddla T, Shy FX, Jaymo & Andy George, Zinc, Rattus Rattus & Klose One (Urban Nerds), DJ Andy H, DJ@WAR, DJ Cable (DMC Champ), POW! Party Boys, Attack Yourself!, Joshua Roberts and Get Low Cartel.

Finally, it’s time to introduce Play Fest’s very own naughty corner… The Asylum stage! This is a place to fully expect the unexpected, to let your hair down and get involved in the mayhem. A spectacular mix of solo artists and bands will grace the stage during daylight hours, then as night falls, prepare for some crazy shenanigans at this late night live music venue, where some of the hottest music acts and cabaret performances from the local and UK music scene will be rocking the night away! Including; Double Drop, Sam & The Womp, The Vagaband, Feral Mouth, Swingball, Poppy Perezz, The Harvs, Cielo, Kodeta, Josh Doughty, Nimmo & The Gauntlets, Eliza Shaddad, Slightly Offensive Steve, Andy Kirkham, The Woodland Creatures, Scott Wright.

Although the bulk of the line up is now announced, the big-hearted folk at Play Fest HQ still have a few tricks up their sleeves and are still to announce the Main Stage Sunday headliner and support, along with the dance arena Sunday headliner and a sprinkling of other gems still to add to the bill. Watch this space Play Mates!

Gottwood Festival 2012 lineup revealed

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The line up is already causing a stir with many names having already been leaked, with special guests to be announced in the coming months.

TIGER & WOODS // DINKY // MOSCA // MOVE D // GROJ // THE CORRESPONDENTS (LIVE) // HUXLEY // ED SOLO // MR WOODNOTE & LIL RHYS // TRISTAN DA CUNHA // WILDKATS // APPLEBLIM // ARKIST    +SPECIAL GUESTS TO BE ANNOUNCED

2 BIT THUGS // AARTEKT (LIVE) // ALEX JONES // ASHLEY WILD // AUTOPHASE // BRINSLEY KAZAK // BRUNO SCHMIDT // CASINO TIMES // CATCH 23 // CEDRIC MAISON // CHARLIE BANKS // CHIMPO // eLDOKO // GREYMATTER // GYGO // HESSELTIME // JOHN MALCOLM MOORE // JOSH T // MATT ROACH // NICK LAWSON // PICTURE HOUSE // PUCA // THE PUSHAMANN // RICH REASON // RIZ MC // STRATEGY // THE OTHER TRIBE (LIVE) // TOM FRANK // THE WILD KNIGHTS // TRISTAN DA CUNHA // ZOO LOOK // ZUMO

AMBITUR // ANTAGONIST // ARLO & JACK // BOWEN FT. AGGY // BUTLER & MURT // CROZ // CLERICAL MASS // CUBIQ // DAN NEO // ED MACKIE // ED STEELE & KOSTAS G // EOIN THOMAS // FAMOUS BY FIVE // GED LEVER // GUY RICHARDS // HANNAH HAMMOND // JARVIS & DEAN // JIGSAW // JOHN MARSHALL // JOHNNY DUB // JONNA & ARTHUR JNR // KYDRO // LEADBELLY // LEON RILEY // MR SOLID GOLD // OPTIMUS // REAL NICE // ROGER LI // SHARKBAIT // SPARKS // STE-V-SOMETHING // SWAY 2 // T-MAN // TEN STORY // THICK AS THIEVES // TOSH OHTA // YOGHURT WARRIORS // DAN JORDAN // THOMAS FC RIDDIM // VOYEUR + MORE TBC

Returning to its lush and enchanting deep forest location (or as DJ Mag penned: the "magically decorated rave forest") in idyllic Anglesey, Gottwood is the festival for the musically experimental and open-minded. Serving up the most exciting talent from across the electronic music spectrum, last year saw the likes of Jamie XX, Lee Foss, Max Cooper, Midland, The Correspondents, Round Table Knights (and many more) experiment with an eclectic mix of the best of all genres of electronic dance music, mashing house, techno, drum & bass, dubstep, hip-hop, garage and more, and feeding it to the eager ears of over a thousand Gottwood Festival goers. And there's more Gottwood have promised a secret mystery guest this year that will not disappoint!

Incorporating a variety of diverse festival treats and with intricate attention to detail, Gottwood offers a truly unique and intimate festival experience worthy of its position in the Daily Telegraph's Top 100 UK Festivals list. Gottwood 2011 further cemented it as the electronic music festival not to be missed, and featured in The Sunday Times "Definitive Guide to the 100 Best Music Festivals".

Gottwood's success in its sophomore year has attracted some of the UK's finest promoters, including Tief, Krankbrother, Louche, Hypercolour, We Are Your Friends, Finger Lickin' Management, White Mink, Hit & Run, Absentminds, idiosync, & Pelski.

This year also sees Gottwood unlocking the gates to two previously inaccessible areas: a luscious walled garden to tantalise your optic nerves and most excitingly, the swathing lakes on the site will now be opened for a very special Sunday event… cue bikini-clad ravers and bombing galore. Gottwood veterans will recall the gorgeous coastlines within a 15 minute walk that earned the North Wales coast Lonely Planet's "Greatest Region on Earth 2012" accolade.

Early bird tickets have already run out, so attendees will have to move quickly as capacity has been limited to just 1500 this year to keep the intimacy that helped to make the first two years such a success.

If you can't wait until June, Gottwood will host a very special night at second home Basing House on Friday 23rd March with the awesome Fantastic Mr Fox, Arkist & Medlam heading the bill.