Sophie Lancaster stage announced for Bloodstock

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Friday’s Sophie stage headliners are Greek extreme metal overlords ROTTING CHRIST.  Much revered, ROTTING CHRIST were one of the first black metal bands in the region, forming back in ‘87 and going on to create the genre’s Greek signature sound of the 90’s. The band are touring Japan and Thailand in early 2014, and are looking forward to headlining the Sophie stage at BLOODSTOCK, commenting “Proudly on the roster of one of Bloodiest festivals around! It will be an honour to perform for our English Metal brothers. Until then… KEEP THE TRUE METAL SPIRIT ALIVE!”  Their eleventh album, ‘Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού’ is out now via Season of Mist.

Into female-fronted metal bands?  Swedish metalheads SISTER SIN, led by the feisty Liv Jagrell, close out the Sophie stage on Saturday.  The Gothenburg based band will be blasting out tunes from their best-selling third album, ‘Now And Forever’, which debuted on the Swedish album charts at #6, and have been honing their live chops touring with road dogs Motorhead, Otep, and Arch Enemy, among others.  

Bloodstock is delighted to welcome Sunday’s Sophie headliners, the reunited classic NWOBHM shredders, SATAN.  Be sure to check out their latest Listenable Records album ‘Life Sentence’.  It’s been 26 years since their last release!  Metal Hammer recently described it as, “A bolt straight out of the NWOBHM’s glorious heyday, this is all galloping melodies, ripping riffage, and enough fist-pumping moments to make Manowar look like My Dying Bride. A sensational return and a serious shout for best straight-up heavy metal album of 2013.”

BLOODSTOCK 2014 is shaping up to be the biggest and best one yet, with early bird and rocksoc tickets selling out in record time and weekend tickets flying out the door!   Friday night’s headliners are New Orleans sludgemeisters, DOWN.  Joining them to head up Saturday night are black metal overlords, EMPEROR and closing out proceedings on Sunday are the mighty thrash legends, MEGADETH.  Also announced so far are AMON AMARTH, OBITUARY, CROWBAR, HATEBREED, LACUNA COIL, CARCASS, PRONG, CHILDREN OF BODOM, SAXON, DECAPITATED, FLOTSAM & JETSAM, PRIMORDIAL and EVIL SCARECROW.  More bands and other cool things on site will be announced shortly.

Bestival announce Desert Island Disco theme and Outkast

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icking off with a frankly magnificent headliner, and our very best theme yet, believe us when we say Bestival is gonna go off big time this September 4th-7th, and you’re gonna want to be with us!

Rob da Bank says: “Hey ya! By the power invested in me as chief Bestival booker, I'm pretty darn excited to announce that OutKast are headlining Bestival this year! We've fought hard to get the recently reunited legendary hip-hop duo onto the ferry… and it's no ordinary ferry this year as Bestival goes Desert Island Disco for 2014… Palm trees, grass skirts and mirrorballs are the order of the day. It truly is gonna be the Bestival yet!”

Outkast

Levels of excitement are beyond stratospheric in the Bestival bunker because one of our all-time favourite duos,OutKast, have not only reformed but they’re also coming to headline Bestival, laying down the sickest flows they know in one of only two UK Festival appearances! From Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik to Idlewild, Andre 3000 andBig Boi have consistently delivered booty shaking brilliance; their live shows are the stuff of legend and their comeback is undoubtedly one of the most feverishly anticipated this century, making Bestival a golden opportunity to catch the most popular, innovative and downright amazing hip-hop force on the planet! As you can probably tell, we’re just about as pleased as we’ve ever been that the Gs have returned and part of their 20th anniversary celebrations are going to be with us! BRING. IT. ON!

Wireless Festival announce massive lineup with Kanye West, Drake, Bruno Mars and more

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We have massive lineup news for this years Wireless Festival which will take place two locations in London's Finsbury Park and Birmingham's Perry Park.

Kanye West, Drake and Bruno Mars will headline over the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday shows and joining them will be some of the biggest artists at the moment including, Outkast, Pharrell Williams, Rudimental, Basement Jaxx, Ellie Goulding, Wiz Khalifa, John Newman, Iggy Azalea, Azealia Banks, Pretty Lights, Chance The Rapper, Ella Eyre, Angel Haze, Salt-N-Pepa, Clean Bandit, Earl Sweatshirt, A$AP Ferg and Neon Jungle.

 

Tickets  go on sale this Friday 31st January at 9am!

Entering its tenth consecutive year Wireless Festival promoter Steve Homer from Live Nation is looking forward to another incredible year.  “Wireless Festival celebrates its 10th year this year and we couldn’t be more thrilled to mark this momentous anniversary by taking it to a second site, Perry Park in Birmingham, and a brand new site in London, Finsbury Park.  We are delighted to be welcoming back Drake and Kanye West as headliners and thrilled to secure Bruno Mars for his first UK Festival headline performance.  They are perfect for Wireless Festival, securing these three artists plus many more world class acts continues to cement our reputation as a world class leader on the festival circuit.”

LONDON: FRI, 4TH JULY BIRMINGHAM: SUN, 6TH JULY

KANYE WEST

PHARRELL WILLIAMS 

BASEMENT JAXX

IGGY AZALEA

 ELLA EYRE 

ANGEL HAZE

LONDON: SAT, 5TH JULY BIRMINGHAM: FRI, 4TH JULY

DRAKE

RUDIMENTAL

WIZ KHALIFA 

AZEALIA BANKS * PRETTY LIGHTS

CHANCE THE RAPPER  

EARL SWEATSHIRT * A$AP FERG

LONDON: SUN, 6TH JULY BIRMINGHAM: SAT, 5TH JULY

BRUNO MARS

OUTKAST

ELLIE GOULDING 

JOHN NEWMAN

 SALT-N-PEPA * CLEAN BANDIT

NEON JUNGLE  

 

Killswitch Engage set for Download Festival exclusive

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Emerging first from this guitar-fuelled tempest are metal giants and 2014 Grammy Nominees* for Best Metal Performance, Killswitch Engage, bringing their seismic roar back to Download in a European Festival Exclusive. That’s right; 50 countries, 750 million people, 90 official languages, a reported 600 music festivals: one European festival performance from Killswitch Engage in 2014: and it’s at Download.

Today also sees The Pretty Reckless, set to drop new album “Going to Hell” in March, join the 2014 line-up. The New York four-piece known for its swaggering grunge-pop is fronted by former Gossip Girl Taylor Momsen, who will sashay into Donington with filthy on-stage antics and filthier on-stage ensembles. The organisers of Download Festival are still awaiting the rider request for Duct tape.

Momsen commented: We're so excited to play Download again, it was one of the highlights of touring our last record and we can't wait to bring Going to Hell to Donnington.

The craziest genre-mutating ragga-metal party in the world, Skindred, will also be crashing ashore at Download 2014, where Donington devotees will get a first live taste of incredible new album Kill the Power which, in an outrageous twist of fate, is out today! (Monday January 27th)

Expressing his excitement about returning to the festival, Skindred’s lead singer Benji Webbe called on the Download faithful to adopt the band’s iconic signature crowd celebration, the Newport Helicopter: The last few years have been an epic time for Skindred. The band has gone from strength to strength collecting more and more friends and fans along the way. This Download announcement has excited us more than ever, as we once again return to the home of ROCK. We shall bring and take to another level the energy and excitement that we are world renowned for. So bring a spare t-shirt and let’s get the Newport Helicopter flying higher than ever before.

And if that triumvirate of rock titans doesn’t rev your engine, there’s plenty more fuel in the Download tank.

South African grunge monsters Seether announced recently that they will be dropping a new album in 2014 and Download will be the UK’s first glimpse of the new material.

Adding a bit of dark wave theatricality to the line-up is gothic-metal-multimedia-storytelling-project, September Mourning, inaugurating a whole new art form into the hallowed Download canon.

Of course no Download announcement would be complete without its compliment of battle-hardened rock legends from across the pond; American Head Charge add to Donington’s already impressive Industrial roster, The Used ride in to the UK on a tsunami of soaring choruses, Joe Bonamassa will be shredding his soul-melting blues guitar for the first time at the festival, and 90’s firebrands Crazytown and Quicksand also make their Download debuts.

Another gracing Donington for the first time is classic metal supergroup Kill Devil Hillfeaturing Vinny Paul and Rex Brown of Pantera fame.

Getting even heavier, outspoken hardcore tyros Emmure and King 810 will also be raining down some good old fashioned American mayhem on Download, with Emmure’s Frankie Palmeri saying: Once again we have been invited to be a part of one of the most prestigious music festivals of all time. We can't wait to step on stage and connect with our fans at such an amazing event. See ya there.

Showing these Download rookies the way will be sharp dressed Texan deathcore bruisers Upon A Burning Body who wowed crowds when they made their Donington debut in 2012. Fresh out the studio from recording album number 3, prepare to have your face melted when they once again take to the hallowed Donington stage.

Contrary to their name influential home grown Prog rockers Anathema will be welcomed back to Download with open arms fresh from recording their first studio album for three years in Norway, with the band looking forward to hooking up with their fellow Prog heavyweights:

What can you say about download that hasn't been said already? It'll be an honour to play there again and anathema can't wait. We have our newest and most exciting material from our 2014 new album to perform too. An intense Setlist, world famous festival, and our mates Opeth on after us! Bring it on!

Download 2014 will also play host to a wide range of the very hottest rock and metal from mainland Europe, including Dutch metal screamers and Donington rookies, The Charm, The Fury, Japanese berserkers Coldrain, Swedish power-metallers Sabaton and freewheeling Danish alt-rockers New Politics.

Caroline Westendorp from The Charm, The Fury said: We are super excited to be returning to the UK to play Download Festival, the festival is always filled with so many bands that we take influence from and we cannot wait to give the fans a show to remember!

But Download isn’t just about being as culturally diverse as the British Museum’s Halloween Party, with local superstars of tomorrow Malevolence, Polar, Heart in Handand Lyger all appearing at this year’s festival.

Heart in Hand reflected on becoming part of a select group to make the transition from Download fan to performer: Having all been to the festival in our younger days, it's an amazing feeling for us to now be a part of the musicians making up the bill this year. Genuinely all very excited in our camp to play such a legendary festival and then enjoy the whole weekend once the pressure's off a bit!

Exit Festival 2014 first lineup announcement

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Serbia's award winning festival Exit announces its first acts for the 2014 edition which include EDC master Skrillex, UK's Breakthough Act of the Year 2014 Rudimental, Dub FX and more!

Skrillex

Making his EXIT Festival debut in 2014 will be SKRILLEX, one of the most inspirational figures for the new generation of electronic music fans and is one of the most wanted DJs in the world. With a genre-defying armoury that includes Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites and Bangarang, he’s not only won the audience's hearts, but also six Grammy awards, including Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/Electronica Album as well as MTV Video Music Award. In July 2012, he reached the top of the Billboard Social chart – with over 14 million followers on Facebook, and over 3 million on Twitter. Currently in the midst of planning a brand new live show for summer 2014, Skrillex is guaranteed to rock EXIT festival to pieces with never-seen-before special effects and previously unheard audio. Make no mistakes: Skrillex's appearance at EXIT will go down in festival history.

RUDIMENTAL also promise to shake the fortress walls down to their very foundations. Breakthrough Act Of The Year in 2013, as voted by more than half of million fans on UK Festival Awards, RUDIMENTAL, have taken the British and European music scene by storm. Bursting out of London’s underground music scene Rudimental are coming to EXIT with their amazing live show. A pioneering melting-pot collective championed for their uncompromising approach to music-making whilst avoiding rigid classification. This act reached number one in the UK Official Charts with their single Waiting All Night in April 2013, beating even Daft Punk to the top spot. Two weeks later, their album Home debuted at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart. No other act stirs a musical melting pot with as much flavour or thunder as Rudimental… And EXIT Festival can’t wait to have them on board!

An addition to the powerful bass lineup comes in the form of Benjamin Stanford, aka DUB FX. Set to performing on Thursday, July 10, Dub FX has developed a remarkable following through a wholly DIY approach. Everything he does is created with his own voice and serious loop-technology wizardry. His video for "Love Someone", recorded in the streets in 2008, serves as the perfect example of his unquestionable talent. A veritable postmodern messiah, he will present his third studio album "Theory of Harmony" to the EXIT audience. Released only a month ago, it’s a unique manifesto of his philosophy: peace, positivity, joy and healthful pursuits. Something we can all relate to and embrace! 

We can also confirm the appearance of white-hot bass-burning duo KOVEN. Creators of one of last year's hottest singles "More Than You", they will be performing at EXIT's Main Stage on Friday, July 11. You can expect the full package from these dubstep youngsters, especially their live set all infused with grinding bass combinations and effortless musicality. From the moment of their arrival to the bass scene, they became favorites of many stars, including The Prototypes, Borgore and Hadouken.

MGMT, Foals, Rudimental and more join Open’er lineup

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Joining the Open'er line-up are the ever exciting, live champions Foals and the UK’s premier live dance act  – Rudimental. The new electronic Beat Stage will also have its inaugural year, hosting only the best in international talent with Julio Bashmore as the first DJ/producer for the lineup. 

Foals

A sold-out concert and their reputation for an ever exciting live show meant that Foals simply had to return to Open’er festival. The band came onto the UK musical scene in 2007, when they met David Sitek, the founder member of TV On The Radio, which led to him producing their debut album “Antidotes". On 2010’s “Total Life Forever”, the band moved in a different direction, this also marks the first occasion that they brought their tunes to their Polish fans at Open&'er 2011, playing a show so intense that the guitarist's fingers started to bleed. In October 2012, Yannis Philippakis, Jack Bevan, Jimmy Smith, Walter Gervers and Edwin Congreave announed the title of their following release.  "Holy Fire” which was released early last year. With its release, NME announced that  "the Oxford art-rockers cast off their spiky, mathletic shackles and head for the big league", and The Line of Best Fit simply called it Foals' "masterpiece".
Foals
 
Rudimental
There's a strong history of the studio pioneers of British dance music becoming household names in Poland; from Basement Jaxx to Groove Armada, Massive Attack to Chase & Status. The hottest new collective making their mark are the East London quartet Rudimental. With support coming from the likes of Zane Lowe, The XX, Mistajam and Fearne Cotton, they're set to dominate dancefloors and airwaves in the coming months. Adding to that, Rudimental have been nominated for three awards at this year’s Brit Awards: Mastercard British Album of the Year, British Single – „Waiting All Night” feat. Ella Eyre, and British Group. Their debut “Home” went platinum in the UK. It comprises songwriters and producers Piers Agget, Kesi Dryden and Amir Amor, together with DJ Locksmith. Rudimental play the newly founded Here and Now Stage.
 
Julio Bashmore
Julio may have appeared to have burst onto the scene in late 2009, but the lead up to his eponymous EP for Claude VonStroke's highly influential Dirtybird label was essentially a lifetime in the making. Over the next three years, he rounded off a string of stellar EPs and singles on an array of labels. His vital eclecticism was showcased in his mighty contribution to the Essential Mix series on BBC Radio 1 at the end of the year. Bounce to blissed-out Garage of "Footsteppin", lose your mind to his Mosca remix, or turn out the lights for "Batak Groove" and you'll realise, simply, that it's just something you feel. He did 3 cuts on Jessie Ware’s debut album, including ‘Running’ and ‘110%’, and Ware returned the favour with guest vocals on a version of “Peppermint”. With fresh music for his newly imprinted label Broadwalk Records and a debut album coming in the next months, this might be the most incredible year for him. 

Disclosure, Ben Howard, Bastille and more added to Longitude 2014 lineup

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Longitude returns to Marlay Park this summer from 18th – 20th of July. Joining the previously announced Disclosure and Ben Howardwill be a host of some of the finest international and homegrown acts such as James Vincent McMorrow, Bastille, Haim, Chvrches, Hozier, Sam Smith, Bonobo, John Talabot, Julio Bashmore, Cyril Hahn, Le Galaxie, Bondax and Roosevelt.

More acts will be announced on Thursday 6th February ahead of tickets going on sale the following day at 9am.

TICKET INFORMATION

Weekend tickets €149.50 / Day tickets €59.50 inclusive of booking fee

Subject to licence

Disclosure

Pharrell Williams, Martin Garrix and more complete Future Music Festival Asia lineup

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We here at the Summer Festival Guide are excited to let you know that superstar producer and artist Pharrell Williams will be headlining Future Music Festival Asia.  Joining him to complete the lineup is electronic music producer Martin Garrix, Bassjackers & Will Sparks.

Festival fans can finally breathe easy as Livescape Asia today announced the full line-up of acts wired to take over the sound waves of Kuala Lumpur from March 13 to 15, 2014. The biggest music festival in Southeast Asia will host a massive line-up featuring over 70 international and local artistes over the three day block. Future Music Festival Asia 2014 takes place this year at one of Malaysia’s most iconic monuments, the Bukit Jalil National Stadium Showgrounds.

Deemed as the most anticipated event of the year, Iqbal Ameer, Director of Livescape said, “Future Music Festival 2014 has grown to incredible heights. The evolution of the festival and the magnitude of it is a vision that has become a reality. We are just as excited as the fans, and this has all been made possible with the partnerships and support from some of the best brands in the industry. Tickets are rapidly selling out and I urge everyone to go get their passes to the biggest music festival in Southeast Asia, you are not going to want to miss this one as we’ll be putting a show that will feature our biggest line-up to date.”

To kick-off the epic fete, Deadmau5 & Friends gets the sound waves thrusting on Thursday, 13 March 2014 (Day 1), with R3hab, Adventure Club, Will Sparks, B.A.T.E, Eva T, Breaking Diamonds, Double E and Victor Trixter and the notorious Deadmau5.

Friday, 14 March 2014 (Day 2), brings the legendary Armin Van Buuren’s A State of Trance 650: New Horizons to punters with his galvanizing posse the likes of Paul Van Dyk, Markus Schulz, Omnia, Marlo, Andrew Rayel, Trimix, Ramsey Westwood and the man himself Armin Van Buuren.

The main festival on Saturday, 15 March 2014 (Day 3), carries the festival to its peak with ATB, Eric Prydz, Goldfish & Blink, Porter Robinson, Martin Garrix, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan, Raising the Bar, SonaOne & Biggie, Rudimental, Tinie Tempah, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Pharell Williams, Yuna, Naughty Boy, Dangerdisko ft. Dato’ Sheila Majid, Bassment Syndicate, Chase & Status, Knife Party, Baauer, Mr Nasty & Guru Guru, Sub Focus, Monsta, Tubby vs Anowl, H3, Gesaffelstein, Brodinski, Arty, Xu & Terence, DJ K, Ko Pi Go, Jungle Jerry & Tablamaniam, Sound Love Affair, Bunga & Axel Groove B2B, Deer Society & Friends, Godwin Pereira, Irama and +2DB.    

Boomtown Fair announce Carnival fancy dress theme for 2014!

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The Summer Festival Guide is excited to let you all know that Boomtown Fair have announced their fancy dress theme for 2014.  This year's theme will be Carnival so expect a explosion of color influenced by the South American festival.

The first line up announcement will be made on Tuesday 4th February, tickets are down to the third and final tier at £150 (+BF & EcoBond) and available via the website.

One of the major components of BoomTown’s appeal is the backstory and interactive theatre that runs alongside all the memorising sets, incredible acts and outright crazy characters! Last year saw the seven diverse and distinctive districts going head-to-head in the first ever onsite festival elections, resulting in Barrio Loco (the Latin Quarter) taking the title of Town Mayor! Plans by the new Mayor for 2014 event are heavily themed towards a carnival-esque atmosphere, bringing in a bright and colourful, vibrant energy to the entire festival site. However, whilst the new Mayor is busy planning, the ex-Mayor has been preoccupied with plotting! In a twist to the official plans the disgruntled, ousted ex-Mayor will be re-introducing The Wild West to the streets of BoomTown through the power of time travel! For full details, Chapter Six can be found on the festival website along with all five previous chapters. http://www.boomtownfair.co.uk/tourist-info/town-history

BoomTown has now has nine districts in total, each one celebrating different cultures and musical genres, here’s an overview of what’s what, who’s who and most importantly, what to wear!

Districts for BoomTown 2014:

Barrio Loco 

The new Town Council in charge of BoomTown with Mayoress Burrita Jose

Barrio Loco brings some bad ass bass music to soak up into the soul and get you poppin’ ‘n’ hoppin’ all weekend long! Now in charge of the whole city, expect to see some overspill of all things Barrio into the rest of the festival – Carnival floats and maraca’s at the ready! 

Dress Code: Carnival

 

The Wild West (The ex-Mayor of BoomTown is now Sherriff of these dusty streets)

Brimming with top notch dosey-doe inducing genres including; bluegrass, country and scrumpy & western; The Wild West will be rife with toe-tapping ceilidh’s and is the sure-fire place to find your inner straw gnawing, yeehaa-ing hillbilly! The original settlement founded by the first residents of BoomTown during prosperous times of the gold rush… The devious ex-Mayor of BoomTown, via an exceptional use of time-travel, has bought the Wild West to the 21st Century, but are the existing occupants of Crazy Calamities saloon and Rusty Spur Avenue ready for what the new millennia has to offer?

Dress Code: Spurs, Stetsons, Buxom Wenches, Cowboys, Indians and scoundrels…

 

NewKidzTown

A dedicated mini-festival within a festival, KidzTown, which is specifically for the little boomers, it offers a secure environment that can be enjoyed by the whole family, but foremost it is a place where children and their fun come first! Due to public demand, BoomTown will see a brand new stage in KidzTown for 2014 and the festival is on the hunt for an eye catching, headline grabbing name for this new stage and are running a competition for families to come up with a name together to be in with the chance to win a the whole family tickets to the festival in August! For more details head to the festival website:www.boomtownfair.co.uk/city-guide/kidztown-2/kidz-competition

Mayfair Avenue (prosperous and decedent with Ballroom, The Park Hotel and the almighty House Party), Run by husband and wife Mr and Mrs Fitz-Sloane, MayFair is an exclusive area hosting slightly out of hand dinner parties with only the 'the right people' in attendance. Electro-Swing and all things glitzy and glamorous can be found here!

Dress Code: 1920s, Top hats, Glitter and Glam

 

Holditdown Town (chilled out folk and family friendly area where silliness is the law and hemp is the order) – Run by the Flower pot family. Holditdown Town is getting an overhaul this year with its very own Main Stage, prepare for some of the very best folk and world artists on the scene at the moment.

Dress Code: Hippy Chic

 

TrenchTown (the roots and reggae Mecca sent from the gods) – With the unearthing of the original Aztec temple last year, TrenchTown cemented its reputation as the hottest spot in town to feel the bass and submerge the brain in the best roots and reggae BoomTown and the world has to offer!

Dress Code: Tribal, Jungle, Aztec

OldTown – (the dusty, rusty area of BoomTown where things ‘were better in my day’ and pirates are pirates because they aaaarrrrrrr…) For all those skankin’, dancin’, knee pumpin’ pirates out there OldTown is the place to be! With the OldTown Theatre, Town Centre stage and Devils Kicks, if TrenchTown is the Soul of BoomTown, OldTown is the heart, pumping out a furious soundtrack of ska to the most dedicated BoomTown resident’s ears!

Dress Code: Pirates and Pensioners

               

DownTown

The seedy underbelly of BoomTown, home to alien invaders Arcadia, The Body Shop and many more social deviants! Coming alive as the sun sets, BoomTown’s down and outs explode out of their dank lairs to wreak havoc upon any unsuspecting tourist that should wander into their warped streets of debauchery: they have been warned. Many have ventured, few have returned…

Dress Code: Pimps and Hoes

 

ChinaTown

Flavour from the Far East, jam packed with mystical mayhem

ChinaTown filled with the most ‘avin it ska, ska punk, rockin punk, folk punk, polka punk, hell jazz n’roll around town!

Dress Code: Geisha, Ninja,