Festivals

Looking for the latest lineup, date, ticket information or latest news about your favourite festivals, look no further.  Summer Festival Guide’s Festival News section covers all your needs!

BLOODSTOCK reveal comedy bill and RAM Gallery plans

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BLOODSTOCK HQ is at fever pitch with just 10 days to go ‘til the gates swing open at Catton Park!  There are a last few things to announce before everyone packs their bags and heads to the UK’s biggest and best heavy metal party!

One of the things that sets BLOODSTOCK apart from other events is festival founder, Paul Raymond Gregory’s on-site RAM Gallery.   This year, Paul has paid tribute to MOTORHEAD’s Lemmy Kilmister with a stunning new portrait exhibited in a custom, hand-carved frame, as well as other choice installations from his world-renowned portfolio of work.  Regular RAM Gallery contributor and luthier Cynosure, creator of hand-made guitars as art, will be exhibiting two new instruments also inspired by Lemmy.  Other artists also exhibiting work are Orange County artist, Christian Sloan Hall, who has created work for the likes of AMON AMARTH and TESTAMENT, plus abstract artist and GOJIRA drummer, Mario Duplantier, who has contributed two original paintings.  Also expect to view featured art-focussed books from Lariyah Hayes (Darkadya: The Book of Art From Below) and Ramon Martos (And Justice For Art, revised edition), plus rock-themed photography from Peter Nahum and Alison Richards.

When the metal finishes in the Hobgoblin New Blood tent each evening, a different set of howls take centre stage with BLOODSTOCK’s comedy bill.  Friday’s gag-filled line up includes David Jordan’s edgy songs and stand-up, Chris Brooker’s hilarious improvisation, the award-winning newcomer Ingrid Dahle, all compere’d by everyone’s favourite heavy metal comedian, Andrew O’Neill.   Saturday evening’s bill features compere and all-round funny man, Jim Smallman, plus laffs-a-plenty from Jonathan Mayor and Perrier comedy Award-winner Wil Hodgson.  Sunday ushers in a full ‘History of Heavy Metal’ set from Andrew O’Neill, combining stand-up comedy with live music played on his customised Flying V guitar.  Andrew will be supported by thrash metal beasts, REPRISAL.

Over on the Sophie Lancaster stage, once the bands have finished for the night, the DJ squad steps in to take you through ‘til 2am.  Expect a guest slot on the decks from EVIL SCARECROW’s ringmaster Monty Blitzfist and Kraven Morrdeth on Friday, the DJs from London’s VooDoo Rocks on Saturday and Total Rock’s Anna Dumpe on Sunday, plus BOA’s resident 4 DJ’s Of The Apocalypse doing their regular 12 Midnight-2am slot.  

The always popular Friday fancy dress competition is returning!  This year the theme is ‘Twisted’, so dress up in whatever you fancy, the more extreme and creative, the better!  To enter the competition, just find BOA’s official photographer (between the Serpents Lair VIP area and the EMP Tent entrance) between 12pm and 6pm on the Friday to have your photo taken (the photographer will wear a Fancy Dress Photographer t-shirt).  Then check BLOODSTOCK’s Facebook page for the photo gallery the week after the festival and tag the fancy dress photo of yourself for the chance to win a pair of tickets to BLOODSTOCK 2017!

Got your tent ready?!  This year, our campsite partner is Miss Daisy’s Camping Store.  If you don’t want to tow a ton of camping gear to site, order online and collect your stuff from the Miss Daisy tent in the main Midgard campsite at Catton Park.  Saves a lot of hassle and achy shoulders!  Place your order or just see what’s available via their ‘click & collect’ service here – http://www.missdaisyscampingstore.co.uk/.

Want to check out the 2016 merch range?  BLOODSTOCK's online 'click & collect' service allows you to pre-order your favourites for on site collection.  Festival attendees can snap up their choice of t-shirt or grab the 2016 beer mug or hip flask without fear of their size or design being already sold out on site.  Simply pre-order at https://bmerch.com/store/bloodstock/collect-on-site and collect at the merch stall in the arena at any point over the weekend, knowing your item is guaranteed and paid for.  Maybe you want that BOA hoodie for when the sun goes down, so just collect it from the merch stall then to save a trip back to your tent!

How to get to BLOODSTOCK?  Ditch the hassle of parking, trains & transfers and let our official coach partner, Big Green Coach take you and your camping gear straight to the festival from 21 UK cities.  To book your return seat and see where to catch the coach, check: http://www.biggreencoach.co.uk/events/bloodstock-festival-tickets-coach-travel.  If you’re coming by train to Catton Park, don’t forget to pre-book Big Green Coach’s shuttle bus from Lichfield City rail station to save yourself a wad of cash.  Return tickets are priced at £10, one way at £8 (it costs more to pay on the day, so pre-booking wins)!  Book tickets at the link.  Car-sharing with GoCarShare is another option (and participating could even win you a pair of tickets for 2017)!  Full details and to post up a car space/look for a car ride from your town, visit: http://gocarshare.com/festival/bloodstock.   

Our three headliners for 2016 are TWISTED SISTER (in their last ever UK show), MASTODON and SLAYER, plus special guests BEHEMOTH, GOJIRA and ANTHRAX.  Also on the bill are FEAR FACTORY, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SYMPHONY X, SATYRICON, PARADISE LOST, DRAGONFORCE, METAL ALLEGIANCE, STUCK MOJO, ROTTING CHRIST, MISERY LOVES CO, GHOST BATH, VENOM, UNEARTH, DIAMOND HEAD, GOATWHORE, ACID REIGN and many more.  

Stage splits announced for V Festival 2016

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As the countdown continues to V Festival 2016, sponsored by Virgin Media, excitement is set to reach fever pitch amongst fans today, as details about the scale of Justin Bieber’s exclusive headline performance are revealed. The set is alleged to be the most challenging production the festival has ever seen in its 21-year history – one requirement will see 800 gallons of perfectly purified, 40-degree water soak the superstar, front of stage.

With just over three weeks to go until the festival, Justin Bieber is this week celebrating the news that he reached No.1 in the Spotify Global Streaming Charts for his track with Major Lazer and singer MØ, knocking Drake off the top spot.

Also announced today are the hotly anticipated stage splits for the festivals UK sites at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and at Weston Park in Staffordshire across the 19th to 21st August.  

As the festival marks its 21st anniversary next month, organisers have gone the extra mile this year, exclusively securing some of the biggest recording artists on the planet. Tickets for both V Festival sites have been furiously snapped up leaving only a very limited few tickets remaining for those lucky enough to bag one.

Virgin Media Stage

Performing exclusively at his only European festival this summer, Justin Bieber will headline the Virgin Media Stage on Saturday 20th August in Chelmsford and Sunday 21st August in Staffordshire. Bieber’s most recent album Purpose smashed UK chart records earlier this year by simultaneously charting three singles in the top five spots.

Also exclusively headlining the Virgin Media Stage will be international, Bajan megastar Rihanna, who returns to V Festival this summer after a break of five years, with what promises to be a supercharged performance on Saturday 20th August in Staffordshire and Sunday 21st August closing the Chelmsford site.

Adding to V Festival 2016’s international superstar line-up will be Australian superstar songstress, Sia, and superstar DJ, David Guetta – who are both UK festival exclusives for V Festival 2016.

Sia, who is world famous for her own critically acclaimed material and was one of the standout performances at this year’s Coachella Festival, will take to the Virgin Media Stage in Chelmsford on Saturday 20th and Staffordshire on Sunday 21st. Joining her on the same day of performances will be British indie rock favourites Bastille, Grammy winner Jess Glynne, singer-songwriter James Morrison, Joe Jonas’ pop rock band DNCE, American singer-songwriter Halsey and recent chart-topper Mike Posner.

Global DJ phenomenon David Guetta, one of the most successful artist DJ’s in UK chart history, will be getting the crowds at Weston Park in Staffordshire jumping on Saturday 20th and again in Chelmsford on Sunday 21st. Sharing the Virgin Media Stage on the same day will be the world’s biggest girl group Little Mix, BBC Sound of 2015 winners Years & Years, BRIT Award winners Travis, recently reformed legendary girl group All Saints, festival favourite Example and fast rising American singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha.

 

MTV Stage

Taking the top spot at this year’s MTV Stage, on Saturday 20th in Chelmsford and Sunday 21st in Staffordshire,will be legendary group Faithless who return to V Festival for their seventh time. Joining them will be two-time BRIT winner Tinie Tempah, party starter JohnNewman, chart topper Troye Sivan andcelebrated hit maker Rick Astley, (whose recent new album debuted in the UK at No.1), Grammy winner Foxes, Grammy nominated Londoner MNEK, Swedish singer-songwriter Zara Larsson, Irish rock group Walking on Cars and Canadian singer-songwriter Alx Veliz.

BRIT award winners Kaiser Chiefs will also be bringing their many hits to the MTV Stage on Saturday 20th in Staffordshire and Sunday 21st in Chelmsford. The MTV stage continues with singer-songwriter Jake Bugg, BRIT award winner Tom Odell, Mercury Prize nominee Katy B, X Factor StarFleur East, Danish chart-topping soul pop band Lukas Graham, , British DJ and  ‘Tropical House’ record producer Sigala, US hip hop artist Big Sean,English rapper Lethal Bizzle and soulful singer, young Londoner Zak Abel.

 

Dance Arena

The Dance Arena will be jumping with performances from UK garage favourite Craig David TS5 on Saturday 20th in Chelmsford and Sunday 21st in Staffordshire. V Festival goers will be able to dance non-stop to DJ sets from Wilkinson and Sigma, Kurupt FM, MistaJam, My Nu Leng, Monki and Tom Zanetti & KO Kane.

On Saturday 20th in Staffordshire and Sunday 21st in Chelmsford, the Dance Arena audiences will be able to witness pulsating performances from the garage music extraordinaire DJ EZ and deep house favourite MK. Joining them in the arena will be Tchami, Flight Facilities, Blonde, Philip George, Low Steppa, Jonas Blue and Icarus.

 

V Street Stage

Headlining V Festival’s V Street Stage on Saturday 20th in Chelmsford and Sunday 21st in Staffordshire will be legendary hip-hop act The Sugarhill Gang. Joining them will be Rudimental vocalist turnedsolo star Anne-Marie, Jojo, WSTRN, Angel, Ady Suleiman, Raye, Moxie Raia, The Main Level, Raye andJodie Abacus.

The V Street Stage on Saturday 20th in Staffordshire and Sunday 21st in Chelmsford will welcome British Grammy award winners Soul II Soul. They will be joined by outstanding British soul singers Laura Mvula and Corinne Bailey Rae, Liverpudlian rock group The Lightning Seeds (who played the very first V Festival in 1996), singer Gavin James, Def Jam artist Bibi Bourelly, Eliza and The Bear, K Stewart, Freak and Claudia Kane.

 

Glee Comedy Tent

The V Festival Glee Comedy Tent will be roaring with laughter as an all-star line up of comedians entertain the crowds. The incomparable comedic talents of Bobby Mair, Dane Baptiste, Tom Stade, Andy Robinson, Jen Brister, Nathan Caton, Adam Hills, Ivo Graham, Sara Pascoe, Matt Richardson(appearing in Hylands Park on Saturday 20th only), Andrew Bird, Joe Bor, Allyson June Smith (appearing in Weston Park Sunday 21st only)and MC Kevin McCarthy will be onstage on Saturday 20th in Chelmsford and Sunday 21st in Staffordshire.

And laughter keeps coming the with Bill Bailey, Josh Widdicombe, Katherine Ryan, Danny Slim Gray, Craig Murray, Jarred Christmas, Andrew Stanley, John Fothergill, Michael Fabri, Alex Edelman, Tom Deacon, Funmbi Omotayo and MC Mark Olver who will be performing on Saturday 20th at Staffordshire and Sunday 21st at Chelmsford.

 

BBC Radio 1 Summer of Dance

And to kick off the party weekend, V Festival 2016 will present BBCRadio 1 Summer of Dance Stage on Friday 19th August, featuring some of the hottest dance acts on the planet split across the Chelmsford and Staffordshire sites. Radio 1 DJs Annie Mac and Danny Howard will play both sites, travelling between them on the Friday via helicopter. Annie and Danny will be joined by Eric Prydz, MistaJam and MK in Chelmsford, with Gorgon City (Live), Wilkinson (Live), and Monki in Staffordshire.

Three weeks ’til Bloodstock!

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The BLOODSTOCK festival faithful are on countdown as it’s just three weeks to 2016’s best heavy metal weekender!  The bill for the Jagermeister stage is together and BLOODSTOCK is excited to welcome all these bands to the bill…

Friday’s line-up includes Leeds hard rockers CHASING DRAGONS (www.facebook.com/chasingdragonsuk) Corby metal outfit FUELED HATE (www.facebook.com/fueledhateuk), Brighton prog-rockers VRONA (www.facebook.com/VronaOfficial), Irish sludgemonsters TWO TALES OF WOE (www.facebook.com/TwoTalesofWoe), Manchester’s hard rock duo THE HYENA KILL (www.facebook.com/thehyenakill) and London folk metallers ISARNOS (www.facebook.com/Isarnos). Saturday’s bands include Wakefield metal band BROKEN, Belfast stoner rockers ZLATANERA (www.facebook.com/zlataneraband), Midlands metallers VICIOUS NATURE (www.facebook.com/ViciousNature), Leeds’ female-fronted rapcore band PULVERISE (www.facebook.com/Pulverise), Bury metal 4-piece VICE (www.facebook.com/Vicemetaluk) and Cornwall’s psych/spacerock animals, CYBERNETIC WITCHCULT.  Sunday’s bill will include Stevenage metal 5-piece OUTRIGHT RESISTANCE (ww.facebook.com/OutrightResistanceBand), Gravesend stoner rockers JUKEBOX MONKEY (www.facebook.com/jukeboxmonkey), Welsh old school death metallers SODOMIZED CADAVER (www.facebook.com/SodomizedCadaver), Tyneside doomsters DIRTY KING (www.facebook.com/dirtykingmusic), Glasgow heavy rockers ATTICA RAGE and black metallers AKLASH.

The last of the Hobgoblin New Blood stage slots have been snapped up via the ‘Metal 2 The Masses’ finals.  Joining the chaos are death metallers END OF SALVATION (www.facebook.com/endofsalvationUK) and thrash beasts REDEYE REVIVAL (www.facebook.com/redeyerevival) on Friday,  stoner/heavy psych animals REGULUS (www.facebook.com/regulus.band) and melodic death metal mob THE FACE OF RUIN (www.facebook.com/thefaceofruin) on Saturday and metal four piece GUTLOCKER (www.facebook.com/GutlockerUK), prog/tech outfit KAHTET (www.facebook.com/kahtetband), Polish deathcore mob THE JOHN DOE’S BURIAL (www.facebook.com/tjdburial), Nottingham rockers FIREBOMB (www.facebook.com/firebomb.uk), self-proclaimed ‘street mafia geek metal’ outfit CHRONICLES (www.facebook.com/chroniclesmetal) and heavy rockers VALOUS (www.facebook.com/valous.birmingham) on Sunday.  The final act added to the New Blood stage is the winner of Hobgoblin’s video upload competition, who also go into a Sunday slot.  That lucky band is Manchester punk metal outfit, FOOTPRINTS IN THE CUSTARD (www.facebook.com/Footprintsinthecustardband).  You can watch their ‘age-restricted’ winning video for ‘The Descent of Decency’ here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u-YfsMWiHU.

Got all your camping gear ready?  This year, our campsite partner is Miss Daisy’s Camping Store.  If you can’t be bothered to tow a ton of camping gear to site, order online and collect your stuff from the Miss Daisy tent in the main Midgard campsite at Catton Park.  Saves a lot of hassle and achy shoulders!  Place your order or just see what’s available via their ‘click & collect’ service here – http://www.missdaisyscampingstore.co.uk/.

Want to check out the 2016 merch range?  BLOODSTOCK's online 'click & collect' service allows you to pre-order your favourites for on site collection.  Festival attendees can snap up their choice of t-shirt or grab the 2016 beer mug or hip flask without fear of their size or design being already sold out on site.  Simply pre-order at https://bmerch.com/store/bloodstock/collect-on-site and collect at the merch stall in the arena at any point over the weekend, knowing your item is guaranteed and paid for.  Maybe you want that BOA hoodie for when the sun goes down, so just collect it from the merch stall then to save a trip back to your tent!

How to get to BLOODSTOCK?  Ditch the hassle of car parking, trains, & transfers and let our official coach travel partner Big Green Coach take you and your camping gear straight to the festival from 21 UK cities. Various packages are on sale now; secure your coach trip straight to the festival site with only a £10 deposit.   To book your return seat and see where to catch the coach, check: http://www.biggreencoach.co.uk/events/bloodstock-festival-tickets-coach-travel.  If you’re coming by train to Catton Park, don’t forget to pre-book Big Green Coach’s shuttle bus from the station to save yourself a wad of cash.  Return tickets are priced at £10, one way at £8 (it costs more to pay on the day, so pre-booking wins)!  Book tickets at the link.  Car-sharing with GoCarShare is also available (and participating could even win you a pair of tickets for 2017)!  Full details and to post up a car space/look for a car ride from your town, visit: http://gocarshare.com/festival/bloodstock.   

Our three headliners for 2016 are TWISTED SISTER (in their last ever UK show), MASTODON and SLAYER, plus special guests BEHEMOTH, GOJIRA and ANTHRAX.  Also on the bill are FEAR FACTORY, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SYMPHONY X, SATYRICON, PARADISE LOST, DRAGONFORCE, METAL ALLEGIANCE, STUCK MOJO, ROTTING CHRIST, MISERY LOVES CO, GHOST BATH, VENOM, UNEARTH, DIAMOND HEAD, GOATWHORE, ACID REIGN and many more.  

Creamfields announce a host of new acts for this years lineup

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With festival season now well underway, dance fans can barely contain their excitement as the 6 week countdown begins for the big one, when the mighty Creamfields rolls into town to take over the Cheshire countryside for 4 days of beats, bass and festival fun.  And just when you thought the UK’s #1 dance fest couldn’t get any better, it certainly got a whole lot bigger as they’ve announced more acts to the already outstanding line up.   

First up and never one to miss out on the action is Techno legend Sven Vath, he’ll be joined by one of the most in demand DJs of the moment Patrick Topping, who joins the family for his Creamfields debut along with a host of other debut performances from the likes of Jerome Price, Magic Wand, Angemi,Seeb, and returning for a second year Eli & Fur as well as the return of Cream Favourite Tall Paul. And getting the party well and truly started Creamfields welcomes a legendary outfit whose unstoppable, infectious force of nature is unmissable…The Cuban Brothers!   Didn’t think it could get any better?  It just did!

Four weeks til Bloodstock!

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There’s just over a month before the heavy metal hoardes rampage on to Catton Park’s hallowed turf for BLOODSTOCK 2016!  The site planning is well under way and the bands are still being added for the UK’s best heavy metal weekender.

In a move that’s sure to please the power metal faithful, riding on to the main stage bill for an early Friday slot are ‘Intergalactic, space metal’ outfit, GLORYHAMMER!   Check out their video for the title track from last year’s ‘Space 1992: Rise of the Chaos Wizards’ here – https://youtu.be/YGV6bCTMM5w.  Also joining the bill as main stage openers on Friday are Welsh heavy rock power trio, HARK.  The band’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘Crystalline’ featured a guest slot from Clutch’s Neil Fallon and their second release is due later this year.  Get up to speed via www.facebook.com/harktheband/.

Lining up for a Saturday slot on the Sophie stage are British doom/sludge beasts MAGE (www.facebook.com/Mageband) and horror rockers, THE HERETIC ORDER (www.facebook.com/thehereticorder) featuring members of Breed 77.  Stepping into Sunday slots are female-fronted Brit metal four-piece, SANGUINE (www.facebook.com/sanguineband) and hotly tipped, Japanese-inspired, Finnish melodic death metal outfit, WHISPERED (www.facebook.com/whisperedband).  

Joining PHIL CAMPBELL’s ALL STARR BAND for Thursday’s ‘Party Night’ (which sees Phil christening the newly-monikered ‘Lemmy’s Bar’ with the first drink of the weekend), are Norse death/thrash outfit, SUBLIME EYES (www.facebook.com/SublimeEyesBand),  tech/deathsters KARYBDIS (www.facebook.com/Karybdis.band), post-prog metal five-piece SUMER (www.facebook.com/SUMERBAND) and the thrashtastic PSYKOSIS (www.facebook.com/Psykosisthrashmetal), who caused mayhem on the Hobgoblin New Blood stage in 2014 when they threw out hundreds of samples of their home brew to the loyal New Blood supporters.

Got all your camping gear ready?  This year, our campsite partner is Miss Daisy’s Camping Store.  If you can’t be bothered to tow a ton of camping gear to site, order online and collect your stuff from the Miss Daisy tent in the main Midgard campsite at Catton Park.  Saves a lot of hassle and achy shoulders!  Place your order or just see what’s available via their ‘click & collect’ service here – http://www.missdaisyscampingstore.co.uk/.

Want to check out the 2016 merch range?  BLOODSTOCK's online 'click & collect' service allows you to pre-order your favourites for on site collection.  Festival attendees can snap up their choice of t-shirt or grab the 2016 beer mug or hip flask without fear of their size or design being already sold out on site.  Simply pre-order at https://bmerch.com/store/bloodstock/collect-on-site and collect at the merch stall in the arena at any point over the weekend, knowing your item is guaranteed and paid for.  Maybe you want that BOA hoodie for when the sun goes down, so just collect it from the merch stall then to save a trip back to your tent!

How to get to BLOODSTOCK?  Ditch the hassle of car parking, trains, & transfers and let our official coach travel partner Big Green Coach take you and your camping gear straight to the festival from 21 UK cities. Various packages are on sale now; secure your coach trip straight to the festival site with only a £10 deposit.   To book your return seat and see where to catch the coach, check: http://www.biggreencoach.co.uk/events/bloodstock-festival-tickets-coach-travel.  If you’re coming by train to Catton Park, don’t forget to pre-book Big Green Coach’s shuttle bus from the station to save yourself a wad of cash.  Return tickets are priced at £10, one way at £8 (it costs more to pay on the day, so pre-booking wins)!  Book tickets at the link.  Car-sharing with GoCarShare is also available (and participating could even win you a pair of tickets for 2017)!  Full details and to post up a car space/look for a car ride from your town, visit: http://gocarshare.com/festival/bloodstock.   

Our three headliners for 2016 are TWISTED SISTER (in their last ever UK show), MASTODON and SLAYER, plus special guests BEHEMOTH, GOJIRA and ANTHRAX.  Also on the bill are FEAR FACTORY, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SYMPHONY X, SATYRICON, PARADISE LOST, DRAGONFORCE, METAL ALLEGIANCE, STUCK MOJO, ROTTING CHRIST, MISERY LOVES CO, GHOST BATH, VENOM, UNEARTH, DIAMOND HEAD, GOATWHORE, ACID REIGN and many more.  Additional bands are still to be announced.

Reading and Leeds Festival announce Alternative Stage for 2016

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Leading the comedy line up is the phenomenally talented Russell Howard who has enjoyed massive success with Russell Howard’s Good News, establishing Russell as one of the UK’s most successful comedians and a rising international star.

 

Bill Bailey will be returning to Reading and Leeds after his incredible performance in 2014. Known for the astounding musical knowledge that saw him become a panel show staple on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, as well as starring in Channel 4’s sitcom Black Books, Bailey will be delighting the Reading and Leeds audiences as his famous Limboland world tour makes a stop at both festival sites in August.

 

Joining them over the Bank Holiday weekend is an extensive array of well-known comedic figures including Radio 4 stalwart and one of Britain’s finest comedians Marcus Brigstocke. Katherine Ryan will be entertaining audiences with her razor sharp critique of pop culture alongside Well Good prankster Lee Nelson, the flamboyant flow of Russell Kane and Impractical Jokers’ very own Joel Dommett.

 

Further Alternative Stage appearances will come from outspoken political commentator Owen Jones who will be in conversation with Andy Parsons alongside performances from Sara Pascoe, Holly Walsh, The Boy With Tape On His Face, Andrew Maxwell, Mark Steel, Tom Deacon (Reading Only), John Robins, Carl Donnelly (Leeds Only), Daniel Simonsen, Dane Baptiste, Lloyd Griffith (Reading Only), Al Porter, Angela Barnes, Jamali Maddix, Lauren Pattison (Leeds Only) and Alternative Stage MC’s David Morgan, Iain Stirling, Dan Nightingale (Leeds Only) and Ian Boldsworth (Reading Only).

 

The Alternative Stage will also play host to a vast array of late night entertainment throughout the weekend, including a special appearance from the US hip-hop icon Grandmaster Flash who’ll be performing an explosive set at Leeds Festival only. He’ll be joined by hip-hop turntablist DJ Yoda and the impressive stylings of Rave Karaoke and Nightmares From The Discotheque for a full-throttled evening of entertainment, ensuring that Leeds will be dancing late into the night.

 

Masterful indie club night Propaganda will once again provide a late night euphoric disco soundtrack with special guest appearances from This Is England’s Thomas Turgoose, DJ Dan and many more, with Buttoned Up Disco also on hand with the rock, pop, punk and indie party-starters. Then be ready to travel back in time, with the unrivalled Hot Dub Time Machine bringing the world’s very first time-travelling party to Reading & Leeds this summer, taking you back on a journey through the defining hits of over 60 years of good times.

 

With the previously announced Kurupt FM Presents Champagne Steam Rooms and Cassetteboy vs DJ Rubbish also taking to the stage over the weekend, the Alternative Stage offers a different spin on the UK festival experience, making Reading and Leeds 2016 the ultimate festival party of the summer.

 

Reading and Leeds 2016 boasts the biggest names, sounds and festival moments for another year, with 5 headliners over 3 days – Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foals, Biffy Clyro, Disclosure and Fall Out Boy. They head up an unmissable Bank Holiday weekend which also includes performances by Jack Ü, The 1975, Two Door Cinema Club, Boy Better Know, Chvrches, Imagine Dragons, The Vaccines, A$AP Rocky, HAIM, Nas, Good Charlotte, Asking Alexandria, Fetty Wap and over 200 more.

ALTERNATIVE STAGE ANNOUNCED TODAY

Russell Howard
Bill Bailey
Marcus Brigstocke
Katherine Ryan
Russell Kane
Lee Nelson
Owen Jones in conversation with Andy Parsons
The Boy With Tape On His Face
Andrew Maxwell
Sara Pascoe
Holly Walsh
Joel Dommett
Mark Steel
Carl Donnelly (Leeds Only)
John Robins
Tom Deacon (Reading Only)
Daniel Simonsen
Dane Baptiste
Al Porter
Angela Barnes
Lloyd Griffith (Reading Only)
Lauren Pattison (Leeds Only)
Jamali Maddix
Mark Grist
Mystry
Anthony Anaxagorou
David Morgan (MC)
Iain Stirling (MC)
Dan Nightingale (Leeds Only)
Ian Boldsworth (Reading Only)
Grandmaster Flash (Leeds Only)
DJ Yoda (Leeds Only)
Rave Karaoke (Leeds Only)
Nightmares From The Discotheque (Leeds Only)
Propaganda with Special Guests Including This Is England’s Thomas Turgoose, DJ Dan + More
Buttoned Down Disco
Hot Dub Time Machine
 
PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
Biffy Clyro (Co-headline) (UK Festival Exclusive)
Fall Out Boy (Co-headline) (UK Festival Exclusive)
Red Hot Chili Peppers (Headline)
Foals (Co-Headline)
Disclosure (Co-Headline)
Imagine Dragons (European Festival Exclusive)
Jack Ü                  
Two Door Cinema Club                 
The 1975
Courteeners                     
Boy Better Know
Chvrches
The Vaccines (UK Festival Exclusive)
A$AP Rocky (UK Festival Exclusive)
HAIM (UK Festival Exclusive)
Jack Garratt
Nas (UK Festival Exclusive)
Frank Turner
Kano
Good Charlotte (UK Festival Exclusive)
Coheed and Cambria
Mastodon
Tonight Alive (UK Festival Exclusive)
The Wombats
Twenty One Pilots (UK Festival Exclusive)                                                       
Crystal Castles (UK Festival Exclusive)    
Fetty Wap (UK Festival Exclusive)                     
Eagles Of Death Metal (UK Festival Exclusive)
Slaves  
Parkway Drive (UK Festival Exclusive)
Nothing But Thieves     
The Internet (UK Festival Exclusive)
Rat Boy
Hinds
Lower Than Atlantis (UK Festival Exclusive)
Asking Alexandria (UK Festival Exclusive)
The Dillinger Escape Plan (UK Festival Exclusive)
Travi$ Scott (UK Festival Exclusive)
G-Eazy (UK Festival Exclusive)
Skindred        
Five Finger Death Punch (UK Festival Exclusive)                     
Sleeping With Sirens (UK Festival Exclusive)
The Neighbourhood (UK Festival Exclusive)
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes         
State Champs
Savages
Die Antwoord (UK Festival Exclusive)
Cage The Elephant (UK Festival Exclusive)
Krept & Konan
Sigma
Half Moon Run
Basement
Blossoms
Mura Masa
Spring King
Sunset Sons
Deaf Havana
Haelos
The Virginmarys
Third Eye Blind
Clutch
Black Foxxes
The Temper Trap
Brian Fallon And The Crowes
BØRNS
Lapsley
Charlie Sloth
Arcane Roots
Fickle Friends
Eagulls
Whitney
Clean Cut Kid
Pulled Apart By Horses
Ezra Furman
VANT
Big Narstie
The Magic Gang
Blaenavon
The Hunna
LANY
The Sherlocks
DMA’s
Rationale
Beach Baby
Transviolet
Isaac Gracie
Giggs
Netsky
Highly Suspect (UK Festival Exclusive)
Sundara Karma
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Palace
Lewis Del Mar
LUH
Otherkin
Anteros
Will Joseph Cook
White Miles
Gnash
The Beach
The Vryll Society
Area 52
Tibet
Thrice
Hacktivist
DMAs
LUH
Nothing More
Milk Teeth
Ghost Town
Greywind
Giraffe Tongue Orchestra
MGK
Heck
ROAM
Beach Slang
SWMRS
Superheaven
Big Spring
Waterparks
Yung Lean
Hoodie Allen
Maverick Sabre
Metro Boomin
Little Simz
Fekky
Geko
Bugzy Malone
Logic
K.Flay
Sneakbo
Baauer
Mick Jenkins
Kiko Bun
Troyboi
Franko Fraize
Clara Amfo
SOPHIE
Danny L Harle
Rag’n’Bone Man
Friction
Fred V & Grafix
Delta Heavy
The Japanese House
99 Souls
Redlight
Lion Babe
AlunaGeorge
Duke Dumont
David Rodigan MBE
Disciples                              
My Nu Leng B2B Oneman + Dread MC (Reading) / Oneman B2B My Nu Leng + Dread MC (Leeds)                          
MistaJam
Philip George                    
Riton                    
Birdy Nam Nam                               
Oliver Heldens   
DJ EZ
Hannah Wants
Crossfaith
Kurupt FM Presents: Champagne Steam Rooms
Cassetteboy vs DJ Rubbish
The King Blues
Kvelertak
FVK                                                          
Modern Baseball
Dead!         
Creeper             
Citizen                                      
Maxïmo Park
Raleigh Ritchie                                                                                                     
INHEAVEN                        
Banners                                                                                                                     
Tuff Love                                              
Seratones       
Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals                         
Section Boyz                     
Protoje                                                              
Lady Leshurr
DJ Semtex (Reading)
Yungen    
Jauz  
The Range
Rude Kid
Zac Samuel
Tkay Maidza
Hermitude
Lemaitre
Low Steppa
Draper
James Organ

Bloodstock preview: BRUTAI

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Bloodstock Preview: Brutai

SOPHIE LANCASTER STAGE- FRIDAY 12TH AUGUST

MUSIC VIDEO FOR 'DEEP'

'DEEP' lyrically tells of a period of songwriter's block that the band experienced whilst writing their debut full length. It's a mix of melodic and and progressive metal, with catchy vocal lines, guitar wizardry and groovy intricate drum work. Something for all modern metal followers to enjoy.

The band have recently supported the likes of Butcher Babies, Textures and have toured with The Five Hundred. Now they're showing they're a live force to be reckoned with, and will appear on the Sophie Stage at Bloodstock Festival.

Live Dates
12th August- Bloodstock Festival- Sophie Stage
20th August- Readipop- Reading
21st August- The Monolith All Day- Dingwalls, London w/ Zoax, Press to Meco, No Consequence
24th August- Sticky Mike's Frog Bar- Brighton w/ Voices From The Fuselage
25th August- London- Underworld w/ Soilwork
More dates TBA

"Brutai have matured into a really distinctive, engaging proposition. Expect big things from them, and soon."- The Monolith

"The British band Brutai, whose members hail from London and Reading, might be labeled as hard rock on first listen. But there’s a distinctly metallic, vaguely Swedish style to their riffing that gives the band a harder and more complex edge than what you’re accustomed to hearing from “hard rock” bands. The songwriting is super-tight, also; think “Soilwork Lite” and you’re pretty close. "- Metalsucks

"…few of the genre's current protagonists can match Brutai when it comes to matching that technical prowess with refined songwriting skills.
Precise, ornate and never less than monstrously heavy, the size of their hooks and melodies make them such an enticing proposition."
– Dom Lawson, Metal Hammer

Photo credit: http://www.willirelandphotography.co.uk/
(Left to right-  Mathieu Bauer, Alex Lorimer, Felix Lawrie, Henry Ryan, Christian Sturgess)

End of the Road announce entire workshop and activities line up!

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One of the most charmingly beautiful and eclectic festivals of the summer, End of the Road, is officially in eight weeks time, and with that in mind, the final lineup of workshops and activities has been announced.

For the creatives among you, there’s everything from Clay Creations, Origami, Screen Printing, Enamelling and even Comic Book Creating, whereas those who have an extroverted streak can enjoy a wide array of performing arts workshops, where you can be a part of a choir with Singing Loudly for All to Hear, or being part of a spontaneous theatre piece in conjunction with The One Line Theatre Company.

If that’s not your scene and you’d rather relax, wind down, and give your chakras some good loving in between acts, there's also a load of yoga, mindfulness and meditation workshops that you can enjoy.

But the workshops are only a small segment of what End of the Road is all about, with headliners such as The Shins, Joanna Newsom and Animal Collective, as well as incredible artists such as Bat for Lashes, Savages, Ezra Furman, Devendra Banhart, Omar Souleyman and many more, you can’t miss this enchanting folk gathering at the end of the summer.

An entire list of workshops and full line-up can be found on the official End of the Road website.

 

 

Bestival announces final headliners for 2016

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Busting out from the houses of joy, our mighty main stage is going to take a spanking as we turn up the levels on a Future soundclash that will bring Bestival 2016 to a jubilant close. Announcing not one but two Sunday night headliners, hip-hop will meet dancehall for a mind-blowingly triumphant booty shaking party in the ultimate Sunday night head to head on the Isle of Wight.

Rob da Bank says: “We love a big finale at Bestival, we also love hip-hop and dancehall and a massive soundsystem superclash between Wiz Khalifa and Sean Paul seems like a solid plan to close off another big weekend of music of raving, partying and expanding your minds at Bestival. Pull up!”

Commenting on his Sunday night headline performance Wiz Khalifa said: “Can’t wait to be back in the UK and perform at Bestival. The fans here have such good energy, it’s going to be lit.”

Looking forward to his headline appearance, Sean Paul said: “I can't wait to play at Bestival… I’ve heard the grand finale on the Sunday night is the best festival spot in the UK and I'm gonna bring the fyyyaahhh”

Yes! In a UK festival exclusive, we have not just one but two Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers – hip-hop superstar Wiz Khalifa and dancehall legend Sean Paul – who will be the twin big things at the greatest party the Future has ever seen. Kicking off with Sean Paul, who will be taking it uptown with sweet beats and all the bass, you can expect to be dutty wining all the time as we transcend the normal and head into the unknown. Famed for getting the dance bouncing with tracks like Get Busy, Temperature and Entertainment, you know this is going to go Full Frequency… but that’s just part one.

Once the dancehall behaviour has lit the blue touch paper on our most epic of finales, we get the hip-hop as Wiz Khalifa takes to the stage to drop the dopest flow. Pittsburgh’s finest rhymer, Wiz came to worldwide attention for his track Black and Yellow, and keeps on smashing them out of the park, with Work Hard Play Hard (something the Bestival crew are well versed in), See You Again and We Dem Boyz cementing his place as one of hip-hop’s MVPs and one of our favourite ever MCs. Guaranteed to take the party into the stratosphere, if that’s not a sure fire knock out one-two, we don’t know what is.

But you know us, we don’t know when to stop! Capping what will be one of our most incredible Sunday nights ever, the man like da Bank, Tayo and more will take to the stage for Purple Rave a truly spellbinding audio-visual tribute to Prince. A huge and enduring influence on everyone in the Bestival family, Prince was unquestionably up there with the greatest musicians in history. So, don’t you dare miss our eye-popping pyrotechnic paean showcasing hits, rarities, the odd cheeky bootleg and more, all accompanied by a coruscating firework spectacular that will be our heartfelt tribute to the one that got away.

And keeping the good news flowing we have got even more future sailors joining the Bestival bill, who we predict will be making jubilant appearances across the weekend, including Oxford quartet Glass Animals, and fast, mesmeric masters Crystal Fighters.

Giving you the Future of festivals now, don’t miss out on our Robin Hill adventures. Keep an eye out for the omens: www.Bestival.net, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram / Tumblr

#Bestival16