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!

Berlin Festival changes venue

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Berlin Festival is relocating to Kreuzberg, a cultural hotspot in the beating heart of this vibrant city, heading to its new home at Arena Park, the area around Club der Visionäre and Arena Berlin, Hoppetosse and White Trash. Taking over Arena Park for one marathon 48-hour party on September 5-7,Berlin Festival promises to be one unforgettable weekend, soundtracked by only the most diverse, promising and talked-about acts from around the globe.

Although Berlin Festival's night program has taken place at Arena Park for the last few years, the move to the new location marks the start of a new era for the festival. Berlin Festival is very happy this move worked out in time for the 2014 event as the area offers more than one could expect: Badeschiff with its beachfront and pool-atmosphere, the vintage rock 'n roll kitchen White Trash, the stunning open-air locations Club der Visionäre and Ipse, alongside Glashaus, Hoppetosse and the Arena itself will ensure that Berlin Festival will be more colourful, diverse and even more surprising.

As well as relocating to a more central cultural hub, Berlin Festival becomes the first ever to offer a 48-hour program in one place, where revellers can party without needing to move between venues representing Berlin's prized sub-culture and its spirit in the best open-air location in the city. An outdoor stage will be added to the event, while the popular side events are being expanded. Catch Woodkid, Moderat, Editors, Sven Väth, DARKSIDE, Warpaint, JessieWare, Kid Ink, Bombay Bicycle Club, Trentmøller (live), DJ Koze, Chase and Status (DJ set), Crystal Fighters, Digitalism, Neneh Cherry & Rocketnumbernine, Ellen Allien, Mount Kimbie, Hudson Mohawke, Foreign Beggars, Rustie, Jimmy Edgar and many more for the weekend’s festivities.

And in addition to the well-established Art-Village, Berlin Festival will be host to a Food Village that will include typical Berlin themed food stalls in and around the festival site.

Berlin Festival was the first open-air event to prove the great possibilities of Tempelhof airport as an event location, and now this unique event heads to a new authentic site that boasts of historical Berlin flair. The festival organisers had planned a move to Arena Park since the end of the 2013 edition of the event, and now the time is right for Berlin Festival to relocate to the middle of this vibrant area which has become a focal point of Berlin's night life in recent years.

This year’s all-weekend event allows revellers to party throughout an entire 48-hour period; boasting more acts, art installations, colour and craziness than ever before, this year's Berlin Festival guarantees a melting pot of creativity true to the city.

An integral partner of the annual Berlin Music Week (September 3-7 / www.berlin-music-week.de), Berlin Festival celebrates the German capital’s diverse and eclectic culture through music and arts programming. Pulling together some of the finest names in international music – the Berlin Festival soundtrack reflects the city itself: innovative, creative and inspirational.

Boomtown Fair 2014 SOLD OUT

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BoomTown Fair has sold out for the sixth year in a row! Even after increasing the capacity by over 20% to 38,000, this ever popular event has shifted all of the tickets to the annual Fair and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down! With an astonishing array of musical genres covered by the headliners alone; The Cat Empire, NOFX, Jimmy Cliff, The Wailers, Shaggy, The Skatalites, Tinariwen, Bellowhead, New Model Army, Alabama 3, Lady Saw, Raggasonic, Afro Celt Sound System alongside 400 more artists, this juggernaut of a festival truly does deliver across the board!

BoomTown Fair isn’t your average UK festival, offering its attendees or ‘residents’ a fully interactive pop-up city with boulevards of buildings to explore and various venues to get thoroughly stuck into. The fair has a hugely theatrical feel and delves into the attendee’s psyche to unlock the feelings of childlike wonderment and fantasy, and with the increased revenue from ticket sales being directly reinvested into the artistic and theatrical elements, BoomTown has further built upon its boundary pushing creative environment!! With hundreds of walkabout and sideshow performers, intricate and engaging sets as well as an ethical ethos and a disregard for the norm, over the past six years BoomTown Fair has established itself as one the UKs most spectacular events and unlike any other on the scene at the moment!

With the Fair a few days away it’s time to sum up what to expect at this year’s event, all the new areas, the old favourites and the stealthy shenanigans! New areas to keep an eye open for this year include the Wild West Street, which comes fully stocked with two watering holes, the Crazy Calamities and the Rusty Spur, a rogue Sherriff and some Hill-Billy Bluegrass bands on hand to provide the perfect soundtrack! Across the way in the OldTown district, the ginormous Pirate Ship, The Jolly Dodger has landed and will be the host of many a Pirate band including a full on Pirate Takeover on the Sunday of the festival. The Old Mines will be presiding over the wholesome Whistlers Green District with world class folk artists such as Bellowhead, Tinariwen and Afro Celt Sound System. As you might expect from BoomTown, nothing is totally traditional, much like the festival itself, the acts picked are known for pushing the boundaries and adding their own twist on things!!

BoomTown Fair will return to Matterley Estate from 7th – 10th August with a theme of Outrageous Carnival connecting the nine individual districts, the streets of BoomTown are once again going to be awash with amazing sets, colourful characters and creative communities!

Beacons Festival 2014 Preview

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This weekend will see the return of Beacons Festival which takes place in the Yorkshire Dales.

Having started out in 2011 this music festival has gone from strengh to strengh pulling together a top lineup of artists from all around the world and this years lineup is no different.

Topping the bill for 2014 are electronic musican collaborators Darkside, UK indie folk band Daughter, american rapper Action Bronson and English producer Jon Hopkins.

Other acts joining in on the action include the likes of Erol Alkan, Jackmaster, Carli XCX, Joy Orbison, Nightmares on Wax, Neneh Cherry, Dusky and a whole bunch more.

Our picks and must sees for this weekend are:

Action Bronson: This upcoming hip hop artist has been billed as the "next" Ghostface Killa and his legendary stage antics include recently eating someone's burger in front of the audience he was performing for and rapping from a porta-loo mid performance.  This larger than life rapper is bound to put on a show that the Beacons Festival crowd will not want to miss.

Submotion Orchestra: Formed back in 2009 in Leeds, UK, this seven piece band plau a fusion of jazz, soul and dub and have been the favourites of the likes of Trevor Nelson, Jo Whiley and others.  Their live stage shows are full of energy and they are bound to get you bouncing around as they take to the Beacons stage on Friday nite.

Dusky: Saturday at Beacons will see London electronic music duo Dusky hit the crowd with a set of producions so diverse its hard to classify them.  Influnced by many genres, expect a fusion of house and techno and everything in between.

Darkside: Hailing from New York, Darkside are electronic music duo Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington.  Having recently released a remix of Daft Punk's 2013 entire album Random Access Memories to high praise this duo has blown up playing festivals and events all around the world.  Their latest album Psychic delivers a wide range of genre music and their live set is something not to be missed.  Be sure to catch them at Beacons Festival closing out Sunday night.

The Klaxons to headline OxfordOxford plus more!

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Futuristic three-piece, Klaxons, are now confirmed as the headliner of OxfordOxford in one of many new confirmations for the event’s debut line-up spanning the weekend of 26th-28thSeptember in South Park. Tickets for the film and music days, plus weekend passes are now available to purchase from http://www.oxfordoxford.co.uk/, Sunday’s community themed day remains free entry.

Plaudits for their third album have been high and Klaxons are gearing up for live dates that now include a headline set at OxfordOxford, the band’s only gig in the city for 2014. The crowning act for the event’s music-focused day on Saturday 27th September, Klaxons come to South Park armed with tunes which charge between dance and post-punk sounds. Also confirmed is Katy B, a vocalist who is firm favourite of dance floors nationwide. Katy B has leant talents to a whole host of recent club smash hits not to mention her two solo records of electronic, urban, pop perfection. In support of home-grown talent OxfordOxford will play host to three local acts by teaming up with BBC Introducing in Oxford show to present space-pop quintet, Flights of Helios, indie outfit Balloon Ascents and lo-fi pop trio Robot Swans.

OxfordOxford will kick off with a cinematic spectacular on Friday 26th September, additions to the big screen’s billing include a special ‘dance-a—long’ version of 80’s guilty pleasure, Dirty Dancing. Similar cult classics on offer will be the action-packed Top Gun and family-favourite, The Goonies. As already announced features will also include ‘sing-a-long’ Grease and Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland.

 
The event will culminate in a vibrant and varied collection of Oxford’s many different community groups and activities, access to which will be free all-day on Sunday 28th September. Dance, local history, sports and local industry will all feature across the day in numerous forms. Local retailers wishing to take part are welcome to contact OxfordOxford via [email protected]. Specific details of Sunday’s offering will be announced shortly.   
 
Eleven 11 Events Director, Owen Kent comments:

“Friday’s specially curated Film line up includes a number of the most entertaining cult films making for a fun-filled day out for all. The Kids Area will also bring some magic to the experience for families."

“Klaxons, as an Oxford exclusive for 2014, will surely bring all the energy, passion and hits to their headline show, it will be a real spectacle to close Saturday’s music event.  I am also delighted to confirm Katy B as main support, another very talented live performer, and consistently a festival highlight."

“Most importantly for me, as one of the organisers of the event, OxfordOxford is supporting homegrown talent from the city, and is giving different performers the opportunity to share the stage with international artists, gain experience and promote their music. We are particularly pleased to have BBC Introducing in Oxford on board presenting Flights of Helios, Balloon Ascents and Robot Swans. It is great to be working with them as we share similar views on bringing up and coming talent to a local audience."

"OxfordOxford is proud to be working in partnership with Oxford City Council"

Reading and Leeds BBC Introducing Stage lineup announced

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With less than a month to go until the gates open, the countdown is now well and truly on for Reading & Leeds 2014. Returning this year will be the one stop home of the best in up and coming talent, the BBC Introducing Stage. With BBC Introducing forever championing the finest in new music from the UK and beyond, the stage is part of BBC Introducing’s commitment to offering the best new artists unrivalled opportunities to be seen and heard. As a powerful launching platform for emerging talent, the stage has previously been home to this year’s Main Stage success story Jake Bugg as well as Catfish And The Bottlemen, Spector, Clock Opera and many more.
 
Topping the bill on Friday at Reading and Saturday at Leeds will be the extremely exciting BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra championed London soul singer Moko. Joining her will be alternative punk project The Bulletproof Bomb, Kent experimental rock group Broken Hands, the ambient neo-soul singing collectiveLyves, 19-year-old folk-pop singer Rebecca Clements, the blues tinged and Tom Waits influenced sounds ofJohn J Presley, the fiercely executed rap and powerfully emotive, catchy vocal melodies of Judge and The Jury, melancholic indie quintet Dancing Years, Buckinghamshire singer/songwriter Natasha North and fierce Scottish post hardcore band Shambles In A Husk.
 
Heading up the lineup on Saturday at Reading and Sunday at Leeds is the delicate vocal of Bombay Bicycle Club collaborator Rae Morris. The thrilling and hotly tipped London slacker rock trio Happyness will join her alongside York band Hello Operator, ex-General Fiasco brothers Owen and Enda Strathern’s new band Oh Volcano, three piece Leicester music makers Juniors, upcoming songwriter and Enigma Dubz collaboratorLippi, the melodious pop of Liverpool’s Guardian championed trio All We Are, France formed Aussie and Brit four piece indie rockers Sunset Sons and the horror-influenced skate-punk of Cambridge four piece Bloody Knees.
 
Sunday at Reading and Friday at Leeds sees the stage headlined by Scottish synth-pop trio and Island signeesPrides who will come to the festival fresh from playing the Blink 182 Reading & Leeds warm-up shows at Brixton Academy. Joining them are unsigned indie rock band Crystal Seagulls, promising and ever hard working singer-songwriter Adam French, the live spectacle of Swansea based Cramps-esque punkers Heavy Petting Zoo, fiercely talented alternative songwriter Jack Garratt, Manchester’s future stars Man Made, Hull-based garage/punk band Mother, the BBC Radio 1Xtra playlisted talent of Esco Williams, the hauntingly beautiful music of Billie Marten and the raw.
 
This year saw the return of the prestigious Futuresound Competition, offering the winner the chance to perform on the Festival Republic Stage and five runners up the chance to open over on the BBC Introducing Stage. Leeds’ piano bashing, rock ‘n’ roll five piece Carnabells came in on top for what is sure to be the opportunity of a lifetime over on the Festival Republic Stage.
 
The Friday at Reading and Saturday at Leeds sees self-proclaimed ‘Black Keys meets Nancy Sinatra’ trio Crybabycry open the stage. Saturday at Reading and Sunday at Leeds bills the post punk and pop of Tabloids and Forever Cult’s slow burning grunge kicking off festivities. Sunday at Reading and Friday at Leeds, West Yorkshire alternative five piece Allusondrugs and the mod sounds of Leeds’ Vendettas will be opening the stage.
 
Centre Stage 2014 winners GirlsOnDrugs have also been added to the bill. A collaboration between a boy and girl, the band have deep bass synths and dream-laced chords enlivened by the beautiful, sultry, vocal talents of Kat McHugh, whose voice dances from pure expression to melancholic yearning.
 
The BBC Introducing Stage is truly the best place at the Festival to see the best emerging talent from across the UK. All this and a few very special, secret guests can be expected during what promises to be the biggest weekend in this summer’s festival calendar!
 
Jason Carter, Head of Live Music & Events, BBC Popular Music says: “BBC Introducing are delighted to be bringing our stage to the Festival for another year. Over the past few years it has been fantastic to see bands that have been completely unknown move up the stage at the Festival, right up to the main stage, this is another phenomenal new band line-up”.

Stereosonic announces lineup for 2014 feat Calvin Harris, Tiesto and more!

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Calvin Harris, Tiësto, Diplo, Disclosure, W&W and DJ Snake will headline the first of the two artist groups with: Skrillex, Alesso, Steve Aoki, Showtek, Dash Berlin and special guest Carl Cox leading the charge for the second group of Stereosonic artists. In a year of domination of world festival stages and charts we are very proud of our Australian acts returning from global shows this year to Stereosonic.
 
Calvin Harris, one of the world’s most biggest artists is thrilled to be returning to the region’s favourite electronic music festival: “I love Stereosonic! I’m looking forward to getting back out and playing in Australia.” 

 

Several much loved and respected music brands will be partnering with Stereosonic this year indicating the level of respect Stereosonic has on the world stage within the industry. LA’s HARD, known for its Holy Ship! and HARD LA parties, will be taking charge of Main Stage 2 on one day. The highly respected Dutch brand ‘Awakenings,’ will be throwing down deep house and techno sounds, whilst Ferry Corsten will return with his iconic ‘FULL ON’ arena. Legendary record labels and electronic brands: Armada, OWSLA and Beatport will all make their arena debuts at an Australian festival, for Stereosonic. 
 
Held over two weekends in five cities, Stereosonic continues to create an incredible experience for patrons, with breathtaking production and immaculate festival grounds, complimenting the world class line-up. 

Stereosonic 2014 Artist Line-up: 

Calvin Harris, Tiësto
Diplo, Disclosure (DJ Set), W&W, DJ Snake
Duke Dumont, Will Sparks, RL Grime, Peking Duk
NERVO, Cedric Gervais, Cosmic Gate, Andrew Rayel
Tale Of Us, Destructo, Ørjan Nilsen, Nina Kraviz
Oliver Heldens, Wilkinson, Scuba, Cash Cash, 
Kölsch, MaRLo, Mano Le Tough, Shogun, Uberjak’d
Mark Sixma, Nina Las Vegas, Timmy Trumpet
M4SONIC, Tigerlily, Generik and L D R U & Yahtzel
 
Skrillex, Alesso, Steve Aoki
Showtek, Dash Berlin, Carl Cox
Porter Robinson (Live) Laidback Luke, New World Punx
TJR, Ferry Corsten, Noisia, Deorro, Headhunterz, MK
DVBBS, Booka Shade (Live), Markus Schulz, What So Not
Joel Fletcher, John O’Callaghan, Foreign Beggars
Hot Since 82, Alison Wonderland, Crookers, Jack Beats
The Aston Shuffle, Route 94, Simon Patterson, Alex Metric
Deetron, Kaz James, Ilan Bluestone, Acid Jacks and Nick Thayer
 
MCs: MC Stretch and MC Losty
 
Arenas: HARD, FULL ON, Awakenings, OWSLA, Armada and Beatport

Sydney – Saturday November 29th and Sunday November 30th, Sydney Showgrounds
Perth – Saturday November 29th and Sunday November 30th, Claremont Showground *
Adelaide – Friday December 5th and Saturday December 6th, Adelaide Showground
Melbourne – Saturday December 6th & Sunday December 7th, Melbourne Showgrounds
Brisbane – Saturday December 6th & Sunday December 7th, Brisbane Showgrounds

 

Secret Garden Party limited early bird tickets on sale now!

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Early bird tickets avaliable now for Secret Garden Party! 

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Following a sold out weekend the Secret Garden Party puts a limited number of Early Bird tickets on sale, from Monday 28th July, for next year’s event, which takes place 23rd-26th July 2015.

They will be available from www.secretgardenparty.com

http://sgp.seetickets.com/event/secret-garden-party-2015/mill-hill-field/807299

With its theme of ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ revellers enjoyed a hot and sunny weekend with a range of music including Public Enemy, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Little Dragon, Foxes and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and secret dj sets from the likes of Chase & Status and Nero.

The Saturday Spectacular, which included water holograms, a huge firework display and flames of fire, also featured new technology never before used in the UK. The ‘Falling Stars’ section had 5,000 papers helicopters, each carrying flashing red and blue flashing LED, dropped from c.350ft by a single paramotor pilot spinning gently to the ground, some had free tickts for Secret Garden Party 2015. Other spectaculars included the ‘Make A Rainbow’ paint gathering, a Spitfire flypast and this specially grown sunflower field accessed via an ‘out of order’ portaloo.