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!

Death in Vegas lined up for Camden Crawl

by

“We're really over the moon to be playing the opening night of this brilliant festival. We're going to bring our full on sonic and visual assault to Koko, our first time playing this amazing venue and first time playing Camden Crawl.” – Richard Fearless

Opening night revelry will commence at 5pm with a four-strong support line up comprised of an eclectic array of 2012’s most promising new live acts. A special edition of Club NME will close the night ahead of the launch the full-blown festival the following day. Full details of the opening night line up will be released imminently.

This announcement follows the news that Early Bird tickets for the event have now sold out. Weekend passes for the Camden Crawl, scheduled for 5th & 6th May 2012, and tickets for the Opening Night Party featuring Death In Vegas will go on sale from Monday 23rd January.

2012 CAMDEN CRAWL DAYTIME PROGRAMME & EVENING LIVE MUSIC CURATORS REVEALED

Camden Crawl’s evening line-ups are selected by a committee of esteemed music industry tastemakers, including radio DJs, club promoters, journalists and record labels. The dazzling 2012 evening live music line up will be hosted by the following venue curators.

In addition to the Crawl’s famously impressive evening live music schedule, the festival boasts an extensive arts festival throughout each day of the event. From midday to 6:00pm, the confirmed programme for the 2012 daytime fringe includes cutting edge events from various disciplines, including comedy, storytelling & spoken word, unconventional theatre, craft, visual art and traditional music. It also features a variety of outdoor events, an alternative poster, print & record fair as well as interactive fun & games.

DAYTIME EVENTS AT THE CRAWL:

COMEDY & SPOKEN WORD

THE 99 CLUB / ART HISTORY IN THE PUB /  CRACK COMEDY / FAT TUESDAY / GAG REFLEX / GET COMEDY /  HOMEWORK /  KNOCK2BAG / LOLITICS / REALLY LOVELY COMEDY

PERFORMING ARTS & EXHIBITIONS

HIGH HOOPS HOOLAFEST / HIP HOP SHAKESPEARE / INTERNATIONAL ALTERNATIVE PRESS FESTIVAL /  THE LEXINGTON RECORD FAIR /  LONDON SWING DANCE SOCIETY /  POSTER ROAST / ROSS LEE’S HORACE FINGERNIPS / STATE OF CRAFT

GAMES & INTERACTIVE

HIP HOP KARAOKE / KARAUKE /  MOSHI MOSHI POP QUIZ / MUSICAL BINGO / ROUGH TRADE SHOPS POP QUIZ /  WHO KILLED BAMBI?

LIVE MUSIC EVENTS

DJ ABRANTEE’S AFRO BEATS / ANDY ROSS PRESENTS / NIHAL’S BOMBAY BRONX / CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE / FENCE RECORDS / THE FLOWERPOT COLLECTIVE / FOR FOLK’S SAKE / THE NEST COLLECTIVE / SWN FESTIVAL / THIS IS FAKE DIY / JOHN KENNEDY’S XPOSURE

(Full  line up descriptions & listings from www.thecamdencrawl.com/line-up)

 

MAY 5TH & 6TH EVENING LIVE MUSIC

VENUES & CLUB NIGHTS CURATED BY:

1234 /  ARTROCKER / BACKSTREET / BIG CHEESE MAGAZINE / CLUB FANDANGO / DROWNED IN SOUND / FACT / FEAR & RECORDS / FLOWERPOT COLLECTIVE / LANTERN SOCIETY / LAST.FM / LIFT OFF / THE LOCAL / MISTAJAM / MODA / MOSHI MOSHI RECORDS / NIALLER9 VS. ON THE RECORD / OLD BLUE LAST PRESENTS / ROCKFEEDBACK / ROUGH TRADE SHOPS / RWD MAGAZINE / SEXBEAT / SUMMER SUNDAE WEEKENDER SWAY / URBAN NERDS / THE WEIRD & THE WONDERFUL

LIVE MUSIC LINE UPS TO BE ANNOUNCED FEBRUARY 2012

24 hr CC hotline 0871 320 0260 or buy online www.thecamdencrawl.com

Tickets include free programme guide, magazine, compilation album and entrance to all venues and events

 

OFF Festival announce Iggy and the Stooges, Death in Vegas

by

Taking place in the beautiful green oasis of the 'Three Lake Valley' in Katowice from 3rd to 5th August, OFF is a boutique music festival with an ethos of supporting art and music.

Says festival artistic director Artur Rojek “We didn’t expect to win at the Festival Awards Europe, but it means so much to us.  We are really excited about this years festival and we hope to make it extra special as a thank you to all the fans, artists, friends and sponsors who have supported us during the last 6 years.

This years event will also include pre parties on 2nd August giving festival goers the Chance to enjoy some of the cool party venues around the city. Matthew Herbert will perform at One Pig, Alva Noto  at Katowice Centre of Culture, Diamond Rings  and Sleep Party People  at the Hipnoza Club.

Tickets for the 2012 OFF Festival are available now from only 32 EUROS!

 

Iggy And The Stooges
Ladies and gentlemen, we’re proud to announce that Iggy and The Stooges will perform at the OFF Festival! Pleas of their loyal fans have not gone unheard. They’re coming so that we can try to outscream Iggy during “Raw Power,” “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” and “Search and Destroy.” They’re coming to show the youngsters playing the OFF Festival stages how it’s done. Iggy and The Stooges – pioneers and punk-rock legends, synonymous with on-stage antics and the sheer vital force of rock and roll. Oh, how we want to be dogs right now – announcements like these truly deserve a howl of joy!

Iggy and the Stooges

Suicide
Ministry and Nine Inch Nails are good bands. Depeche Mode – same thing. But only at a Suicide concert will you see and hear the wellspring of inspiration for these bands. Punk aggression mixed with the inhuman coldness of the synths and the haunted, terrifying vocals of Alan Vega – Suicide’s visionary output is mandatory listening for any punk rock fan, and seeing them live might be a scary experience. In Vega’s own words: “Someone once said that Suicide was the most punk band in history, because even the punk hated our guts.” Are you sure you’re up for it?

Death In Vegas
Heirs and continuators of bold experiments of bands such as Neu! or Throbbing Gristle, only that their volatile mixture of techno, rock, and psychedelia has conquered the hearts of critics and connoisseurs of underground noise but also took dancefloors by storm. They went on hiatus in 2004 after releasing “Satan’s Circus” because Richard Fearless felt he needed to play some rock and roll in New York. Now he’s in London, heading Death in Vegas again. In 2011, the band released their new album, “Trans Love Energies.” Which basically means that during their show you’ll feel that energy, fall into a trance, and love it…

Black Face
Chuck Dukowski, one of the founding members of hardcore pioneers Black Flag, plus Eugene Robinson, the singer from Oxbow, the flagship of Californian noise avant-garde. Can we really create a better recommendation than that for the new band created by both these gentlemen? Well, they surely created one – their debut single, “I Want to Kill You.” The title speaks volumes about the band – they really sound like they’re trying to kill us.

Iceage
This crew from Copenhagen debuted only a year ago with they wickedly intense album “New Brigade” – a hardcore punch thrown from the dense, smoky abyss of noir rock. They’re often compared to Fucked Up, who invited Iceage to join them on tour. During their shows, the band is a real live wire. That was made clear last fall when they played a few clubs in Poland and will be on full display for all the fans to see during their performance at the OFF Festival.

Colin Stetson
Colin Stetson is a Canadian jazzman who plays a huge bass saxophone. That’s not enough for you. The list of artists he collaborated with includes Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, TV on the Radio, Feist, Bon Iver, Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, LCD Soundsystem, and The National. Still not enough?! He’s latest album, “New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges” was nominated for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize and was included in Pitchfork’s “The Top 50 Albums of 2011” list. The magazine’s reviewer admitted that the album “sounds like nothing else I've heard.” 

Tickets
Four Day OFF Pass – 32 EUROS
Pass for all concerts (2nd-5th August 2012 – no camping)

Four Day OFF Pass + Camping – 41 EUROS
Pass for all concerts (2nd-5th August 2012 – including camping)

Pre Party – 18 EUROS

Pass for all concerts on 2nd August only. Matthew Herbert (One Pig) + Alva Noto (Katowice Centre of Culture), Diamond Rings _ Sleep Party People (Hipnoza Club). Please note that the capacity of the Hipnoza Club is limited and entry is on a first come first served basic.

Buy tickets here http://off-festival.pl/en/2012/shop.html

Travel and accommodation
There are regular cheap flights to from the UK and Europe to Katowice with Wizz Air, Ryan Air, Lufthansa and KLM.

Arriving at Katowice/Pyrzowice airport  – take the bus marked "Lotnisko" to the Katowice train station (Dworzec PKP) and then  transfer to one of the below lines.

Buses from Katowice train station (Dworzec PKP):
– to the Muchowiec airport (OFF Festival grounds) – lines 0 and 50.
– to the Trzy Stawy bus stop (shopping center, 500 meters from the festival grounds) – lines 10, 110, 672, 674, and 910.

Katowice has a broad range of accommodation, from cheap hostels to luxury hotels, but you can also live the festival life 24 hours a day at the OFF Festival Village, providing you with a place to stay, take care of sanitary needs, and grab a bite to eat.  The Festival Village at OFF Festival Katowice 2010 will open August 5 at noon, and close on August 9 at 3:00 pm. A stay at the Festival Village costs 4 € (16 PLN) per person, per day.

Check out this documentary about Off Festival below:

 

 

Bellowhead, Howard Marks, The Cuban Brothers and more set for 2012’s Wychwood Festival

by

8th – 10th June 2012, Cheltenham Racecourse, Gloucestershire

http://www.wychwoodfestival.com/

BellowHeadWychwood Festival is proud to confirm the 11-member strong Bellowhead for 2012, headlining the main stage on Friday 8th June. Five time winners of Best Live Group at BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Bellowhead’s set will be a special opening night treat. Armed to the teeth with South American charm and soul The Cuban Brothers, will strut their stuff on Wychwood’s main stage on the Friday 8th June, while Howard Marks, renowned for his captivating spoken word and story telling, will step up to the mic in the Big Top on Saturday 9th June. Also appearing on Saturday over on the main stage are Doctor & The Medics, the psychedelic rockers famed for their number 1 single ‘Spirit In The Sky’.

From a recent appearance on Rob Brydon’s 2011 Christmas Special on BBC2 to Cheltenham Racecourse, The Magic Tomolinos’ punk infused Balkan folk will headline Friday in the Big Top. Sunday’s Big Top welcomes folked-up hip-hoppers Dizareli and The Small Gods, while the cheekily named Thrill Collins return to Wychwood offering up cover versions skewed with their own ‘nu-skiffle’ twist as part of Sunday’s main stage line-up as will JuJu. Comprising of artists Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara, JuJu present a heady mix of traditional African and leftfield jazz sounds on Saturday alongside fellow musicians Billy Fuller and Dave Smith.

Cuban BrothersAlso now on sale are day tickets to Wychwood Festival ranging from only £37 to £53 for adults, customers purchasing day tickets will also have the opportunity to purchase day ticket camping for only £10 per adult.

Once again seven BBC Introducing shows from surrounding counties will be joining forces to provide the best in new music from Bristol, Bath, Gloucester, Coventry, Warwickshire, Hereford, Worcester, Oxford, Wilstshire and Wales, further information to be announced soon.

Famed for delivering a truly family-focused festival experience, Wychwood leads the way with innovative programming designed to delight children as well as wonderful music from around the world to entertain the adults.  Since launching in 2005, Wychwood has become one of the UK’s most successful independent arts events of the summer season and been nominated in the ‘Best Family Festival’ category at the UK Festival Awards every single year.

  • Line-up Information

 

FRIDAY

Main stage

Bellowhead

Cuban Brothers

The Roving Crows

 

 

 

Big Top

The Magic Tombolinos

 

BBC Introducing Stage

To be announced soon…

SATURDAY

Main stage

James

JuJu

Dr & The Medics

Katy Ashworth

 

 

Big Top

Howard Marks

 

BBC Introducing Stage

To be announced soon…

SUNDAY

Main stage

The Dhol Foundation

Port Isaac’s Fisherman’s Friends

Sean Lakeman and Kathryn Roberts

Thrill Collins

 

 

Big Top

Dizaeli and The Small Gods

 

BBC Introducing Stage

To be announced soon…

 

Green Man Festival 2012 tickets on sale this Monday

by

To celebrate we will reveal the first batch amazing artists lined-up to play Green Man’s big birthday bash in Wales’ breathtaking Black Mountains from August 17-19, including one of three unbelievably great headline acts!
 
It promises to be the most memorable Green Man Festival yet, as your old friend assembles an unmissable array of musical talent from across the globe to soundtrack the feel-good party of the summer.
 
All Earlybird tickets for Green Man 2012 were snapped up in record time, and the entire festival has sold out for the last three years in a row. We’re expecting demand to be high once again, so don’t miss out!

Tickets cost: Adult Ticket    £145
  Student Ticket    £125
  Teen Ticket    £75
  Child Ticket    £5
  Live-In Vehicle Ticket    £60
  Holiday Ticket    £40
  Car Park Ticket    £5
  Resident Day Ticket    £50

 
And what about that line-up? Well, we’re so excited we could run to the top of the Sugar Loaf Mountain and scream their names across the sweeping valleys below!
 
Alas, we’re sworn to secrecy so you’ll just have to hang on until Monday. Trust us though – you won’t be disappointed. This is Green Man we’re talking about, after all…

Dry the River, Raghu Dixit Project and more announced for HoneyFest

by

The intimate Honeyfest will also be adding the all-new BBC introducing stage this year with more info coming soon; for now the first batch of artists set to grace the Honeyfest hive this April can now be revealed.

Welcomed back for the second year and hotly tipped for big things in 2012, Dry the River will be taking to the stage. Joining them will be Nick Harper, with his majestic guitar skills and endearingly satirical songs. Joining them on the bill will be crazy, cutting edge ceilidh troupe Cut-a-Shineand the genre blending Kidnap Alice who fuse bluegrass, blues and folk.  With the Battle of the Bands competition only a few weeks away and the first headliners news coming very soon, Honeyfest is sure to mark the Spring calendar with the sweetest music yet!

Meet the bands…

Dry the River – Honeyfest are delighted to welcome back the haunting vocals and beautiful melodies of Dry the River. As supporters of the first event, Dry the River have gone from strength to strength since, and are making waves in the music world including getting a mention on the BBC Sound of 2012 List.  

http://www.drytheriver.net/

Raghu Dixit Project – One of India’s best selling artists, Raghu Dixit Project remarkable rise has been nothing short of spectacular. As part of India’s blossoming alternative music scene, they create rousing folk rock that is making waves internationally.

http://raghudixit.com/

Nick Harper – known for his wild personal introspection and biting political satire via a charmingly caustic wit, Nick often seamlessly moves from his compositions to well-loved covers, effortlessly delivered in his style. Nick takes on Presley, Zappa, Jeff Buckley, Led Zeppelin, Monty Python and Public Enemy (yes, on an acoustic guitar!) Honeyfest is really excited and pleased to have Nick perform in 2012.

http://www.harperspace.com

"If imagination, energy and bags of talent were the only factors in makingK a successful pop career, few would deny that Squeeze man Glenn Tilbrook has backed a winner in Nick Harper…Splendid stuff" – MOJO magazine

Cut A Shine

Cut A Shine are a London based troupe of traditional musicians, dynamic dancers and crazy callers determined to spread the word that the Hoe Down is a’happening! From Hoxton to Humberside, from Amnesty International to Bestival, Cut A Shine are putting the ceilidh back on the map with sell-out parties in London to top summer festivals. This “Anarchic Hillbilly Barn Dancing Squad” will bring a rip-roaring, thigh-slapping, pavement-stomping, exhilarating, heart thumping, blood pumping barn dance creation to the green pastures of Honeyfest!

http://www.cutashine.co.uk/

Kidnap Alice

Kidnap Alice are a new band bursting on to the London scene with furore; set to spread across the UK with an upcoming tour and bookings at this Summers UK festivals – Honeyfest will be one of the first chances to see them this year! The band mix up classic Bluegrass and 'Old Time' tunes with a modern twist, and give their own original songs the Bluegrass treatment with fiery mandolin, blistering banjo and slapped bass. With soulful vocals and tight arrangements from a classic acoustic string band line up, the band bridge the gap between vintage Rhythm and Blues and Appalachian mountain music. The band's début festival performance took place at Glastonbury in 2010 and have since performed at Camp Bestival, The Big Chill, Green Man, Bestival, Secret Garden Party, The Alternative Village Fete at the National Theatre, and The Shakespeare's Globe amongst others.

http://kidnapalice.wordpress.com/

This is the first wave of acts to be announced, the first headliners announcement is soon to follow, as well as the results from the Battle of the Bands which will take place on 3rd February, where competition winners will seize their chance on the big stage amongst some of the UK’s leading festival acts.

TICKETS INFO:

The tickets are available through the website www.honeyfestuk.com or directly through Ticket Web at: http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=xxx&query=schedule&promoter=honeyfest&interface=honeyfest and Sound Knowledge, Hughenden Yard, Marlborough.

local discounted tickets are available from the 2011 venue, The Barge Inn, Honey Street, Wilts. http://bargeinncommunityproject.com/

 

Bingley Music Live team up with Live and Unsigned

by

 

Bingley Music Live has risen from humble beginnings to a festival that in only its 6th year is nationally heralded as one of the UK’s major festivals.

With no key sponsor in place Bingley Music Live is funded in the main by Bradford Council and is organised by a small team who through a dedicated and hands on approach, a mutual love of music and a passion to make the festival one of the most memorable for bands and audiences alike, have developed the festival consistently each year.

Bingley Music Live 2012!

There has been strong growth in the festival’s following which has resulted in sell out crowds for the past three years seeing notable performances from Chase and Status, Maximo Park, Feeder, James, The Enemy, Public Image Ltd, Seasick Steve, Editors, Calvin Harris, Doves, Fun Lovin’ Criminals as well as breaking acts such as Wretch 32, Eliza Doolittle, Example, Professor Green, V.V. Brown and Kassidy.

Chris Grayston, managing director of Live and Unsigned, said; ‘We’re really starting to put meat to the bones of our winner’s tour now and I can’t think of many festivals better to do that than Bingley Music Live. The line-up over the last 6 years has grown in magnitude for every outing; this year can only mean big things for the festival and our winner!’

The Tour

So far the winner of Live and Unsigned 2012 is confirmed to be going to Bingley Music Live, Norfolk Spectacular, Boardmasters, Strawberry Fields Festival, Brownstock, ButserFest, London Summer Jam and Lancaster Music Festival, and this list is only set to grow!

Live and Unsigned is the biggest unsigned music competition for original unsigned bands and artists in the UK. It offers the finalists the chance to play at The O2 in London alongside some of the UK's best musicians at Live Fest, London’s biggest indoor festival. There’s also £100,000 worth of prizes to be won, including an additional new main cash prize of £10,000 for the winning act to spend on development.

Auditions will begin in January 2012 and all acts in the competition are auditioned live. Acts that make it through the audition stage will get to perform to industry judges, A & R associates and celebrity guests. Judging last year’s competition and hopefully set to join the panel again in 2012 include; Radio 1 DJ’s Annie Nightingale, Ras Kwame, Tom Deacon and Daniel P Carter; Kerrang’s Alex Baker; and Happy Mondays star Bez.

If you are interested in playing the best festivals of 2012, including Bingley Music Live 2012, click here to check out all the festival partners for Live and Unsigned 2012.

Y Not Festival tickets on sale 1st February 2012

by

 

Immediately after these go, tickets are on general sale at £75 for a full weekend with camping.

So what's new and different from this Midlands treasure?

Following on from an in-depth survey with a fifth of our customers responding, we’ve made it bigger and better than 2011 – and this is how:

  • A whole brand new amazing stage; 
  • A bigger and better line-up (amid much grumbling at rocketing band fees – they'll be worth it!);
  • An entire new arena, more stalls, more food, more to do onsite; and,
  • Improved camping facilities, with site access on Thursday possible for the first 2,000 at £9 per ticket.

Y Not takes place on 3-5 August 2012 in the Peak District (near Matlock). To keep up to date with the Y Not Festival, follow @Y_Not_Festival on twitter or like Y Not on facebook.

In 2011, the festival scooped a double at the UK Festival Awards, taking home the gongs for The Grass Roots Festival and Best Toilets.

Line-up to be announced.

The Cure to headline Bilbao BBK Live

by

 

The band will be touring the major European festivals this summer offering a very special set: over two hours of selected anthems from their fourteen studio albums, including those from ‘Wish’, a very special celebration of the 20th anniversary this album.

Just a week after announcing performances by Klaxons, Noah and the Whale, Snow Patrol, Band of Skulls, The Gift, Vetusta Morla, Lori Meyers and first headliners Radiohead; Bilbao BBK Live now adds second headliners The Cure, French duo Inspector Cluzo, British four piece Tribes, Mexican alternative-psycodelics Zoé and Spanish super group Corizonas to the line-up.

With this new announcement, the line-up of Bibao BBK Live starts taking shape attracting, once again, the biggest names in music. Previous editions of the event have included headliners such as Coldplay, Pearl Jam, Depeche Mode, Jane’s Addiction, RHCP and Suede.

Three Day Early Bird tickets to the festival, which include camping, are available for just £73 until the 24th of January on See Tickets, Ticketweb and Lastminute.com.

The Big Chill 2012 CANCELLED!

by

See the statement below posted on The Big Chill website from Melvin Benn, MD of Festival Republic:

 

“It is with a considerable amount of regret that I have decided not to go ahead with The Big Chill in 2012.

I looked long and hard late last year at moving the date so it didn’t clash with the Olympics but the mix of the festival fans desire to keep the date and an inability to find an alternative date that works I plumped for maintaining the existing weekend. Sadly, the artist availability and confirmations we were achieving led me to conclude that I couldn’t risk going ahead with the event as an outdoor event this year. Efforts are being made to look to bring a smaller event indoors this year with the anticipation of Big Chill being back outdoors in 2013.”

Melvin Benn, Managing Director Festival Republic.

Just So Festival moves to a new home!

by

The festival provides a magical experience where art, music and literature are embedded and entwined in a beautiful and wondrous landscape. We provide a broad range of musical, theatrical, visual and aural performances, workshops and installations within a safe, natural and magical setting. Every clearing and glade holds a new way to unleash creativity. Families discover and delight in the spectacular within the woodland environment during this spectacular weekend event.

The Just So Festival has a brand new home for 2012 – the wonderful woods and parkland of Rode Park, near Scholar Greenthe beautiful woods and parkland of Rode Hall in Cheshire. The not-for-profit family arts festival will take place in its new location over the weekend of 17th-19th August 2012 when families can share a weekend of wonder, magic and discovery in the company of authors, performers, artists and musicians. Sarah Bird, festival director, said “Rode Park is a beautiful landscape, with acres of mysterious woodland and surprising nooks and crannies just waiting to be transformed into magical and exciting spaces. Campers will be able to spread out among glorious parkland, which has at its heart a breath-taking lake”

The family arts festival was launched in 2010 by Sarah Bird and Rowan Hoban, who after spending years visiting traditional festivals with their children found much of the entertainment off-limits for the whole family. The result was the Just So Festival, a weekend-long journey of the imagination, where everything from a beach installation, gypsy bands, top-name authors and creative workshops illuminated the arts for children and parents amid the natural landscape.

Over the coming months the team will release lots of exciting bits of programming, great acts, workshops and vendors, but with Early Bird tickets sold out since September festival goers will need to be quick if they want to join in the festivities. Rowan Hoban, festival director, explained, “ We certainly won’t be expanding the number of people at the festival, we think that we currently have the right balance with a safe and intimate atmosphere so that families can have creative adventures, singing, dancing and playing together without having to queue up or make their way through overwhelming crowds. Our aim is to create spellbinding environments where the audience feel like anything is possible”

 

Date: 17-19 August 2012
Location: Rode Hall Parkland, Cheshire