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!

Biffy Clyro, Elbow and more set for Isle of Wight Festival 2012

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These phenomenal live acts will take the Festival by storm, so don’t miss out on what will be one of THE hottest weekends of the year. Tickets are available now fromwww.isleofwightfestival.com. 
 
Noel GallagherSpecial Guests on Friday June 22nd are Elbow who have received huge critical acclaim throughout their career and will bring their award winning sound to the main stage at the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. 
 
Noel Gallagher captured the voices, hopes and dreams of millions with Oasis and now returns with his masterpiece Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds for a highly anticipated performance at the Isle of Wight Festival 2012. Noel will be appearing on the main stage as Special Guest to the legendary Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band who will take the headline slot onSunday June 24th. 
 
Scottish trio Biffy Clyro got the Festival crowd jumping in 2010 with an explosion of mammoth riffage and fizzing pop vocals. The band is now back having conquered the rock world for round two with a Special Guest appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival onSaturday June 23rd.
 
Example’s captivating performances and number one singles have seen him skyrocket to success as he fronts a new generation of dance acts. Expect an epic offering from the London artist as he lights up the main stage on Friday June 22nd. 
 
Making their Isle of Wight Festival main stage debut on Friday 22nd June are the highly talented Noah & The Whale, ensuring 2012 is another year of the best music around, in a truly magnificent setting.
 
The Vaccines have gone from strength to strength and following a impressive performance at the Festival in 2011, the band will be back, bigger than ever, on the main stage on Sunday June 24th.
 
Saturday June 23rd will also see Camden’s finest, Madness, heat up the main stage. The band are a bona fide British institution and their live performances keep fans coming back for more every time they play, so get ready for a monster party on the island.
 
Madness said, "At last, we've been wanting to play the Isle of Wight Festival for ages now, the perfect way to start our summer".

John Giddings, the Festival’s promoter, says …”We are very proud to bring the cream of British talent to the island next summer, it’s shaping up to be another bumper year!’.

If all that wasn’t enough, the Big Top stage will once again feature an exclusive performance for campers. On Thursday 21st June, soul legends The Christians whose album Colour reached the number one spot in 1990, start the weekend in true Isle of Wight Festival style. 

T in the Park 2012 Xmas Earlybirds onsale Friday

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Music lovers can grab their tickets on Friday and guarantee their place amongst the 85’000 per day strong crowd at T in the Park 2012.  With The Stone Roses already announced and a stellar bill made up of some of the best live acts in the world set to follow, T in the Park 2012 will undoubtedly boast the festival bill of the summer.

Festival Director Geoff Ellis said: “The Stone Roses were the first band I ever booked from only hearing their demo tape, but you could tell that they had something incredibly special.  Their sound was different from anything I had ever heard before.  I booked them for a gig at Middlesex Polytechnic, London in February 1989 – a gig that turned out to be a seminal moment in the band’s career (as the music press exploded after that show), as well as one of the most memorable in mine.  Having The Stone Roses headline T in the Park next year is a dream come true and a performance that will undoubtedly go down in history.”
 
Next year’s event will take place across the weekend of Friday 6th – Sunday 8th July.
 
Vodafone VIP customers can buy tickets 48 hours before they go on general sale from9.00am on Wednesday 30th November, simply go to www.vodafone.co.uk/vip 

T Lady subscribers can buy tickets from 9.00am Thursday 1st December – sign up to the T Lady at www.tinthepark.com

 
Boutique camping options are available in The Residence at T in the Park.  The Residence offers festival goers a bespoke, luxury experience where all their accommodation needs are taken care of – www.tinthepark.com/residence

Nova Festival of Arts and Music launches for 2012

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Early Bird Tickets on sale NOW www.ticketline.co.uk/nova-festival

The first ever Nova Festival is brought to you by two of The Big Chill’s co-creators – co-founder Katrina Larkin and creative producer Victoria Burns. Set in the stunning West Sussex countryside estate at Bignor Park, Nova is a small, intimate and independent arts and music festival built on consideration and care for the smallest details and with the biggest ideas. From 5th to 8th July, Nova will host inspiring artistic offerings to delight and captivate audiences plus a music programme featuring both established and up-and-coming acts expected to propel onto the music scene in 2012. Nova Festival is set to become the UK’s leading bijous festival for 2012.

Gates open on Thursday 5th July allowing visitors to stroll to the camping area, pitch up tents and be greeted with the festival’s very own pub, The Nova Arms, where afternoons can be spent watching a mad medley of pub entertainment, evenings filled with campsite campfire sessions plus a chance to see classic film screenings at the dedicated outdoor cinema.

Friday morning, Nova opens its gates to the enchanting Zen Gardens offering therapies and a hot tub experience beneath the trees and surrounded by the UK’s finest immersive and interactive outdoor art. By night the gardens take on a new dimension – bathed in artful illuminations and the perfect place for mischief amongst the woodland terrain. Throughout the day and into late evening there will be foraging, campfire cooking sessions, night walks and strange guided tours.

Friday sees the festival leap into life. The Valley Stage offers a line-up of brilliant, eclectic break-through new music alongside more established favourites. The Super-Nova DJ Bar will serve specially created cocktails to keep all moving to top class DJs spinning an array of dance floor styles. The Fearless Theatre plays host to wildly creative and fantastically eccentric comedy, cabaret and theatre. There will be opportunities to take part at The Public Art Studios and display works in the People’s Gallery or join the village choir. And when all that matters is a cup of tea, head to the Tea Dance for a cup of rosie lee and do a turn around the floor.

More music and curios will spring up among the trees and performers will take to the stage on the lake. Children will be enchanted at The Land of The Bumbley Boo and The Wordsmithy will engage minds and spark imaginations with lively debates, authors’ talks, readings and spoken word performances.

Every bar at Nova Festival will be fairly priced, well stocked with local liquor, ciders, ales and champagne, as well as everything needed to make generous cocktails. An array of handpicked stalls offering delicious food will be scattered across the beautiful site and there will be no shortage of beautiful places to picnic.
 
Nova Festival of Arts and Music takes place from Thursday 5th July till Sunday 8th July.

Line-up to be announced January 2012. 

Ticket Details:
Adult Tier One: £80 SOLD OUT
Adult Tier Two: £100
Adult Tier Three: £139
13-17 Tears: £60
Student: £100
Under 12s: FREE
Tickets include a camping pass

Mostly Jazz Festival 2012 details here

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Doing exactly what it says on the tin, The Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul Festival offers a blistering weekend of Jazz, Funk & Soul with a host of household names bringing the party atmosphere back to Moseley Park!
 
With the success of the festival growing each year, we are delighted to announce that BBC Radio 1’s purveyor of eclectic sounds Gilles Peterson and BBC Radio 6’s Funk & Soul maestro Craig Charles will be returning to curate the line up with some of their favourite acts. They’ll also be jumping behind the decks for sets at the official after show parties as well as DJing in the park!
 
In 2011, Over 5,000 Jazz, Funk & Soul enthusiasts filled the park to witness the Hammond Legend, Booker T (pictured) close the event in style following epic headline performances from The Cinematic Orchestra & Matthew Herbert Big Band. Further performances came from  the likes of Pigbag, Hidden Orchestra, Brandt Brauer Frick, Alice Russell, Smoove & Turrell & Ariya Astrobeat Arkestra.
 

In 2012…. There will be, once again, two stages side by side at the festival, the second of which will feature up and coming talent. As in 2011, Tony Dudley-Evans’ development agency Birmingham Jazz and Birmingham’s premier jazz & funk parlour The Yardbird will be curating the second stage, whilst Gilles Peterson’s favourite Birmingham promoters Leftfoot will be taking the reins on friday. Each will showcase some of their top acts so expect to see a wealth of emerging sounds.

The line ups for both stages will be announced gradually over the coming months but we can already guarantee some amazing artists for 2012! We’ll also be keeping you updated with further events happening in the build up to the festival!

 
Tickets for Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul 2012 will be going on sale on 5th December 2011 via www.mostlyjazz.co.uk. To avoid booking fees there will also be the option to send in a postal form which is now available from the website. Alternatively, you can visit one of our outlets listed on our site to pick up the tickets in person. 
 
We will be announcing the first set of artists on 21st January 2012 at our official launch party at Hare & Hounds featuring Smoove & Turrell with their six piece live band! Details for this show and how to buy tickets are available at www.mostlyjazz.co.uk

Presale tickets for Latitude, Reading & Leeds, & Big Chill available 2nd December

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Pre-sale tickets will be available until 6pm on 31st December.

General sale tickets and the all important line-ups will be released in spring next year.

LATITUDE 12TH – 15TH JULY 2012

Get your tickets now to ensure you will be with us as we journey towards the seventh edition of Latitude in the glorious setting of the Henham Park Estate on Suffolk’s stunning Sunrise Coast.

For further information please see: www.latitudefestival.co.uk

THE BIG CHILL 2ND – 5TH AUGUST 2012

The Big Chill will return to its beautiful home at Eastnor Castle Deer Park in Herefordshire so make sure you’re sorted for your summer party!

For further information please see: www.bigchill.net/festival

READING & LEEDS FESTIVAL 24TH – 26TH AUGUST 2012

The legendary Reading & Leeds Festival will return for the August bank holiday and it promises to be bigger and better than ever with the best names in music from across the globe set to play at both sites.

For further information please see: www.readingfestival.com / www.leedsfestival.com  

Tickets for Deer Shed Festival 2012 now available

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

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

Adult weekend ticket (16+)   £69

Child weekend ticket (6+)   £20

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

Tickets for the festival would make a fantastic great Christmas present for music-loving families so the organisers have enlisted some festive elves to send a Deer Shed Festival tote bag and Christmas card, free of charge, to any customers who let them know before December 14th that the tickets are going to be a present. All customers need to do is email xmastickets@deershedfestival.com with their ticket reference number, name and postal address by December 14th and they will receive a festive package perfect for passing on to their loved ones.

Plans for Deer Shed Festival 3 so far include more live acts on the Friday night, additional arts including commissioned theatre productions taking place in the woods, more camping space, different campsites for folks who want to stay up to the wee hours, extra after-hours entertainment and later bar opening hours for those fans of the wee hours, improved availability of the vast array of workshops, a longer “long goodbye” on Sunday and custom-made indestructible* swingballs.

*that’s indestructible by powerful playing, not indestructible by, say, a heavy goods vehicle.

Headlined by the outstanding I Am Kloot, 2011’s Deer Shed Festival was a triumph. Six thousand music lovers of all ages soaked up performances by a line-up including Frankie & The Heartstrings and Caitlin Rose under a sunny sky. Garnering high praise from artists and audience alike, in just two short years Deer Shed Festival has become a serious contender for the best family-orientated festival in the UK. For a taste of the Deer Shed Festival magic, check out the short video here http://www.deershedfestival.com/media/

Behemoth to headline Friday at Bloodstock Open Air 2012

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Originally scheduled to perform at the 2010 event, the band were forced to cancel after frontman NERGAL was diagnosed with Leukemia. After undergoing treatment including a bone-marrow transplant, the enigmatic frontman is fighting fit and ready to bring BEHEMOTH’s brutality back to the UK:

“We couldn’t do the show for obvious reasons last time, I was in a deep shithole with my sickness, but I really felt obliged to come back and doBLOODSTOCK as soon as possible. We are really fortunate that they invited us back, we couldn’t turn it down, and this is the perfect opportunity to make this up to the people that missed us last time. For us it’s a great pleasure to come back to the UK after two years, and I can promise we will bring full production – lights, pyro – it’s gonna be awesome and we can’t wait. This is not only the first time we headline a festival, but also our first open air appearance in the UK, so it’s gonna be special!”

"Bringing Behemoth back to Bloodstock in 2012 was our mission, they have been one of the MOST requested bands we have ever been asked for”states festival booker Vicky Gregory. “We know the fans will give them one hell of a reception. The show is their full production and what better place for them to return than as headliners for the Friday night”

Their ninth studio album, 2009’s “Evangelion” saw BEHEMOTH make a giant leap from a cult black metal act to internationally acclaimed metal act, gracing magazine covers and even newspapers across the globe, truly breaking out of the underground despite the uncompromising and fiercely brutal ten tracks it contains. Having the honour of being opening band at the first ever performance of Metal’s Big Four – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax – at Sonisphere Poland in 2009, BEHEMOTH are no strangers to the big stage and this exclusive headline appearance – their first outdoor show in the UK, and only festival performance in this country in 2012 – will be a triumphant return, and one that will no doubt be talked about for years to come.
 
BLOODSTOCK OPEN AIR 2012 takes place at Catton Hall August 9th – 12th. With four day camping tickets on sale for just £90 (plus booking fee) until December 16th – a MASSIVE saving of £25 – there is no reason to wait. 

Win festival slots with Live and Unsigned

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The prospect for local bands and acts to share the stage with the likes of Ed Sheeran, Example, Chase and Status and many others has blown wide-open with this fantastic opportunity, maybe it’s time to get involved?!                                                                                                                                                            

The UK festival scene is ever-expanding, and the chance for unsigned acts to play them is ever-diminishing, so Live and Unsigned has to be THE best chance to get a direct-line to the best UK festivals. The variety of festivals on offer is outstanding; there is a plethora of independent grassroots festivals such as London Summer Jam, Z-Fest, Brownstock, CockRock, Folk on the Water and Newcastle Green; massive national festivals that attract tens of thousands such as Beach Break Live, Live Fest and Norfolk Spectacular; and everything in between including Butserfest, Osfest and AIM’s official ‘Best Independent Festival 2011’, Bearded Theory.

Add to that the prospect of a world tour including festival slots in Latvia with Summer Sound, Italy with Tour Music Fest, and Canada with Supernova and it’s clear to see that Live and Unsigned is THE competition for aspiring bands and acts to enter in the New Year. Alongside the cherry-on-the-top that is the announcement that there will be an exclusive fly-on-the-wall documentary of the Live and Unsigned 2012 competition to be aired on Sky TV, can you afford to NOT enter this competition?

With the chance to play at The O2 in London and with £100,000 in prizes, Live and Unsigned is set to attract thousands of unsigned musicians when auditions begin in January. The competition has also just announced an additional new main cash prize of £10,000 for the winning act to spend on their development.

Acts that make it through the audition stage will get to perform to industry judges, A&R associates and celebrity guests in some of the UK's most prestigious venues. Judges set to join the panel in 2012 include Radio 1 DJ’s Annie Nightingale, Tom Deacon and Daniel P Carter, Kerrang’s Alex Baker and Happy Mondays star Bez.

Auditions begin again in January 2012 with a number of new audition venues on the circuit including the world famous Dingwalls in Camden. Acts are urged to enter now as places are in high demand and auditions are limited for what will be a great platform for any act or band to showcase their music. For information on how to secure your live audition for 2012 go to www.LiveandUnsigned.uk.com and register today!

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band to headline Hard Rock Calling 2012

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Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band are back. This is the second time they have played the Hyde Park show following a mammoth performance back in 2009. Expect some of their biggest and most loved hits plus a few surprises. 

“Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s 2009 Hard Rock Calling performance proved to be one of the greatest live performances in the festival’s history,” said Hamish Dodds, President and CEO of Hard Rock International. “We look forward to having them back for Hard Rock Calling 2012, for what is sure to be another iconic show.”

Live Nation’s Vice President of Promotions, Toby Leighton-Pope commented: “It’s great to welcome Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band back to Hyde Park. They always put on a fantastic show and 2012 is set to be a special one.”

Hard Rock Calling takes place 13-15 July 2012. The 2011 shows saw over 150,000 music fans flock to Hyde Park for an unforgettable weekend of live music.

 

Ticketing Information:

Tickets go on sale Saturday 3 December at 10am and are priced at £60 plus booking fee.

Tickets available at www.hardrockcallling.co.uk

Vodafone customers can buy tickets 48 hours before they go on general sale. Get yours from 9am, Thursday 1 December at www.vodafone.co.uk/vip  

To buy VIP Experiences and Hospitality please visit http://www.livenation.co.uk/vip or call + 44 207 009 3484.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band to headline Isle of Wight Festival 2012

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This will be Bruce Springsteen’s first visit to the Island and only his 3rd festival performance in the UK to date. Join us at the Isle of Wight Festival 2012 to witness what will be an unbelievable performance from one of the greatest artists of all time. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday 25th November from www.isleofwightfestival.com. 
 
Vodafone customers will have an exclusive pre-sale period from 8am Wednesday 23rd to 8am Friday 25th November and tickets go on general sale from 9am Friday 25th November. The Isle of Wight Festival 2012 is the perfect stomping ground for music lovers, stylish festivalgoers and fans alike and tickets for what will be an epic weekend are sure to go quick, so head to www.isleofwightfestival.com to get yours.
 
Bruce Springsteen, is one of the most influential artists in the world.  A musical legend who records and tours with the E Street Band, Springsteen is famous around the globe for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics and American sentiments centred around his native New Jersey.   Springsteen’s recording have included both accessible rock albums and folk-orientated works and his most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A and Born to Run, have cemented his place in music history. The singer has sold in excess of 65 million albums in the United States alone and 120 million worldwide. He has earned numerous awards for his work, including a staggering 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award.
 
John Giddings, the Festival’s promoter, says, “It's taken years to get him here, but it will have been worth the wait – he is one of the greatest acts of all time, it's going to be a classic year…”

Renowned for hosting the biggest names in music, along with the best up and coming acts the Festival will once again be one of the hottest tickets of the summer.