Articles

Isle Of Wight Festival

Location: Seaclose Park, Newport, Isle of Wight

Headliners: Prodigy, Stereophonics, Neil Young

Even Glastonbury can't compete with the Isle Of Wight's history. Started in 1968, its first three years saw legendary performances from the likes of Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Bob Dylan, The Who, and Jimi Hendrix (just weeks before his death). Having said that, the 1970 festival was the last for 32 years. Now in its eighth year since its reincarnation in 2002, this year's Isle of Wight Festival will play host to 50,000 music fans in one of the most beautiful settings of any event in the calendar.

Location: Donington Park

Headliners: Faith No More, Def Leppard, Slipknot

The spiritual heir to the Monsters Of Rock festival which was held on the same site between 1980 and 1996, Download might only have been going since 2003 but it has played host to some of the biggest names in hard rock and metal including Metallica, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and Guns N' Roses. If piercings, tattoos, and head-banging are your thing, there's only one festival for you this summer.

Location: Worthy Farm,Somerset

Headliners: Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Blur

Despite the experiment-gone-wrong that was Glastonbury 2008, when the combination of a controversial headliner (rapper Jay-Z) and the memory of the previous year's atrocious weather led to the slowest ticket sales in many years, 2009's festival seems back on track. It had sold out by early February and they still won't let us use their logo! Having said that, the ultra-safe choice of headliners is a disappointment, if a predictable one given what happened last year.

Location: The Roundhouse (Camden)

Headliners: Oasis, Snow Patrol, Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian, The Saturdays, Flo Rida, Bat For Lashes, Jack Peñate, Paolo Nutini and more

The iTunes Festival brings an exciting selection of international stars and hotly-tipped emerging artists to perform at the heart of London's music scene, with shows every night in July at Camden's Roundhouse. Every performance will be recorded and available exclusively for download on iTunes. 


Wireless

Dates:  July 4-5

Location: Hyde Park, London

Headliners: Kanye West, Basement Jaxx

Previously a four-day event, this year's Wireless is down to a credit-crunch friendly two-dayer. That's not to say the line-up has been compromised though. They've got arguably the biggest name in hip-hop in the form of Kanye West for the Sunday and an array of dance acts for the Saturday (Basement Jaxx, Paul Oakenfold, Frankmusik) which would put most dedicated dance festivals to shame. If you're not the tents and wellies type, this could be the one for you.

Location: Balado, Kinross-shire, Scotland

Headliners: Kings of Leon, The Killers, Blur, Snow Patrol

Scotland's premier festival never fails to pull in big names and this year is no exception. In addition to the headliners you've got the likes of James Morrison, Franz Ferdinand, Elbow, Nick Cave, Nine Inch Nails, Lily Allen, Pet Shop Boys, Keane, and Manic Street Preachers to look forward to. As if that wasn't enough, the estimated 85,000 festival-goers have a large funfair, complete with Big Wheel, to contend with.

Location: Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk

Headliners: Pet Shop Boys, Grace Jones, Nick Cave

Latitude is one of the new breed of so-called 'boutique festivals' designed for people who don't consider dodgy food and even dodgier toilets part of the experience. Family-friendly and set in perhaps the most beautiful location of any festival, Latitude, as you might expect, draws an older, less raucous crowd than other festivals, which is clearly a very good thing if that's what you're after.

Location: Victoria Park, London

Headliners: Duran Duran, N.E.R.D., Groove Armada

Named after an album by organisers Groove Armada, Lovebox prides itself on an eclectic mix of musical styles with a prominent dance element. The winner of the Best Medium-sized Festival gong at last year's UK Festival Awards, this two-day non-camping event is perfect for the urban-dweller who doesn't want to get his or her trendy trainers dirty. 

T4 On The Beach

Location: Weston-Super-Mare

Headliners: Alesha Dixon, The Saturdays, Dizzee Rascal, Metro Station, Calvin Harris

This year the T4 on the Beach experience will be bigger and louder than ever, because 4 Music are joining the beach party with their very own stage. It's going to be right next to the T4 double decker bus, so people will have the opportunity to come and hang out with the T4 presenters, and catch some of the bands from the main stage performing the odd acoustic number.

Location: Eastnor Castle, Ledbury, Herefordshire

Headliners: Basement Jaxx, Orbital, Norman Jay

As it says on the official site, The Big Chill is more than a music festival, it's a way of life. A pretty influential one at that because you could make a good case for it being the first boutique festival (ie. an event where as much thought has been put into the setting and facilities as the line-up). Despite the name, there is plenty of upbeat dance music going on, as well as folk, jazz, African and dub, art, films, poetry, cabaret and gourmet food. Very civilised.


Reading and Leeds

Location: Little John's Farm, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds

Headliners: Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, Kings Of Leon

Reading is the world's oldest music festival still in existence and has a colourful and varied history. Starting out as a jazz festival, it became synonymous with hard rock and metal in the '70s and '80s before gradually embracing indie and, very occasionally, pop. That said, it remains a rock festival first and foremost. Like V, these days it is a two-venue affair with the line-up alternating between the Reading and Leeds sites.

Location: Daresbury, Halton, Cheshire

Headliners: Basement Jaxx, Tiësto, Paul Van Dyk, Dizzee Rascal, 2ManyDJs Live And Mylo Live

Creamfields is arguably the premier dance festival in the country, regularly attracting the biggest-name DJs and live acts. Run by the people behind the Cream clubbing brand, they've also held similar events in Argentina, Spain, Ireland, Turkey, Mexico, Malta, Russia, Chile, Brazil, Poland, Uruguay, the Czech Republic, and Portugal. This year, the first 5000 weekend camping tickets (on sale April 3 at 9am - tel: 0844 888 4401) will go for a recession-busting £100.

Location: Robin Hill Country Park, Isle Of Wight

Headliners: Elbow, Kraftwerk, Massive Attack, Lily Allen

Since it began in 2004 with a crowd of just 10,000 (it's still only 17,000), Bestival has lived up to the conceit of its name. An eclectic but unpretentious mix of artists combine with fancy dress and a carnival atmosphere to provide what might just be the most enjoyable festival experience to be had in the UK. While it is the last major event of the summer, it is far from the least.

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