IT’S once again reached that pivotal point of the year when everyone begins to tweak their festival calendars.
With so many announcements occurring on a day-to-day basis, it can be hard to keep track of exactly which festival is best suited to cater to your needs.
With that in mind, we’ve condensed all of the biggest announcements from the past week into this handy guide which we hope will allow you make an informed decision about where you’ll be reveling with fellow like-minded individuals in Summer.
Bestival
Bestival is set to return this year and is preparing to welcome attendees with an awe-inspiring line-up.
Robert Smith’s indie icons The Cure are set to headline alongside Major Lazer whilst Animal Collective, Wolf Alice, Hot Chip, Bastille, Skepta, The Human League, Damian Marley and many more are all set to appear.
Live At Leeds
An inner city event that’s known for its ability to catapult a hotly tipped act to the next level, Live At Leeds has unveiled its provisional line-up for the April event with much more set to follow.
Los Campesinos! and Mystery Jets; fresh off the back of releasing one of the finest albums of their career with Curve Of The Earth, are set to occupy the upper echelons of the bill while superb acts such as Pumarosa, Viola Beach, Ghostpoet, Slutface and more will all be on hand to turn in tremendous sets.
Glasgow Jazz Festival
An institution within the city, this week saw Glasgow’s internationally renowned Jazz Festival awaken from its slumber and divulge its first two acts and it didn’t fail to deliver in any way, shape or form.
Two huge names have been revealed in the preliminary stages with modern-day blues virtuoso Joe Bonnamassa and soul icon George Benson both slated to descend upon the city in a matter of months.
A student of blues that has constructed his own incredible material within the confines of the influential genre, his visit to Glasgow will see him turn in a set entitled ‘A tribute to the British blues explosion’ and is set to contain the music of Clapton, Beck, Page and more.
Meanwhile Benson’s set is sure to be equally thrilling and filled with many of the incredible hits which define his catalogue such as ‘Give Me The Night’, ‘Never Give Up On A Good Thing’ and ‘Turn Your Love Around’.
Green Man Festival
Green Man has announced its first wave of acts for this year’s festival including Belle And Sebastian, White Denim, Wild Beasts and more.
Situated in Brecon Beacons, Wales, Green Man has became a mainstay on Britain’s festival calendar and is known for its diverse line-ups which showcase both established and burgeoning talent from all over the globe.
With Belle and Sebastian set to finally make their way to the event, the band are set to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their highly influential Tigermilk by performing it in its entirety alongside other choice cuts from their catalogue.
Joining them atop the bill are Kendal’s finest Wild Beasts and James Blake, who’ll both return to the site in order to captivate the festival’s audience.
Other notable artists on the bill include Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Julia Holter, Jagwar Ma, Fat White Family, Sunflower Bean, Songhoy Blues and more.
The Great Escape
One of the leading industry events in the UK if not the world, Brighton’s The Great Escape has added a vast amount of great acts to their bill including Catholic Action, Jr Green, Band Of Skulls and Spring King.
an event which provides burgeoning acts with a truly incredible platform to be seen and heard, the announcement in full is as follows:
A J TRACEY / ACTOR / ALEC BENJAMIN / ALICE PHOEBE LOU / ANNA MEREDITH / ANNA OF THE NORTH / ANTEROS / ANTHONIE TONNON / ARIANA & THE ROSE / ASTRID S / AVELINO / BABE / BAND OF SKULLS / BANNERS / BEATY HEART / BLACK PEACHES / BLEACHED / BLOSSOMS / BO ROCHA / CALLUM BEATTIE / CAMERON AG / CATHOLIC ACTION / CAUSES / CHASTITY / CHASTITY BELT / CIGARETTES AFTER SEX / COVES / D DOUBLE E / DEAD! / DEPRESNO / DIET CIG / DOLORES HAZE / DRELLER / EGYPTIAN BLUE / ELF KID / ELIFANTREE / FATOUMATA DIAWARA* / FRISCO / GEORGE TAYLOR / GEORGIE / GRUMBLE BEE / HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE JANE FONDA AEROBIC VHS? / HER / IGLOOGHOST / INHEAVEN / JACOB COLLIER / JAIN / JAMES CANTY / JAMMZ / JOSEPH J. JONES / JR GREEN / KATE JACKSON AND THE WRONG MOVES / KHRUANGBIN / KIKO BUN / K-X-P / LADY LESHURR / LEWIS DEL MAR / LITTLE HOURS / LOGAN SAMA / LUSTS / MABEL / MAI KINO / MAKENESS / MAN & THE ECHO / MATTHEW LOGAN VASQUEZ / MICHAEL KIWANUKA / MOSSY / MUMDANCE / MUNCIE GIRLS / NADIA REID / NADIA ROSE / OUZO BAZOOKA / PINK OCULUS / POSTAAL / POSTILJONEN / RØMANS / ROYCE WOOD JUNIOR / RUTH KOLEVA / RY X / SAMM HENSHAW / SHANNON & THE CLAMS / SONGHOY BLUES* / SØREN JUUL / SPRING KING / ST LUCIA / STEPHANIE RAINEY / SUDAKISTAN / TELEMAN / TEN FÉ / THE BIG MOON / THE PRETTIOTS / TIM VANTOL / TRANSVIOLET / TYPE TWO ERROR / UNIIQU3 / VIOLA BEACH / VITAMIN / WESLEY GONZALEZ / WILLIAM SINGE / WILLIE J HEALEY / YORKSTON THORNE KHAN / YOUTH CLUB
Liverpool Sound City
LIVERPOOL Sound City has added a variety of new acts to its bill including a headline slot from Catfish And The Bottlemen, Holy Esque, Palma Violets Hot Chip, Leftfield and more.
Having initially gained entry to the event via their apply to play system in 2011, it’s something of a fairytale story that the Van McCann led outfit have acquired top billing alongside hometown heroes The Coral.
Other exciting acts which have joined the talented filled bill include TTV alumni such as Neon Waltz, Holy Esque and Kagoule alongside Shura, Dilly Dally, The Big Moon, Mez, Georgia, Inheaven and Levelz.
Brought to fruition via a new partnership with Freeze; an integral part of Liverpool’s cultural revival, their new warehouse stage is set to welcome the legendary Leftfield, a DJ set from the globe-trotting Hot Chip, Floating Points (Live), John Talabot and more.
Reading & Leeds
Reading & Leeds Festivals have announced a new wave of acts which sees Foals and Disclosure attain joint headliner status among many other newly revealed acts.
Held at Richfield Avenue and Bramham Park respectively between the 26-28th August, the festival’s are renowned for amalgamating the best in alternative, hip-hop, dance, punk and metal onto the bill on a consistent basis..
Having previously revealed that funk rock trailblazers turned stadium shattering icons Red Hot Chilli Peppers are set to take top billing, they’ve now declared the addition of artists such as Jack U, Imagine Dragons, Crystal Castles, Fetty Wap, Two Door Cinema Club, Nothing But Thieves, The Internet, Oliver Heldens, Parkway Drive and more.
Having previously played a pair of secret sets to celebrate the release of their Holy Fire LP at last year’s event, fans are sure to be thrilled by the inclusion of Foals at the top of the main stage bill alongside the ever impressive sibling duo Disclosure, an act whose live show is truly something to behold.
Lovebox Festival
Locking in a couple of London exclusives, Lovebox festival have declared that the returning LCD Soundsystem and Diplo’s Major Lazer are set to headline this year’s event.
With more acts set to be revealed in the near future, it’s shaping up to be another great year for the Victoria Park based event.
Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival
Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival has added more acts to the 2016 bill including new headliners Two Door Cinema Club and GUN alongside Circa Waves, Medicine Men and Mungo’s Hi Fi.
These acts join headliners The Darkness and Madness who will play the festival in the Scottish highlands over 4th-6th August.
Alabama 3, C.Duncan and Be Charlotte will also appear at the festival which celebrates it’s 13th year in 2016.
Scarborough Fair
Taking place in May, Scarborough Fair has revealed that it is set to make a triumphant comeback after an astounding 18 year hiatus.
In addition to this unexpected news, they’ve also unveiled a bill which features headliners Everything Everything and Lianne La Havas as well as Public Service Broadcasting and Billy Bragg.
Bilbao BBK
Venturing across to sunny Spain, the revered Bilbao BBK has revealed a pair of headliners in the form of Canadian alt heroes Arcade Fire and Britain’s newest arena band Foals.
Joining other esteemed acts such as New Order, Father John Misty, Wolf Alice, Courtney Barnett and more, it’s hard to conceive of how this festival can get any better but its organisers are sure to find a way.
Mad Cool Festival
Staying within the pleasant locales of Spain, Madrid’s Mad Cool Festival has staked its claim for festival-goers’ affections with a line-up which features Neil Young, The Prodigy, Neil Young, Bastille, Stereophonic, Milky Chance and many more.
An event which could rival many of Europe’s biggest festivals in terms of line-up, this may be the year which sees Mad Cool become a bona-fide force.
Lowlands Festival
Situated in the Netherlands, Lowlands Festival have revealed several huge names that will descend upon the event in the summer.
Among those on the bill are LCD Soundsystem, Disclosure, CHVRCHES, Oh Wonder, Jamie Woon, Eagles Of Death Metal, Flatbush Zombies and more.
